RAISE PfiOfTTACLE BEEF TOE SOUTH
SHEEP HAVE IMPORTANT PLACE IN SOUTH
RATIONS FOR WORK HORSES AND
Exoellent
; The South ai a cattle country, help
ling In the not distant future to solve
the problem of the high cost of living.
Imay be the result of experiment! car
ried on by prominent southern farm
ers, among whom U Senator Robert
IF. Broussard of Louisiana. Mr. Brous
sard has Ideas. He had an idea that
jthe South was capable of raising beef
cattle In sufficient quantity to help
sol -re the great probyem of food sup
ply, and he started experiments on
hie farm, about 160 miles northwest
of New Orleans.
. "It is my belief," said Senator
,Brousard, "that in the southern states
'beef cattle can be produced in uuautl-
Prepared by the United Btotes Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
In the cotton-growing sections of the
South comparatively few cattle have
been kept, and they have Dot usually
been regarded as pro 8 table. Tet it is
cbvfetmHrAo Die farmer's advantage to
abundance of dairy product, and, if
In addition, he raises calves that some
ne will -wish to buy he will find that
this can be done at tittle or no cost
At the present time the United
States does not produce enough meat
to feed its own people; in consequence
very calf worth feeding for beef can
be Bold for a good price. Ordinary
cows, however, bred to a good bull
will produce calves that are worth
twice as much as those cows bred to
any little scrub that may be near at
band.
Per a good calf eight or nine months
old, men who make a business of feed
ing cattle will pay from $20 to $30.
These men, however, will not put
themselves to the expense of hunt
ling for such animals; they will buy
only In neighborhoods where a nura
'her can be secured at one time. To
obtain the beat results, therefore, It
Js important that a whole community
decide to improve its cattle. But where
etart has been made the rapidity
'"With "which the Idea spreads Is re
markable. Although the average fanner can
not afford by himself the expense of
a good bull to breed his cows to, the
organization of a bull club will enable
Mm to secure the services of one at
comparatively low figure. For exam
ple, a good beef bull may cost $150.
Four of them would do for 200 cows,
so that if a club be formed of men
owning in the aggregate that number
each, would have to pay three dollars
for each of his cows. The club may
be divided into four sections or
"blocks," and a bull assigned to each,
the bulls being changed around at the
end of every two years. In this way,
If nothing goes wrong. It will be eight
years before new purchases are nec
essary. The old bulls can then be fat
tened and sold.
In such a plan it la obviously neces
sary that the members decide to UBe
the same breed and keep to their de
cision; otherwise at the end of a few
years they will have a lot of cattle
not mucn Detter than the scrubs they
started with. Herefords, Aberdeen
Angus, Shorthorn (Durham). Red Poll
or Dnvon all liavn their nwn nnalMloi
The Herefords and Devons are the best
grazera, but Shorthorn-and Red Poll
tows the best milkers. The Aberdeen-Angus
are good grazera and fat
ten well.. Farmers' bulletin 612,
"Breeda of Beef Cattle," which can be
had on application to the United
States department of agriculture, con
tains Information of use In reaching a
decision, but the county agent, or th
state agricultural college, should be
consulted. The decision la an Impor
tant one.
If, for any reason, the formation of
a bull club is not possible, another
way to get service to a good bull is to
patronlzo one owned by some stock-'
,man in the neighborhood. Service
(fees of one to two dollars are usually
charged. In the case of a club a
somewhat smaller fee should be
charged the members and paid Into
the club treasury. The man who keeps
the bull should be allowed free serv
ice. If it is worth while to have good cat
tle, it is worth while to take good
care of them. The bull requires a
good pasture for grazing and exer
cise, and during the breeding season
enough grain to keep him In good con
dition. The grain should be fed
about a mouth before the breeding sea
Bon opens. At other times plenty of
pasture In summer and cow pea hay in
winter with a liberal allowance of si
lage will be sufficient '
: The cows also should have pasture
during the summer, but tbls should be
real pasture with Bermuda grass and
. lsepedesa, and not a barren lot which
fler only shade and water.. The
whole ejiettUoa of forage crops and
' ifl. howevar m. moot lniwn.t
Beef Type.
ties sufficient to make It not only a
profitable industry, but to help In the
general scheme of making living a
cheap as possible. There was a time
when the South produced large num
bers of beet cattle, and there Is no
reason now why the southern states
should not raise cattle for food con
sumption. "The sweet grass and fruits of Lou
isiana are highly adaptable for the
production of beef cattle, because they
are fattening. The eattle will fatten
quickly. The South is destined, I firm
ly believe, ultimately to solve ths
problem of the high cost of living la
the United States."
tant one for the South, and deserves
special attention.
In addition to the pasture. If the
cow Is milked during the summer she
should have some cottonseed or a lit
tle cottonseed meal, a little com, or
some other form of' feed which may
be available. In the fall and winter
when Use soil Is dry, oats or some oth
er cover crop will provide good grac
ing. At milking time she should
have some good cowpea, lespedesa or
Bermuda bay and some cottonseed.
Calves should be turned out on oats,
rye, wheat, or crimson clover as soon
as possible. The green feed will do
wonders. Puller details in regard to
this whole question of beef raising on
the farm are contained in the United
States department of agriculture's
farmers' bulletin 680, "Beef Produc
tion in the South."
HINTS ON RAISING PEANUTS
Valuable Crop lit Soutn end Southwest
Overlooked by Msny Farmers
Always In Demand.
Peanuts are a tsrjf valuable crop In
the Southwest and South, where the
soil is light and the climate friendly,
but a great many farmers do not seem
to know it !
The nuts can be raised more cheap
ly and more easily than corn and they
always bring a good price.
Both horses and cattle are fond of
hay, and It, makes' excellent roughage.
Peanuts are one of the best crops
going for boys, because they seem to
take more interest In this than in any
other crop on the farm particularly if
they are allowed to have the proceeds,
which they should have.
The way to start Is to get perfectly
good seed. The nuts should be
smooth, of good size, and free from
any blemish.
In Kansas and Missouri the seed
should be planted about the last of
April, but In Virginia they are often
planted earlier. Do not plant until the
ground has become warm.
Plant two seeds In a hill, and make
the hills three feet apart or they . can
be planted In checkrows.
Keep the ground loose and mellow
with cultivator and hoe until the plant
begins to make little rootlike pods
which later develop Into nuts. After
that all the work that Is necessary fs
enough-to keep down the weeds. .
In the South, many growers cover
the bloom as soon as It develops, but
in Kansas that is seldom done, and
good crops are raised there.
Peanuts are harvested with a four-
tlned fork. The fork Is stuck Into the
ground under the hill, which is then
gently loosened up and pulled out with
the hands.
The nuts should be placed In a dry
room the hayloft makes a good store
houseand when they are thoroughly
dry ana dean tbey are ready for mar
ket Nuts should be put up In bags hold
ing about one hundred pounds.
HARMFUL IN C0TTUN FIELDS
Innocent Looking Violets Afford Op
portunity for Red 8plder to Work
Eradication la Urged.
Violets growing around a cotton
Held seem to give another cotton pest,
the red snider, nn nnnnrtnnltv tn
work ,and the agricultural department
recommends the destruction of this
harmless-appearing flower to control
the spiders. ' Other measures suggest
ed as a result of investigations in
South Carolina are the destruction of
winter food plants and pokeweed
around fields, the plowing of wide dust
barriers around Isolated Infested
places, and spraying with potassium
sulphide.
8helter the Machinery.
The man who lets his plows stand
in the field during the winter should
semember i that .manufacturers have
sot yet dcovsred tra anJ steel thai
First Prize Yearling Dorset Ram.
(Prepared by th V. 8. Department of Ag
riculture.) Most farmers have, at some time or
another, given some thought to the
question of raising cattle and hags.
Sheep, however, are a less familiar
Idea to many. Nevertheless, sbeep
have an Important place on southern
fanes. By keeping a flock of six to
twelve ewes, the farmer can provide
himself with meat for the table, have
a few lambs for the market and se
cure additional revenue through the
sale of wool.
Southern farmers who would like to
get a start raising sheep may obtain
Interesting Information from certain
bulletins which may be had free of
charge of the United States depart
ment of agriculture, Washington.
D. C. The following may be applied
tor:
Farmers' Bulletin 676 "Breeds of
Sheep for the Farm."
Farmers' Bulletin 608 "Forage
Crops for the Cotton Region."
The first ewes can be native ewes,
purchased from nearby sbeep owners.
Go Into a flock and pick out vigorous
ewes with compact bodies. Get young,
healthy ewes. If you must buy old
ones, do not take those having spread,
broken or worn -off teeth. Such ewes
cannot eat well and win make so
money as breeders for their purchas
ers.
Do not use any but good rams of a
mutton breed upon your ewes. A
Soutbdown, Shropshire, Hampshire or
Dorset Horn ram will prove most de
sirable. He should be about two years
of age, healthy, and carry plenty of
mutton. 8uch a ram will cost, deliv
ered, from fifteen to twenty-five dol
lars, and can be bought by a bait doz
en fanners clubbed together. He will
breed from forty to sixty ewes.
Sheep do not require closed build
ings for protection from, cold, as their
fleeces do that if kept dry. A low shed,
built on dry ground and opening .to
the south, Is sufficient Such a shed
need cost but very little, as scraps of
lumber about the farm can be utilized
in building it
Place your flocks within a dog-proof
fenced inclosure at night, as dogs
often attack and destroy sheep. A
fence that will turn a dog must be at
least fifty inches high, have a barbed
wire stretched fiat to the surface of
the ground at Its bottom and three'
barbed wires seven inches apart
stretched at its top. The space be
tween the barbed wires can be filled
tn with old boards, poles or any other
fence-building material provided it Is
so built as to keep the dog from
crawling through.
Often ewes become "taggy" or have
dungy locks collect on the wool about
the tall and between the hind legs.
Such locks should be cut off and the
ewes kept clean about this part of sue
body.
Ticks and lice frequently Infect
sheep. Guard against this by dipping
once each year in dips sold for this
purpose. A rain barrel or tub can be
used to bold the dip. Pick the sheep
up bodily and work it around gradu
ally In the dip until all parts are sub
merged and drenched to the skin.
Keep salt before the flock at all
times. Sheep require a great deal of
salt and It Is essential for them.
GWe the Sheep access to all har
vested and vacated fields, but do not
depend entirely upon such forages.
The Ideal way is to provide lots of for
ages of such size as will pasture the
flocks for only two-week periods dur
ing warm weather. By changing the
pasturing ground of lambs every two
weeks there Is little danger of loss
from stomach worms, as clean pas
ru res do not Infect sheep. Rape, cow-
A Choice Let of Spring
peas, oats, vetch, crimson clover and
soy beans should constitute the princi
pal forages used. During the fall and
winter permanent pastures can be
used. Even regular fields of winter
wheat and barley can be pastured
without Injury to them.
When pasture Is not available feed
hay or fodder to the flock. Keep up
the appetites of the ewes by adding
small quantities of rape, collards,
chopped cabbage, or roots along with
the hay. Do not feed roots to your
rams or wethers.
Begin feeding the ewes a little grain
about two weeks before lambing and
gradually Increase the amount to one
half pound dally at that time. After
lambing, slowly increase the amount
to one and one-half to two pounds
dally, and continue this ration during
the suckling period. Kwes need not
be grained when dry If good pasture
is provided.
Give the ram Just enough grain to
keep blm In good condition. The
amount fed should be Increased dur
ing the breeding season.
Teach the lambs to eat grata as
soon as possible after birth, and con
tinually feed them what they will eat
cleanly until ready for th market
Feed them twice daily, using creeps
to keep out the ewes.
The following grain ration, general
ly available on the farm, is suitable
for sheep: Cora, two parts by weight;
cottonseed meal, one part by weight.
Probably August and September are
the best months for mating, as this
will bring your lambs in January and
February. Do not leave the ram with
the ewes continually, but take the
ewes to him for a few minutes each
morning. Allow only one service to a
ewe during each period of heat, but be
certain that the ewe gets in lamb be
fore dropping breeding operation.
, Watch the ewes carefully during the
lambing season, but do not Interfere
with them unless necessary. Aft
lambs are born, see that tbey are
promptly dried and suckled. Frequent
ly ewes disown their lambs unless
forced to nurse them.
Give the ewes little, If any, grain
ration for two or three days after
lambing. At the expiration of this
time it can be gradually given her
until the full ration Is reached.
In small flocks the fleeces can be
most economically removed by using
band shears. After the sheep is shorn
remove all tags and burs from the
fleece, carefully roll it up inside out,
and tie neatly with cotton or paper
string. If only a few fleeces are bad
they can be placed in clean gunny
sacks and sold to local dealers. It
there Is a woolen mill In your vicinity
perhaps It will make your wool Into
cloth for-you.
Now let us summarise the returns
to be expected from six bead of prop
erly handled ewea Such a summary
will appear thus:
1. Four fat lambs ready for the table
or market and weighing from 70 to 85
pounds when three and one-half or
four months of age.
2. Two ewe lambs to remain la the
flock.
3. One old ewe, culled for the
butcher.
4. Six fleeces, giving 40 pounds of
wool
6. Increased valuation In flock doe
to improved breeding. . .
6. Increased fertility of soil, due to
forage crops and manure produced.
7. A new source of income provided
for the farm. . .
tet the Flock Run.
The flock should be given the chance
to run In the open yard on all fine
lays.
Lambs In Tennessee.
A Btandardbred st a Government Remount Depot
(Prepared by the V. I. Department of Ag
riculture.) The selection of a ration foi horses
and mules in the South depends large
ly upon the kinds of feed available
the prices of the feed, and the
amount and character of the work.
For a 1,000 or 1,100 pound horse at
moderate work a dally ration rf from
10 to 12 pounds of grain rnd ?rom
12 to 14 pounds of hay sbcuM t am
ple. At light work the grain ration
should be Increased. For a horse at
moderate work weighing from 1,000 to
1,100 pounds the following rations
will be found satisfactory. These ra
tions are to be divided Inte three
feeds. Nearly one-half of the rough
age should be fed st night and the
remainder divided between the morn
ing and noon feeds. The grain may
be divided Into three equal portions,
to be fed morning, noon and night:
Ten pounds oats; fourteen pounds
mixed bay.
Ten pounds shelled corn or corn
meal or twelve and one-half pounds
Perchsron Stallion, Imported From
France.
ear corn or corn-and-cob meal; four
teen pounds cowpea hay.
Eight pounds shelled corn or corn
meal or ten pounds ear corn or corn-and-cob
meal; one pound cottonseed
meal; ten pounds alfalfa bay; two
quarts molasses.
Eight pounds shelled corn or ten
pounds ear corn and cob meal; one
and pne-half pounds cottonseed meal;
fourteen pounds mixed hay (Bermuda,
lespedeza, etc.).
Six pounds shelled corn or earn
meal or seven and one-half pounds ear
corn or corn-and-cob meal; two
pounds gluten;' one and one-half
pounds cottonseed meal; six pounds
cowpea hay; ten pounds corn stover.
The above rations are offered as sug
gestions and will have to be altered to
suit conditions. If an animal is not
doing well and is thin in flesh add
more grain.
It may be found desirable to feed
ear corn Instead of shelled corn or
corn meal. The ear corn, it desirable,
may be ground and fed as corn-and-cob
meal. One ' hundred pounds .of ear
corn or corn-and-cob meal is equiva
lent to about eighty pounds of shelled
corn or corn meal.
For horses at light work the grain
in the above rations should be reduced
and fbe roughage Increased in amount.
For wintering horses which have lit
tle, if any, work to do the foregoing
rations may be used, with the grain re
duced one-half or three-fourths, or the
grain may be entirely eliminated if the
bay Is of good quality and the horses
are easy keepers.
Salt should be provided so that the
horse may have access to it daily.
- Horses should not be fed or watered
when they are hot If a horse comes
in very hungry It is better to allow
him to eat hay for half an hour before
be Is given his grain. If he takes the
sharp edge off his appetite on hay be
will take more time to eat bis grain
and. via masticate It better. In hot
weather hcrses should be watered la
jht t&s&'&.tto awl of ti.
forenoon, before and after their din
ner, and before and after their uvi
nlng meal.
If possible, after the horses have-.
finished their evening teed, theyjj
should be turned out In a lot when f
they can roll and get water at uj'
during the night This applies espe-b
clally during hot weather. 3
The selection of a ration and gen
eral care of horses depends largely oa
local conditions, and the United States
department of agriculture advises ths
farmer to gat In touch with the county
demonstration agent whenever he Is
In doubt regarding the best methods
of handling stock, in case there is
bo county agent the fanner shosM
write the state agricultural station for
information.
LACK OF A FEEDING SYSTEM
Dseaenelble for Major Portion ef Less
of Valuable Animate From Cello
and Like Treublse.
By W. , XL DAUrxTfria. .LoalsUs
XisperiraBt station.)
After an opportunity during the last
St years of studying and obaerrint
conditions under which many of our
work animals are fed, we have no hes
ftaaey In saying that lack of system Is
feeding is responsible for the major!
portion of the lose of valuable animals
from colic, la 1 animation of the bow
els, eta.
Many who lose valuable mules on
the plantations and farms from diges
tive troubl e are wont to place ths
blame of the hind or class of feed the
animals have been given; while, in
reality, the blame properly belongs to
the unnatural and unintelligent man
ner In which they receive their feed-l
A properly balanced ration of ths very
best quality of oats, when leu tmei
ligently and systematically, may not
induce a case of colic during the nat
ural lifetime of the anlmat But It ths
entire day' s ration of oats Is fed at
one time, Instead of It being divided
into three parts, it is liable to so de
range the digestive apparatus as to
ant un a fatal case of flatulent colic
because the digestive organs fn the
horse or mule are not constructed, or
nrenared. to "handle" such an exces-
slve Quantity of food material all
af once. In such a case, are we to
blame the oats for.the trouble, or the
unintelligent scanner in which they
were fed to the animal? And so it is:
with other kinds and classes of con
eentrated feeds; they require system
in their administration to prevent In
digestion, colic, etc., and to produce
the best results In the capacity of the
animal for work.
Dip the Sheep Regularly.
Many farmers have the. Idea thati
after the sheep sre shorn the ticks
will abandon them. Certainly they do
to some extent, but they immediately
go to the lambs, where they find a.
eomfortable nest and make life a bur
den to the youngsters. Buy a dipping
tank and dip regularly twice a year.
COTTONSEED MEAL FOR EGGS.
Substitute for Beef Scrape Should Bei
Kept Before Hens All. the Tims
In a Selr-Feeder.
(By T. O. HAKE, Ciemson Agricultural
Cottere.)
A dry mash for winter egg produo.
Hon in which cottonseed meal Is used
as a substitute for beef scraps to sup
ply protein Is made up as follows: ,
Cottonseed meal ......... .100 pound!
Corn n.T 1 60 pounds
Ground oats 5ft Pund
Wheat bran B0 pounds
Wheat shorts 60 pounds
Ground lime rock. ......... 16 pounds
Ground charcoal 12 pounds
Salt . 2;pounds
Keen It In the house before the hens
all the time In a. self-feeder, or In a
low, fiat box covered, with slats or
wire natttnv ma the hens cannot scratch
it out The ground lime rock Is 'eP
tlliser lime, not th burnt Hms used
for whitewashing. The troon char
nai iuii ka ift out if it cannot be
readHy obtained, but always add tbej
salt ,ft
Thla mlh Mntatna from 18 tO ZU
per cent protein, which, makes u
food for. egg production .equal to ts
most expensive commercial M
T umilru uvaral dSyS lT
the hens to become accustomed to this
. .... . A fantv
man, due uey-seqn aevwy s u,
T2 feT tt IT.i Iff tf fwann