602 
U'JHLE KUKAL NEW-YORKKK 
April 17, 1915. 
Live Stock Feeding Problems 
Soy Beans for Forage. 
I wish to obtain information concern¬ 
ing the Soy bean as a forage crop. What 
variety would you advise for our soil and 
could you give instructions on its culti¬ 
vation? Would you consider Soy bean 
hay, cornmeal and bran a balanced ration 
for work horses, and what would be the 
proportion? We have some difficulty in 
raising a heavy oat crop. Would you ad¬ 
vise us to raise Soy beans instead. Of 
course, we have our corn. I want the 
most economical feed for our stock. I>o 
you think it advisable to do away with 
oats as a grain for horses? The amount 
of corn. Soy beans or oats to plant to 
keep four horses year around without 
purchasing grain is our problem. Can 
you help us in advising what to raise, 
acreage, etc., of each crop? h. c. a. 
Coplay, Pa. 
It is very doubtful if Soy beans as a 
grain crop grown for feed will ever reach 
extensive development on the average 
farm. The seed in itself is expensive, 
harvesting machines differ materially 
from those required to prepare other 
grain crops for the bin. As a forage crop 
lu.wever, for either swine or poultry, they 
can be very usefully placed in the rota¬ 
tion. They are planted in rows 24 inches 
apart and should be cultivated in the 
same way as corn or other row crops. 
Considerable difficulty is experienced in 
harvesting beans especially if the season 
is rainy. The same difficulty is experi¬ 
enced in a lesser degree in case an at¬ 
tempt is made to utilize the Soy bean crop 
as a source of hay or roughage; however 
the yield does not compare with that ob¬ 
tained from Alfalfa or mixed hay, and a 
number of instances have been reported 
where it failed to keep in good condition 
in the mow, and as a result when it has 
been fed to horses forage poison ensued. 
It might be well to sow some Canada 
field peas xvith oats and produce oat and 
pea hay as a source of roughage for 
horses. Equal parts of oats and Canada 
field peas at the rate of three bushels per 
acre makes a most excellent amount for 
such purposes. Oil meal is generally used 
as a supplement with ear corn and in my 
judgment is a more economical and satis¬ 
factory source of protein than Soy bean 
meal. It is doubtful indeed if the Eastern 
farmer can grow oats successfully, how¬ 
ever in case the Canada field peas are 
mixed with the oats it Is quite possible to 
produce satisfactory crops at compara¬ 
tively low cost. F. c. M. 
Ewes on Frozen Grass. 
Is it advisable to allow a flock of 
breeding ewes, due to lamb the last of 
April, free access to a large pasture 
field, where they can eat frozen grass 
whenever the snow leaves it bare? Is it 
preferable to confine them in a large 
basement with a large yard attached? 
When confined in the basement and yard 
they have free access to running water 
and are fed bean pods, once a day and 
good clover hay once a day. Then they 
graze in the fields, they do not eat their 
fodder. 6. H. P. 
Springwater, N. Y. 
No careful shepherd would allow a 
flock of ewes heavy with lamb, such as 
G. IT. P. refers to, to roam over large 
pasture and forage on scant frozen grass¬ 
es. There are several good reasons why 
this should not be done. 
Sudden changes of diet from day to 
day especially where the ewes might have 
a chance to gorge themselves, can but re¬ 
act detrimentally on the digestive organs 
of the ewe and on the vitality of the un¬ 
born lamb. The natural craving for 
green or fresh herbage should be supplied 
in some degree in the regular ration being 
fed the ewes at this time of the year. 
This may be accomplished by a judicious 
feeding of turnips, stock beets, or. in 
some cases by silage though judgment 
must be used in feeding large amounts of 
roots to ewes six weeks before lambing. 
Instances are recorded where the feed¬ 
ing of roots in considerable quantity be¬ 
fore lambing have resulted in weak 
lambs, with deranged digestive organs. 
Ewes to drop lamb need plenty of exercise. 
This exercise may be had without per¬ 
mitting the ewes to roam over rough pas¬ 
tures until exhausted and thereby run 
the risk of some of them becoming cast. 
The writer recalls an experience where 
in a considerable number of fine ewes 
heavy with lamb were lost through care¬ 
lessness in permitting them to run out 
onto a pasture until they became par¬ 
tially exhausted. With a good basement 
barn and an exercising yard adjacent the 
ewes should receive all the exercise they 
need at this stage of their maternity. 
The value of the feed the sheep secure 
at this time of the year by foraging on 
bare pastures is negligible. Perhaps more 
damage is done to the pasture by this 
close cropping and punching of the turf 
by their feet. This damage would be far 
greater than any benefit derived. The 
writer considers the ration G. II. P. is 
feeding these ewes is too nitrogenous. 
Would it not be better to save the clover 
hay to feed after lambing? Bean pods 
and mixed hay should make a better ra¬ 
tion although a small amount of grain 
feed composed of bran, oats and corn 
should supplement this forage, especially 
to those ewes that may be thin in flesh. 
Nature cranks might argue that since 
sheep in the wild state would roam at 
will and feed at will and incidentally 
produce offspring, that there would be 
no harm incident to allowing domestic 
sheep to do likewise. We should be 
guided by a certain amount of good judg¬ 
ment as well as by Nature. 
F. E. ROBERTSON. 
Ration for Fattening Steers. 
I would like to have a good fat-produc¬ 
ing ration to feed to steers, combined with 
40 pounds of good corn silage and five of 
Timothy hay daily. Following are a few 
of the prices of mill feeds: Dried brew¬ 
ers’ grains $1.50 per cwt.; gluten (Buffa¬ 
lo) $1.65; O. P. oil meal $2.10; cotton¬ 
seed meal $1.75; corn and cob meal 
$28.50 a ton ; wheat bran $1.60 cwt.; yel¬ 
low corn bran $1.40 cwt. J. L. h. 
Pennsylvania. 
You can make a very good fat-produc¬ 
ing ration for steers by mixing six parts 
corn and cob meal, three parts cottonseed 
meal and two parts dried brewers’ grains, 
to be fed with your silage and Timothy 
hay. The quantity of grain fed to be 
regulated according to the age and re¬ 
quirements of each animal individually. 
The brewers’ grains can be omitted tow¬ 
ard the last of the finishing process, and 
great care should be exercised not to over¬ 
feed steers which are highly fed in pre¬ 
paration for market. Another important 
point is to see that they have plenty of 
salt every day. c. s. greene. 
Ration for Milch Cows. 
What is the cheapest ration for milch 
cows to feed with shredded cornstalks and 
oat straw mixed, at the following feed 
prices per hundred pounds: Hominy meal 
$1.65 ; ships $1.60; gluten $1.65 ; cornmeal 
$1.65; stock feed $1.60; dried grains 
$1.40; beet pulp $1.40; molasses meal 
$1.40; bran $1.50; standard middlings 
$1.55. . J. s. 
New York. 
J. S. does not have a very satisfactory 
basis in the way of food stuffs for feed¬ 
ing dairy cows. Shredded cornstalks and 
oat straw might supply roughage, but 
there is a great need of more home-grown 
grain, such as silage, Alfalfa hay, corn 
and clover. Oat straw is quite unsatis¬ 
factory as a roughage for dairy cows, and 
might be more appropriately called a 
filler. A number of the food stuffs 
quoted are expensive sources of food nu¬ 
trients. Ships, stock feed, molasses meal 
and middlings are not standard feeds for 
the dairy cow, and should be eliminated 
forthwith. The following grain mixture 
is recommended; Cornmeal 200 pounds; 
gluten 200 pounds; dried brewers’ grains 
200 pounds; wheat bran 100 pounds; 
hominy 200 pounds; cottonseed meal 150 
pounds. Feed one pound of this grain 
mixture for each three pounds of milk 
produced per cow, and in addition let 
them have four or five pounds of dry beet 
pulp moistened for 15 hours before feed¬ 
ing. F. c. M. 
Thriftless Sow. 
I have a sow about a year and a half 
old that had a litter of pigs late in the 
Summer, since which time I have not been 
able to fatten her, I give her corn and 
slop; sometimes she will eat very heartily, 
but more often she will hardly touch any¬ 
thing and in about four months has not 
gained more than 12 or 15 pounds. I 
have examined her teeth which seem all 
right and have given her sulphur, salts, 
sulphate of copper and wood ashes with 
no result. J. H. p. 
The sow may have tuberculosis in 
which case she will not fatten nor would 
her meat be fit for use. If you think she 
has no serious disease feed her milk, 
boiled potatoes and barley meal, and as 
she improves omit milk, feed slop of 
mixed grains and meals made up with 
hot water and add 10 per cent, of diges¬ 
ter tankage. Feed the slop fresh each 
time. Let the sow have free range. 
A. S. A. 
A Mechanical Milker Without “The Teat 
Cup with the Upward Squeeze” is as 
Undesirable as a Hired Hand Without 
a Conscience 
Y OU would not knowingly tolerate cruelty to your cows. A 
hired hand that took out a grouch on your herd of milkers 
would have to look for a new job—without recommendation. 
And yet a vicious hand milker who mistreats a defenseless cow 
does no more harm—in the long run—than a teat cup that does 
not have a positive method of relieving the congestion caused 
by suction. “ The Teat Cup with the Upward Squeeze” per¬ 
fected the milking machine by correcting this harmful defect. 
It is used only on the 
SHARPLES 
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Sharpies Milker—regardless of its many exclusive time and 
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milked—anything that will suck will milk—but without the 
Upward Squeeze the milk production would gradually fall oft* 
and the milker eventually would prove useless. 
The Sharpies Teat Cup manipulates teats as nature in¬ 
tended they should be cared for. That it is beneficial is proved 
by the willingness with which the cows submit to it and by the 
way in which they give down their milk. 
There is a vacuum in “The Teat Cup with the Upward 
Squeeze,” that draws down the milk. Air pressure surrounds 
the rubber inflation 55 times a minute, pressing it against the 
teat and massaging it firmly but gently upward, producing a 
rapid discharge of lpilk into airtight buckets, keeping the teats 
and udders soft, healthy, pliable, and the blood in natural circu¬ 
lation. 
The Sharpies process of milking cows by means of the 
upward squeeze is covered by the broadest patent which our 
Government can grant—a process patent—owned by us. No 
other milker made in the world today gives an upward squeeze. 
We will promptly defend our customers and ourselves should 
any infringement be attempted. 
Do not confuse so-called atmospheric “pressure” (which 
registers zero on a pressure gauge) with real pressure. At¬ 
mospheric pressure is exerted on the cow always, whether she 
is being milked or is out in the field eating grass. Its effect is 
exerted both inside and outside of the teat, and has no effect 
whatever upon the cow’s circulation. 
The pulsator which controls the action of the Teat Cup permits 
of a comfortable adjustment of the Teat Cup to any normal or ab¬ 
normal teat, and makes it readily adaptable to the peculiar needs of 
individual cows—the hard milker, the easy milker, the one “in be¬ 
tween.” 
The Sharpies Milker enables dairy farmers and hired hands to 
sleep longer in the morning, finish milking earlier in the evening. 
It means freedom from drudgery, Sundays and holidays off, con¬ 
tented help, cleaner milk, better prices, increased demand, quick 
milking, and fewer employees, for one man with the Milker can do 
more and better work than three ordinary hand milkers. 
The superiority of the SHARPLES TL BLJLAR CREAM 
SEPARATOR is typical of its popular growth year after year. 
Send for printed literature describing in full detail the manifold advantages 
accruing from the everyday use of Sharpies products. Sent anywhere on request. 
The Sharpies Separator Company 
West Chester, Pa. 
Principal Branches: Chicago San Francisco 
DISTRICT OFFICES AND AGENCIES EVERYWHERE 
