Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume], November 27, 1906, Image 4

About Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916

Image provided by: State Historical Society of Iowa

                
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V% GIVE HOGS GOOD AIR.
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Ventilation, an Important Feature of
Winter Houses, Too Often
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Neglected.
*"t (S. C. Miller.)
Too many men who keep hogs pay
no attention to the ventilation of their
\J ... winter quarters, or If they attempt to
hstfi-.: ventilate at all, they do little more
•ysfc than leave a few cracks around the
bottom through which the cold air
-I can get In, but provide no way for it
to get out
Experience has shown that drafts
are the prime promotors of colds,
which develop Into pneumonia, and
what is generally known as swine
fever.
It Is Important that the bottom
boards of the hog house should be
thoroughly well battened and the di
visions between the pens should be
.treated In the same way.
Ample ventilation should be pro
vided from the top of the house and
not by underneath drafts. Who has
sot seen hogs piled upon each other
In cold weather, shivering, fighting
to get Into a warm place? Under
such conditions, it is Impossible for
a hog to put on flesh, and there are
pine chances to ten that he will take
Sfe cold, which may develop into serious
lung trouble.
No less important than proper ven
tilation is drainage, a floor that Will
be absolutely impervious to dampness
fcan be made or four parts gravel to
one cement, making a floor of one
knd a half inch thickness and top
ping off with half an inch of sand
and cement in the proportions of two
parts sand to one of cement.
This will give a two-inch floor, p^r
tectly smooth and easy to sweep and
iy* clean. It should have a pretty sharp
fall, at least one-half inch per foot
V- r~rone end to the other, in order
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that the
liquid manure can bo drained
into a proper receptacle for distrlbu
tlon to variouB parts of the farm.
The floors of hog houses should be
-Atii-C thoroughly cleaned every day. The
4' bedding should be kept dry, even if
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has to 1,6
spread out in another
W a a
BW every evening. Hogs will not thrive
i$m£ £n damp, dirty, draughty quarters, and
•Brisk? fci'.'. man who attempts to raise them
*°r market under- these conditions is
simply working against himself. He
»ot only loses the greater portion of
JEifit&fe bis feed, but his time and labor as
WtwelL
r, Overhead ventilation Is easily se
ji, cured by leaving an open space of
aay six Inches between the top of the
outside wall and the r^of. An En
®1,sh farmer, who has had great suc
cess with hogs, builds his houses with
a section of the wall hung on a swivel
t"s.pin
in the middle, which can be flung
open whenever sunlight and air is
sjjrsiiv' needed. When the section is released,
It swings back into an upright posi
tion by gravitation.
In order to let the rays of the sun
Into every part of the building, the
houses have been laid out north and
south, so that by opening the wall
shutters on the east side, the morn
ing suri is let in, and by opening
those on the west side, the rays of the
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afternoon sun can penetrate to every
part of the house, keeping it sweet
and clean.
Whitewash the hog house on some
bright, warm day this fall and then
it will b- light all winter, even if it
does not have a large number of win
dows.
Plan to have the front of the house
open on all nice winter days and a
flood of sunlight will help to rid the
place of any disease that may be lurk
ing about.
Dust should be avoided in the
house. Keep it clean, and hoe it out
Often.
'Bedding is cheap use plenty of it.
Value of the Composite Heap.
"'A veritable gold mine above ground
Is the up-to-date composite heap.
Every gardener if he be wise will have
one.
Lawn mowings, leaves, weeds,
refuse from the house, garbage,
feathers, old shoes, soap water, bones,
sand, woolen rags, wood ashes, lime,
plaster, sod, straw, etc., etc., begin a
life of usefulness in the composite
heap.
The poultry yard yields its quota of
rotten eggs and dead chickens, and an
occasional adult fowl. Larger farm
animals than the latter should be
buried, but if they have died of a
contagious disease burn them.
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WHY HORSES PULL BACK.
Some Natural Laws Tliat All Horse
men Ought to Know.
(Dr. T. C. Currier, Minnesota.)
Every horseman of experience and
observation knows that whenever a
horse gets his front foot over an ob
struction of any kind and feels the
pressure on the foot or leg—even if
it is only six Inches above ground—he
goes backward until he frees himself,
even if he could step over the ob
struction by a forward movement,
and when the hind foot is fast, he
goes forward.
It is also well known that when the
halter is put (lpon the colt's head
for the first time and the "breaker"
begins to pull on the halter, that the
colt will invariably go backward to
get out of the difficulty yet how
many colt handlers ever stopped to
consider for one moment why the
colt goes in that direction in prefer
ence to any other? And still every
body knows this to be a fact. Every
colt "breaker" realizes in the be
ginning that it is a question of man
power at one end of the halter and
horse power at' the other. If there is
more horse power than human
strength, too often a confirmed hal
ter puller follows. If the halter is
broken in the struggle, a like result is
quite evident.
To still further illustrate this great
natural law, just take up the front
foot of a horse and carry it forward.
Now carry the foot back under the
body back of its center and a forward
movement is the result. Then take
up the hind foot and carry it back
wards and the horse moves forward
ID#
City boys do not bare all the fun that is going.
Damp quarters In the fall are none
the best.- They are the cause of all
winter lameness or soreness, the ex
act location of which is a puzzle.
Pig house floors must be dry,
whether of cement or plank.
I have had no experience with other
than dirt and plank floors, and find
the latter,' when placed ten Inches
above the ground, to be easily kept
dry. Clean, dry bedding Is always
greatly/ appreciated by the hogs in
fall and winter.
for relief but carry it under the
body forward of the center and the
horse again attempts a backward
motion to get away from its effect.
Whenever a horse is seen to try
the passage of a narrow doorway,
gate, or between two posts, which
makes pressure on both his sides, if
he gets more than half way through,
it is next to impossible to back him
out. He seems determined to go on
through, even if his hips are broken
down in the attempt.
As illustration of leading the dog
for the first time is the same as that
of the colt. He pulls back just the
same, and if the leader is in a hurry
he will go dragging the dog. But
don't every small boy and nearly
every old man know the direction a
dog will take with a tin can tied to
his tail?
Now, should not these well known
facts in relation to the natural laws
make an impression on all horsemen
strong enough that from this tii-.e
forward they will work in conform
ity with them Instead of everlast
ingly opposing them for the trouble
that can be so easily avoided?
Leaf Mould for Plants.
Leaf mould is a valuable and nec
essary addition to the soil used in
potting plants, In the hot bed, or for
growing seedlings in the open air. It
is also fine when used for a mulch on
the lt,wn. It makes soil friable and
aids root formation.
Dig a hole large enough to accom
modate the leaves you have gathered,
and pack them in layers, tamping and
watering each layer. Turn and water
the leaves several times a year.
Leaves may be piled in the fence
corner, and soil and brush used to
keep them from blowing away. Stir
the leaves every few weeks, watering
them thoroughly every tim»
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This sow and her twin sister took three first premiums at state fairs this tall.
..early perfect as high breeding can produce.
Haul in the Fodder.
It is a big waste to allow hay and
fodder to stand in the field through
all the fall rains and a part of the
winter snows. With the present high
prices for hay, enough will spoil in
the stack to pay for baling the en
tire amount, or even to buy a good
shingle roof to cover it. Corn fod
der deteriorates very rapidly when
not under shelter. As soon as it is
sufficiently cured, haul it in and care
fully store under cover where the
greatest amount of good can be had
from It and where it will be on hand
for bad weather. It is poor business
to grow good feed and have It
destroyed by field mice and rats ana
the elements.
Good Farm Buildings Pay.
There Is no better Investment on
the farm than good farm buildings.
During a very rainy season, a farm
will almost pay for itself in one year
in the saving of feed alone, not count
ing the gain in housing animals and
saving of manure. It pays to builu
too big a barn, rather than too small
a one. It also pays to put good
material into farm buildings. A good
barn, built of good material, will last
a lifetime and pay for itself many
times over. Such substantial im
provements, too, reflect the sub
stantial character of the farmer, and
count financially in the farm valua
tion, when it is offered for sale.
Facts for tlio wcatlierwiso.
Dew is the moisture of the air con
densed by coining in contact with
bodies colder than Itself. The dew
does not "fall" from the atmosphere
or rise from the ground. There is
never dew on a dull, cloudy night or
on a windy night. It may be found
on a grass plot and leave a gravel
walk dry, because grass is a good
radiator of heat and thus rapidly be
comes cold a vapor of warm air com
ing in contact with the cold grass Is
instantly chilled into dew the gravel
is a bad radiator and parts with its
heat very slowly and therefore does
not condense the warm air. Dew
never falls on the human body.
Riley's Ryo Patch.
Whltcomb Riley was looking over
a fence on his farm at a field of rye,
when a neighbor who was driving by,
stopped his horse and asked:
"Hullo, Mr. Riley, how's your rye
doing?"
"Fine, fine," replied the poet.
"How much do you expect to clear
to the acre?"
"Oh, about four gallons," answered
Mr. Riley, soberly.
Horses and Men.
Society owes to the horse a debt
of gratitude a thousand times greater
than it does to thousands of men who
abuse him. He has ministered to
progress has made social intercourse
possible when otherwise it would
have been slow and occasional or
altogether Impossible he has virtu
ally extended the strength of man, aug
mented his speed, doubled his time,
decreased his burdens, and, becom
ing his slave, he has relieved him from
drudgery and made him free. For
love's sake, for the sake of social
life, for eminent moral reasons, the
horse needs to be bred, trained and
cared for with scrupulous care.—
Henry Ward Beecher.
Compensations.
I may be poor but am not so poor
in spirit as the parsimonious rich man.
I may be lacking knowledge of tn*!
niceties of social usage, but If I pos
ess a kind heart I am fit for the high
est plane of society.
I have no grand pictures of sculp
ture, but nature gives me her beauties
with a lavish hand, for I understand
and love her.
News of the Farm.
Before placing the potatoes in the
cellar for the winter, let them rest in
a dark, cool place for at least a
month. The room in the cellar
should be separated from everything
else, and be .kept cool and dry.
There are hundreds of thousands of
acres of good farming land lyirig idle
at this moment, simply because the
owners have not studied drainage. A
system of tiling costing $100 will often
reclaim $500 worth of good land.
Fixed rations are all right, if plenty
of common sense is mixed with them,
but it is a mistake to stick to one
thing when the animal's appetite and
your own good Judgment tells you
something else ought to be used.
The price of wire fencing has stead
ily advanced, while the quality has
steadily deteriorated. Some of the
fencing now sold is almost worthless,
and there is no redress from the
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Fine specimen of a Bronze Tom Turkey, bred in Massachusetts,
and sold in October for $176.
reasons why certain sections cannot
successfully grow them. A country
noted as a turkey-growing state will
have its crop considerably shortened
by unsettled weather after the spring
rains.. Mrs., Hen Turkey needs no
rain, save an occasional shower to
cool off the atmosphere and freshen
trees and grasses, after she has laid
her eggs. She usually hides these
In the brush or hay fields In turkey
growing sections, for there the rais
ers are not fearful of weather. In
this section a rain of great force
would drown all the poults hatched
and flood the nests on the ground
with tWo or three, inches of water.
This would annihilate over 95 per
cent of the first crop. The second
hatches would be too late in attaining
marketable size to be worthy of note.
Where the climate is considered as
being poor for turkeys, growers give
every care to them. They never
bother the, hen from the time she be
gins to lay her first clutch until she
begins to sit. Each day the egg laid
is removed and when the time comes
it is "set" in an incubator. The
turkeys are hatched by a steady barn
yard hen as she is given the eggs
about three or four days before "due."
The reason is this: Poults are hard
to rear by hand and in brooders, and
the tiirkey hen is robbed that she may
continue to lay. A domestic hen will
stand confinement well, but a turkey
hen frets and tramps, about In a coop
until half of .the poults are killed and
she will not hover the youngsters
when they need It. This is fatal.
Cold and dampness are avoided with
tjie use of a kind barnyard hen, as
they are brooding continually, and,
standing confinement, can be placed
In sheltered places where dampness
cannot hurt the poults. This method
Is used in some places where turkeys
would naturally do well because of
its usefulness in raising more than
the usual number. One young wo
man in Texas who annually rears
from 600 to 1,000 turkeys uses the
methods here described. We have
never known of poults being hatched
by turkey or domestic hens and then
She is a splendid type of Berkshire and her conformation Is as'
Kentucky the Great Turkey State
Thanksgiving Birds Not Easy to Raise in Matvy Sections,
and Much SKill is Required.
(By A. D. Burhans.)
As an Item of information, will
some one come forward with the num
ber of city folks who know nothing
of where their Thanksgiving turkeys
come from? There are no statistics
on this topic. Thousands of readers
have an idea that Thanksgiving tur
keys come from any farm, but such
is not the case. Every farmer's wife
cannot raise turkeys, for it requires
or.e who has an abundance of pa
tience and a world of persistence.
Some localities are fatal to the grow
ing of turkeys, while others are such
that they thrive and multiply with
out any considerable aid. Dampness,
late springs, too short summers, and
unsettled summer weather shorten
the turkey crop In every locality
wheja found. These are some of the
being successfully reared by hand in
numbers to make it a business.
For late broods or poults the tur
key hen does fairly well if she is
tethered out in a small yard each
morning until the dew Is oil the
grass. Let a hen trail a dozen poults
through wet grass before they are
fully feathered and it is fatal. In
Western Kansas and Nebraska on
small ranches the poults are not much
In danger of this, as the sdews are very
light and often fojr weeks none will
be noticed. Here it is that some one
member of the family makes it a
business to tend the turkeys the year
round. A lad of sixteen has been
known to raise, from first broods
only, nearly 500 turkeys, and with im
proved methods he cculd have easily
doubled It. This boy paid his own
way through a* large state university
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He is three years old
from the proceeds of his flock of tur
keys, as particular buyers knew how
he got out early broods, fed bone
making feeds, herded them daily in
wheat fields and meadows where mil
lions of grasshoppers were to be had
how he fattened them wholly on old
corn, and drove miles with some one
to help him gather acp.rns for finish
ing feed. He raised a few acres of
mammoth sunflowers each year, be
cause he discovered that the oil in
them made a glossy feather unlike
any other seed. Plumage and health
are two great factors in the sale of
whole flocks to large shippers. A
brother has taken up the work of tur
key growing where this one left off,
and he, too, is succeeding.
The crop of turkeys for 1905 has
been estimated as being'much lighter
than last year's, which will make
them somewhat more expensive in
price. To raise prices a trifle more,
the chicken and waterfowl crop is
20 per cent less than the previous
season. Possibly the crop is even
lighter than this. The season in the
west is unusually late' and more small
turkeys will be seen as a consequence.
Hence, thirty to thirty-five pounders
will be in greater demand for family
reunions. -But it is not the large tur
"key that tastes best ty any means.
Medium size is preferred by the aver
age buyer. Inquiries in Wisconsin,
Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Mis
souri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and
Indiana all substantiate the lateness
of the turkey crop again this year.
This year farmers are in no need of
early fall cash, as their crops are
good, and they are fortunate, as every
day adds to their turkeys' value.
Kentucky is one of the states pro
ducing good turkeys. Most of them
"Just grow" there without any par
ticular raising. From the single buy
ing station of Lexington more than
two and a half million pounds of tur
key meat was shipped out last last
season. This means sixty-nine car
loads of turkey meat of twenty tons
each. The whole number of turkeys
shipped from this state is something.
enormous, an re so pa in
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that some of them might get away!
Illinois Is ordinarily a damp state for
turkeys, but in 1900 nearly 500,000
were raised there. Texas raised 650,
000 the same year Kansas a few
thousand more than Texas New York
Is credited with 140,000 turkeys in
1900, but in 1890 she managed to
raise four times as many. Indiana,
Ohio and Iowa raise nearly the same
number each, though Iowa claims the
largest number.
The per cent of families where the
national bird is not found on Thanks
giving is very small, and in bounteous
years this per cent is hard to find in
deed. Years when the prices go soar
ing because of the supply being so
much smaller than the demand, cause
the crop to be taken quite clean. Even
too many are sold for the next breed
ing season's good. Pet turkeys that
are raised by hand by the sons or
daughters of the farm are sacrificed
in years when prices are good. Per
sonal likes and love for the pets are
not taken into consideration when the
turkey buyers comes to the farm. On
small farms the turkeys are hauled to
market by the woman of the farm
but thousands of flocks are driven
into market In Texas, western Ne
braska and Kansas. Buyers scour the
country weeks before we begin to get
ready for Thanksgiving and contract
in advance for every turkey they can
buy. The early buyer generally gets
the birds if he is offering a good
price, but many times there is a splr
lted bidding for the choice flocks by
as many as a dozen buyers.
THE FARM VETERINARIAN.
A cure that has been highly recom
mended for foot-rot in sheep is a mix
ture of equal parts of sulphur and
salt and one-fourth part alum, all pul
verized and mixed well.
Dr. Law recommends the following
remedy for stomach worms in sheep:
Arsenious acid, 1 dram sulphate of
iron, 5 drams powdered nux vomica.
2 drams powdered nreca, 2 ounces
common salt, 4 ounces. This is suf
ficient for thirty sheep and should be
fed with ground feed once or twice
a week.
For founder in horses, 'blister all
around the top of the hoof. For this
purpose, use equal parts of ammonia,
turpentine and raw linseed oil. Car
bollzed vaseline applied afterwards is
a good thing.
Pure lard and carbolic acid in the
proportion of two parts lard to one
part acid is an excellent remedy for
abrasions or raw sores of any kind
on animals. The mixture should be
kept in a tightly covered Jar in a cool
place.
Some old-fashioned horse doctors
still recommend bleeding at the jug
ular vein for blind staggers. This op
eration, if performed by the ordinary
farmer, will result in death to the
animal in nine 'cases out of ten.
The disease of husk, or hoose, in
cattle, which is common in the late
summer and fall, is caused by a para
site which gains access to the pul
monary tissue and bronchial tubes
Affected animals should be at once
removed from the herd and treated by
fumes of sulphuric acid and chlorine
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A handy and practical corn loader.
Jour men with two teams.
gas. But this should be doAe under
the direction of a veterinarian.
BIoa.t. In sheep may sometimes be
cured by.'an ounce of hypo-sulphite of
soda and one dram of aromatic spir
its of ammonia in a cupful of quite
warm water. The dose should be re-
peated every, hour unfjll relief from
BIG CROPS ON A SMALL FARM
My farm Is a ten-acre lot, so I nec
essarily do things on a small scale.
But the scr.-.o things can be repeat
ed on a larger scale. In May, I sowed
one and one-half acres of millet on
deeply plowed ground. This •tfraB out
August 2d, and removed In a few
days. The ground was cultivated
thoroughly.
August 12th I sowed the follow
ing mixture for hog pasture: En
glish blue grass, ten *pounds Bro
mus inermus. five pounds timothy,
five pounds total, twenty pounds. A
good rain in a few days gave It a
good start. In October It was eight
to 12 inches high. 1 pastured it
lightly.
Last spring it started well alfalfa,
clover and blue grass racing for su
premacy timothy later and Brome
grass nowhere seed not good. June
1st the field was beautiful to behqld,
the dark green alfalfa, the clovar
coming in bloom and the English
blue grass nodding above them both
the whole standing about two feet
high and not a weed In sight.
On June 10th I cut the grass anl
on the 12th put it in the barn in per
fect shape. I had three loads of at
least three tons of excellent hay.
July 1st, after twenty days' growth,
it was eighteen inches high with* al
falfa well In the lead.* I cut at least
three tons more of No. 1 .hay. I got
six tons of hay from 1% acres, worth
in the barn at least $36. I will pas
ture the land with red hogs, being
careful not to pasture It short. From
my observation and a little experi
ence, I reach the following conclUlfc'
sions:
From a mixed seeding one gets aV
thicker and better stand of grass,
Sow in August or early September
on well prepared ground: there will
then be no loss of one crop- and no
cutting of weeds In the spring sowing.
Sow plenty of seed. You will get
more hay and much more pasture.
JAMES McGUIRE,
.. Kansas.
REMEDIES FOR POULTRY ILLS.
For diarrhoea, slight case*, a few
drops of spirits of camphor in the
drinking water, 2. A half teaspoon
ful of paregoric daily. 3. Give a tea
spoonful of soda •fcrater (made by us
ing three teaspoonfuls of bicarbonats
of soda to a pint of water). 4. Use
charcoal, finely ground, In feed and
water.
For Indigestion, a gill of linseed
meal to each dozen hens. 2. A tea
spoonful of fenugreek In the mash
for every ten fowls.
For leg weakness, a pill composed
of a half grain of quinine, one grain
of sulphate of iron and five grains of
phosphate of lime. 2. Ten drops of
tincture of nux vomica in a quart of
drinking water.
For limberneck, night and morning
give a pill of asafoetlda about the
size of a pea. 2. Four or five drops
of turpentine in a spoonful of castor
oil, or make it into a pill with wheat
flour. 3. Mix sweet oil and oil of
turpentine, equal parts, and give from
ten drops to a teaspoonful of the
mixture to each afflicted bird after it
has fasted for several hours.
For pip, anoint the tongue with
vaseline. 2. A small bit of butter
the size of a nut and a bit of aloea
of the size of a pea, mad4 Into a pill
and put down the throat.
For rattling in the throat, give
grown fowls a half teaspoonful every
morning of a mixture composed of
equal parts of vinegar and water.
Give ten "drops dally of a mixture
composed of one part spirits of tur
pentine with four parts of sweet oil.
For scaly legs, rub with an oint
ment made of equal parts of kero
sene and melted lard. 2. One-third
carbolic acid to two-thirds glycerine.
Glycerine has a tendency to soften
and bring out the color on shanks
and toes that have become dry and
harsh. Before using any ointment on
a fowl's legs, it is best to thoroughly
wash them with warm water and car
bolic soap.
For sore eyes nothing better than
a drop of glycerine.
For sore head, a little bromide of
potassium in the drinking water, and
then anointing with carbolized vase
line.—M. IC. Boyer.
Among the needed reforms on tha
trotting turf none are fnore appar
ent than those In connection with
scoring for the word, fqr under the
present system, in fast classes espe.
daily, horses are put to fully as much
effort before they reach the wire and
before returning for another attempt
as they are after the word is given.
Two men with this loader can do as much work at
Never buy a horse whose toes tun'
out. He Is likely to Interfere, as tb« ISfe
fetlocks are generally turned in.^.
A blind on a bridle is an abom
ination and a horse properly trained
will drive better without blinds than
with them. They are hot and un«
comfortablo In "summer time.
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