OCR Text |
Show JfAEM AND GARDEN. Correspondence for the "Farm and Garden" department of the Hkrald is solicited from all parts of the territory. Utah farmers must, lo a reat eiLent, esubliih a tytlcm of agriculture adapted to her pp;cial neces-iiies. Agriculturists Agri-culturists will a.si.t each other by sending send-ing in for pub.ication, information per-tamiug per-tamiug to iarrnii g and arileiiing, and agricuiiural pursuit goeraliy. FrEDJKU FOE IGOS. For the prjduclion of eggs the focd ihould coma in an ample supply of tboe ingrudienta that make up the egg. An average egg weighs about 1.U00 era i Da, divided as follows.: Shell, 1U7; wbite, 604; yolk, 289. A food containing albuminoids aod fat should be tmployed. The natural food of the fowl consists of insects, seeds, vegetable matter, etc. Therefore There-fore there should be a variety of grains, animal matter in the form of craps ol meat, etc., or pressed scraps, chopped cabbage, apples, etc., or, as has been practised, finely cut aad steamed clover hay. There should be great variety at all times, and Indian meal scalded and well seasoned with pepper, or chopped horseradish will be very elective. A recent i writer prescribed scalded Indian meal oaade into mush, which was cooked an hour or two and then fed hot with horservdish. It was recommended tecook food o( all kinds and feed hot. This might be well as a stimulant, but corn meal must be combined with animal food to produce eggs. A supply of powdered sheila or bone sbould be provided, not only to aid digestion but furnish egg shell .material. A correspondent of tho Plymouth Cbronicle miied hogs' lard with the dough he gave his hens, and asserts that a piece as large as a hickory nut will set a hen to layiDg immediately alter she is broken up from sitting; and that by feeding a little occasioDally hens may be made to lay all winter. Live Stuck Journal. spaying cowa. In the matter of spayiug, the moat valuable experiments with which we are acquainted are those performed by the German veterinary surgeon Scbmidt.in 1874 and 1875. Tuie gentleman gentle-man castrated, all told, twenty-one cows, and oarefully compared them with an equal number of whole animals. Tne result of these experi-, ments showed that fjr Beveral weeks j nicer the operation the animals lost flush very rapidly, and even at the end of the fifth week tbe loss in some cases was as high as 155 lbs. Fiom this time on, the castrated cows showed no advantages over the intact animals in laying on flesh; keeping pace with them, indeed, but doing nu more. As to the quality ol llieir flesh, Mr. Schmidt proaounoes that from the spayed cows excellent, hut no better, in bis judgment, than that of others. The experiment quottd above had for its object, also, to ascertain tho effect of spaying upon thfl ntrtrinnLinn nf mil Tha rnanlti the production ot milk. The results : in this regard corresponded very closely to the production of flesh. In all cases there was a considerable I decrease in the quantity of milk lor some time alter tne operation, id some cases this decrease being very great. "In many cases the quantity of milk never roaa again; in others it reached the original amount, or thereabouts, there-abouts, in a few weeks' time, but only to tall ofl rapidly after a very short continuance of that level. In most oases tha period of lactation was extended, in some casta to fourteen or fifteen, and, in one case, seventeen months. " The fact muBt be placed to the credit of this operation opera-tion that tbe milk obtained from the epayed cowa was greatly improved in quality, ibere being a very consider able increase both of fat and caserne. RAISING GOOD DAIRY COW3. Mr. Van Duzen, a New York dairyman dairy-man of experience and intelligence, says that wben he thoughtof establish iug a herd ol" good dairy cows, be selected the calves from bit best milkers and raised them with great care, but so often met with disappoint- mcnt tVmt Vio rfhanirArl Viia Luntia anH ment that he changed his tactics and procured an Ayrshire ball, the oalves from which nearly all proved to be good milkers. He further remarks: What be want is to decide first what qualities are desired in the stock which we are to keep, and then get throughbred males that have this character. In breeding for dairy uses attention must be paid to the pastures, to the kind of keeping and to tbe purposes in view. If butter is the object, and tbe pastures are hilly and the keeping generally at all below really good, I do not suppose it would be wise to use Short horns. It might be that grade Jerseys would be as good as any that could be chosen for some situations. Ayrahires would probably be better for general purposes, pur-poses, and the Holsteins in Borne cases would no doubt be prtlerable to any other breed. TAKE CASE OF THE STOCK. Rules for health for animals, are very Bimple and plain, and need strict observance at this season. Observe psrfect cleanliness in stable, yard, barn yard, and all their sur roundings; keep tbe skin clean; use only clean water for drinking; keep the body and the lodging places dry, and not too warm; let them breathe ouly pure air; eat only nutritious and digestible food, and not too much of that; keep them quiet, and not suffer them to be irritated; avoid exposure to cold, wet storms, and if this cannot be helped dry the skin, using considerable con-siderable friction, with a coarse cloth, then cover with a blanket, but not be lore, and give a warm drink aa soon ai potable after it. Whsn tbe system is feverish from cold, give a saline cooling laxative. WHAT SOIL CONSISTS OF. The bulk of all fertile soil consists of three earths, to wit; silica, alumina, and lime, Unmixed wilh clay, sand, or other organic or inorganio substances, sub-stances, lime consists of the oxide of the metallic element calcium, and as it enters into the composition of all piaute, it oeceiaaruy occupies a targe place in nature's laboratory. Chemistry Chem-istry tells us that it has an affinity for water and carbonic acid; wben applied to the land it absords water, forming hydrate of lime; this hydrate then absorbs) carbonic acid, so that lime, although applied to the land in the caustic state, really exists, shortly afifr ita application, in the form of carbonate, along with a little sulphate and phoephate, as previously mentioned. men-tioned. Lime has for a long time been upd a fertiliier; when land previously unworked is brought into cultivation, or waen worn-out pasture land is broken up, lime is generally applied. It aflecta chiefly tbe vegetable vege-table matter contained in the soil, promoting its decomposition, and thus renasring it available as p;ant food. Toronto Globe. WIXTEK FEED ISO OF SHEEP. In feeding sheep good hay is a standard article, and should be fed at ti e rate of three pounds per head, daily, every alternate week; during the intervenii weeks it may be reduced re-duced one-half in quantity aod the deficiency supplied with one and one-half one-half oundu of green fxd per bead Kipeaments prove that, with ttm Oiet, sheep can be kept in a health fjl and productive condition during the winter and epring- lo the change cf diet, the feeding of such green fjod an potatoes, apples, turnips, iuta bagae, etc., eiisL direction, and prevents the "slratciic," a di--easn common to sheep; it a!uo promotes the growth of. wool and imparts to it elasticity ant! softness. Germantowo Telegraph, j MAKING" THE PESERT TO BLOOM. Tbe importance t f the near market is recognized hy mny f4rmere, not a f-.w of whom have devoted themselves almost exotusiveiy to the production of milk; and where, as is usual in Rhode Inland, there is a scanty amount cf pasturage, millet and Hungarian grass have been bowq, with fertilizers, upon sandy land which would hardly bear a crop of rye, and the experiment haa proved successful. bkuie of our most progressive pro-gressive farmers now talk of two crops ofl the same land. If the most fore-banded fore-banded will but set the example others will follon, tu the great increase of the wealth of the state, and its adornment by lertile fields, where now there only barrenness and desolation. Providence Journal. iLAZY HABITS. A correspondent of the Rural New Yorker, speaking of the shiftless method of larming in the west, says: It ib the iinnurpaseed fertility of our soil that leads to all thid. It needs no manure lur its tirst cropa, and the lew years ia which it produces well without it are just sufficient lime for farmers to acquire Itizy, improvident habile about taking en re ot their manure. It is a common thing to hear them ridicule eastern filks about their economy in saving, composting and applying their manure to their lands. Another trouble is, there are too many prtducing corn, and the supply seems to be greater than the demand in about five years out of ejx. Every farmer here is expecting to make money to pay his taxes, im- fnrove his farm, and pay the accumu-a accumu-a ted debts of years, by growing on half worn-out soil foul with cockle burra, twenty and twenty fiv c:ut corn. |