L!VE-STOCK-FRU!T-DAIRYIHG-GARDEN!NSFiLD CHOPS
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RAISING DUCKS FOR EGGS AND PROFIT
OVERPRODUCTION IN INTENSIVE FARMING
FARM
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New Wrinkles
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Making thei
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A Convenient Rack
(Prepared by tfle United States Depart
1 - ment of Agriculture.)
In order to make the small farm
-'profitable, 1t Is, In most cases, neces
: " . y sary for the farmer to devote himself
' Nr . .JVssucb. as truck farming, poultry, fruit
V A g p growing, intensive dairying, etc. Be-
' lore any of these can be successful,
he market demand and transportation
facilities must be adequate. When
perishable products are grown far
from their markets not only are the
freight and commission charges apt to
be prohibitive, but in the period be
tween the shipping of . the commodity
and its sale on the market, prices
which were attractive at time of ship
ment. may have dropped with results
disastrous to the grower.
Intensive crops such as garden
truck, fruit, etc., have a much wider
range and more rapid fluctuation of
prices than staples like wheat or corn.
A comparatively small acreage Is suf
ficient to supply the demand for the
intensive crops. It is very easy there
fore to increase this acreage to a
. point where the market is flooded and
prices drop immediately. Taking the
country as a whole, vegetables, includ
ing potatoes, occupy only two and one-
lialf per cent of the crop area, and this
acreage, under present conditions, fur
nishes about all that the market can
absorb at a price that will be profit
able to the grower. -
If the farmer is ill-advised enough to
undertake the production of garden
truck at a time when the supply is
greater than the available markets re
. ' quire, it is a comparatively easy mat
ter for him to correct hi3 mistake. In
the case of fruit, however, it takes
'linger to produce a crop, and a simi
lar mistake is therefore likely to be
, A Good Bunch of Feeders.
more serious. The acreage devoted to
fruit is even smaller one and three
fourths per cent of the country's crop
area than that devoted to vegetables.
Until there is increased consumption
either in this or other countries ac
cessible to our growers overproduction
can easily occur.
Sorghums for Southern Live Stock.
Every southern farmer who is pro
ducing beef or milk should grow the
sweet sorghums. These are not rec
ommended as money crops, but as a
fodder they are practically equal in
value to corn while as a rule better
yields can be obtained. They should
be consumed for the most part on the
farm where they are grown or at least
at points within hauling distance.
The sorghums are particularly use
ful as silage, which, is essential to the
live stock owner and particularly to
the dairy farmer. The various south
ern states report yields of from 16 to
20 tons of sorghum silage per acre,
which is an average of from 2 to 4
tons more than the yields of corn,
while the relative value pound for
pound of the two feeds has been found
to be much the same by experiments
conducted at the Kansas agricultural
experiment station. In fact for beef
cattle these tests showed that sweet
sorghum silage was, if anything, su
perior to corn silage. The sorghums
intended for silage, however, should
not be harvested before they are fully
matured. If cut when the seed is hard
there will be no trouble from spoiling
or from excessive acidity. From 20 to
30 pounds per day is considered a full
feed, but this should always be sup
plemented with 12 to 15 pounds of dry
roughage and some concentrate like
corn or cottonseed meal. Cottonseed
meal combines particularly well with
sorghum silage, and since this meal
is always abundant in the South, this
Is anolhervreason for growing the sor
'huni. S" J For forage In the South the sweet
J sorghums will be found better than
the grain sorghums, such as milo,
kafir and feterita, which suffer from
the attacks of the sorghum midge. Of
the' various -varieties the Sumac,
Orange, Amber, Gooseneck and Honey
are probably to be preferred. The Am
ber and Orange are the earlier kinds
' and two cuttings "can often be obtained
fj-om them. All of these varieties re
spond excellently to good soil, but they
succeed on many different types; a
rich, loose, well-drained clay loam soil
is the best. A water-logged clay or
extremely sandy soil will not afford
profitable, returns. Fertilizers strong
in nitrate applied to poor soils will
produce good results and the free use
of barnyard manure is always advis
able. Sorghums may be planted as soon
as the ground becomes warm in the
spring, usually from one to two weeks
later than Indian corn. WTien the sea
ion Is favorable, the planting may be
for Hauling Fodder. .
done at any time until It is too late to
permit the crop to mature before frost.
The land should be plowed in the
spring for surface planting and then
allowed to lie rough until about seed
ing time when it should be smoothed
with a drag harrow or disk. For fur
row planting spring plowing is not
necessary. A lister like those made
for planting corn can be used on
stubble or cotton land without pre
vious preparation. If the farmer does
not have a lister the furrow can be
laid out with a plow and the seed
planted with a one-horse drill after the
manner of planting cotton or corn.
Planting In furrows is recommended
for western Texas or Oklahoma, and
flat or ridge planting for all the region
east of this where the rainfall is more
abundant. When planted in rows 3G
to 44 inches apart 4 to 6 pounds ol
seed to an acre are sufficient. Sorghum
seed is usually cheap, but the farmer
is urged to buy only standard varieties
from a reliable dealer.
When planting in rows, thorough
cultivation is as essential to the
sorghums as to corn. This method
produces larger yields and the crop is
better prepared to withstand drought
than if broadcast or drilled. Where
the latter method is followed, how
ever, the practice is the same as for
oats or any other small-grain crop.
Cowpeas or soy beans are also fre
quently mixed with sorghum to im
prove the quality of the hay. This is
especially frequent on dairy farms.
Three parts of cowpeas or soy beans
to one of sorghum seed is the usual
proportion. From 60 to 90 pounds of
the seed mixture is required to the
acre. ' .
As pasture, sorghum is safe only
after it has become fully matured;
that is, after the seed has become
hard. Before this time, especially aft
er a period of drought, a poison some
times forms which is fatal to stock.
Where there are two growths the sec
ond is considered more dangerous
than the first, and any stock allowed
to pasture on it should be carefully
watched.
In feeding the hay, from 18 to 23
pounds a day will be found sufflcient
for milk cows and work horses, if it is
accompanied by the ordinary amount
of grain. Beef cattle, however, should
be fed all that they will eat clean.
Stock cattle and horses can be carried
through the winter on a liberal quan
tity of sorghum without any grain.
INCREASING SOIL FERTILITY
Farmer Can Secure More Cotton by
Planting on Area Where Legumi
nous Crops Have Grown.
Inasmuch as green crops suitable
for hog cholera calbe maintained in
the South practically every month in
the year, it is possible for the south
ern farmer to make more money than
the northern farmer upon hog-producing
operations, and the profits
made are in proportion to the amount
of green food used. But in addition
to making ready money on the hoga
themselves the farmer who grows 1
guminous crops and grazes them off
with hogs has a fertilizer factory on
hf3 own farm. In a test at the Ar
kansas station, hogs grazed upon areas
of peanuts, chufas and soy beans. The
following two years the land was
planted in cotton, and data were col
lected to determine what effect this
grazing might have upon the cotton
yield.
The effect was remarkable; for in
stance, in the case of soy beans and
peanuts the increased yield of cotton
was 44.6 and 61.1 per cent, respective
ly. The effects of growing these crops
and grazing them off does not stop
with the cotton grown the year im
mediately following the grazing. The
data show that the increase over the
corn lot was still considerable in the
second year. It Is therefore apparent
that the farmer can get more cotton
when it is planted on an area where
hogs have grazed or where peanuts,
soy beans, or other legumes have been
grown.
Cottonseed Meal as o-otein.
If some mill feed mus1 be pur
chased as a source of prottln, cotton
seed meal is at present the cheapest
source. A still better solution of the
protein question is to grow it in al
falfa or clover hay.
Duck Raising.
.Ducks are very easily raised and
good layers or good market fowls,
will thrive in any climate, with a dry
shed for shelter.
TOLD IN AN INTERESTING MANNER
BEST LOCATION FOR GRAPES
Plant Two-Year-Old Vines on South
ern, Eastern or Southeastern
Slope in Straight Rows.
Any good farm land will grow
grapes. Plant on a gentle eastern,
southern or southeastern slope. If the
land is stiff clay it needs drainage.
Plant two-year-old vines.
Buy direct from a reliable nursery
mannot of agents. Set the vines in
straight rows eight feet apart the
vines eight feet apar in the row,
says a writer in Baltimore American.
Have the ground deeply plowed and
well pulverized, plow out the rows, go
ing twice In each row with the plow.
This will save hand labor. Set the
vines the same depth they grew in the
nursery, spread out the roots, cover
with good, earth, press the earth, as
it Is put in, with the foot. After all
the earth is in, spread one forkful of
long manure, rotted leaves or straw
around each vine. This mulch will
keep the ground cool and moist.
Drive down a stout stake close to
each vine and train to one cane. Tie
the cane as it advances in growth to
the stake. When four feet in height,
nip off the top bud. Cultivate the
ground between the rows the ground
must be mellow and free from weeds
and grass.
Never let the ground crust over and
become hard and dry, as this stops all
growth. The best varieties for family
use are Concord, Niagara and Dela
ware. For warm, sandy and gravelly
soils, add a few vines of Catawba. It
is one of the best grapes for this class
of soils it requires high culture.
SPRAYS FOR APPLE ORCHARD
Ideal Combination for Controlling Va
rious Pests Has Not Yet Been
Put on Market.
(By W. J. MORSE.)
In spite of the fact that a large
amount of work has been done both
in this and in other countries, in study
ing the effects of different insecticides
and fungicides upon the trees them
selves and their efficiency in control
ling, the various Insect and fungous
peBts, the ideal spray or combination
of sprays for use on apple orchards
has not yet been discovered. It is
true that with the introduction of lime
sulphur some of the previous difficul
ties have been eliminated, but at the
same time there are others of equal
importance which have arisen or
which have not been overcome. This
Is particularly the case under the cli
matic conditions which exist in the
apple growing regions of the north
eastern portion of the United States,
where apple scab frequently appears
In its most virulent form.
While it is granted that lime-sulphur,
as ordinarily used, has been
found to be less likely to produce
spray injury, many orchardists main
tain that in practical work it is less
efficient with them than bordeaux
mixture in controlling apple scab. In
fact, a prominent apple grower re
cently told the writer that even with
the most careful and thorough spray
ing with lime-sulphur their fruit the
past season was badly attacked by
scab and that some orchardists were
seriously ' considering going back to
bordeaux mixture this year. On the
other hand, it has been the writer's
experience that with varieties suscep-
European Apple Canker of Crotch of
Tree.
tiHe to spray injury lime-sulphur is,
on the whole, by far the most satis
factory material.
The question of the proper fungi
cide to use is by no means the only
important matter involved in efficient
orchard spraying. Insecticides are
necessary and it is both necessary and
convenient to use them in combina
tion with fungicides. While a fairly
settled policy has been reached as to
the proper time to apply the various
sprays or combinations of sprays to
secure the greatest efficiency there is
still insufficient data with regard to
many points connected with apple culture.
EXPRESSLY FOR OUR READERS
INVESTMENT IN POOR COWS
Milk Producer Must Stop Guessing
and Be Certain of Results Much
Money Is Wasted.
Chief obstacles in successful dairy
ing are lack of well balanced, in
tensive methods and not applying busi
ness principles. The milk producer
must stop guessing and know for sure
what the results will be and adopt the
ways of most profit.
Large sums of money are invested
in many acres of land, extensive and
'A
Excellent Milk Producers on Pasture.
expensive buildings, costly horses,
tools and machinery, high-priced feed
and labor, and all of this outlay turned
to raising crops that do not yield any
thing like the amount of digestible
nutrients per acre that should and
could be obtained, and to feeding and
poorly caring for a herd of poor cows
utterly unable to return a profit.
The same expenditure of money and
labor bestowed in an intelligent man
ner upon the same farm and an effl
cient dairy herd would return a hand
some profit.
BEST SIZE OF SILO TO BUILD
Not Advisable to Construct Recep
tacle With Diameter Over Twenty
Feet Right Height
In building a silo one should plan
well the width of the silo. If the silc
Is too wide for the number of stock to
be fed from it daily, there will not
be a sufficient amount of silage taken
from the silo per day, especially in
warm weather, to keep the silage from
spoiling..
A depth of 2 to 2Vz inches of silage
should be taken from the silo per day
during the winter months, and a depth
of three Inches per day during the
warm summer months.
If the stock on a farm is equivalent
to from ten to fifteen cows, the silo
should have a diameter of about ten
feet; if equivalent to fifteen to twenty
five cows, a diameter of about twelve
feet; if equivalent to twenty-five to
thirty-five cows, a diameter of about
fifteen feet; if equivalent to thirty-five
to forty-five cows, a diameter of six
teen feet; if equivalent to forty-five to
sixty-five cows, a diameter of eighteen
feet; if equivalent to sixty-five to seventy-five
cows, a diameter of eighteen
feet. For a herd of seventy-five cows
or over the diameter can be from
eighteen to twenty feet.
It is not advisab'e to build a silo
with the diameter over twenty feet. It
is a general rule not to make the
height of the silo less than twice or
more than three times the diameter.
PLAN FOR DEHORNING CATTLE
Illustration Shows How the Head of
Animal is Held While Operation
Is Being Performed.
In reply to an inquiry as to the best
method for dehorning a cow a sub
scriber of Hoard's Dairyman submits
the following plan:
T inclose you a tie for holding
cow's head at stanchion while dehorn
ing. I think it the best tie I know. I
send you a small model to show how
to use it. W?hen cow's head is fast in
stanchion, the rope is dropped over
cow's neck, the loop is caught on the
under side and the roDe doubled is
put mrougn loop and placed around
the nose up far enough to not shut off
her breathing, and then pull the rope
back to a post at side of stanchion,
and one turn around post. A man can
hold the end, and by placing his
weight on rope hold the cow's head
quite solid while her horns are re
moved. The rope Is quickly removed
by taking off nose and pulling same."
Singing icebergs have been encoun
tered in the north Atlantic. Even the
iceman himself emits an occasional
snatch of joyous song.
Instead of using asphyxiating
bombs, why not load them with ether
or chloroform, put the enemy to sleep
and then humanely cart him oft as a
prisoner of war before ba awakes?
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Runner Ducks,
The best authorities on Runner
ducks agree that the purebred Pen
ciled Runner lays pure white eggs, and
many of them, as invariably as does
the purebred leghorn of different varie
ties. As a result the Runner duck
has earned the name of "the Leghorn
of the duck family."
As a utility fowl the true Penciled
Runner stands well in the lead, and
as other varieties have usually been
made from this one, they, too, are prov
ing their worth, when given a chance.
It is fortunate that we have at least
one breed that has demonstrated itself
as a layer, and for that reason is kept
more for utility than show. This
makes the Runner duck a farmer's
bird.
The Australian and New Zealand
egg records are among the proud
achievements of those countries, and
are a wonderment to many poultry
men. In referring to these records,
the breeder of Penciled Runners gets
much consolation, for some of the best
egg records of those countries have
been made by this duck. In fact, the
Penciled Runner ha3 won over the
hustling little Leghorn there.
In Australia the Utility club has
egg-laying contests of great interest.
Ducks and other fowl from that con
tinent and New Zealand compete in
these contests, and the rivalry is even
greater than in our fancy shows in
this country. The competing ducks
there seem to be mostly Runners and
Orpingtons, and both of these have
won fine places. Most of the breeders
SHADE NEEDED FOR POULTRY
Cheap Shed Built of Lumber Is Eas-
- ily Arranged Where Fowls Are
Not Permitted In Orchard.
Whether the fowls must spend their
time this summer on the range or in
partial confinement, having only a
yard in which to run, shade is neces
sary to their successful growth. To
say that shade cannot be provided is
nonsense. There may be . no trees
that can be utilized, it is true, but
everyone can plant some vine or even
corn near enough to the poultry yard
fence, where it will cast shade, or
erect a cheap lumber shed, so ar
ranged that its roof will supply shade
during a portion of the day, and one
end the rest of the warm hours, leav
ing it open on two sides at least for
a proper circulation of air.
A similar structure, or several of
them, can be erected on the range if
the fowls must not be permitted in the
orchard for any reason. Then, re
member that during the warm days
of summer, clean, fresh water in abun
dance is also essential, no matter
where the fowls and chicks are run
ning. Think of these things now and
get them ready, so that when the
warm days come the fowla will not
need, to suffer for even a single day.
CARE IN RUNNING INCUBATOR
Cleanliness Should Be Watchword In
Operating Machine Brooders
Should Be Disinfected.
The incubator should be run upon
sanitary lines with cleanliness for the
watchword from start to finish. Th
machine should be thoroughly cleaned
and scrubbed out before being put
Into use, weli sunned and thoroughly
dried.
Use no disinfectants in the opera
tion, however, as they may affect the
eggs, by absorption.
After each hatch the trays should
be cleaned and aired and the inside
of the machine well brushed, but not
washed. If the machine is to oe
started at once upon another hatch,
while the trays are taken out and
cleaned, it can be closed up and kept
up to heat for a few hours and the
eggs put in, but the cleaning should
not be neglecte.l.
The brooders should be disinfected.
But remember that perhaps some
sick chicks occupied them last sea
son, making it all the more import-1
ant for a thorough scalding and
cleaning. '
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Best Utility Fowl.
of ducks 'here consider six ducks
plenty for a pen in breeding for best
utility qualitits, and it is very interest
ing to note tho type of duck the win
ners of the contests there are, in com
parison with our present show types
here. Their ducks are much more
heavy and broad, and the type is en
tirely different in both Runners and
Buff Orpington ducks. This is some
thing for our utility breeders to con
sider. Probably the world's official record
is held by one of those New Zealand
Runners. This duck laid 320 eggs in
365 days in her second year. She laid
i,J,2t eggsitf-5 rmbhthsrineiuding, the
molting season. A daughter of this
duck laid 17? eggs in 179 consecutive
days, and 293 eggs in 314 actual con
secutive laying days. When she was
two years and eight months old her
record was over 500 eggs. The breeder
of these ducks mated the females to
drakes whose dams had a record of 200
eggs a year or better.
In tha Christchurch test the Buff
Orpington ducks made a fine record.'
Both Orpington and Runner ducks
have made fine records in the Cam
bridge tests there, and one pen of
both Runners and Orpingtons made a
remarkable showing for several months
after those tests had ended.: In 54
months after the above tests ended one
breeder's ducks laid as follows: Buff
Orpingtons, 772 eggs; Penciled Run
ners, 749 eggs. This is an average of
129 and 125 per duck for the time
above quoted.
KEEP UP GRADE OF POULTRY
Poultrymen Make Mistake In Buying
Hatching Eggs or Breeding Stock
From Different Breeders.
Many a poultryman. striving to
breed up a strain of egg-producing
hens, makes the mistake of buying
hatching eggs or breeding stock from
a different breeder each year. It pays
far better to go back, for a number
of years, to a breeder who has stock
that mates well with and improves the
size and egg-producing qualities of the
progressive poultryman's stock.
So reports James G. Halpin, head
of the poultry department of the Uni
versity of Wisconsin, who lias found
that the number of reliable poultry
breeders producing just the sort of
breeding stock generally needed i3
rapidly increasing. He believes that
the next few years will be a still
greater increase along this line for
the breeder can afford to line breed
his stock and take a great deal of
pains building up a strain or high
egg producers. The grading up of the
farm flock with good, strong males of
the right sort of breeding, is one of
the principal things needed in the
poultry Industry at this time.
TREATMENT FOR SCALY LEG
Dipping Feet and Legs of Fowls Af
fected in Kerosene Will Prov
Quite Effective.
Look out for the scaly leg in your
stock at this time. After passing
through the cold and dampness of the
winter months this trouble is quite
likely to develop among at least a few-
of your fowls, and it should be nipped
right in the bud or it will run through
all your stock. While it is nothing
serious or rapid in its work, it is a
very annoying trouble and one that
will make your fowls very uncomfort
able, and at times it will even cripple
some where it gets to be a thick
scale.
The best treatment Is to take a can'
of kerosene oil, nail it to the wall of
your poultry house, where it will be'
convenient to dip the -feet and leg3
cf each fowl affected in up just to, but
not on to, the feathers of the hock
joint. This, says Southern Ruraiist,
repeated every other day for about
two weeks will clean it all off except
in extreme cases, when it will take
longer treatment, to be followed with
a little oil or ' vaneline occasionally
to smooth up the surface. .". '