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Feeding Stock in Winter.
CCTTWG FEED.
Fine, early cat and well eared hay is
not m much improved by cutting, as it
is eaten up clean and easily digested, if
judiciously fed, hi* *ll kinds of stock.
But Intef cut hay, as for instant;*, Timo
thy cut after it is in the blossom ; all
damaged bay, and all coarse fodder,
should be cut. No argument is needed 1
to show that there is a great saving in
(Sitting such fodder; the experience of
thousands, especially in seasons of
scarcity, lias verified this fact. Usually
<• xirse fodder, when cut, is moistened,
and a small amount of some provender
or other ground feed is mixed with it.
If this is done from six to twelve hours
• before feeding, so the harder portions
of the fodder may be somewhat soft
ened, and the whole may absorb a por
tion of flavor from the grain, it will be
more readily eaten and better digested.
Flint, in Dairy Farming, recommend*
moistening cut feed, and says: Hay
cut and'thoroughly moistened, becomes
more succulent and nutritive, and par
takes more of the nature of green
grass.” Some farmers ltaVe gone fur
ther, and u'lowed the wet feed to fer
ment slightly. In the Country Gen
tleman, Jan. 5, ISG-), page 10, an ex
periment is given, in which one third
wheat straw and two-thirds com fod
der, was cut and wet down with water
slightly salted in vats, where fermeuta
tiou.soon commenced, and was allowed
to continue until the food became
“smoky hot.” Cattle ate this feed with
avidity, the cows keeping up their milk,
and all doing well, although it don't
appear, that there was any grain or
otljer food mixed with it. The theory
appears to*be that this moistening and
ferment ation softens the feed and makes
it more palatable and digestible, hav
ing something like the same effect,
though not equal to
STEMMING IKED KOI! STOCK.
All kinds of fodder that need cutting
art* also largely improved by steaming.
All such fodder as late cut hay, corn
fodder and straw, is largely composed
of , hariL_ indigestible woody fibre.
Yvhfbdy fibre, sugar, starch and gum
are composed of precisely the same
Constituents, in the same proportions,
and yet the three latter are valuable
portions of nearly all kinds of feed,
while the woody fibre is of little use,
because it. is too hard to be well or even
generally digested. So one of the main
objects in steaming feed, is to make
this hard substance more digestible.
Not that, a given amount of woody fi
lire may be made of the same value as
the same amount of sugar or starch for
feeding, hat that it may ho very large
ly improved. Now all ripened or near
ly ripened fodder, whether it is hay,
straw, or cornstalks, contains a large
amount of this woody fibre that can
only he made really available as food
for stock by rooking; this not only
makes it much digestible, but it is
more palatable. Steaming improves the
flavor as well ;is value of coarse fodder
by mixing a portion of grain (ground,)
b;-an or shorts, and roots, also better if
grated, with the cut feed when put in
the steam box. In this way the favor
and lelish of the grain and roots are
largely diffused through the whole
m;iss of feed. Coarse, poor fodder,
that otherwise would scarcely bo eaten
at all. may in this way be made very
good feed, that stock will do well on ;
and this can be done too on less than
half the grain that without steaming
must be used. Pea and bean straw
should also be steamed. If well saved
they contain more nutriment than other
straw, and well steamed will be much
more valuable. /The amount of grain
that, should be mixed with the different
kinds of steamed feed will be in pro
portion to the value of the fodder and
the object in feeding, as whether
to store or fattening stock. Although
not prepared to say how thoroughly
course fodder should be steamed, 1 am
inclined to think it should lie made
soft, so it can he easily picked to pieces.
I would like to see the views of prac
tical men, who have had experience on
this point
FEEDING GRAIN.
Coarse grain is now, and is likolv to ■
continue through the winter, cheaper, j
comparatively, than hay. Corn is a
large crop, and will be quite cheap ;U !
the West. Barley is not high, and
colored samples, that are less \ alnablc
BANNER OF THE SOUTH AND PLANTERS’ JOURNAL.
for malting, can be bought very cheap.
Sneh barley, if plump and otherwise
good, will make cheap feed. Oats are
not high, and may be used to mix with
com, to grind for provender, which is
ranch better to mix with and stick to
out feed, whether it is steamed or not,
than corn meal. Barley may be mixed
with oats or ground alone, as conveni
ent. Ail grain is much better for feed
ing when ground and mixed with cut
feed. This nukes more bulk, which is
more natural, and is more readily and
thoroughly acted on by the stomach of
the animal. As one pound of grain is
nearly equal to two pounds of Imy, for
feeding and patting flesh, tanners can
easily calculate which will pay best in
their respective localities. As grain is
ipiite cheap at the West, large quanti
ties may be brought East to feed in
dairy and other sections, where the
drouth has been severe, and hay and
other feed is very high.
All KI10CM» BE SAVE]).
There :;re many things about the
farm that should be saved and led. Ap
ples are plenty and cheap, and from
being wormy and other causes, a large
portion arc not marketable; and this is
the ease in ninny places where fodder
is scarce and high. In such cases all
sound fruit may be saved and fed to
good advantage—the ripest first, and
those that save the best, fed last. Small
and poor potatoes will he fed, and all
good potatoes not needed, also, unless
they are very high, when it will pay
better to sell them ami buy grain. Os
course all rcx*ts will be carefully saved
and fed to good advantage. Thou
sands of farmers who have stronglv
argued that roots don’t pay, would find
a lew hundred bushels, or better, from
filly to one hundred bushels to each
head of stock, pay largely this season.
It is in such exceptional seasons, when
fodder is scarce and high, that extra
feed like a good pile of roots, is of
the greatest advantage. Besides, where
there is a good crop of roots there will
lx; a large pile of tops that can be fed.
These tops will not be a little help in
saving winter fodder in November,
when the frost bitten pastures polonger
afford sufficient feed for stock. All
cabbage leaves and poor cabbages may
also be fed; the stumps should be
saved; a large cabbage stump quarter
ed makes four large mouthfuls for a
cow. We have found such refuse cab
bages, leaves, etc., excellent to keep up
the flow of milk in November and De
eernlier. Cabbages pay well to grow
for feed, ns well as roots.
good SHELTER.
'ln wintering stock to good advan
tage, next to plenty of good feed, good
shelter is the most important. A large
share of all the food consumed goes to
support life and keep up animal heat,
and the colder the weather and the
more animals are exposed, the more
feed is required for this purpose; while
the better and more warmly sheltered
the stock are kept, the larger the pro
portion that will go to make grow th,
fat, milk or wool. As the latter have
a large saleable value, while in animal
heat and mere life there_ is no gain—
no saleable increase—it is of the great
est importance to sociye the largest
possible proportion of the former,
lienee good shelter should be provided
for all stock, and they should Ik; kept
in this shelter as closely as good health
will permit. Sufficient stables and
pons should be provided for all: cracks
and other places that will admit wind
and cold air, stopped; and the animals
kept up in bad stormy weather, and
omy let out for air and exercise on
moderate days. As good health is very
essential, of course ventilation will be
provided, hut this can be done, and,
at the same time, avoid any direct draft
of cold winds on the stock. —Country
Gentleman. ' •
Dairy Stock West and South-
The West and South are in a good
condition to improve their dairy stock.
Cattle arc called for, and dairies about
to lie established. In this inceptive
stage is the time to select the right
blood, and there will be no difficulty
hereafter. That the improved bl '
wether pure*or grade, will pied on
in the future—and that close at id
—no rational man will deny. In uutli.
we arc just beginning to fore. seme
thing like a correct idea of the im
mencc importance that this rapidly in
creasing dairy interest is destined to
attain. In the West and South even
beyond the Mississippi and Missouri ,
Rivers is s wide spreading country,
with choice pasturage, which will ere
long be settled enteiprising people
The soil and climate will tender a mix
ed system of agriculture most profi
table to them, and the breeding and
rearing of fine stock w ill largely en
gage theia attention The great plains
extending to the Rocky Mountains, the
fields of Calfornia and the pastures of
the new States—on all these, in time,
will be seen through-bred horses, and
the improved breeds of cattle, hogs,
and sheep. It is difficult, indeed, at
this time to fi x a limit to the stock rais
ing interest.
tret, therefore, now what is to be
gotten, and anticipate the future. It
will not do to take what and
depend upon luck. There is little
luck in farming, as in any other busi
ness. What your neighbor has to sell
in the common line is common j
enough ; he will not sell you his best
stock; yon would not sell him yours.
But the best plood can be bought
pure, and that is what you want, pure ;
blood. It will answer all the purposes, j
even if the “points"are not so manifest, j
The blood you arc sure to get with'
guaranteed pedigree. A full grown
Jersey or Alderney Bull will cost a few ;
hundred dollars, say S2OO to S3OO.
A bull calf can be purchased for a
third of the amount, or, possibly, a
little more, as this stock is on the rise,
and seems just now the most popular
in the country.
Thus tho very thing that is needed I
—the male stock to propagate from !
—may be had at n comparatively low j
rate. It needs but a cross of the
Jersey with our common stock to im
prove it greatly, *and put on a high
ltwge of profit the butter interest of
tfie country. Where only butter is
made this is thd only- true course—
breeding from the Jerse y—as it Is the
best highest that can be reached. For
cheese, the Alderney of Jersey is g xkl
for nothing, as burnt of the casein is
\ replaced by tlief butter making prin
ciple. For buuer they exceed all
other breeds W/Tiir —not so much in
the quantity as in the quality, though
the quantity is on a level with that of
the general (lain. The Jersey butter
is interesting from the high price it
.commands, and invariably, ranging
five to ten cents per pound over other
good butter.
But it is mostly the improved stock,
which results from the cross on our
common bred, that command attention.
The richness of the milk, which is the
prime and stable quality of the Jersey,
never fails to-be communicated. Menee
a large milker of the herd Ls sure to be
improved by the union, uniting both
quantity and quality—the latter in
variably, the former less certainly.
This comparison is relatively true of
the common and improved breeds of
horses, sheep, hogs, Ac., Ac. The
latter with superior size, compactnes
of frame, symetry of form, rapid
growth, early maturity and attractive
appearance, possess valuable distinctive
qualities, thoroughly established with
in themselves, and are capable of im
parting their qualities into others. The
knowledge of these important facts is
spreading everywhere, and people now
are rapidly learning the important
truth, that a valuable horse, or cow or
other animal, can be raised as cheaply
as a poor one.
For cheese, the Ayrshire of course,
is preferred, as this breed was purpose
ly bred to this end. Still the English
prefer the short-horn, or short-horn
grades, for cheese, and for the dairy in
general. This on account of the car
cass, which after the animal is exhaust
ed as a milker, is of value sufficient, it
is thought, to make up the deficiency
in the relative quality of the milk, else
the Ayrshire would be preferred, bred,
as it is by the English for this very
puqrose. With us the case is some
what different. We are not the beef
eaters that John Bail is. Milk is of
more importance to us, beef less.
American Mtock Journal.
Management of Hogs.
Hogs are not apt to root where there
is plenty of grass on the ground.
They should be allowed to have all the
grass they will eat, as early *in the
spring as possible, and clover or tame
hay is good for them in winter. They
are fond of ft. Bran mashes and raw
potatoes should be fed to hogs on all I
open days in winter. They are fond j
of them. They are loosening. j
Hogs that have run to grass all sum- \
mer can be shut up in a pen and fed to j
advantage, six weeks or two ynonths,']
but no longer. Tbev will befeonie
feverish and ravenous .if confined j
longer fcnd devour each other. The
hog is preferable that Will 1 fatten well j
when allowed his liberty. The hog'
that; when well fed, will take just.
enough of exercise to keep him healthy,
i* the hog for the fanner.
Summer and early autumn are the
season to make pork. Making it in i
winter is much like running a boat
Igaintt wind and tide, it requires too
much food to keep up the supply of
animal heat If bogs have* plenty - of
grass in summer, and about half the {
corn they will eat, they will fatten,
rapidly, and my belief is that three!
pounds of jxirk can be made from less 1
grain in this way, tlmn one pound can
be in cold weather with a hog in a!
close pea. The grass Ls cooling and
loosening and counteracts the feverish j
properties of corn ; it also keeps the
liogs in a healthy condition.
Hogs will never melt in summer,
however fat, if they can have access to!
water or mud to lie in. The hog will:
cover himself so as that the flies can't j
trouble him. Mud is very bad for!
for hogs in cold weather; it absorbs i
too much animal heat.
The hog is a mammiferous animal,
and milk of the right consistency, I
seems to be indispensable to the proper j
rearing of young pigs. It is the first'
nourishment that Nature provides for i
them. Figs, to lx? properly raised, \
should be plentifully supplied with :
mlik ami light feed until three or four i
months old.
A sow may he fed like any other I
store hog, up to within three weeks of
! her time to litter, when the hog raiser I
\ should begin to make preparation for i
: the ingress of the pigs into the world. 1
A sow should l>e allowed to run on the j
j grouihl and have plenty of exercise, j
except when shut up to litter, trite,
should be supplied with fresh dirtj
| daily while confined. The pigs
i“will eat it, and it will keep them from
j scouring.
A. sow' should be well fed with
loosening slop made of the offal from i
wheat or rye and milk, or milk and
water for three weeks before her time
to litter. This kind of feed will looser)
the sow, soften her flesh and fill it with
juice.' llow can it be expected to draw
from six to ten quarts of liquid in the na
ture of milk from the system of a sow
j every twenty four hours, without supply-!
. ingtfcat draught ofliquid from the system
j with another liquid? The milk of the
! sow has to servo as food and drink -for
her pigs for the first three weeks of
their existence, and if the sow be fed ;
on corn, instead of supplying the!
system with liquid, it will absorb the !
juices of her system, make her milk;
thick and feverish, and give her pigs
too much food and not enough drink,
and the consequence is their blood be
comes thick, their skin becomes dry,
and they sicken and die with a cough
or the mumps.
All young animals are w r ont to make
more motions than older ones. This !
excess activity seems to lie a law of
their nature: seems to be indispensab
ly neoeasaiy to a proper development,
and it surely promotes digestion- No ■
man need be uneasy about his pigs, j
when be sees them run, and jump and
squeal with a double curl in their tails. !
—John Haight, in the Western Stock]
Journal.
Vegetables as Useful Disinfectants and
Anti-M iasmatics.
During the last few years the great
prevalence of miasma of various kinds,
emanating from the low-lands of the
Netherlands, has attracted the atten
tion of the most celebrated of the Dutch
chemists, and especially those who are
conversant with physiological and pa
thological chemistry. This evil has
been at times so great that the govern
ment of Belgium at last had recourse
to official steps to correct it, and in do
ing so, offered large inducements to any
one who would suggest the most relia
ble antidote. A Mynheer Van Alston,
who resided in one of these miasmatic
districts, upon a large swampy tract
which he had inherited, had for some
time observed that the common sun
flower, the helianthvt annvus of bota
nists, had invariably flourished the
j most, produced the largest flowers and
| greatest number of seeds, upon soil and
;in districts which seemed to engender
[the miasmatic fever to the greatest de
! gn» He has planted them in those
Districts to a considerable extent, and
j has found that they are a complete an
itidote, for miasmatic poison. They
[seem to derive their support more from
the atmosphere than the soil. The
seeds are excellent food for domestic
I fowls. The oil contained in the seeds
may easily he obtained by the common
[inodes of compression, and the stalks,
i w hen dried, make a useful and profita
ble fuel. The pith of the stalk has
been proposed in France, by M. Percy,
j for the preparation of thy article called
I “MfiXa, which is now extensively used
: in medicine for the purpose of scarify-
I big the skin or flesh in place of caustic,
; potash, or nitrate of silver. Moxa Ls
burnt, and while in a state of combus
! tion, Ls applied to the skin or flesh for
! various purposes, where such a course
■of treatment is indicated. The sun
j flower pith is well adapted for the pur
| pose on account of the great amount
jct nitrate ot potash which it contains,
and which enables it to burn without
| insufflation. The stem of the sunflower,
j when the seeds are perfectly ripe, and
! consequently the plant has come toper
! feet maturity, is cut into transverse s< c
t ions of less than ail inch in thickness,
i and denuded of the* fibrous portions
! constituting the stalk. The pith is
I then carefully dried at a gentle heat,
| either in a close apartment or by the
! heat of the sun, and afterwards kept in
| a perfectly dry place. A variety of the.
| same plant, the helianthus, tuberosus,
|or Jerusalem artichoke may be used
for anti miasmatic in the place of the
first-named variety, though the stalk,
I leaf and flower are not so large, and
[consequently have not the absorbent
I power in so great a degree ; but they
have an additional merit in their roots.
'or tubes, which may be pickled ai 4
: thus used as a rich, and to many a very
j delicious, condiment, and are also use-
I fill for feeding stock. Neithe# of these
i varieties need any care in their cultiva
tion, the latter not even needing to be
! planted from year to year.
It is not only in the Netherlands
\ where the necessity of an anti-mias
| malic plants or other agents exists;
there are many thousand acres of land
in New Jersey, Long Island and else
where, within comparatively a few
miles of New York, where no human
being can reside with impunity, on ac
count of the poisonous miasma which
I constantly emanates from the damp
i soil. Many acres have been redeemed
jin New Jersey from the incursions of
the tide, but they are still uninhabita
ble on account of the state of the soil
and atmosphere. We hope, therefore,
that scientific men and others will duly
1 investigate this important subject, and
jby their experiments either confirm or
I refute the statements of cur learned
neighbors on this subject. —Journal of
Applied Chemistry.
horticultural.
Written for the Banner of the South and Piaster s
Journal.
The Scupperncng Grape,
i:y m. c.cook, Covington, geo.
The merits of the Scnpperi.ong faiui
: ly of grapes, ritis Jlotumlafoliei, have
so often been discussed and described
! by able and practical cultivators (and by
: Northern grape growers ignorant of its
i value), its advantages over all other
i grapes for general cultivation m the
j South is so clearly illustrated, that it,
: appeals to the general reader super
| tious to enter into farther discussion of
its profitable cultivation for table and
wine south of latitude 3G 5 . Believing
there are some points in a commercial
and pecuniary sense connected with
| this grape, that have never appeared
: before the public; and believing any
| information that will develops the ad
vantages of the Seupperuong will be
acceptable to the readers of the I»an
' nf.k, I propose to enumerate the re
munerative advantages to be derived
: from the cultivation of this remarkable
grape, its manufacture into wine and
brandv, and as a commercial fruit.