Oakes Republican., December 16, 1898, Image 5

About Oakes Republican. (Oakes, N.D.) 1898-1906

Image provided by: State Historical Society of North Dakota

                
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DAIRY AND POULTRY.
INTERESTING CHAPTERS FOR
OUR RURAL READERS..
How Successful Farmers Operate This
Department of the Farm —A Few
Hints as to tbe Care of Lite Stock
and Fool try.
Some Points for Milkers.
In the course of an address deliver
ed by the Dairy Instructor for the Bute
County Council, says Dairy World
(Eng.), several suggestions were made
by the lecturer as to the operation of
milking, which we may summarize as
follows: To milk a cow "clean" has
always been the ambition of the milk
er. and when the end was attained he
was perfectly satisfied. But to milk a
cow in a cleanly way, although of
equal importance, did not in a large
percentage of cases come within the
scope of his consideration. Good cows
have been quite spoiled through bad
and careless milking, and there are
very few milkers who understand any
thing about the cow's udder or milk
vessel. A word or two on this point
may not be out of pl^ce. The cow's
udder is divided into two chambers by
an impervious membrane. This divid
ing substance runs in the same direc
tion as the backbone, and the milk
from one chamber cannot pass into the
other. For this reason, it is advisable
that the milker should operate, say, on
the front and hind teats on the side
nest to him, and having emptied one
chamber of the cow's vessel, should
proceed with the other. This is not,
however, the general practice. It is
customary to operate on the teats of
different chambers simultaneously, on
the ground that that method of proced
ure preserves the natural state of the
udder, whereas such a contention is
quite contrary to fact. The lecturer
stated that he was quite sure that the
general method of milking is mainly
responsible for much of the malforma
tion in the udder of so many cows.
That, of coarse, is a great evil, as it
detracts from the appearance of the
animals, and lowers their money value
when offered for sale.
Milk at Three Cents
Whether or not a farmer can pro
duce milk at three cents a quart, de
pends, first, on the sort of cows he has,
says Hoard's Dairyman. A cow that
produces 2,325 quarts yields within a
fraction of 5,000 pounds. A good cow
should produce 5,000 pounds of 3.75 to
4 per cent milk. At three cents a quart
the cash value of 5,000 pounds of milk
is $69.75. With good farm manage
ment such cows should be kept for $40
we have then a profit above the cost of
leed of $29.75. The labor cost should
not exceed one good man to fifteen
cows. There are several questions to
consider when farmers say they can
not afford to produce milk at three
cents a quart. Such as the following,
for instance: "Why can I not afford
it?" "Is it because my cows are too
poor in quality? I certainly ought not
to expect to make any profit if I will
not make a practical effort to have
cows that average at least 5,000 pounds
a year of four per cent milk." "Am 1
making any real intelligent effort to
keep better cows?" "Have I been study
ing this question as a business farmer
ought?" "Have I taken pains to breed
and raise better cows or have I depend
ed on buying cows bred by men who
know less about breeding a good cow
than I do?"
Dirt in Milk.
D. H. Otis, of Kansas agricultural
college writes in Farmers' Review:
The dairy secured samples of milk
from persons that were engaged more
or less in the dairy business, and plac
ed these in long, narrow glass tubes.
After being allowed to stand for sev
eral hours these tubes were examined
and notes taken on the amount of dirt
that settled to the bottom. Consider
able difference was found, some sam
ples being almost free from visible
dirt, while others had so much that it
formed an irregular ring along the
lower edge of the tube. While this
test is a good one to detect solid par
ticles of dirt in the milk, it is by no
means conclusive, as where milk is
handled in an uncleanly manner more
or less dirt becomes dissolved in the
milk and cannot be separated out. This
goes to illustrate the importance of the
utmost cleanliness in handling milk.
We object strongly to milk being adul-.
tcrated with water, but this is not to
be compared with adulterating it with
flirt.
A Distressed Duck.
The following duck story is clipped
from a daily paper: Perturbation on
the part of a hen who has hatched
ducklings has been pictured often, but
the reverse of the scene is a new thing
in natural history. Louis V. Bauer of
Phillipsburg, N. Y., starteCfa duck on
the way she should go. Bauer's young
•son, hoping for some amusement, slip
ped one hen's egg into the nest, th^ re
sult being a brood of ducklings with
one chick. The old. duck eyed, the
chicken suspiciously, .bi)£jas it*-frad
come from her nest, decided she mijst
rain it with the rest. But her ideas
do not agree with tliose^wf the ifitei-
lop*»r, and guests of Bauer's hotel are
making bets on the outcome. The old
duck headed her brood for the pond
one day, and, as usual the ducklings
promptly set sail. But the chick, de
void of swimming instinct, held back
and peeped*mournfully. This annoyed
the mother duck and she left her own
family and returned to the shore. She
seemed to remonstrate with the cow
ard without effect. Finally, being a
good disciplinarian, she gave the chick
a shove into the water and quacked a
fierce order for it to join the others out
in the pond. The chick splashed the
water about in fright and very nearly
drowned before the old duck picked
it up in her bill and carried it to the
shore. The old duck was not satisfied
with one lesson, however, as she has
made half a dozen attempts to teach the:
chicken to swim, all being rank fail
ures. Now the boarders are making
bets, "Do or don't",on the result, some
holding the chicken will drown and
others that the duck will teach it to
swim.
Refused Pounded Crockery.
The writer has read what all the
chief poultry writers have written
about the importance of feeding fowls
with pounded crockery. Of course we
never believed any of it. Some three
weeks ago when cleaning off the feed
ing boards a broken saucer, an axe and
a hatchet happened to be near, and,
looking about to see that no one was
observing the foolish proceeding, we
proceeded to manufacture some new
fangled grit. Twenty-five hungry liens
and three roosters stood, anxiously
around apparently wondering what all
that meant. The fragments were care
fully spread on the boards, and we
then stood back to see the fowls go for
the stuff. But they walked away in
disgust. Then some wheat was scat
tered on the boards with it. The wheat
was promptly attacked and completely
disposed of, but not so the pounded
crockery. It is there yet, and has been
there about three weeks, and if any of
it has been used by the fowls it can
not be missed. After a while we will
swreep it off and pound no more.
The Economical Hen*
The hen is an economical adjunct to
the farm. The horse, the cow and the
sheep are consumers of waste products
only to a limited degree. The sheep
may eat weeds, but will not eat grass
hoppers and crickets to any alarming
extent. The feed that is put into the
cow and the horse has a market value,
and this cannot be said of the food
consumed by the hen. The food of the
latter is exceedingly varied. Weed and
grass seeds abound in every locality,
and these she carefully hunts up and
makes into a marketable product. She
is also a lover of many varieties of in
sects, some of which are very destruc
tive to the plants grown by the farmer.
Moreover, she is a constant visitor to
the grain field after the crop has been
removed and is a veritable Ruth in her
gleaning propensities. On many farms
the product from the hen is about all
nrofit.
Egg Production.
Doubtless the largest profits from
the farmer's poultry yard will always
be those arising from the sale or use
of eggs. The egg is nearly always
cash. It comes nearer to a circulating
medium than almost any other thing
the farmer produces. The demand for
strictly fresh eggs seems never to be
fully supplied, except in the immediate
locality where the eggs are produced.
The farmer that produces eggs knows
that he can always sell them for cash,
and that usually there is far more
profit in the exchange than is the case
with any kind of flesh. The produc
tion of eggs is increasing from year to
year, but not more rapidly than the de
mand.
Factory-Made Butter in New South
Wales.—The production of factory
made butter appears to be steadily in
creasing in New South Wales. In the
season which ended on March 31 last
the total output was 29,409,966 pounds,
of which 23,713,509 pounds was, accord
ing to the Melbourne Journal of Com
merce, made in factories. The total
'production was the largest on record,
and, whilst the proportion made in
factories in 1893-94 did not exceed 60
per cent, it now represents 80 per cent.
The quantity exported, 6,526,673
pounds, valued at £258,725, was much
in excess of that of the previous year.
A decline is recorded in the production
of cheese, which only reached 3,937,108
pounds in 1897-98, as against 4,019,844
pounds in the preceding year.—Ex.
Death in Ventilation.—The hardest
task yet undertaken is to prevent poul
trymen from killing their birds with
fresh air. Fresh air has killed more
birds than all other causes combined.
A breeder, during a cold day, whose
first hatch for the season was just out,
had the top of the window down to
give the tiny and tender little chicks
"fresh" air. and yet he had 54 in a
basket not a foot long, all tucked
under a blanket, which he had not
yet put in a brooder and which did
not suffocate. A poultry house can
hardly be too close in winter. No one
would suggest the withholding of pure
air, but it is affirmed that in winter
the ventilator, by causing draughts,
kills the birds.—Ex.
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.V'SRH§:
Why Germans Oppose American Pork.
Consular Agent Neuer of Gera, Ger
many, reports on the German opposi
tion to American pork: Under the
,pr££ense of protecting the sanitary con
djtion of the people, an unjust and
systematic war is waged against Amer
lean pork in this city. Warnings are
published by the magistrates against
the use of raw American pork,
though every piece of bacon and ham
Is subject to an inspection by duly au
thorized examiners before entering
trade. Dealers in our hog products
are required to hang signs in con
spicuous places in their stores, bear
ing the inscription, "American Meats."
No means are left untried to create
widespread prejudice, and all local pa
pers take up the subject of trichinae
in American pork as one of their fa
vorite themes. The inspection fees
have recently been doubled. Not long
ago a shipment of corned pork was
detained to undergo inspection, there
by exposing the meat to decay and
prohibiting its entrance. Moreover
the German authorities have ordered
all American pork to be conveyed to
tlieir slaughter-houses for microscopic
p-amination, regardless of whether it
is to be sold here or elsewhere, a
measure very detrimental to the in
terests of the dealers in this city.
Not one case of death or even of
disease can be attributed to the con
sumption of American pork, while I
know of several cases of trichinosis
from the use of freshly-slaughtered
German pork, in spite of microscopic
inspection. If one case of trichinosis
could be traced to meat from our coun
try, the fact would be published far
and wide, and it is probable that im
portations of American pork would be
prohibited. It ig an established fact,
however, that in consequence of the
salting, pickling and smoking to which
our hog products are subjected, the
trichinae are no longer living, or have
at least lost the power of reproduction
in the human body. From my person
al experience I am able to state that
I have never known a microscopist to
state that he had observed trichinae
manifesting any sign of life in well
salted^ meats. The reasons for this
agitation against our hog products are,
it is generally conceded, entirely false.
Our meats are much cheaper than
those of Germany and form an indis
pensable article of food for the poorer
classes in this country, thus rousing
the opposition of German hog raisers
and wholesale butchers.
Foiled Hreeds of Cattle.
Col. D. McCrae: We find traccs of
old breeds of polled cattle here and
there over the continent of Europe. In
Austria there is a breed of polled cat
tle, mostly red in color, which have
existed there for many years, just how
long is not known their origin is lost
in antiquity. Polled cattle are com
mon in Norway, and Iceland has a
hornless breed of "small size, but very
fat and good." Ireland had at one time
a breed of polled cattle. "The Devon
shire Nats, or polled cattle, now rap
idly decreasing in number, possess a
general figure and most of the good
qualities of the horned beasts of that
district" was written about 1840, and
now this breed has quite disappeared.
The Yorkshire polls were described as
good for grazing, and for the pail, hav
ing the same qualities as the Short
Horns. They are now quite rare. The
Suffolk dun used to be celebrated on
account of the large quantity of milk
that she yielded. They have been
merged into the Red Polls or Norfolk,
now a well known and justly celebrat
ed dairy breed. This breed is the only
modern breed of polled dairy cattle.
Polled Durhams have of late years be
come a distinct breed, and are widely
and favorably known. The Polled Ab
erdeen or Angus cattle have become
one of the most popular of the modern
beef breeds, and one well worthy of a
foremost place in any company. They
have been very much improved in re
cent years by careful and judicious se
lection. All these breeds have with
the Galloways probably a common an
cestry.
Soft Fork.
The Canadian and some other ex
periment stations have undertaken ex
periments to find out what kind of
treatment makes soft pork or whether
such pork exists only in the reports of
the merchants that dock the consign
ments that are sent abroad. There
have been innumerable cases of con
signments of pork to England and
other countries, where the original
price was decreased by a certain
amount on the plea that the pork was
found to be soft. It is suspected that
this is only another way of turning a
dishonest dollar. It is charged by
some of the shippers that feeding on
corn is the cause of this. If so it is
directly opposed to the general belief
of feeders.
Skim Milk in Bread.—A contem
porary states that bakers desire
to encourage the use of skim
milk in bread-malcing for the follow
ing reasons: (1) It makes a loaf which
is more moist and will remain moist
longer (2) it makes a closer loaf (3)
it improves the eating quality of the
bread (4) the sugar of the milk cara
mels in making and browns the crust.
Swamp lands often make the most
valuable land when wA"-lrnlned
..
m/HOotifu
*fX!wii
PEAT OF A SHlF^oAT.
LEFT BEHIND WHEN THE SHIP
SAILED AWAY.
flcr Long Walt
Was
Story of
1
Rewarded—True
the Kemarkable Instinct of
This Feline Mothers-Found Her Chil
dren Safe and Sound. a I
An instance of remarkable sagacity
displayed by a cat, in connection with
the oil tank steamer Bayonne, now
loading at Point Breeze, is just now the
prevailing topic of conversation among
officials of the custom house and the
employes of the Atlantic Refining com
pany, says the Philadelphia Times. It
is a true story and is vouched for by
the crew of the Bayonne, the boarding
officers and all others having to do
with the vessel. "When the Bayonne
came to Philadelphia, about seven
weeks ago, she had a pet, an ordinary
black and white pussy, whose birth
place was far off beyond the Italian
Alps. The cat was a present to Capt.
Von Hugo and had accompanied him
on several voyages. It is, moreover,
no ordinary tabby, as it is the proud'
possessor of a pedigree and an appear
ance equally remarkable. Italy is not
blessed with many cats—in fact, they
are almost a rarity. Therefore to the
threat cat show held last year at Flor
3nce there were vast crowds attracted.
The mascot of the Bayonne was pres
ent and carried off a big gold medal,
which Capt. Von Hugo personally ex
hibits to visitors—a tribute to the fin
est specimen of feline aristocracy rep
resented at the exhibition.
While the big oil tanker was loading
her cargo at Point Breeze on the visit
mentioned, to the horror of the cap
tain and the consternation of the
steward, who was charged with its
keeping, the animal disappeared the
lay after presenting to the ship four
Deautiful kittens. Well-organized par
ties searched the tanker from stem to
stern and thoroughly explored the
streets and wharves around the oil
works, but all to no avail. Pussy was
gone, and with much regret Capt. Von
Hugo was obliged to make sail without
his old companion. Two days after
the Bayonne left the prodigal returned.
Running down on the wharf it cast
mxious glances at the big bark Stern
beck, which now occupied the pier for
merly held by the Bayonne. Visiting
in succession every ship in the vicinity,
the instinct of the cat forbade its
boarding any of them, and finally giv
ing up in despair it cast its lot in the
watchbox of Watchman Manly, seem
ingly reconciled to the fact that it must
await the appearance of the absent
oil ship. During the six weeks in
which the Bayonne "was on her voyage
to Savonia, Italy, twenty other steam
ers came in and each was carefully in
spected in turn by the abandoned tab
by. Strange to say, a survey from a
distance seemed to satisfy the cat. It
was obvious that its former home was
not recognized.
At last the Bayonne returned and
then was manifested an unparalleled
exhibition of animal instinct. When
the oil ship was still far down the
stream pussy took her position on the
end of the wharf, showing by a thou
sand antics that the oncoming craft
was the one so anxiously awaited for
so many weeks. Unnecessary to say,
perhaps, that the recognition was mu
tual, from Capt. Von Hugo on the
bridge to the big black dog barking on
the poop deck, and there was no need
to decry the absence of an enthusias
tic welcome. To cap the climax, when
the Bayonne was yet twelve feet from
the pier the cat's impatience reached
the limit. With one flying leap it
cleared the intervening space and to
the surprise of the cheering crew ran
directly to the place where her kittens
were formerly domiciled. The latter
were still on board and in a few mo
ments the happy family were again
united. Capt. Von Hugo will now have
a picture painted of his celebrated pet,
which will ornament his private cabin,
and on his return home will have the
strangest of tales to relate to his fam
ily and friends concerning the phenom
enal instinct of pussy, which has al
ready become well known at the home
port.
Electric Treatment from Handlebars.
The cyclist can now take a course of
electric treatment on his machine, says
Invention. A new handlebar has been
brought out which has metallic grips
connected with a small generator
mounted on one of the wheels. In
another form of the same device shoes
are provided with contact plates. If
the force of the current depends upon
the speed the wheels are rotating, this
may be a satisfactory device to dis
courage scorching/
Home of the Sausage.
Nearly 8,000 dogs dwell in the Ger
man city of Frankfort. Ten years ago
there were only 3,761. The dog tax last
year yielded 5102,000. The pug is go
ing out of style, the spitz coming in.
The most valuable dogs i.a the city are
two St. Bernards ratef* 1500 each.
HE WON SOLELY ON HIS NERVE
Bucket-Shop B'iau Went the Limit of
Impudence.
"Nerve is the thing that wins," said
the Board of Trade man to his com
panions at the club. "A man may have
money, friends and influence, but If he
lacks that sublime quality he is shy
the biggest card in the deck. Look at
the case of that man who went out of
here just now. There is no one in
town who lives better than he does and
his investments furnish him the coin
to pay for all he wants without ever
drawing on the principal. A few years
ago he was worse than broke. He
didn't have a dollar or a friend—in
fact, his sole capital consisted of his
nerve and a bad reputation, and on the
strength of that he started a bucket
shop. In a building close to the Board
of Trade he found an office furnished
for the business where another shop
had failed, and he put up a stiff front
and leased it until the 1st of May. It
was then the middle of the month, so
he got it rent free for the first two
weeks. He ordered a ticker put in and
hired a boy to mark the blackboard,
as he did not have to pay for either
service until the end of the week, and
then he opened for business. People
began coming in to look at the quota
tions, and after a while one man came
up to the desk with $10 and bought
1,000 wheat. The market went right
up and after there was a cent a bushel
profit in the deal the customer came
to the window to cash his ticket. This
might seem like an awkward situation,
but his beautiful nerve never failed.
He sized up his customer, and instead
of springing any four flush about a
partner who had gone to the bank or
anything of that kind he just said
quietly: 'Here is the ten you put up.
Now I haven't another dollar in the
house, but if you will just go and sit
down and look wise and happy like a
man who has beat the game, why as
soon as anybody else takes a whirl at
it I'll give you your other ten out^of
what he puts up, but if you start roar
ing about being robbed no one else
will go against the game and I don't
see how you will get your ten.' Well,
the customer was staggered, but he
saw it was worth $10 for him to keep
still, and so he waited. Pretty soon
another sucker tried to beat the stock
market and backed his judgment with
$20. The first man didn't wait long
to get his coin and then he stayed
there the rest of the day to see how
the thing came out. The market
broke and nearly everyone who made
a trade was on the wrong side, so the
shop quit a little to the good that
night, and it was a steady winner from
that time on until the grand jury be
gan to make things hot. Then he
closed the place and has done nothing
since but live on his income, and it is
a big one too."
Value of Good Roads.
The office of the road inquiry of the
agricultural department has just is
sued a small booklet compiled by the
League of American Wheelmen, enti
tled "Must the Farmer Pay for Good
Roads?" It contains much food for
thought to those who travel the coun
try roads and haul loads of produce
over them. It is well illustrated with
photographic reproductions showing
the conditions of some of our own
roads and some French and other for
eign roads, over which enormous loads
are hauled, notwithstanding the clum
sy vehicles used. The League of Am
erican Wheelmen is a powerful organ
ization, consisting of over a hundred
thousand members, who are all of
course enthusiastic on the subject nf
good roads. As the demand for good
roads becomes stronger, the opinion is
becoming more widely held that tho
farmer should not be compelled to bear
the burden of taxation for their im
provement. As roads are for the pub
lic use, the use of all citizens, whether
countryman or townsman, all should
bear the cost of their maintenance, and
the taxes should be equally distrib
uted-
A Beautiful Charity.
In a large alcove of the drawing
room of the Hull House social settle
ment of Chicago is a little circulating
loan exhibit of choice pictures, which
have gladdened the eyes of many
weary sufferers in barren homes. It
might well, be called the children's
bedside exhibit, for such, in fact, it is.
Only one picture is placed in a sick
room at one time but the visiting res
ident is careful to keep these superb
photographic reproductions of fine
paintings in brisk circulation, so that
the recovery of the small neighbor
must be rapid or a large portion of
the collection will find its way to his
bedside.—Fofrest Crissey in Woman's
Home Companion.
Activity of Uaby Crocodiles.
The moment a young crocodile
breaks its shell it is to all intents and
purposes as active as it is at any time
during its life. It will make straight
for the water, even if it be out of sight
and a good distance off, and it will pur
sue its prey with eagerness and agility
during the first hour ot ItB free exists
ence.
V-