Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume], April 22, 1909, Image 5

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

Image provided by: State Historical Society of Iowa

                
1
j. TIE FIRST INCUBATOR
ft
Directions
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Followed Closely
Will Result in Larger Per
centage of Chicks,
BY BESSIE L. PUTNAM.
It Is ready to work at any and all
Seasons the oil to run it costs less
than the food for hens doing the same
amount of work there is no trouble
from vermin broilers can be produced
early without interrupting biddy when
laying her highest-priced eggs the care
Of the incubator is less work than that
of the hens to do its work, especially
during the inclement seasoh, and is
more agreeable. These are some of the
arguments in favor of the incubator,
On the other hand, a reliable hen will
produce fewer cripples, and perhaps
fliave belter success if the eggs happen
:to not be perfectly fresh yet on this
"|c!nt science is making rapid strides.
Notice that I say a reliable hen. But
these are rare. The average hen will
rot be better than the incubator, while
»nany fall far below the machine in
results.
If you contemplate putting tt in the
barn or some other ''OTitSoffthe-way
place where it will be subjected to ex
tremes of weather and little care—
don't get it.
But if you have a dry" and well
Ventilated room with a temperature of
preferably 60 degrees and not lower
than 50 degrees at any time, and are
willing to give it a reasonable amount
of care, the investment will pay, even
If you do not want to raise more than
& hundred chicks in a season.
A cold room necessitates running the
lamp .at the highest notch and doubling
the expense of oil besides when the
vgga are aired they become chilled too
THE ORIGINAL INCUBAT
suddenly and too much. IT there are
extremes of temperature the regulator
and lamp will require very close watch
ing.
While it should not be necessary to
Bit up nights with the incubator,
neither is it wise to treat it like a
clock to be wound up once a day and
left to itself for the remainder of the
time.
A cellar is apt to be damp and lack
ventilation. A chamber makes too
much running up and down stairs. If
possible have it in a room adjoining
the one where the work is done.
Good results come, if the kitchen Is
large enough, by placing the machine
In one corner. Many successful poul
try women give it a place in the living
room, and even the parlor may be used
as there is nothing unsightly or un
tidy about the work save the day or
two during the hatching process and
then the interest makes amends for
the temporary disorc^r.
Before buying, secure catalogues
from several reliable dealers, study
carefully the claims of the manufac
turers and your own requirements.
Avoid the cheapest machine of any
H™. „,iS
a rule i1: is so
small
that
it is difficult to secure uniformity of
temperature in the egg chamber.
The nursery, an important adjunct
Is usually lacking in the smallest ma
chines. If one of the largest size is
chosen it will b6 found cumbersome it
requires too long time for filling if
your own eggs are used if the hatch
happens to be a poor one your loss is
that much greater.
A machine of about 100-egg capacity
Is large enough for the beginner,'con
tains all essential conveniences, and
one can later increase the capacity if
Success attends the humbler effort.
Study both directions and machine
thoroughly before starting the incu
bator. Have it on a firm, level foun
dation and remember that good ven
tilation and avoidance of drafts are
as necessary to the chick in embryo as
to the human being.
The experienced hand always runs
an incubator a day before filling, to
make sure that the parts are working
properly. The novice with a new ma
chine should not feel it time lost to
wait until three days after she has
learned to control the heat at or about
the required notch. The germs are
especially sensitive during the first few
flays, and undue heating will ruin the
entire hatch.
The fresher the eggs the larger the
percentage of chicks. Never use th.se
HARVESTING A BIG CROP
Twenty-two hundred and fifty com
bined harvesting machines, operated
by steam, gasoline, horses and mules,
and 60,000 men were required to gar
ner the wheat crop, estimated at 60
000,000 bushels, in Washington, Ore
gon and Idabo last season.
The value of the crop is placed at
from $45,000,000 to $50,000,000. The
machined cut about 5 per cent of the
total yield and on this it is estimated
that there was a saving of
wages'
the
5
cents a
bushel and two bushels of waste grain
!^to
the acre, adding nearly $2,000,000 to
the revenue'of the producers.
7 K-r
The men were pald
$6,000,000 in
average cost of saving the
e#-cr°P being 10 cents a bushel, exclu
alv* of bags and haulage to warehouses.
SCIENTIFIC METHODS EMPLOYED
There is no better capital in farm
ing than knowledge. But It is easier
to appreciate this when we see It
worked out in tangible results. To see
the truth about our soil and actually
apply the treatment demanded means
ample reward.
Judge J. Otis Humphrey of the
United States District court at Spring
field, 111., has given a striking example
of this. He is a careful student of
agriculture, and thought that a forty
acre farm adjoining his land could be
induced to quit its loafing and get
down to business, the soil itself being
originally good.
It had grown nothing but corn for
many years and recently had produced
no more than twenty to twenty-five
bushels per acre, along with a perfect
stand of cockle burs.
Judge Humphrey bought the place at
$75 per acre and began with oats. The
yield was a little less than thirty bush
els per acre, worth 27 cents per bushel.
An immense crop of burs was plowed
under the middle of August and wheat
sown.
Clover was sown the following
-spring. The harvest resulted in a yield
of seventeen bushels per acre. The
latent half of the cockle bur seed, which
had lain in the ground two years, came
up along with the clover, and the plants
were all clipped off In August.
The third year (1907) two fine crops
of clover were produced, two tons per
acre of hay and four bushels per acre
of $8.50 seed. This one year the land
returned three-fourths of its cost price.
Fine ground rock phosphate, 1,500
pounds per acre, and a heavy applica
tion of barnyard manure were applied
to this clover ground.
When the land was broken for corn
last spring the clover had made a
growth of twenty inches, and this sup
plied a valuable green manure. The
corn was planted early, well worked
and yielded about seventy-five bushels
per acre of well-matured corn, which
nearly equaled the value of the last
year's clover crop.
The four crops paid for the farm, the
fertilizer and manures, all labor be
stowed and left some margin besides.
The burs are gone. Much of the ma
nure and phosphorus applied remains
in the soil to increase future crops.
Under this more intelligent treatment
greater use will be made of the plant
food that was in the soil. This farm
is now $150 land.
These actual results on a Sangamon
county farm speak louder than any
more argument could for heeding the
teachings of sclonce and the methods
of th« most successful farmers and
hadta* tho courage to put into actual
The well-born but incompletely nour
ished colt falls to develop and at ma
turity is no less a "weed" than is the
ordinary scrub or native animal On
the other hand, if the dam Is adequately
nourished on complete rations during
pregnancy and when nursing, and the
colt from weaning time forward is as
perfectly and fully fed, it will in all
probability develop to the high stand
ard of size, power, quality and char
acter made possible by its breeding.
In addition to proper feeding it is
likewise necessary to protect the young
developing animal against every pos
sible cause of debility, discomfort and
ill health that would tend to retard its
growth. Shelter must therefore be suf
ficient, disease must be fought against,
vermin must be prevented from sap
ping the constitution, and fresh air,
sunlight, adequate exercise and kindly
care must take a full part in perfecting
the development of the animal
PRIZE.WINNING CHICKENS
NEWS
Proven principles of agri-
JMWWJ-Axtliur J. Bill, Illinois Farm
10 RAISE PURE-BRED COLTS
In ail pure breeds tie original "scrub"
blood at the fo^Mbttkin Is ever seek
ing to reinstatgfUjmU. In short, there
is a te&deQ,cy ib tH psro-bred animals
to degenerate or retrogress toward
original and leas perfect types, and
nothing win more surely awl speedily
stimulate thl« Wwlency than lack of
nutritious food. In the absenoe of suf
ficient nutrition or complete nutrition
the possibilities of perfection Inherited
from pure-bred sires or dams but par
tially materialise or wholly fail to as
sert themselves.
^5
Rose Comb Rhode Island Reds, sliver
cup winners at Chicago in 1906, 1907
and 1908. Bred and owned by P.
Sprague,- 111.
STRYCHNINE A POOR HOG FOOD
A farmer read in an a'.leged farm
paper that strychnine is a good tonic
for hogs and concluded to try it on
about twenty of his herd. He thought
his hogs were not fattening up as much
as they should, and although there was
no disease among them, as he could
discover, he conclude'd they needed a
tonic. He proceeded to dose up some
strychnine to give them He gave it
to them in a body, and o'f course some
of them got more than their share
The result was that fourteen of them
$ied, and died quickly, and almost
without a struggle. Some of these
would weigh about 200 pounds. It is
not safe to give strong medicine to
animals without knbwing its effect.
Strychnine can be given to hogs or to
most any other animal without serious
results, but it must be given in proper
quantities and had bfttter be prescribed
by a physician or tc veterinary.
fSSpS
AND
WAR ON THE RUGS NOW
Begin the Fight Early and Keep
It Up if You Would Elim
inate These Pests.
"T.nsmiii1' :'C3nrr?3ir
BY J. FISHER.
All insects pass the winter in some
stage of their existence. The ques
tion is, Where and how? Certainly
not on the wing, and often in a way
that they can be easily destroyed.
Watch the fences and weather board
ing of unpainted buildings for the
chrysalis of the cabbage worm, neatly
suspended by a couple of silken
threads. Some of these miSchief-mak
ing butterflies will emerge and they
will prove many times more difficult to
destroy.
Many Insects pass the winter in egg
or larval form in the rubbish about the
farm, old weed stalks, clumps of dead
grass and the remains of last year's
crop being common lurking places.
Firo is a sure destroyer and cleans tho
ground nicely for plowing.
Early plowing in spring is hard on
the insects, the freshly exposed sod
bejng cleared of them by frost. This
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is especially a favorite remedy for cut
worm, though the finely pulverized soil,
which is a resultant, invites the ants
freely.
The pupa of the tomato worm Is
often plowed up in the garden and is
distinguished by an appendage like the
handle of a pitcher. While in this
stage most insect life is dormant, the
tomato or potato worm pupa expresses
its disapproval of being disturbed by
a series of flops. If placed in a sunny
window it will develop into a mag
nificent butterfly—but every one knows
the horrid green larva which follows.
Every one is familiar with the snap
ping bugs or click-beetles,Svhich creep
into our windows and amuse us by
falling oii their oacks and feigning
death. Presently they make a clicking
noise and flop up several Inches. If they
fall on their backs the performance is
repeated until they alight on their feet,
when they scamper off.
Their larvae live near the surface of
the ground, and from their long,
scarcely tapering form and hard cover
ing are known as wire-worms. There
.is hardly a cultivated plant which they
'do not infest, and, working as they do
beneath the soil, they are difficult to
cope with. If the cells containing the
pupae or recently transformed adults
are broken their inmates perish. Fall
plowing is one way to lessen the nuis
ance, as the plowing and successive
freezings must destroy many cellsv
The lady bug in various forms is
quite common indoors and out, and
should be always carefully guarded
as one of the best aids in destroying
aphis. The little red lady bug with a
black dot on each wing cover is often
found about houses in winter and
should be transferred to the conserva
tory or window garden.
It is often mistaken for the buffalo
bdetle and destroyed, though the latter
is smaller and black and white, with
simply a longitudinal band of dull red
along both sides of the back.
CAPACITIES OF CISTERNS
For Each Capacity For Each Capacity
10 Inches In 10 Inches In
in Depth. gallons. in Depth. gallons.
25 feet dlumeter.. .3,159 7 feet diameter.. 239
20 feet diameter.. .1,958 0',-i feet diameter.. 2UIS
15 feet dlamater.. .1.101 6
14 feet diameter.
i2 feet diameter...
11 feet diameter...
10 feet diameter...
9 feet dlamater...
8 feet diameter...
feet diameter.. 173
950 5 feet diameter.. 122
827 4Vj feet diameter/. 00
705 4 feet diameter.. 78
502 3 feet diameter.. 44
4S9 oi feet diameter.. 30
396 2 feet diameter.. 10
313
Professor Estes B. Taylor, entomolo
gist of the Missouri state fruit expe
riment station»in Mountain Grove, has'
sent word to the fruit growers of
Kansas and Missouri that there( is a
new danger to guard against. It is
the San Jose scale. He tells them
J.
how tp-spray to kill iti
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VENTILATE THE HOG PENS
An Important feature of this house
is the ventilator, which is a small cap
covering a hole at the top and in the
center of the roof. The hole is made
by sawing off opposite ends of*two roof
boards and coyering It with a cap so
arranged as to leave openings 3 by 12
—'.N
AN IMPROVED "WIGWAM" HOG COT.
inches on each side of the roof. This
is sufficient ventilation for two or three
animals when all the doors arc shut,
and if more ventilation is desired it can
easily be secured by opening the small
sliding door iii the rear. This simple
plan of ventilation avoids any direct
drafts upon the animals and proves
very efficient.
SWEET PEAS REQUIRE A GREAT DEAL OF WATER
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A, good way to sprinkle sweet peas Is by means of a small hand sprayer. It forces the water under the leaves
and wets every portion of the plants.
WORK IN THE POULTRY YARD
If you do not get a reasonably good
crop of eggs this month make up your
mind that it is your fault.
The early pullets will be doing excel
lent laying this month and the late
haiched pullets and the late molting
hens should also get down to work,
provided of course they have been hav
ing the proper care.
For hatching market chickens It Is
advisable to set the early broodies, but
it will not be profitable to hold the
young stock over for breeding, as they
will molt in the fall, and would not
be profitable for layers when good
prices prevailed.
The duck laying season begins the
first part of March.
Keep the incubators hard at work.
Chicks hatched this month will com
mand good broiler prices.
Take advantage of all clear, sunny
days and allow the birds outdoors. An
occasional outing like this does them
aalot of good, but do not expose them
to heavy wind, rain and snow storms.
If you erred in feeding during the
fall and early winter you will now have
hens suffering from overfat, liver dis
ease, indigestion or bowel troubles.
Make them exercise—that is the key
note of success.
LIVING IN PECOS VALLEY
[A Boy's Interesting Letter of New Mexico.]
I am a farmer boy. We came out
here and settled in this new country
when there was not a house in sight in
the Pecos valley. My father built a
small house about the first thing and
then sent "for mother.
We thought as there was no feed
oxen was the best team we could get
as they could live on grass and work,'
too.
We bought two yoke of oxen. They
are as gentle as kittens and I could
soon ride all four of them.
I used a riding plow so I could give
my whole attention to driving those
oxen and it took my attention and my
patience, too, for every once in a while
one of the four would stop to eat grass.
After a while by sticking right to It
we got some plowing done and raised
some corn and maize.
A boy's life on a farm Is not com
plete without a pony and a dog and a
gun, and X4 have all of these.
There are plenty of rabbits, so my
gun comes in handy. My dog Is most
too little to catch rabbits, but I am
teaching him to run a trail.
My pony is just a wjld pony off of
the plains. She is as black as Black
Beauty.. She is so gentle now that a
lady can ride her.
Besides my pony I have a cow and
a calf. I wish I could show you the
picture of my pony, cow, calf and dog
and the oxen.—Excell Giddings, By
num, N. M.
REAUTIFY THE HOME YARD
To Neglect Things That Beauti
fy and Uplift Character Does
Not Always Pay.
BY H. H. SHEPARD.
Tho immediate grounds about the
farm dwelling can be made beautiful
and sanitary as few other places can.
The home grounds should be ample, as
large as is consistent with the size of
the dwelling, and much larger than
most farm home grounds are.
An acre is not too much. Some may
think that an acre of land is too much
to waste on a simple dooryard, but it
must bo remembered that this part of
the farm is where tho farmer and his
family live and spend a greater part
of their time, and that the better the
home grounds the better will be the
life of the family.
It is a. wrong estimate of life and
property to bo forever making' money
to enlarge the farm in area, in buying
extra tracts of land for future utee, and
not improve and make the best of tho
little spot where the wife and children
must spend nearly all of their best life.
Some look forward to and prepare
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too much for pleasure to come and do
not expend any means on making the
present tho very best that it can be. They
let the home grounds and surroundings
remain shabby and unimproved, ex
pending the extra money on property
to be handed down to the children or
putting it in the bank.
I his is wrong when there is any neg
lect in home improvement. If the
children need help, by all means they
need it now while they are helpless
more than when they grow up and will
be able to fully care for themselves,
perhaps much better than we ever will
be able to care for them.
They need the comforts, healthful
ness and. beautifying Influences of
good home and surroundings in order
to make them healthy, strong, beauti
ful and good. These are infinitely bet
ter than inherited real estate, personal
property or money.
The child whose home life is perfect
for physical and mental development
will go out into the world with a rich
heritage. If the home is beautiful and
attractive the child when grown older
will love to come back to visit the
parents who made the home.
The grounds surrounding the farm
dwelling should be well drained and
graded to suit the location. The main
open part of the space should be lawn
of good grass and bo kept mown low
at all times so that air and sunlight
may purify the soil.
The lawn is for use, to walk' and
play on, and should be laid out with
that in view. "Keep off the grass"
may be all right for city parks, but the
hpme lawn is a green carpeted outdoor
poor for everyday use.
Abundance of flowers, shrubs and
trees are essentials for completing the
picture, but flowers and shrubs must
be massed in clumps and borders along
the sides, and the trees must be
grouped in one place, preferably, the
rear or somewhat removed from one
side of the dwelling.
Under the trees in the coo], shady
part of the grounds ,a children's play
house or rustic op6n structure is a
good place for rest and play for both
young and old. We can never get too
much of the open air, though we live
in the country, and such a" covered
place under thfe trees makes a fine
place in which to read or take a nap
and fully enjoy the sweets of outdoor
life.
Such a playhouse Is dear to the
hearts of the children, and they will
spend many Jiappy hours each day
there, when if no such provision were
made they would be in places' in which
we should not want them.
For wet weather concrete walks are
comfortable and economical. Concrete
walks are cheaply and easily made
They need not'necessarily be wide but
there should be enough to them so'that
all outbuildings and other much fre
quented places can be reached without
walking on the wet ground. Walks a
foot vVlde are much better than none
and such can bo made at a trifling
cost.
The barn and entiro group of farm
buildings, together with the grounds
they occupy, may be made to harmon
ize in a general way by proper con
struction, arrangement and painting.
The grounds about the barn and other
feed and stock buildings, which for
convenience are located near the dwell
ing, may, and should be, as neat and
clean as the home grounds proper.
This is both good farm management
and a mark of good taste and charac
ter on the part of tho farmer.
Good fences around all the home
grounds and lots are a necessary con
venience, and keeping them in good
repair adds to the neatne&s and beauty
of the picture as a whole.
THE KITCHEN WINDOW BOX
Sow seeds of curled parsley In the
window box' and keep In the kitchen
window. Besides being fine for soups
it makes fine garnish for meat and
salad dishes.
In plant raising and growing sua
cess is built upon failures. Profit by
the mistakes.
Seed boxes arc called "flats" and
should be four to six inches deep, a
size to handle easily, with cracks or
bored holes in tho bottom for drainage.
The soil used should not be unduly
rich and should be thrown roughly into
tho bottom, a few inches deep, then
fine, sifted soil to a depth of an inch
or more covering this.
Scatter the seeds, or plant in little
open trenches, covering according to
size, pressing down the soli with a
pieco of flat, board.
Very small seeds should be barely
covercd, larger seeds to a deeper depth.
Many hard-shelled seeds, like the
canna, must have the outer shell filed
or soaked by pouring boiling water
over, lotting stand until cool before
planting.
Tho soil should be well wet, then
covered with a piece of flannel and set
away in a dark, warm place until the
little plants begin to show, then
brought gradually to tho light, remov
ing tho cover. Sprinkle tho soil care
fully so as not to -disturb the young
rootlets.
Do not keep too wet, or the young
plants will have a tendency to "damp
off." Give plenty of air and sunshine
and thin the plants to avoid spindling
growth. Transplant to other boxes as
growth indicates in order to give stocky
growth.
Plant canna, palm and m%ny other
seeds in boxes now. Pot the summer
flowering bulbs in late February or
March. Plant double daisy seeds to
be transplanted later outside: Use judg
ment in potting and planting, suiting
these operations to your ability to care
for the young plants. Nothing Is
gained by early planting if neglect is
practiced.
FENCE RAIL PHILOSOPHY
Drug stores are necessary, of course,
but we should not depend upon them
too much. Cheerfulness Is a better
tonic than can be found In any drug
store.
I spent three weeks last summer In
a big city, and the old farm "never
looked so good to me as when I drove
through the big gate.on the evening I
came home. The country home Is the
one place on earth that Is free from
sleepless nights.
There is only one way to know just
whether our cows are robbers or pro
ducers—buyi a Babcock tester. They
cannot dodge that. A robber cow
one that does not earn her keep by
giving milk—can be turned into money
on the butcher's block.
In planning our work it Is well to
plan for profits as well as for yield.
The yield Is not all. We will need to
seek weak places in the fields and re
plenish with loads of manure, and then
we will not need to read, study, observe
and practice.
Rust is the great fcnemy of steel and
Iron, and yet it does not eat up as
much of the farm Implements as It did
prior to the introduction of axle
grease. Axle grease is the panacea
for rust and Is an ever-present help.
All It needs Is some one to make the
application. Rust eats like a mort
gage, which has an appetite like a
buzz saw.'
PIANO BOX MANURE SHED
An old piano box makes a good ma
nure shed. Manure should always be
kept protected from rain and snow.
PLANT AN ORCHARD
I am a commercial fruit grower, but
all the same I advise all farmers to
grow fruit for their families for the
pleasure of having it fresh and abun
dant the year around, for the heajthful
ness of it and to make the farm at
tractive to the children.
Some say they can buy what the?
want, but they seldom buy freely, or
they can't spare the time and labor
but these cost far less than to buy
much.
It should be deemed a duty to supply
the family with fruit in great abun
dance the entire year.
The family fruit orchard should be
near the house fof convenience, even
If some distant knoll may be really a
better spot for the fruit. Accessibility
should decide.
It should be a long and proportion
ately narrow rectangular plot, for the
convenience of horse cultivation that
there,may be as little hand ijoel'ng as
possible, and should be tiled if it needs
lt.TW. G, Farnsworth, Ohio.
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FORMING A DAIRY HERD
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Animals Chosen Should Be
Carefully Selected and Test
ed Physically.
1,
BY SB0FES80E H. E. ALVORD.
There is no point of greater impor
tance in selecting animals for the foun
dation of a herd or in making pur
chases of additions than to get per
fectly healthy stock. Animals chosen
should be critically examined and
should afford evidence of being strong
in constitution and of healthful vigor
It is advised that all bo tuberculin
tested, and this of course should b«
done by a competent voterlnarlan. Be
sides tho robust character of the in
dividuals, the breeding stock from
which they are descended and "tho herd
stables and farms from which they
come should be closely examined on
the score of health. Breeding and
rearing the animals needed to replen
ish and increase the herd and refusing
to allow strange animals on the farm
are tho best safeguards against the
introduction of disease.
l£ purchases must be made let the
now stock bo strictly quarantined for
at least one month before mingling'
with the herd. On every farm of any
size a well-secluded building for a'
stock quarantine and hospital suitably
arranged and equipped is a most use
ful adjunct. This is not needed for
calving cows or for cases of lameness
or ordinary accident, but for cases oi
acyte sickness, retention of afterbirth,
abortion or any symptoms of conta
gious diseaso it Is essential. Of course
the building itself, its care and the at
tendance upon its occupants must be
subjected to regulations suitable to any
hospital or quarantine.
There are many of tho ordinary ac
cidents and ailments to which domes
tic animals are subject which can ba
managed by an intelligent owner or
under his direction without profession
al assistance. "Every man his own
cattlo doctor" is a very delusive title
ono may well follow this suggestion
within reasonable limits, but there is
always a point hard to define at which
professional aid should promptly b«
summoned.
So long as an owner Is certain of th«
difficulty and has knowledge^ and ex
perience as to treatment or remedy he
may depend upon home resources. Bui
in cases of obscurity, uncertainty oi
complications the owner of a good cow
disregards his own Interests and his
moral obligation if he fail to summon
a veterinarian, as much as if he neg
lected to secure proper medical serv
ice for a sick child. And the veter
inarian should be selected with th«
same caro ono exercises In choosing a
family physician.
Close confinement, with Impure ail
and lack of exercise, Is as prejudicial
to the health of milch cows as to that
of human bdingB. Some recently pro
mulgated theories of dark, warm sta
bles and no exercise for profitable mllh
production are without a rational basis
and certain to lead to disastrous re
sults sooner or later. Exposure to
storms and cold Is equally injurious to
the health and profit of cows. A ju
dicious mean Is tho provision for
moderate exercise in the open air and
sunshine, and the application of the
S&mo common sense care for the com
fort of cows which one would approve
for members of his own household.
Every member of the herd, young or
old, should pass under the critical eye
of tho owner or his trusty assistant
daily and preferably twice a day. The
least symptom of disorder, like dull
ness, loss of appetite, rough coat and
irregularity of milk, manure or urine,
should be noted and promptly receive
the attention which it deserves. Ex
perience is needed on the part of the
caretaker to detect and correct the be
ginnings of trouble and thus maintain
the general health of the herd.
WORK IN THE HOME DAIRX
Powdered borax used occasionally In
place of soap will keep the milk cans
sweet and clean.
It is a good plan to have two sets
of milk utensils. Rinse with clear hot
water In which there la a handful of
salt. Use no soap and let the utensils
used for night's milk have the sun and
air during the day and those used for
morning's milk have the air at night
Handle the cow with her first calf
very gently. She Is naturally Irrita
ble and feverish and her udder and
teats are quite tender.
Allow the calf to stay with her for
a few days, because If It should be
taken away at onco she would fret and
add to her fever.
She will probably act unnaturally,
but this will be due to her condition
and not always to her disposition.
If she is not handled with gentleness
at this critical time she may develop
into an unruly or even a vicious cow.
Never allow any person who has Just
come from the sick room to milk a
cow.
Persons who have the care of diph
theria or scarlet fever patients should
never enter the dairy.
It is dangerous to keep milk In a
cellar under a sickroom, as dangerous
diseases have been contracted in that
way.
A large, coarse sponge Is the best
thing to wash a cow's udder, The
sponge should be washed every day in
a disinfectant and thoroughly aired.
We recently saw somef dairies In
northern Illinois that in spite of alleged
State Inspection would cause the aver
age consumer to have a fit if he knew
that he was drinking milk which came
from such places.
Secretary Wilson says that hereafter
eggs sold as "fresh" or strictly fresh"
must be exactly what they are repre
sented to be. Storage eggs must be
sold as such, or under the pure-food
law, the dealer is liable to a fine ol
$500 or six months' imprisonment oi
both-
mt
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