— -.1 /£»IUo 
journal 
2^rRY hoJ4^ 
Vol. LXXIX. 
Published Weekly by The Rural Publishing Co., 
333 W. 30th 8t., New York. Price One Dollar a Year. 
NEW YORK. MAY 29, 1920. 
Entered as Second-Class Matter. June 20. 1879. at the Post 
Office at New York. N. Y., under the Act of March 3. 1879. No. 4588. 
* 
Goats and Hogs For Clearing, Land 
P ERSONAL EXPERIENCE— Oil page .444 you 
ask the experience of your readers in keeping 
"Oats for the purpose of clearing brush land. T have 
done it in a small way, about 20 goats, for a little 
more than a year, and found it so far as results to 
the land very satisfactory. They reduced work with 
hoe,' mattock and ax to a mini¬ 
mum. I believe it is regarded by 
those who have given the matter 
extended trial that 15 to 20 goats 
to the acre are about the proper 
number, and that two to three 
years are required to clean thor¬ 
oughly a given plot. My plan 
was, and it. is approved by ex¬ 
perience. to subdivide an acre lot 
into about four plots, and keep 
flii' goats in one of these until it 
was absolutely divested of f<di¬ 
ngo. By the time the goats have 
finished the fourth plot the first 
would be requiring their atten¬ 
tion. and they would go at it 
eagerly, as the leaves would be 
young and tender, and they 
would finish them in much 
shorter order than on the first 
round. On every succeeding 
round the growth would he less 
vigorous, so that the use of hoe, 
ax and mattock in J.uly. August 
and September would kill a 
large per cent of the sprouts. I 
would impress upon anyone the 
advisability of a free and vigor¬ 
ous use of the implements named 
in connection with any animals 
used for clearing purposes. 
GOOD FENCES NEEDED.— 
Fencing is a matter for prime 
consideration in keeping goats. 
A woven wire fence four feet 
high with six-inch stays is about 
right. With the stay wires far¬ 
ther apart the temptation for the 
kids and small goats to break 
through is too great to l>e re¬ 
sisted. even though the picking 
I s just as good inside. However, 
this is characteristic of all ani¬ 
mals. [ might say that so far as 
"A experience goes this tendency 
to break hounds seems to be in¬ 
dividual rather than general. 
GOATS AND SHOTES.—In 
general goats will eat all forms 
•4 brush if forced to, even sumac and poison laurel, 
if deprived of other food, of course they should not 
ll( ' ' lli( >wed to touch the laurel. Among the sprouts 
which my goats seemed to like least were hickory. 
*l n tA\ood and hazel. Everything else they will devour 
eagerly, including walnut, oak, maple, elm. sassafras. 
nil| l' or poplar, redbud, gum. etc. Put a hunch of 
sli des in with the goats and occasionally the cattle. 
llle fbne the “frost is on the pumpkin" that 
iU1 ° Io< look like a miniature Sahara desert. I 
‘! m 11 1111,1 believer in the firm of “Goats & Shotes” 
° 1 ’ grouiul clearing purposes. Of course the shotes 
are to be kept in the brush lot only a part of the (lay 
and must be fed on the side. However, if they are 
given plenty of salt in their slop they will do an 
enormous amount of rooting that will expose I he 
roots of the brush, so that they will dry out. 
They will also bark or skin many of the roots. 
The (!oat mill tin Kid. Fi<i. 282 
GETTING THE GOATS.—The getting of goats is 
not an easy matter in ibis section of the country. T 
picked mine up here and there. Had I to do it over 
again 1 would place an order about April 1 with a 
commission firm at Kansas City. Mo., stockyards. 
The shipping cost would he greater, hut the initial 
cost per goat would he less, and 1 would get exactly 
what I wanted. If I did not care to go into the goat 
breeding business 1 would buy only wethers, with 
the idea of disposing of them in the Fall for meat, 
when they ought to be nice and fat. if the picking 
has not become too lean. It will luudly pass as a 
brush-cleaning proposition to keep goats through the 
Winter, as they must he fed, watered and cared for 
generally. In the Summer, when there are lots of 
green leaves to be eaten, goats seem to require little 
or no water, and days at a time they will not touch 
it. even when at hand. As a Winter diet goats on a 
_ farm must have some grain, corn 
fodder blades, hay. straw, etc. 
In Winter they must be watered 
regularly. An omission of water 
is sure to result in a lot of dead 
goats. 
SHOTES AS RRFSH-EATERS. 
—I have referred to hogs as a 
help in clearing land of sprouts. 
T would like t<> add that 1 do not 
think their usefulness in this re¬ 
spect is sufficiently appreciated. 
I have turned six 100-pound 
shotes into an acre lot, and by 
the following .Tar.uary they had 
killed hundreds of sassafras, dog¬ 
wood. maple, hickory, oak and 
gum trees, one to three inches in 
diameter, by exposing their roots. 
These hogs were breeding stock, 
and it was not desirable that 
they should be kept overly fat. 
POND - BUILDING HOGS.— 
1 'erhaps it may interest some of 
your readers to learn that under 
certain circuinstances hogs may 
be used quite successfully in 
pond building. In the limestone 
hills of this part of Indiana (the 
southern endi are many depres¬ 
sions of varying size and depth, 
locally known as “sink-holes.” 
In their natural state most "sink¬ 
holes" leak like a sieve, due to 
great c-raeks in the limestone be¬ 
neath. But with the aid of hogs 
these "sink-holes" are frequently 
made into splendid ponds, thus 
giving a plentiful water supply 
even on the highest hills. The 
plan is to put a hog-tight fence 
about the "sink-hole." but allow¬ 
ing sutllcient room on all sides at 
the top as a place of refuge for 
the hogs in case the “sink-hole” 
should be tilled by a sudden 
cloudburst, and also to allow 
room for a shelter cot for the 
hogs, a feeding trough, rubbing 
poles, etc. Then turn the hogs 
in. Feed them their slop in a trough convenient to 
the fence, hut, their shelled corn, oats and other un¬ 
ground grain must bo fed on the sides and bottom 
of the "sink-hole." 1 have such a “sink-hole" in the 
process of transformation into a pond. A year ago 
tin* coming May. before the hogs were turned into 
it, it was filled to the overflowing point, though fully 
15 feet in the ecu ter. hut 10 hours later it was abso¬ 
lutely empty. In June three hogs were placed in the 
hole, and now it. contains at all times two to throe 
feet of water, and will he a useful pond. c. N. 
Indiana. 
