Show s v w ar f QUARTERS FOR SHEEP mistake to have the barn too warm A good sheep barn Is a poor one this may seem to be absurd but the facts support such a statement there Is no question but that many hocks are rendered unhealthy and therefore less productive by reason of too close housing in few sections do sheep need more than a windbreak and rain shed some of our best shepherds have kept their flocks for decadena with soiling sheep fold only such sheds as would prevent the flock being exposed to direct winds lain and snowstorms snow storms the cut shows the type of sheep barn found on the farm of a success ful shepherd which might be copied with success in instance the sheep are kept upon forage crops grown in four adjacent lots the flock may be turned into any lot at pleas ure it Is well to have this building equipped with a large ventilating window in the end near the gable or two small windows such as shown in the sketch these however should be equipped with a sash that may be closed in severe weather many farms where sheep are kept are equipped with a barn cellar in which the flock has been kept with varying success the barn cellar Is an excellent place for sheep it rightly arranged there should be plenty of openings to the south allowing sun to reach all parts of the stable so as to keep it thoroughly dry thorough drainage Is essential there must be ventilation at the rear of the stable A bad practice Is to keep the sheep in stables on stable manure says farm and home the fermenting manure destroys the color and texture of wool A hint which has been worth many dollars to me Is to use only long straw hay or weeds tor bedding sheep it short straw or sawdust Is used it gets into the fleece and Is an everlasting nuisance WHY DO YOU CROSS BREED A question which it would be well for some farmers to answer I 1 know a number of farmers who have a hobby for crossbreeding cross breeding among their stock especially hogs I 1 have never been able to understand the reason tor this it the bleeders breeders bre eders have spent years trying to perfect a breed how can we hope by one cross to improve upon ita some claim that it Is necessary to infuse new blood into the breeding stock and this Is well enough but why should that new blood be other than of the same breed we can get a male 0 the same breed eliat la not akin to our stock and still keep the breed pure it Is a pretty sight to see all the hogs or poultry on a farm the same breed and color then it Is good policy to keep the breed pure tor it has been proved beyond a doubt that purebred pure bred stock are the most profitable it Is simply an old that causes farmers to persist in this old practice of trying to improve the best breeds that have taken scientific bleeders breeders bre eders many years to breed up to the present state of per there may be reasons and good ones why crossbreeding cross breeding Is practiced but I 1 have never heard them given A ROASTING PIG age for killing and how to dress for cooking to prepare a pig for roasting choose one four or six weeks old which Is plump and fat and has had an abundance of milk the best way to kill such a pig says farm and home Is to stick him with a sharp two edged knife cutting the artery on the left side of the throat scald by immersing him several times in boiling water and scrape with a dull knife heat the water to about degrees which Is just hot enough to scald don t leave the pig in the water long or it will bo cooked un the skin scald thoroughly sev oral times and then wash with cold water lay the pig on its back cut open lengthwise and remove the en trails wash thoroughly with cold water then deliver to the housewife to stuff with dressing sew up and bake whole getting a uniform flock in handling ewes during winter I 1 find it good practice to separate thos who are reduced in flesh and give them a little extra teed this will soon produce a uniform flock which Is what we want goats are becoming popular where sheep are kept largely but where the farmers cannot be interested in sheep they cannot bo interested in goats eliat t asp tsp r NEED MORE PROTEIN corn alone not satisfactory as a hog feed says the farmers voice A station bulletin says it Is now clearly recognized that dry feed alone especially where corn Is the exclusive ration does not provide the most sat combination of nutrients toi the hog the fact that corn Is BO generally cultivated has led to its al most exclusive use as a fattening ra tion for hogs in many localities which Is unfortunate in the light ol 01 investigations made in the last few years as the results distinctly show that much better gains would be obtained were the corn combined with some other food which would supply the needs of the growing animals to better advantage for fattening purposes corn stands supreme but it Is not a complete and perfect food for either growing or fat bening animals and this statement ap 1 piles to all classes of livestock from the standpoint of the bog feder cord is deficient in both protein and aln oral matter especially the latter since the uniform and rapid development of tho animal depends on the main cenance of the skeleton or bony framework the nutrition of the muscles and the formation of fat it Is essen elal that such foods be fed as will provide for the needs of the body in the cheapest form As other grains are rich in some of the constituents in which corn Is deficient it appears that a combination of them will prove effective and such is shown to be the case by the results presented the common practice of feeding corn atone to hogs would be corrected were come well known truths more generally recognized for instance it Is stated on competent authority that the ash ot corn Is entirely indigestible by swine moreover the withholding of mineral matter from the hog not only impairs the skeleton but the whole nutritive process is disturbed as well and the growth of the animal Is seriously retarded it our results are to be relied upon the fact that gains two or three times larger than those normally obtained on corn alone follow the proper adjustment of the a matter of such far reach ing and economic concern to bog raisers as to command their most respectful ful and earnest consideration THE BODY HITCH A cure for halter bullers pullers Pul lers even of the Worst Type A good way to tie is the body hitch as shown in the accompanying allus the animal will not pull long on this hitch it is a cure for halter bullers pullers pul lers even confirmed ones any A horse body hitch r one could go to bed and rest his weary legs in contentment it he had tied his bronks this way for they cannot break their necks or otherwise injure themselves at least I 1 never knew one to and I 1 have used the body hitch on a good many ot them writes a correspondent in the rural new yorker this loop must be made so that it will loosen up again when the colt stops pulling however when broken well to lead with the bridle there are very few that will make a very bad when tied in the way with a good strong halter STUDY MATTER OF FEEDS high prices of grain makes this necessary when grain Is high in price alie ralser of stock needs to study tho matter of teed more than at any other time it does not pay to give foods that merely up and that Is what the temptation la in times when prices are inflated for the most valuable feeds the man that understands the constituents of feeds will generally find he can beat the high prices by raising some kand ot a crop that will give him a big supply of cheap feed thus the man that has a good blue grass pasture can conserve it fertilize it and make it produce a very large amount of nutritious feed that will for some of his stock make it pos elble to greatly cut down on the grain ration though this cannot be cut out entirely the men that have been feeding corn extensively to steers will have to balance thit corn with clover alfalfa soy beans or something else to decrease the amount of corn used foi protein in corn comes very high on account of the large amount of starch that hai to be paid tor to get a little protein STOCK reflections darkness la never desirable in sta bles it should be driven out give those fall calves lots of room in which to run around they need all the exercise they will take many a poor horse suffers because U cannot chew its food well look it their teeth before iou boso doso them with firm stock help keep up the ity of the farm they do this hi making U possible to sell off a high priced product containing only a small amount ot fertility |