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Show Devoted to tfeelVogress ci. m. &. Development oJ ROOSEVELT, DUCHESNE Agriculture in t(ie Qreat Uintal? Basin NO. COUNTY, UTAH, APRIL 15, 1926 7 Proper Feeding of Baby Chicks is Very Important Problem w W: wm m nrw wm ww m row row mnr mw Experiments to be Conducted on Land Near Fort Duchesne acres To many experienced poultrymen, tion of the three. Prepared chick the feeding of chicks presents few mash is good, but rather expensive. difficulties. But the amateur finds Bran should be kept constantly himself constantly in hot water. It before the chicks in shallow, troughs. is a fact that the failure to grow The floor of the brooder house healthy, vigorous pullets causes should be kept covered with fine more failures in poultry keeping straw or alfalfa leaves. After the than any other one cause, not ex- fifth day, supply green food, such as grass. cepting brooding. ' From the day the chicks are takFront the fourth day onr a scratch en from the brooder they require feed consisting of cracked corn and a certain amount of care and atten- wheat should be scattered in the tion, which must be REGULAR. litter four or five times a day. AfRegularity is the keynote to suc- ter the eighth or ninth day, the cess in everything having to do scratch feed may b fed three times with the raising of poultry. It is a day and a mash consisting of 3 , indispensable in hatching, brooding and feeding. When the chicks are taken from the incubator they will require no feed for from 48 to 60 hours. At the expiration of that time they should be given sour milk or buttermilk in shallow founts. It is of the utmost importance that the milk be sour: White Diarrhea can us ually be prevented, and oftentimes checked, by giving chicks sour milk. In a hatching and brooding experiment conducted by the students in aMmal husbandry at the Duchesne County High school this spring, the importance of sour milk for chicks was illustrated in a striking way. The chicks were started out on buttermilk, and fed it for three days. It was Impossible to get buttermilk r sour milk the fourth and fifth and sweet milk was substitut-- t About the seventh day the ite Diarrhea made its appearance . it appeared that several of the r ;ks would die. Sour milk was t a being given regularly, howev- -' , and the chicks that were sick : ivered and at two weeks when chicks were sold they were un-ollayge, vigorous and 100 per t 'had lived and thrived. Had sweet milk been continued from ' fourth and fifth days on fit is I !y that the class would not have . such good luck. i hicks should have no water the t two or three weeks unless the milk is not available. Before f rng any meal or mash of any some fine grit of some' kind t Id be supplied. Coarse sand or t ant gravel serves the purpose. 1 t supplying the grit, give the :s some fine mash, bran, or oat-- It is well to feed a combina t'-'- -s 1 ly parts bran, 1 part shorts, 1 part oatmeal, part meat meal or fine beef scrap, together with a small amount of bone meal, salt and charcoal should be substituted for the oatmeal and bran mash. If plenty of good buttermilk is supplied, it is not necessary to give as large quantity of meat meal. But if buttermilk is not available, plenty of water should be constantly before the chicks, and the amount of meat meal should be increased to about 1 M parts. After six weeks, cockerels should be separated from the pullets and fed a fattening ration and the pullets should receive feed calculated to build bone and produce vigorous layers. A few essential facts to keep in mind are as follows: Keep all drinking founts clean and sanitary; be sure to supply green food after the fifth day it is very essential; keep chicks warm and dry; remember that buttermilk is your best safeguard against digestive disorders; if sour milk or buttermilk is not available, supply plenty ' of clean water; do not over feed supply just what the chicks will clean up at a time; keep the chicks busy; some kind of grit is essential; supply litter for chicks to scratch in. IT CAN BE DONE It cost II. Monson of Otoe coun- ty, Nebraska $5.20 to tile drain a field. Before draining, the field was under water so much of the time it was scarcely fit for pas20-ac- re ture land. But the first year after the tile was laid the field produced a crop of corn that paid the entire draining bill. Americas most comprehensive set of field experiments dealing with the problems of alfalfa seed production on both irrigated and dry land will be inaugurated this season in the Uintah Basin and in San Juan county, according to agronomic experts at the Utah Agricultural experiment station, who have just completed planting plans for the new alfalfa seed experiment farms located near Fort Duchesne and Monticello. Funds for the establishment and maintenance of these farms were provided by the last legislature, and the farm sites were selected last summer by Director William Peterson and various soil and crop exSince perts of his station staff. been have the farms that time, fenced and the land prepared and laid off for planting. During the winter months the department of agronomy, under whose general supervision the farms are to be operated, have been preparing plans for the plantings to be made this spring. Farms Well Located. The Uintah Basin farm, to be known officially as the Uintah Basin alfalfa seed experimental farm, is located on the Victory highway, one and a half miles from Fort Duchesne. It consists of forty acres of irrigated land lying at an elevation approximating 5200 feet. The soil of this farm, while somewhat variable, is regarded as being a little superior to the average run of soils in the Uintah Basin, although probably not so good as the better land of this region. The farm conacre plats on sists of 280 which the experiments will be conducted under the immediate supervision of John W. Carlson. The alfalfa seed production studies are of two principal kinds, (1) a study of seed production as related to physical conditions of environment and (2) technical studies of the alfalfa plant as related to its improvement for seed production. The chalcis fly problem will be studied on the Uintah farm by Charles J. Sorenson, specalist of the department of entomology, who is devoting practically his entire time to investigations aiming at the control of this pest. The San Juan alfalfa seed exper one-ten- th imental farm consists of forty of dry land located ten and a half miles due east of Monticello. It lies at an elevation of 6700 feet. While no accurate precipitation records are available for this particu- lar gection, records made at Monticello indicate that an annual rainfall of about sixteen inches might be expected on the seed farm. Much, of this precipitation may be expected during the growing season, which makes the annual precipitation of rainfall in San Juan more nearly approximate conditions found on the southern great plains than those of the great basin, in which most of the Utah dry farm land is located. The preliminary work of preparing-thSan Juan farm and planning the plantings to be made there has been directed by A. F. Bracken, superintendent of the Nephi dry faruu experiment station. The alfalfa seed experiments on this farm in general outline will approximate those planned for the Uintah farm, except as they may have to be modified to meet dry Common, farming requirements. Grimm, Hardigan and Cossack will be the leading varieties placed under test, and studies of these varieties will be made under different cultural conditions, including various tillage practices, light and heavy seeding, row and hill culture, and crop rotations. In planning all of these alfalfa experiments every precaution has been taken to provide both thoroughness and accuracy, according to Professor George Stewart, head of the agronomy department. Special pains have been taken to profit by the best information available on field technique to protect the experiments so far as possible against soil variations and undue climatic An exhaustive review influences. I hu3 been made of literature pertain- ing to alfalfa investigations under way in other states, none of which reveals the existence of' as comprehensive a set of experiments! as those planned for the Uintah and San Juan farms. Within a few Professor Stewart years, believes, the results of the studies made on these farms will be sought by investigators and seedmen in all sections of America. seed-produci- nerican Forest Week, April 18-2Designated by Proclamation of the President, is a time for Public Thought and Individual Action. 4, ng |