SECTION L. THE FARM GARDEN

Every farmer needs a garden in which to grow not only vegetables but

small fruits for the home table.

The garden should always be within convenient distance of the farmhouse.

If possible, the spot selected should have a soil of mixed loam and

clay. Every foot of soil in the garden should be made rich and mellow by

manure and cultivation. The worst soils for the home garden are light,

sandy soils, or stiff, clayey soils; but any soil, by judicious and

intelligent culture, can be made suitable.

In laying out the garden we should bear in mind that hand labor is the

most expensive kind of labor. Hence we should not, as is commonly done,

lay off the garden spot in the form of a square, but we should mark off

for our purpose a long, narrow piece of land, so that the cultivating

tools may all be conveniently drawn by a horse or a mule. The use of the

plow and the horse cultivator enables the cultivation of the garden to

be done quickly, easily, and cheaply.

Each vegetable or fruit should be planted in rows, and not in little

patches. Beginning with one side of the garden the following plan of

arrangement is simple and complete: two rows to corn for table use; two

to cabbages, beets, radishes, and eggplants; two to onions, peas, and

beans; two to oyster-plants, okra, parsley, and turnips; two to

tomatoes; then four on the other side can be used for strawberries,

blackberries, raspberries, currants, and gooseberries.

[Illustration: FIG. 224. WHERE DELICIOUS GARDEN VEGETABLES GROW]

The garden, when so arranged, can be tilled in the spring and tended

throughout the growing season with little labor and little loss of time.

In return for this odd-hour work, the farmer's family will have

throughout the year an abundance of fresh, palatable, and health-giving

vegetables and small fruits.

The keynote of successful gardening is to stir the soil. Stir it often

with four objects in view:

1. To destroy weeds.

2. To let air enter the soil.

3. To enrich the soil by the action of the air.

4. To retain the moisture by preventing its evaporation.

corn

corn

cabbage beets radishes

cabbage beets eggplants

onions peas beans

onions peas beans

oyster-plants okra parsley parsnips

oyster-plants okra parsley parsnips

tomatoes

tomatoes

strawberries currants raspberries blackberries

strawberries currants raspberries blackberries

strawberries currants raspberries blackberries

strawberries currants raspberries blackberries

[Illustration: FIG. 225. HOW TO LAY OUT THE GARDEN[1]]

This illustration shows that practically every garden vegetable and all

the small fruits can be included in the farm garden, and all the work be

done by horse-drawn tools.

[Footnote 1: The number of rows and arrangement of the vegetables in the

outline above are merely suggestive. They should be changed to meet the

needs and the tastes of each particular family.]

CHAPTER IX

FEED STUFFS

SECTION LI. GRASSES

Under usual conditions no farmer expects to grow live stock successfully

and economically without setting apart a large part of his land for the

growth of mowing and pasture crops. Therefore to the grower of stock the

management of grass crops is all-important.

In planting either for a meadow or for a pasture, the farmer should mix

different varieties of grass seeds. Nature mixes them when she plants,

and Nature is always a trustworthy teacher.

In planting for a pasture the aim should be to sow such seeds as will

give green grass from early spring to latest fall. In seeding for a

meadow such varieties should be sowed together as ripen about the same

time.

Even in those sections of the country where it grows sparingly and where

it is easily crowded out, clover should be mixed with all grasses sowed,

for it leaves in the soil a wealth of plant food for the grasses coming

after it to feed on. Nearly every part of our country has some clover

that experience shows to be exactly suited to its soil and climate.

Study these clovers carefully and mix them with your grass seed.

The reason for mixing clover and grass is at once seen. The true

grasses, so far as science now shows, get all their nitrogen from the

soil; hence they more or less exhaust the soil. But, as several times

explained in this book, the clovers are legumes, and all legumes are

able by means of the bacteria that live on their roots to use the free

nitrogen of the air. Hence without cost to the farmer these clovers help

the soil to feed their neighbors, the true grasses. For this reason some

light perennial legume should always be added to grass seed.

[Illustration: FIG. 226. SINGLE PLANT OF GIANT MILLET]

It is not possible for grasses to do well in a soil that is full of

weeds. For this reason it is always best to sow grass in fields from

which cultivated crops have just been taken. Soil which is to have grass

sowed in it should have its particles pressed together. The small grass

seeds cannot take root and grow well in land that has just been plowed

and which, consequently, has its particles loose and comparatively far

apart. On the other hand, land from which a crop of corn or cotton has

just been harvested is in a compact condition. The soil particles are

pressed well together. Such land when mellowed by harrowing makes a

splendid bed for grass seeds. A firm soil draws moisture up to the

seeds, while a mellow soil acts as a blanket to keep moisture from

wasting into the air, and at the same time allows the heated air to

circulate in the soil.

In case land has to be plowed for grass-seeding, the plowing should be

done as far as possible in advance of the seeding. Then the plowed land

should be harrowed several times to get the land in a soft, mellow

condition.

If the seed-bed be carefully prepared, little work on the ground is

necessary after the seeds are sowed. One light harrowing is sufficient

to cover the broadcast seeds. This harrowing should always be done as

soon as the seeds are scattered, for if there be moisture in the soil

the tiny seeds will soon sprout, and if the harrowing be done after

germination is somewhat advanced, the tender grass plants will be

injured.

There are many kinds of pasture and meadow grasses. In New England,

timothy, red clover, and redtop are generally used for the mowing crop.

For permanent pasture, in addition to those mentioned, there should be

added white clover and either Kentucky or Canadian blue grass. In the

Southern states a good meadow or pasture can be made of orchard grass,

red clover, and redtop. For a permanent pasture in the South, Japan

clover, Bermuda, and such other local grasses as have been found to

adapt themselves readily to the climate should be added. In the Middle

States temporary meadows and pastures are generally made of timothy and

red clover, while for permanent pastures white clover and blue grass

thrive well. In the more western states the grasses previously suggested

are readily at home. Alfalfa is proving its adaptability to nearly all

sections and climates, and is in many respects the most promising grass

crop of America.

[Illustration: FIG. 227. BERMUDA]

It hardly ever pays to pasture meadows, except slightly, the first

season, and then only when the soil is dry. It is also poor policy to

pasture any kind of grass land early in the spring when the soil is wet,

because the tramping of animals crushes and destroys the crowns of the

plants. After the first year the sward becomes thicker and tougher, and

the grass is not at all injured if it is grazed wisely.

[Illustration: FIG. 228. ALFALFA THE WONDERFUL

The first crop of the season is being cut and stored for winter]

The state of maturity at which grass should be harvested to make hay of

the best quality varies somewhat with the different grasses and with the

use which is to be made of the hay. Generally speaking, it is a good

rule to cut grass for hay just as it is beginning to bloom or just after

the bloom has fallen. All grasses become less palatable to stock as they

mature and form seed. If grass be allowed to go to seed, most of the

nutrition in the stalk is used to form the seed.

[Illustration: FIG. 229. HARVESTING ALFALFA]

Hence a good deal of food is lost by waiting to cut hay until the seeds

are formed.

Pasture lands and meadow lands are often greatly improved by replowing

and harrowing in order to break up the turf that forms and to admit air

more freely into the soil. The plant-roots that are destroyed by the

plowing or harrowing make quickly available plant food by their decay,

and the physical improvement of the soil leads to a thicker and better

stand. In the older sections of the country commercial fertilizer can be

used to advantage in producing hay and pasturage. If, however, clover

has just been grown on grass land or if it is growing well with the

grass, there is no need to add nitrogen. If the grass seems to lack

sufficient nourishment, add phosphoric acid and potash. However, grass

not grown in company with clover often needs dried blood, nitrate of

soda, or some other nitrogen-supplying agent. Of course it is understood

that no better fertilizer can be applied to grass than barnyard manure.

SECTION LII. LEGUMES

Often land which was once thought excellent is left to grow up in weeds.

The owner says that the land is worn out, and that it will not pay to

plant it. What does "worn out" mean? Simply that constant cropping has

used up the plant food in the land. Therefore, plants on worn-out land

are too nearly starved to yield bountifully. Such wearing out is so

easily prevented that no owner ought ever to allow his land to become

poverty-stricken. But in case this misfortune has happened, how can the

land be again made fertile?

On page 24 you learned that phosphoric acid, potash, and nitrogen are

the foods most needed by plants. "Worn out," then, to put it in

another way, usually means that a soil has been robbed of one of these

plant necessities, or of two or of all three. To make the land once more

fruitful it is necessary to restore the missing food or foods. How can

this be done? Two of these plant foods, namely, phosphoric acid and

potash, are minerals. If either of these is lacking, it can be supplied

only by putting on the land some fertilizer containing the missing food.

Fortunately, however, nitrogen, the most costly of the plant foods, can

be readily and cheaply returned to poor land.

[Illustration: FIG. 230. ALFALFA READY FOR THE THIRD CUTTING]

As explained on page 32 the leguminous crops have the power of drawing

nitrogen from the air and, by means of their root-tubercles, of storing

it in the soil. Hence by growing these crops on poor land the expensive

nitrogen is quickly restored to the soil, and only the two cheaper plant

foods need be bought. How important it is then to grow these leguminous

plants! Every farmer should so rotate his planting that at least once

every two or three years a crop of legumes may add to the fruitfulness

of his fields.

Moreover these crops help land in another way. They send a multitude of

roots deep into the ground. These roots loosen and pulverize the soil,

and their decay, at the end of the growing season, leaves much humus in

the soil. Land will rarely become worn out if legumes are regularly and

wisely grown.

From the fact that they do well in so many different sections and in so

many different climates, the following are the most useful legumes:

alfalfa, clovers, cowpeas, vetches, and soy beans.

=Alfalfa.= Alfalfa is primarily a hay crop. It thrives in the Far West,

in the Middle West, in the North, and in the South. In fact, it will do

well wherever the soil is rich, moist, deep, and underlaid by an open

subsoil. The vast areas given to this valuable crop are yearly

increasing in every section of the United States. Alfalfa, however,

unlike the cowpea, does not take to poor land. For its cultivation,

therefore, good fertile land that is moist but not water-soaked should

be selected.

Good farmers are partial to alfalfa for three reasons. First, it yields

a heavy crop of forage or hay. Second, being a legume, it improves the

soil. Third, one seeding lasts a long time. This length of life may,

however, be destroyed by pasturing or abusing the alfalfa.

[Illustration: FIG. 231. SHEEP FATTENING ON ALFALFA STUBBLE]

Alfalfa is different from most plants in this respect: the soil in which

it grows must have certain kinds of bacteria in it. These cause the

growth of tubercles on the roots. These bacteria, however, are not

always present in land that has not been planted in alfalfa. Hence if

this plant is to be grown successfully these helpful bacteria must

sometimes be supplied artificially.

There are two very easy ways of supplying the germs. First, fine soil

from an alfalfa field may be scattered broadcast over the fields to be

seeded. Second, a small mass of alfalfa tubercle germs may be put into a

liquid containing proper food to make these germs multiply and grow;

then the seeds to be planted are soaked in this liquid in order that

the germs may fasten on the seeds.

Before the seeds are sowed the soil should be mellowed. Over this

well-prepared land about twenty pounds of seed to the acre should be

scattered. The seed may be scattered by hand or by a seed-sower. Cover

with a light harrow. The time of planting varies somewhat with the

climate. Except where the winters are too severe the seed may be sowed

either in the spring or in the fall. In the South sow only in the fall.

[Illustration: FIG. 232. HERD OF DAIRY CATTLE GRAZING ON ALFALFA STUBBLE]

During the first season one mowing, perhaps more, is necessary to insure

a good stand and also to keep down the weeds. When the first blossoms

appear in the early summer, it is time to start the mower. After this

the alfalfa should be cut every two, three, or four weeks. The number of

times depends on the rapidity of growth.

This crop rarely makes a good yield the first year, but if a good stand

be secured, the yield steadily increases. After a good stand has been

secured, a top-dressing of either commercial fertilizer or stable manure

will be very helpful. An occasional cutting-up of the sod with a disk

harrow does much good.

=Clovers.= The different kinds of clovers will sometimes grow on hard or

poor soil, but they do far better if the soil is enriched and properly

prepared before the seed is sowed. In many parts of our country it has

been the practice for generations to sow clover seed with some of the

grain crops. Barley, wheat, oats, and rye are the crops with which

clover is usually planted, but many good farmers now prefer to sow the

seed only with other grass seed. Circumstances must largely determine

the manner of seeding.

Crimson clover, which is a winter legume, usually does best when seeded

alone, although rye or some other grain often seems helpful to it. This

kind of clover is an excellent crop with which to follow cotton or corn.

It is most conveniently sowed at the last cultivation of these crops.

Common red clover, which is the standard clover over most of the

country, is usually seeded with timothy or with orchard grass or with

some other of the grasses. In sowing both crimson and red clover, about

ten to fifteen pounds of seed for each acre are generally used.

To make good pastures, white and Japan clover are favorites. White

clover does well in most parts of America, and Japan clover is

especially valuable in warm Southern climates. Both will do well even

when the soil is partly shaded, but they do best in land fully open to

the sun.

Careful attention is required to cure clover hay well. The clover should

always be cut before it forms seed. The best time to cut is when the

plants are in full bloom.

[Illustration: FIG. 233. CRIMSON CLOVER]

Let the mower be started in the morning. Then a few hours later run over

the field with the tedder. This will loosen the hay and let in air and

sunshine. If the weather be fair let the hay lie until the next day, and

then rake it into rows for further drying. After being raked, the hay

may either be left in the rows for final curing or it may be put in

cocks. If the weather be unsettled, it is best to cock the hay. Many

farmers have cloth covers to protect the cocks and these often aid

greatly in saving the hay crop in a rainy season. In case the hay is put

in cocks, it should be opened for a final drying before it is housed.

=Cowpeas.= The cowpea is an excellent soil-enricher. It supplies more

fertilizing material to turn into the soil, in a short time and at small

cost, than any other crop. Moreover, by good tillage and by the use of a

very small amount of fertilizer, the cowpea can be grown on land too

poor to produce any other crop. Its roots go deep into the soil. Hence

they gather plant food and moisture that shallow-rooted plants fail to

reach. These qualities make it an invaluable help in bringing worn-out

lands back to fertility.

The cowpea is a warm-weather legume. In the United States it succeeds

best in the south and southwest. It has, however, in recent years been

grown as far north as Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Michigan, and

Minnesota, but in these cold climates other legumes are more useful.

Cowpeas should never be planted until all danger of frost is past. Some

varieties make their full growth in two months; others need four months.

There are about two hundred varieties of cowpeas. These varieties differ

in form, in the size of seed and of pod, in the color of seed and of

pod, and in the time of ripening. They differ, too, in the manner of

growth. Some grow erect; others sprawl on the ground. In selecting

varieties it is well to choose those that grow straight up, those that

are hardy, those that fruit early and abundantly, and those that hold

their leaves. The variety selected for seed should also suit the land

and the climate.

The cowpea will grow in almost any soil. It thrives best and yields most

bountifully on well-drained sandy loams. The plant also does well on

clay soils. On light, sandy soils a fairly good crop may be made, but on

such soils, wilt and root-knot are dangerous foes. A warm, moist,

well-pulverized seed-bed should always be provided. Few plants equal the

cowpea in repaying careful preparation.

[Illustration: FIG. 234. COWPEAS]

If this crop is grown for hay, the method of seeding and cultivating

will differ somewhat from the method used when a seed crop is desired.

When cowpeas are planted for hay the seeds should be drilled or

broadcasted. If the seeds are small and the land somewhat rich, about

four pecks should be sowed on each acre. If the seeds are comparatively

large and the soil not so fertile, about six pecks should be sowed to

the acre. It is safer to disk in the seeds when they are sowed broadcast

than it is to rely on a harrow to cover them. In sowing merely for a

hay crop, it is a good practice to mix sorghum, corn, soy beans, or

millet with the cowpeas. The mixed hay is more easily harvested and more

easily cured than unmixed cowpea hay. Shortly after seeding, it pays to

run over the land lightly with a harrow or a weeder in order to break

any crust that may form.

Mowing should begin as soon as the stalks and the pods have finished

growing and some of the lower leaves have begun to turn yellow. An

ordinary mower is perhaps the best machine for cutting the vines. If

possible, select only a bright day for mowing and do not start the

machine until the dew on the vines is dried. Allow the vines to remain

as they fell from the mower till they are wilted; then rake them into

windrows. The vines should generally stay in the windrows for two or

three days and be turned on the last day. They should then be put in

small, airy piles or piled around a stake that has crosspieces nailed to

it. The drying vines should never be packed; air must circulate freely

if good hay is to be made. As piling the vines around stakes is somewhat

laborious, some growers watch the curing carefully and succeed in

getting the vines dry enough to haul directly from the windrows to the

barns. Never allow the vines to stay exposed to too much sunshine when

they are first cut. If the sun strikes them too strongly, the leaves

will become brittle and shatter when they are moved.

When cowpeas are grown for their pods to ripen, the seeds should be

planted in rows about a yard apart. From two to three pecks of seeds to

an acre should be sufficient. The growing plants should be cultivated

two or three times with a good cultivator. Cowpeas were formerly

gathered by hand, but such a method is of course slow and expensive.

Pickers are now commonly used.

Some farmers use the cowpea crop only as a soil-enricher. Hence they

neither gather the seeds nor cut the hay, but plow the whole crop into

the soil. There is an average of about forty-seven pounds of nitrogen in

each ton of cowpea vines. Most of this valuable nitrogen is drawn by the

plants from the air. This amount of nitrogen is equal to that contained

in 9500 pounds of stable manure. In addition each ton of cowpea vines

contains ten pounds of phosphoric acid and twenty-nine pounds of potash.

There is danger in plowing into the soil at one time any bountiful green

crop like cowpeas. As already explained on page 10, a process

called capillarity enables moisture to rise in the soil as plants need

it. Now if a heavy cowpea crop or any other similar crop be at one

plowing turned into the soil, the soil particles will be so separated as

to destroy capillarity. Too much vegetation turned under at once may

also, if the weather be warm, cause fermentation to set in and "sour the

land." Both of these troubles may be avoided by cutting up the vines

with a disk harrow or other implement before covering them.

The custom of planting cowpeas between the rows at the last working of

corn is a good one, and wherever the climate permits this custom should

be followed.

=Vetches.= The vetches have been rapidly growing in favor for some

years. Stock eat vetch hay greedily, and this hay increases the flow of

milk in dairy animals and helps to keep animals fat and sleek. Only two

species of vetch are widely grown. These are the tare, or spring vetch,

and the winter, or hairy, vetch. Spring vetch is grown in comparatively

few sections of our country. It is, however, grown widely in England and

northern continental Europe. What we say here will be confined to hairy

vetch.

After a soil has been supplied with the germs needed by this plant, the

hairy vetch is productive on many different kinds of soil. The plant is

most vigorous on fertile loams. By good tillage and proper fertilization

it may be forced to grow rather bountifully on poor sandy and clay

loams. Acid or wet soils are not suited to vetch. Lands that are too

poor to produce clovers will frequently yield fair crops of vetch. If

this is borne in mind, many poor soils may be wonderfully improved by

growing on them this valuable legume.

[Illustration: FIG. 235. VETCH]

Vetch needs a fine well-compacted seed-bed, but it is often sowed with

good results on stubble lands and between cotton and corn rows, where it

is covered by a cultivator or a weeder.

The seeds of the vetch are costly and are brought chiefly from Germany,

where this crop is much prized. The pods ripen so irregularly that they

have to be picked by hand.

In northern climates early spring sowing is found most satisfactory. In

southern climates the seeding is best done in the late summer or early

fall. As the vetch vines have a tendency to trail on the ground, it is

wisest to plant with the vetch some crop like oats, barley, rye, or

wheat. These plants will support the vetch and keep its vines from being

injured by falling on the ground. Do not use rye with vetch in the

South. It ripens too early to be of much assistance. If sowed with oats

the seeding should be at the rate of about twenty or thirty pounds of

vetch and about one and a half or two bushels of oats to the acre. Vetch

is covered in the same way as wheat and rye.

Few crops enrich soil more rapidly than vetch if the whole plant is

turned in. It of course adds nitrogen to the soil and at the same time

supplies the soil with a large amount of organic matter to decay and

change to humus. As the crop grows during the winter, it makes an

excellent cover to prevent washing. Many orchard-growers of the

Northwest find vetch the best winter crop for the orchards as well as

for the fields.

=Soy, or Soja, Bean.= In China and Japan the soy bean is grown largely

as food for man. In the United States it is used as a forage plant and

as a soil-improver. It bids fair to become one of the most popular of

the legumes. Like the cowpea, this bean is at home only in a warm

climate. Some of the early-ripening varieties have, however, been

planted with fair success in cold climates.

While there are a large number of varieties of the soy bean, only about

a dozen are commonly grown. They differ mainly in the color, size, and

shape of the seeds, and in the time needed for ripening. Some of the

varieties are more hairy than others.

Soy beans may take many places in good crop-rotations, but they are

unusually valuable in short rotations with small grains. The grains can

be cut in time for the beans to follow them, and in turn the beans can

be harvested in the early fall and make way for another grain crop.

It should always be remembered that soy beans will not thrive unless the

land on which they are to grow is already supplied, or is supplied at

the time of sowing, with bean bacteria.

[Illustration: FIG. 236. CHINESE SOY BEANS]

The plant will grow on many different kinds of soil, but it needs a

richer soil than the cowpea does. As the crop can gather most of its own

nitrogen, it generally requires only the addition of phosphoric acid and

potash for its growth on poor land. When the first crop is seeded, apply

to each acre four hundred pounds of a fertilizing mixture which contains

about ten per cent of phosphoric acid, four per cent of potash, and from

one to two per cent of nitrogen.

If the crop is planted for hay or for grazing, mellow the ground well,

and then broadcast or drill in closely about one and a half bushels of

seed to each acre. Cover from one to two inches deep, but never allow a

crust to form over the seed, for the plant cannot break through a crust

well. When the beans are planted for seeds, a half bushel of seed to the

acre is usually sufficient. The plants should stand in the rows from

four to six inches apart, and the rows should be from thirty to forty

inches from one another. Never plant until the sun has thoroughly warmed

the land. The bean may be sowed, however, earlier than cowpeas. A most

convenient time is just after corn is planted. The rows should be

cultivated often enough to keep out weeds and grass and to keep a good

dust mulch, but the cultivation must be shallow.

[Illustration: FIG. 237. SOY BEANS]

As soy beans are grown for hay and also for seed, the harvesting will,

as with the other legumes, be controlled by the purpose for which the

crop was planted. In harvesting for a hay crop it is desirable to cut

the beans after the pods are well formed but before they are fully

grown. If the cutting is delayed until the pods are ripe, the fruit will

shatter badly. There is a loss, too, in the food value of the stems if

the cutting is late. The ordinary mowing-machine with a rake attached is

generally the machine used for cutting the stalks. The leaves should be

most carefully preserved, for they contain much nourishment for stock.

[Illustration: FIG. 238. SOY BEANS IN CORN]

Whenever the beans are grown for seeds, harvesting should begin when

three fourths of the leaves have fallen and most of the pods are ripe.

Do not wait, however, until the pods are so dry that they have begun to

split and drop their seeds. A slight amount of dampness on the plants

aids the cutting. The threshing may be done with a flail, with

pea-hullers, or with a grain-threshing machine.

The beans produce more seed to the acre than cowpeas do. Forty bushels

is a high yield. The average yield is between twenty and thirty bushels.

DESCRIPTIVE TABLE

ADAPTATION AS

Crop FOOD FOR ANIMALS LIFE REMARKS

Alfalfa Hay Perennial All animals like it; hogs

eat it even when it is dry.

Red clover Hay and pasture Perennial Best of the clovers for hay.

Alsike clover Hay and pasture Perennial Seeds itself for twenty

years. This clover is a

great favorite with bees.

Mammoth clover Hay and pasture Perennial Best for green manure.

White clover Pasture Perennial Excellent for lawns and

bees.

Japan clover Pasture Perennial Excellent for forest and

old soils.

Cowpea Hay and grain Annual Used for hay, green

manure, and pastures.

Soy bean Hay and grain Annual Often put in silo with corn.

Vetches Hay and soiling Annual Pasture for sheep and

swine. With cereals

it makes excellent hay

and soiling-food.

CHAPTER X

DOMESTIC ANIMALS

The progress that a nation is making can with reasonable accuracy be

measured by the kind of live stock it raises. The general rule is, poor

stock, poor people. All the prosperous nations of the globe, especially

the grain-growing nations, get a large share of their wealth from

raising improved stock. The stock bred by these nations is now, however,

very different from the stock raised by the same nations years ago. As

soon as man began to progress in the art of agriculture he became

dissatisfied with inferior stock. He therefore bent his energies to

raise the standard of excellence in domestic animals.

By slow stages of animal improvement the ugly, thin-flanked wild boar of

early times has been transformed into the sleek Berkshire or the

well-rounded Poland-China. In the same manner the wild sheep of the Old

World have been developed into wool and mutton breeds of the finest

excellence. By constant care, attention, and selection the thin,

long-legged wild ox has been bred into the bounteous milk-producing

Jerseys and Holsteins or into the Shorthorn mountains of flesh. From the

small, bony, coarse, and shaggy horse of ancient times have descended

the heavy Norman, or Percheron, draft horse and the fleet Arab courser.

The matter of meat-production is one of vital importance to the human

race, for animal food must always supply a large part of man's ration.

Live stock of various kinds consume the coarser foods, like the grasses,

hays, and grains, which man cannot use. As a result of this consumption

they store in their bodies the exact substances required for building up

the tissues of man's body.

When the animal is used by man for food, one class of foods stored away

in the animal's body produces muscle; another produces fat, heat, and

energy. The food furnished by the slaughter of animals seems necessary

to the full development of man. It is true that the flesh of an animal

will not support human life so long as would the grain that the animal

ate while growing, but it is also true that animal food does not require

so much of man's force to digest it. Hence the use of meat forces a part

of man's life-struggle on the lower animal.

When men feed grain to stock, the animals receive in return power and

food in their most available forms. Men strengthen the animal that they

themselves may be strengthened. One of the great questions, then, for

the stock-grower's consideration is how to make the least amount of food

fed to animals produce the most power and flesh.

SECTION LIII. HORSES

While we have a great many kinds of horses in America, horses are not

natives of this country. Just where wild horses were first tamed and

used is not certainly known. It is believed that in early ages the horse

was a much smaller animal than it now is, and that it gradually attained

its present size. Where food was abundant and nutritious and the climate

mild and healthful, the early horses developed large frames and heavy

limbs and muscles; on the other hand, where food was scarce and the

climate cold and bleak, the animals remained as dwarfed as the ponies of

the Shetland Islands.

[Illustration: FIG. 239. THE FAMILY PET]

One of the first records concerning the horse is found in Genesis xlix,

17, where Jacob speaks of "an adder that biteth the horse heels."

Pharaoh took "six hundred chosen chariots" and "with all the horses and

chariots" pursued the Israelites. The Greeks at first drove the horse

fastened to a rude chariot; later they rode on its back, learning to

manage the animal with voice or switch and without either saddle or

bridle. This thinking people soon invented the snaffle bit, and both

rode and drove with its aid. The curb bit was a Roman invention. Shoeing

was not practiced by either Greeks or Romans. Saddles and harnesses were

at first made of skins and sometimes of cloth.

Among the Tartars of middle and northern Asia and also among some other

nations, mare's milk and the flesh of the horse are used for food. Old

and otherwise worthless horses are regularly fattened for the meat

markets of France and Germany. Various uses are made of the different

parts of a horse's body. The mane and tail are used in the manufacture

of mattresses, and also furnish a haircloth for upholstering; the skin

is tanned into leather; the hoofs are used for glue, and the bones for

making fertilizer.

[Illustration: FIG. 240. PERCHERON HORSE (A DRAFT TYPE)]

Climate, food, and natural surroundings have all aided in producing

changes in the horse's form, size, and appearance. The varying

circumstances under which horses have been raised have given rise to the

different breeds. In addition, the masters' needs had much to do in

developing the type of horses wanted. Some masters desired work horses,

and kept the heavy, muscular, stout-limbed animals; others desired

riding and driving horses, so they saved for their use the light-limbed,

angular horses that had endurance and mettle. The following table gives

some of the different breeds and the places of their development:

[Illustration: FIG. 241.

Diagram shows the proper shape of the fore and hind legs of a horse.

When the straight lines divide the legs equally, the leg action is

straight and regular]

I. _Draft, or Heavy, Breeds_

1. Percheron, from the province of Perche, France.

2. French Draft, developed in France.

3. Belgian Draft, developed by Belgian farmers.

4. Clydesdale, the draft horse of Scotland.

5. Suffolk Punch, from the eastern part of England.

6. English Shire, also from the eastern part of England.

II. _Carriage, or Coach, Breeds_

1. Cleveland Bay, developed in England.

2. French Coach, the gentleman's horse of France.

3. German Coach, from Germany.

4. Oldenburg Coach, Oldenburg, Germany.

5. Hackney, the English high-stepper.

III. _Light, or Roadster, Breeds_

1. American Trotter, developed in America.

2. Thoroughbred, the English running horse.

3. American Saddle Horse, from Kentucky and Virginia.

There is a marked difference in the form and type of these horses, and

on this difference their usefulness depends.

[Illustration: FIG. 242. WIDE HOCK

This horse stands great strains and is not fatigued easily]

[Illustration: FIG. 243. NARROW HOCK

This horse becomes exhausted very easily]

The draft breeds have short legs, and hence their bodies are

comparatively close to the ground. The depth of the body should be about

the same as the length of leg. All draft horses should have upright

shoulders, so as to provide an easy support for the collar. The hock

should be wide, so that the animal shall have great leverage of muscle

for pulling. A horse having a narrow hock is not able to draw a heavy

load and is easily exhausted and liable to curb-diseases (see Figs. 242

and 243).

[Illustration: FIG. 244. THE ROADSTER TYPE]

The legs of all kinds of horses should be straight; a line dropped from

the point of the shoulder to the ground should divide the knees, canon,

fetlock, and foot into two equal parts. When the animal is formed in

this way the feet have room to be straight and square, with just the

breadth of a hoof between them (Fig. 241).

Roadsters are lighter in bone and less heavily muscled; their legs are

longer than those of the draft horses and, as horsemen say, more

"daylight" can be seen under the body. The neck is long and thin, but

fits nicely into the shoulders. The shoulders are sloping and long and

give the roadster ability to reach well out in his stride. The head is

set gracefully on the neck and should be carried with ease and

erectness.

Every man who is to deal with horses ought to become, by observation and

study, an expert judge of forms, qualities, types, defects, and

excellences.

[Illustration: FIG. 245. SIDE VIEW OF LEGS

The diagram shows how the straight lines ought to cross the legs of a

properly shaped horse]

The horse's foot makes an interesting study. The horny outside protects

the foot from mud, ice, and stones. Inside the hoof are the bones and

gristle that serve as cushions to diminish the shock received while

walking or running on hard roads or streets. When shoeing the horse the

frog should not be touched with the knife. It is very seldom that any

cutting need be done. Many blacksmiths do not know this and often

greatly injure the foot.

Since the horse has but a small stomach, the food given should not be

too bulky. In proportion to the horse's size, its grain ration should be

larger than that of other animals. Draft horses and mules, however, can

be fed a more bulky ration than other horses, because they have larger

stomachs and consequently have more room to store food.

[Illustration: FIG. 246. HOW TO MEASURE A HORSE]

The horse should be groomed every day. This keeps the pores of the skin

open and the hair bright and glossy. When horses are working hard, the

harness should be removed during the noon hour. During the cool seasons

of the year, whenever a horse is wet with sweat, it should on stopping

work, or when standing for awhile, be blanketed, for the animal is as

liable as man to get cold in a draft or from moisture evaporating

rapidly from its skin.

EXERCISE

If the pupil will take an ordinary tape measure, he can make some

measurements of the horse that will be very interesting as well as

profitable. Let him measure:

1. The height of the horse at the withers, 1 to 1.

2. The height of the horse at croup, 2 to 2.

3. Length of shoulder, 1 to 3.

4. Length of back, 4.

5. Length of head, 5.

6. Depth of body, 6 to 6.

7. Daylight under body, 7 to 7.

8. Distance from point of shoulder to quarter, 3 to 3.

9. Width of forehead.

10. Width between hips.

NOTE. Many interesting comparisons can be made (1) by

measuring several horses; (2) by studying the proportion between

parts of the same horse.

PROPORTIONS OF A HORSE

1. How many times longer is the body than the head? Do you get the

same result from different horses?

2. How does the height at the withers compare with the height at

the croup?

3. How do these compare with the distance from quarter to shoulder?

4. How does the length of the head compare with the thickness of

the body and with the open space, or "daylight," under the body?

SECTION LIV. CATTLE

All farm animals were once called _cattle_; now this term applies only

to beef and dairy animals--neat cattle.

Our improved breeds are descended from the wild ox of Europe and Asia,

and have attained their size and usefulness by care, food, and

selection. The uses of cattle are so familiar that we need scarcely

mention them. Their flesh is a part of man's daily food; their milk,

cream, butter, and cheese are on most tables; their hides go to make

leather, and their hair for plaster; their hoofs are used for glue, and

their bones for fertilizers, ornaments, buttons, and many other

purposes.

[Illustration: FIG. 247. A PRIZE-WINNER]

There are two main classes of cattle--beef breeds and dairy breeds. The

principal breeds of each class are as follows:

I. _Beef Breeds_

1. Aberdeen-Angus, bred in Scotland, and often called _doddies_.

2. Galloway, from Scotland.

3. Shorthorn, an English breed of cattle.

4. Hereford, also an English breed.

5. Sussex, from the county of Sussex, England.

II. _Dairy Breeds_

1. Jersey, from the Isle of Jersey.

2. Guernsey, from the Isle of Guernsey.

3. Ayrshire, from Scotland.

4. Holstein-Frisian, from Holland and Denmark.

5. Brown Swiss, from Switzerland.

Other breeds of cattle are Devon, Dutch Belted, Red-Polled, Kerry, and

West Highland.

In general structure there is a marked difference between the beef and

dairy breeds. This is shown in Figs. 248, 249. The beef cow is square,

full over the back and loins, and straight in the back. The hips are

covered evenly with flesh, the legs full and thick, the under line, or

stomach line, parallel to the back line, and the neck full and short.

The eye should be bright, the face short, the bones of fine texture, and

the skin soft and pliable.

[Illustration: FIG. 248. ABERDEEN-ANGUS COW (A BEEF TYPE)]

The dairy cow is widely different from the beef cow. She shows a decided

wedge shape when you look at her from front, side, or rear. The back

line is crooked, the hip bones and tail bone are prominent, the thighs

thin and poorly fleshed; there is no breadth to the back, as in the beef

cow, and little flesh covers the shoulders; the neck is long and thin.

The udder of the dairy cow is most important. It should be full but not

fleshy, be well attached behind, and extend well forward. The larger the

udder the more milk will be given.

The skin of the dairy cow, like that of the beef breeds, should be soft

and pliable and the bones fine-textured.

=The Dairy Type.= Because of lack of flesh on the back, loins, and

thighs, the cow of the dairy type is not profitably raised for beef, nor

is the beef so good as that of the beef types. This is because in the

dairy-animal food goes to produce milk rather than beef. In the same way

the beef cow gives little milk, since her food goes rather to fat than

to milk. For the same reasons that you do not expect a plow horse to win

on the race track, you do not expect a cow of the beef type to win

premiums as a milker.

[Illustration: FIG. 249. JERSEY COW (A DAIRY TYPE)]

"Scrub" cattle are not profitable. They mature slowly and consequently

consume much food before they are able to give any return for it. Even

when fattened, the fat and lean portions are not evenly distributed,

and "choice cuts" are few and small.

By far the cheapest method of securing a healthy and profitable herd of

dairy or beef cattle is to save only the calves whose sires are

pure-bred animals and whose mothers are native cows. In this way farmers

of even little means can soon build up an excellent herd.

=Improving Cattle.= The fact that it is not possible for every farmer to

possess pure-bred cattle is no reason why he should not improve the

stock he has. He can do this by using pure-bred sires that possess the

qualities most to be desired. Scrub stock can be quickly improved by the

continuous use of good sires. It is never wise to use grade, or

cross-bred, sires, since the best qualities are not fixed in them.

[Illustration: FIG. 250. HEAD OF A GALLOWAY COW]

Moreover, it is possible for every farmer to determine exactly the

producing-power of his dairy cows. When the cows are milked, the milk

should be weighed and a record kept. If this be done, it will be found

that some cows produce as much as five hundred, and some as much as ten

hundred, gallons a year, while others produce not more than two or three

hundred gallons. If a farmer kills or sells his poor cows and keeps his

best ones, he will soon have a herd of only heavy milkers. Ask your

father to try this plan. Read everything you can find about taking care

of cows and improving them, and then start a herd of your own.

=Conclusions.= (1) A cow with a tendency to get fat is not profitable

for the dairy. (2) A thin, open, angular cow will make expensive beef.

(3) "The sire is half the herd." This means that a good sire is

necessary to improve a herd of cattle. The improvement from scrubs

upward is as follows: the first generation is one-half pure; the second

is three-fourths pure; the third is seven-eighths pure; the fourth is

fifteen-sixteenths pure, etc. (4) By keeping a record of the quantity

and quality of milk each cow gives you can tell which are profitable to

raise from and which are not. (5) Good food, clean water, kindness, and

care are necessary to successful cattle-raising.

[Illustration: FIG. 251. HOLSTEIN COW]

The ownership of a well-bred animal usually arouses so much pride in the

owner that the animal receives all the care that it merits. The watchful

care given to such an animal leads to more thought of the other animals

on the farm, and often brings about the upbuilding of an entire herd.

SECTION LV. SHEEP

The sheep was perhaps the first animal domesticated by man, and to-day

the domesticated sheep is found wherever man lives. It is found

domesticated or wild in almost every climate, and finds means to thrive

where other animals can scarcely live; it provides man with meat and

clothing, and is one of the most profitable and most easily cared-for of

animals.

[Illustration: FIG. 252. A YOUNG SHEPHERD]

Sheep increase so rapidly, mature at such an early age, and have flesh

so wholesome for food that nearly every farm should have its flock.

Another consideration that may be urged in favor of sheep-raising is

that sheep improve the land on which they are pastured.

Sheep are docile and easily handled, and they live on a greater

diversity of food and require less grain than any other kind of live

stock. In mixed farming there is enough food wasted on most farms to

maintain a small flock of sheep.

[Illustration: FIG. 253. SHEEP HAVE LONG BEEN CALLED THE

GOLDEN-HOOFED ANIMALS]

Sheep may be divided into three classes:

I. _Fine-Wooled Breeds_

1. American Merino.

2. Delaine Merino.

3. Rambouillets.

4. Hampshire Down.

5. Oxford Down.

6. Cheviot.

II. _Medium-Wooled Breeds_

1. Southdown.

2. Shropshire.

3. Horned Dorset.

III. _Long-Wooled Breeds_

1. Leicester.

2. Lincoln.

3. Cotswold.

[Illustration: FIG. 254. IN THE PASTURE]

The first group is grown principally for wool, and mutton is secondary;

in the second group, mutton comes first and wool second; in the third

group both are important considerations. Wool is nature's protection for

the sheep. Have you ever opened the fleece and observed the clean skin

in which the fibers grow? These fibers, or hairs, are so roughened that

they push all dirt away from the skin toward the outside of the fleece.

Wool is valuable in proportion to the length and evenness of the fiber

and the density of the fleece.

EXERCISE

1. How many pounds ought a fleece of wool to weigh?

2. Which makes the better clothing, coarse or fine wool?

3. Why are sheep washed before being sheared?

4. Does cold weather trouble sheep? wet weather?

SECTION LVI. SWINE

The wild boar is a native of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The wild hogs are

the parents from which all our domestic breeds have sprung. In many

parts of the world the wild boar is still found. These animals are

active and powerful, and as they grow older are fierce and dangerous. In

their wild state they seek moist, sandy, and well-wooded places, close

to streams of water. Their favorite foods are fruits, grass, and roots,

but when pressed by hunger they will eat snakes, worms, and even higher

animals, like birds, fowls, and fish.

[Illustration: FIG. 255. WHICH WILL YOU RAISE?]

Man captured some of these wild animals, fed them abundant and

nutritious food, accustomed them to domestic life, selected the best of

them to raise from, and in the course of generations developed our

present breeds of hogs. The main changes brought about in hogs were

these: the legs became shorter, the snout and neck likewise shortened,

the shoulders and hams increased their power to take on flesh, and the

frame was strengthened to carry the added burden of flesh. As the animal

grew heavier it roamed less widely, and as it grew accustomed to man its

temper became less fierce.

[Illustration: FIG. 256. A PAIR OF PORKERS]

Meat can be more cheaply obtained from hogs than from any other animal.

When a hog is properly fed and cared for it will make the farmer more

money in proportion to cost than any other animal on the farm.

The most profitable type of hog has short legs, small bones, straight

back and under line, heavy hams, small well-dished head, and heavy

shoulders. The scrub and "razorback" hogs are very unprofitable, and

require an undue amount of food to produce a pound of gain. It requires

two years to get the scrub to weigh what a well-bred pig will weigh

when nine months old. Scrub hogs can be quickly changed in form and type

by the use of a pure-bred sire.

A boy whose parents were too poor to send him to college once decided to

make his own money and get an education. He bought a sow and began to

raise pigs. He earned the food for the mother and her pigs. His hogs

increased so rapidly that he had to work hard to keep them in food. By

saving the money he received from the sale of his hogs he had enough to

keep him two years in college. Suppose you try his plan, and let the hog

show you how fast it can make money.

[Illustration: FIG. 257. A GOOD TYPE]

We have several breeds of swine. The important ones are:

I. _Large Breeds_

1. Chester White.

2. Improved Yorkshire.

3. Tamworth.

II. _Medium Breeds_

1. Berkshire.

2. Poland-China.

3. Duroc-Jersey.

4. Cheshire.

III. _Small Breeds_

1. Victoria.

2. Suffolk.

3. Essex.

4. Small Yorkshire.

Hogs will be most successfully raised when kept as little as possible in

pens. They like the fields and the pasture grass, the open air and the

sunshine. Almost any kind of food can be given them. Unlike other stock,

they will devour greedily and tirelessly the richest feeding-stuffs.

The most desirable hog to raise is one that will produce a more or less

even mixture of fat and lean. Where only corn is fed, the body becomes

very fat and is not so desirable for food as when middlings, tankage,

cowpeas, or soy beans are added as a part of the ration.

[Illustration: FIG. 258. DINNER IS OVER]

When hogs are kept in pens, cleanliness is most important, for only by

cleanliness can disease be avoided.

SECTION LVII. FARM POULTRY

Our geese, ducks, turkeys, and domestic hens are all descendants of wild

fowls, and are more or less similar to them in appearance.

The earliest recorded uses of fowls were for food, for fighting, and for

sacrifice. To-day the domestic fowl has four well-defined

uses--egg-production, meat-production, feather-production, and

pest-destruction.

[Illustration: STANDARD-BRED FOWLS

Barred Plymouth Rocks, male and female; White Wyandottes, female and

male]

Hens of course produce most of our eggs. Some duck eggs are sold for

table use. Goose and duck body-feathers bring good prices. As

pest-destroyers turkeys and chickens are most useful. They eat large

numbers of bugs and worms that are harmful to crops. A little proper

attention would very largely increase the already handsome sum derived

from our fowls. They need dry, warm, well-lighted, and tidily kept

houses. They must have, if we want the best returns, an abundant supply

of pure water and a variety of nutritious foods. In cold, rainy, or

snowy weather they should have a sheltered yard, and in good weather

should be allowed a range wide enough to give them exercise. Their

bodies and their nests must be protected from every form of vermin.

For eggs, the Leghorn varieties are popular. Some hens of this breed

have been known to lay more than two hundred eggs in a year. Specially

cared-for flocks have averaged eleven or even twelve dozen eggs a year.

Farm flocks of ordinary breeds average less than eight dozen. Other

excellent egg breeds are the Spanish, Andalusian, and Minorca.

[Illustration: FIG. 259. COCK]

The principal so-called meat breeds are the Brahma, Cochin, and

Langshan. These are very large, but rather slow-growing fowls, and are

not noted as layers. They are far less popular in America, even as

meat-producers, than the general-purpose breeds.

The Plymouth Rock, Wyandotte, Rhode Island Red, and Orpington are the

leading general-purpose breeds. They are favorites because they are at

once good-sized, good layers, tame, and good mothers. The chicks of

these breeds are hardy and thrifty. In addition to these breeds, there

are many so-called fancy breeds that are prized for their looks rather

than for their value. Among these are the Hamburg, Polish, Sultan,

Silkie, and the many Bantam breeds.

The leading duck breeds are the Pekin, Aylesbury, Indian Runner,

Muscovy, Rouen, and Cayuga. The principal varieties of geese are the

Toulouse, Emden, Chinese, and African.

Among the best breeds of turkeys are the Bronze, White Holland,

Narragansett, Bourbon, Slate, and Buff.

Geese, ducks, and turkeys are not so generally raised as hens, but there

is a constant demand at good prices for these fowls.

[Illustration: FIG. 260. BROODER]

The varieties of the domestic hen are as follows:

I. _Egg Breeds_

1. Leghorn.

2. Minorca.

3. Spanish.

4. Blue Andalusian.

5. Anconas.

II. _Meat Breeds_

1. Brahma.

2. Cochin.

3. Langshan.

4. Dorking.

5. Cornish.

III. _General-Purpose Breeds_

1. Plymouth Rock.

2. Wyandotte.

3. Rhode Island Red.

4. Orpington.

IV. _Fancy Breeds_

1. Polish.

2. Game.

3. Sultan.

4. Bantam.

[Illustration: FIG. 261. BREEDING YARDS]

[Illustration: FIG. 262. INCUBATOR]

As the price of both eggs and fowls is steadily advancing, a great many

people are now raising fowls by means of an incubator for hatching, and

a brooder as a substitute for the mother hen.

The use of the incubator is extending each year and is now almost

universal where any considerable number of chicks are to be hatched.

Doubtless it will continue to be used wherever poultry-production is

engaged in on a large scale.

The brooder is employed to take care of the chickens as soon as they

leave the incubator.

SECTION LVIII. BEE CULTURE

Stock-raisers select breeds that are best adapted to their needs.

Plant-growers exercise great care in their choice of plants, selecting

for each planting those best suited to the conditions under which they

are to be grown. Undoubtedly a larger yield of honey could be had each

year if similar care were exercised in the selection of the breed of

bees.

[Illustration: FIG. 263. A CARNIOLAN WORKER]

To prove this, one has only to compare the yield of two different kinds.

The common East Indian honey bee rarely produces more than ten or twelve

pounds to a hive, while the Cyprian bee, which is a most industrious

worker, has a record of one thousand pounds in one season from a single

colony. This bee, besides being industrious when honey material is

plentiful, is also very persevering when such material is hard to find.

The Cyprians have two other very desirable qualities. They stand the

cold of winter well and stoutly defend their hives against robber bees

and other enemies.

The Italian is another good bee. This variety was brought into the

United States in 1860. While the yield from the Italian is somewhat less

than from the Cyprian, the Italian bees produce a whiter comb and are a

trifle more easily managed.

The common black or brown bee is found wild and domesticated throughout

the country. When honey material is abundant, these bees equal the

Italians in honey-production, but when the season is poor, they fall far

short in the amount of honey produced.

The purchase of a good Cyprian or Italian hive will richly repay the

buyer. Such a colony will cost more at the outset than an ordinary

colony, but will soon pay for its higher cost by greater production.

[Illustration: FIG. 264. A CARNIOLAN DRONE]

A beehive in the spring contains one queen, several hundred drones, and

from thirty-five to forty thousand workers. The duty of the queen is to

lay all the eggs that are to hatch the future bees. This she does with

untiring industry, often laying as many as four thousand in twenty-four

hours.

The worker bees do all the work. Some of them visit the flowers, take up

the nectar into the honey-sac, located in their abdomens, and carry it

to the hive. They also gather pollen in basketlike cavities in their

hind legs. Pollen and nectar are needed to prepare food for the young

bees. In the hive other workers create a breeze by buzzing with their

wings and produce heat by their activity--all to cause the water to

evaporate from the nectar and to convert it into honey before it is

sealed up in the comb. After a successful day's gathering you may often

hear these tireless workers buzzing till late into the night or even all

through the night.

You know that the bees get nectar from the flowers of various plants.

Some of the chief honey plants are alfalfa, buckwheat, horsemint,

sourwood, white sage, wild pennyroyal, black gum, holly, chestnut,

magnolia, and the tulip tree. The yield of honey may often be increased

by providing special pasturage for the bees. The linden tree, for

example, besides being ornamental and valuable for timber, produces a

most bee-inviting flower. Vetch, clover, and most of the legumes and

mints are valuable plants to furnish pasture for bees. Catnip may be

cultivated for the bees and sold as an herb as well.

[Illustration: FIG. 265. A CARNIOLAN QUEEN]

In spraying fruit trees to prevent disease you should always avoid

spraying when the trees are in bloom, since the poison of the spray

seriously endangers the lives of bees.

The eggs laid by the queen, if they are to produce workers, require

about twenty-one days to bring forth the perfect bee. The newly hatched

bee commences life as a nurse. When about ten days old it begins to try

its wings in short flights, and a few days later it begins active work.

The life of a worker bee in the busy season is only about six weeks. You

may distinguish young exercising bees from real workers by the fact that

they do not fly directly away on emerging from the hive, but circle

around a bit in order to make sure that they can recognize home again,

since they would receive no cordial welcome if they should attempt to

enter another hive. They hesitate upon returning from even these short

flights, to make sure that they are in front of their own door.

[Illustration: FIG. 266. GOOD FORM OF HIVE]

There are several kinds of enemies of the bee which all beekeepers

should know. One of these is the robber bee, that is, a bee from another

colony attempting to steal honey from the rightful owners, an attempt

often resulting in frightful slaughter. Much robbery can be avoided by

clean handling; that is, by leaving no honey about to cultivate a taste

for stolen sweets. The bee moth is another serious enemy. The larva of

the moth feeds on the wax. Keep the colonies of bees strong so that they

may be able to overcome this moth.

[Illustration: FIG. 267. ANTI-ROBBING ENTRANCE

_st_, stationary piece; _s_, slide; _p_, pin, or stop]

Queenless or otherwise weak colonies should be protected by a narrow

entrance that admits only one bee at a time, for such a pass may be

easily guarded. Fig. 267 shows a good anti-robbery entrance which may be

readily provided for every weak colony. Mice may be kept out by

tin-lined entrances. The widespread fear of the kingbird seems

unfounded. He rarely eats anything but drones, and few of them. This is

also true of the swallow. Toads, lizards, and spiders are, however, true

enemies of the honeybee.

EXERCISE

Can you recognize drones, workers, and queens? Do bees usually

limit their visits to one kind of blossom on any one trip? What

effect has the kind of flower on the flavor of the honey produced?

What kinds of flowers should the beekeeper provide for his bees? Is

the kingbird really an enemy to the bee?

SECTION LIX. WHY WE FEED ANIMALS

In the first place, we give various kinds of feed stuffs to our animals

that they may live. The heart beats all the time, the lungs contract and

expand, digestion is taking place, the blood circulates through the

body--something must supply force for these acts or the animal dies.

This force is derived from food.

In the next place, food is required to keep the body warm. Food in this

respect is fuel, and acts in the same way that wood or coal does in the

stove. Our bodies are warm all the time, and they are kept warm by the

food we eat at mealtime.

Then, in the third place, food is required to enable the body to

enlarge--to grow. If you feed a colt just enough to keep it alive and

warm, there will be no material present to enable it to grow; hence you

must add enough food to form bone and flesh and muscle and hair and fat.

In the fourth place, we feed to produce strength for work. An animal

poorly fed cannot do so much work at the plow or on the road as one that

receives all the food needed.

Both food and the force produced by it result from the activity of

plants. By means of sunlight and moisture a sprouting seed, taking out

of the air and soil different elements, grows into a plant. Then, just

as the plant feeds on the air and soil to get its growth, so the animal

feeds on the plant, to get its growth. Hence, since our animals feed

upon plants, we must find out what is in plants in order to know what

animal food consists of.

Plants contain protein, carbohydrates, fat, mineral matter, water, and

vitamins. You have seen protein compounds like the white of an egg, lean

meat, or the gluten of wheat. The bodies of plants do not contain very

much protein. On the other hand, all plant seeds contain a good deal of

this substance. Animals make use of protein to form new blood, muscles,

and organs. Because of the quality of protein, milk is the best food for

children and young animals.

The protein in some foods is of poor quality. To insure a well-balanced

supply of protein a variety in foods is desirable. Do not rely on a

single kind of mill feed, but combine several kinds, such as cotton-seed

meal, linseed meal, wheat bran and middlings, gluten, and similar grain

by-products. Tankage for young pigs and meat scraps for chickens are

high-grade proteins and are of animal origin.

It is no less important to get the necessary vitamins--those mysterious

substances that keep the body healthy and promote growth and well-being.

Scientists claim that many diseases are food-deficiency diseases--the

body gets out of order because these peculiar vitamins are lacking in

the food. Children require about one or two quarts of milk a day, fresh

fruits, cereal breakfast foods, leafy vegetables as salads, and cooked

vegetables.

Farm animals require the vitamins also. The legume pasture or hay, milk,

grain concentrates when supplied in variety, pasture grass, and green

forage crops are basic foods for farm animals. Very young animals should

have milk also.

Let us next consider the carbohydrates. Sometimes the words _starchy

foods_ are used to describe the carbohydrates. You have long known

forms of these in the white material of corn and of potatoes. The

carbohydrates are formed of three elements--carbon, oxygen, and

hydrogen. The use of these carbohydrates is to furnish to animal bodies

either heat or energy or to enable them to store fat.

In the next place, let us look at the fat in plant food. This consists

of the oil stored up in the seeds and other parts of the plant. The

grains contain most of the oil. Fat is used by the animal to make heat

and energy or to be stored away in the body.

The next animal food in the plant that we are to think about is the

mineral matter. The ashes of a burnt plant furnish a common example of

this mineral matter. The animal uses this material of the plant to make

bone, teeth, and tissue.

The last thing that the plant furnishes the animal is water--just common

water. Young plants contain comparatively large quantities of water.

This is one reason why they are soft, juicy, and palatable. But, since

animals get their water chiefly in another way, the water in feed stuffs

is not important.

WHAT THESE COMPOUNDS DO IN THE BODY

_Protein_

1. Forms flesh, bone, blood, internal organs, hair, and milk.

2. May be used to make fat.

3. May be used for heat.

4. May be used to produce energy.

_Carbohydrates_

1. Furnish body heat.

2. Furnish energy.

3. Make fat.

_Fat_

1. Furnishes body heat.

2. Furnishes energy.

3. Furnishes body fat.

_Mineral Matter_

Furnishes mineral matter for the bones in the body.

_Water_

Supplies water in the body.

CHAPTER XI

FARM DAIRYING

SECTION LX. THE DAIRY COW

Success in dairy farming depends largely upon the proper feeding of

stock. There are two questions that the dairy farmer should always ask

himself: Am I feeding as cheaply as I can? and, Am I feeding the best

rations for milk and butter production? Of course cows can be kept alive

and in fairly good milk flow on many different kinds of food, but in

feeding, as in everything else, there is an ideal to be sought.

[Illustration: FIG. 268. MILKING-TIME]

What, then, is an ideal ration for a dairy cow? Before trying to answer

this question the word _ration_ needs to be explained. By ration is

meant a sufficient quantity of food to support properly an animal for

one day. If the animal is to have a proper ration, we must bear in mind

what the animal needs in order to be best nourished. To get material for

muscle, for blood, for milk, and for some other things, the animal

needs, in the first place, food that contains protein. To keep warm and

fat, the animal must, in the second place, have food containing

carbohydrates and fats. These foods must be mixed in right proportions.

[Illustration: FIG. 269. A DAIRY]

With these facts in mind we are prepared for an answer to the question,

What is an ideal ration?

First, it is a ration that, without waste, furnishes both in weight and

bulk of dry matter a sufficient amount of digestible, nutritious food.

Second, it is a ration that is comparatively cheap.

Third, it is a ration in which the milk-forming food (protein) is

rightly proportioned to the heat-making and fat-making food

(carbohydrates and fat). Any ration in which this proportion is

neglected is badly balanced.

Now test one or two commonly used rations by these rules. Would a ration

of cotton-seed meal and cotton-seed hulls be a model ration? No. Such a

ration, since the seeds are grown at home, would be cheap enough.

However, it is badly balanced, for it is too rich in protein; hence it

is a wasteful ration. Would a ration of corn meal and corn stover be a

desirable ration? This, too, since the corn is home-grown, would be

cheap for the farmer; but, like the other, it is badly balanced, for it

contains too much carbohydrate food and is therefore a wasteful ration.

A badly balanced ration does harm in two ways: first, the milk flow of

the cow is lessened by such a ration; second, the cow does not

profitably use the food that she eats.

The following table gives an excellent dairy ration for the farmer who

has a silo. If he does not have a silo, some other food can be used in

place of the ensilage. The table also shows what each food contains. As

you grow older, it will pay you to study such tables most carefully.

===============================================================

| DIGESTIBLE MATTER

|----------------------------------

FEED STUFFS | Dry |Protein|Carbohydrates| Fat

|matter| | |

---------------------------------------------------------------

Cowpea hay = 15 pounds[1] | 13.50| 1.62 | 5.79 | .16

Corn stover = 10 pounds | 5.95| .17 | 3.24 | .07

Corn ensilage = 30 pounds | 6.27| .27 | 3.39 | .21

Cotton-seed meal = 2 pounds | 1.83| .74 | .33 | .24

---------------------------------------------------------------

Total = 57 pounds | 27.55| 2.80 | 12.75 | .68

===============================================================

[Footnote 1: Alfalfa or clover hay may take the place of cowpea hay.]

=Care of the Cow.= As the cow is one of the best money-makers on the

farm, she should, for this reason, if for no other, be comfortably

housed, well fed and watered, and most kindly treated. In your thoughts

for her well-being, bear the following directions in mind:

1. If you are not following a balanced ration, feed each day several

different kinds of food. In this way you will be least likely to waste

food.

2. Feed at regular hours. Cows, like people, thrive best when their

lives are orderly.

3. Milk at regular hours.

4. Brush the udder carefully with a moist cloth before you begin to

milk. Cleanliness in handling makes the milk keep longer.

5. Always milk in buckets or cups that have been scalded since the last

using. The hot water kills the bacteria that collect in the dents or

cracks of the utensil.

6. Never let the milk pail remain in the stable. Milk rapidly absorbs

impurities. These spoil the flavor and cause the milk to sour.

7. Never scold or strike the cow. She is a nervous animal, and rough

usage checks the milk flow.

[Illustration]

[Illustration: THREE GENERATIONS OF HIGH-BRED COWS]

SECTION LXI. MILK, CREAM, CHURNING, AND BUTTER

=Milk.= Milk is, as you know, nature's first food for mammals. This is

because milk is a model food--it contains water to slake thirst, ash to

make bone, protein to make flesh and muscle, and fat and sugar to keep

the body warm and to furnish energy.

=The Different Kinds of Milk.= Whole, or unskimmed, milk, skimmed milk,

and buttermilk are too familiar to need description. When a cow is just

fresh, her milk is called _colostrum_. Colostrum is rich in the very

food that the baby calf needs. After the calf is a few days old,

colostrum changes to what is commonly known as milk.

The following table shows the composition of each of the different forms

of milk:

=======================================================

| DIGESTIBLE MATTER IN 100 POUNDS

|----------------------------------

COMPOSITION OF MILK | Dry |Protein|Carbohydrates| Fat

|matter| | |

-------------------------------------------------------

Colostrum | 25.4 | 17.6 | 2.7 | 3.6

Milk (unskimmed) | 12.8 | 3.6 | 4.9 | 3.7

Skimmed milk | 9.4 | 2.9 | 5.2 | 1.3

Buttermilk | 9.9 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 1.1

=======================================================

A noticeable fact in this table is that skimmed milk differs from

unskimmed mainly in the withdrawal of the fat. Hence, if calves are fed

on skimmed milk, they should have in addition some food like corn meal

to take the place of the fat withdrawn. A calf cannot thrive on skimmed

milk alone. The amount of nourishing fat that a calf gets out of enough

milk to make a pound of butter can be bought, in the form of linseed or

corn meal, for a very small amount, while the butter-fat costs, for

table use, a much larger sum. Of course, then, it is not economical to

allow calves to use unskimmed milk. Some people undervalue skimmed milk;

with the addition of some fatty food it makes an excellent ration for

calves, pigs, and fowls.

Along with its dry matter, its protein, its carbohydrates, and its fats,

milk and its products possess another most important property. This

property is hard to describe, for its elements and its powers are not

yet fully understood. We do, however, know certainly this much: milk and

the foods made from it have power to promote health and favor growth in

a more marked degree than any other foods. It is generally agreed that

this is due to the health-promoting and health-preserving substances

which are called vitamines. Men of science are working with much care to

try to add to our knowledge of these vitamines, which have so marvelous

an influence on the health of all animals. Unless food, no matter how

good otherwise, contains these vitamines, it does not nourish the body

nor preserve bodily health as it should. A complete lack of vitamines in

our food would cause death. Since, then, milk and its products--butter,

cheese, curds--are rich in vitamines, these health-giving and

health-preserving foods should form a regular part of each person's

diet.

[Illustration: FIG. 270. AIRING THE CANS]

=Cream.= Cream is simply a mixture of butter-fat and milk. The

butter-fat floats in the milk in little globe-shaped bodies, or

globules. Since these globules are lighter than milk, they rise to the

surface. Skimming the milk is a mere gathering together of these

butter-fat globules. As most of the butter-fat is contained in the

cream, pains should be taken to get all the cream from the milk at

skimming time.

After the cream has been collected, it must be allowed to "ripen" or to

"sour" in order that it may be more easily churned. Churning is only a

second step to collect in a compact shape the fat globules. It often

happens that at churning-time the cream is too warm for successful

separation of the globules. Whenever this is the case the cream must be

cooled.

[Illustration: FIG. 271. A HAND SEPARATOR]

=The Churn.= Revolving churns without inside fixtures are best. Hence,

in buying, select a barrel or a square box churn. This kind of churn

"brings the butter" by the falling of the cream from side to side as the

churn is revolved. Never fill the churn more than one-third or one-half

full of cream. A small churn is always to be avoided.

=Churning.= The proper temperature for churning ranges from 58 deg. to 62 deg.

Fahrenheit. Test the cream when it is put into the churn. If it be too

cold, add warm water until the proper temperature is reached; if too

warm, add cold water or ice until the temperature is brought down to

62 deg.. Do not churn too long, for this spoils butter. As soon as the

granules of butter are somewhat smaller than grains of wheat, stop the

churn. Then draw off the buttermilk and at a temperature as low as 50 deg.

wash the butter in the churn. This washing with cold water so hardens

the granules that they do not mass too solidly and thus destroy the

grain.

=Butter.= The butter so churned is now ready to be salted. Use good fine

dairy salt. Coarse barrel salt is not fit for butter. The salt can be

added while the butter is still in the churn or after it is put upon the

butter-worker. Never work by hand. The object of working is to get the

salt evenly distributed and to drive out some of the brine. It is

usually best to work butter twice. The two workings bring about a more

even mixture of the salt with the butter and drive off more water. But

one cannot be too particular not to overwork butter. Delicate coloring,

attractive stamping with the dairy owner's special stamp, and proper

covering with paper cost little and of course add to the ready and

profitable sale of butter.

[Illustration: FIG. 272. A POWER CHURN]

DAIRY RULES

_Stable and Cows_

1. Whitewash the stable once or twice each year; use land plaster, muck,

or loam daily in the manure-gutters.

2. On their way to pasture or milking-place, do not allow the cows to be

driven at a faster gait than a comfortable walk.

3. Give abundance of pure water.

4. Do not change feed suddenly.

5. Keep salt always within reach of each cow.

_Milking_

1. Milk with dry hands.

2. Never allow the milk to touch the milker's hands.

3. Require the milker to be clean in person and dress.

4. Milk quietly, quickly, thoroughly. Never leave a drop of milk in the

cow's udder.

5. Do not allow cats, dogs, or other animals around at milking-time.

_Utensils_

1. Use only tin or metal cans and pails.

2. See that all utensils are thoroughly clean and free from rust.

3. Require all cans and pails to be scalded immediately after they are

used.

4. After milking, keep the utensils inverted in pure air, and sun them,

if possible, until they are wanted for use.

5. Always sterilize the churn with steam or boiling water before and

after churning. This prevents any odors or bad flavors from affecting

the butter. All cans, pails, and bottles should also be sterilized

daily.

[Illustration]

SECTION LXII. HOW MILK SOURS

[Illustration: FIG. 273. MICROSCOPIC APPEARANCE OF PURE AND IMPURE MILK

At the left, pure milk; at the right, milk after standing in a warm room

for a few hours in a dirty dish, showing, besides the fat-globules, many

forms of bacteria]

On another page you have been told how the yeast plant grows in cider

and causes it to sour, and how bacteria sometimes cause disease in

animals and plants. Now you must learn what these same living forms have

to do with the souring of milk, and maybe you will not forget how you

can prevent your milk from souring. In the first place, milk sours

because bacteria from the air fall into the milk, begin to grow, and

very shortly change the sugar of the milk to an acid. When this acid

becomes abundant, the milk begins to curdle. As you know, the bacteria

are in air, in water, and in barn dust; they stick on bits of hay and

stick to the cow. They are most plentiful, however, in milk that has

soured; hence, if we pour a little sour milk into a pail of fresh milk,

the fresh milk will sour very quickly, because we have, so to speak,

"seeded" or "planted" the fresh milk with the souring germs. No one, of

course, ever does this purposely in the dairy, yet people sometimes do

what amounts to the same thing--that is, put fresh milk into poorly

cleaned pails or pans, the cracks and corners of which are cozy homes

for millions of germs left from the last sour milk contained in the

vessel. It follows, then, that all utensils used in the dairy should be

thoroughly scalded so as to kill all germs present, and particular care

should be taken to clean the cracks and crevices, for in them the germs

lurk.

In addition to this thorough cleansing with hot water, we should be

careful never to stir up the dust of the barn just before milking. Such

dusty work as pitching hay or stover or arranging bedding should be done

either after or long before milking-time, for more germs fall into the

milk if the air be full of dust.

To further avoid germs the milker should wear clean overalls, should

have clean hands, and, above all, should never wet his hands with milk.

This last habit, in addition to being filthy, lessens the keeping power

of the milk. The milker should also moisten the parts of the cow which

are nearest him, so that dust from the cow's sides may not fall into the

milker's pail. For greater cleanliness and safety many milkmen curry

their cows.

The first few streams from each teat should be thrown away, because the

teat at its mouth is filled with milk which, having been exposed to the

air, is full of germs, and will do much toward souring the other milk in

the pail. Barely a gill will be lost by throwing the first drawings

away, and this of the poorest milk too. The increase in the keeping

quality of the milk will much more than repay the small loss. If these

precautions are taken, the milk will keep several hours or even several

days longer than milk carelessly handled. By taking these steps to

prevent germs from falling into the milk, a can of milk was once kept

sweet for thirty-one days.

The work of the germ in the dairy is not, however, confined to souring

the milk. Certain kinds of germs give to the different sorts of cheeses

their marked flavors and to butter its flavor. If the right germ is

present, cheese or butter gets a proper flavor. Sometimes undesirable

germs gain entrance and give flavors that we do not like. Such germs

produce cheese or butter diseases. "Bitter butter" is one of these

diseases. To keep out all unpleasant meddlers, thoroughly cleanse and

scald every utensil.

EXERCISE

What causes milk to sour? Why do unclean utensils affect the milk?

How should milk be cared for to prevent its souring? Prepare two

samples, one carefully, the other carelessly. Place them side by

side. Which keeps longer? Why?

SECTION LXIII. THE BABCOCK MILK-TESTER

It is not sufficient for a farmer or a dairyman to know how much milk

each of his cows yields. He should also know how rich the milk is in

butter-fat. Wide-awake makers of butter and cheese now buy milk, not by

the pound or by the gallon, but by the amount of butter-fat contained in

each pound or gallon of milk. A gallon of milk containing four and a

half per cent of fat will consequently be worth more than a gallon

containing only three per cent of fat. So it may happen that a cow

giving only two gallons of milk may pay a butter-maker more than a cow

giving three gallons of milk. Of course it is easy to weigh or measure

the quantity of milk given by a cow, and most milkers keep this record;

but until recent years there was no way to find out the amount of fat in

a cow's milk except by a slow and costly chemical test. Dairymen could

only guess at the richness of milk.

In 1890 Dr. S. M. Babcock of the Wisconsin Experiment Station invented a

wonderful little machine that quickly and cheaply measures the fat in

milk. Few machines are more useful. So desirous was Dr. Babcock of

helping the farmers that he would not add to the cost of his machine by

taking out a patent on his invention. His only reward has been the fame

won by the invention of the machine, which bears his name. This most

useful tester is now made in various sizes so that every handler of milk

may buy one suited to his needs and do his own testing at very little

cost.

The operation of the machine is very simple. Suppose that the members of

the class studying this book have been asked to take a Babcock machine

and test the milk of a small herd of cows. They can readily do so by

following these directions:

While the milk is still warm from the first cow to be tested, mix it

thoroughly by pouring it at least four times from one vessel to another.

A few ounces of this mixed milk is then taken for a sample, and

carefully marked with the name of the cow. A number is also put on the

sample, and both the cow's name and the number entered in a notebook. A

small glass instrument, called a pipette, comes with each machine. Put

one end of the pipette into the milk sample and the other end into the

mouth. Suck milk into the pipette until the milk comes up to the mark on

the side of the pipette. As soon as the mark is reached, withdraw the

pipette from the mouth and quickly press the forefinger on the mouth

end. The pressure of the finger will keep the milk from running out.

Then put the lower end of the pipette into one of the small long-necked

bottles of the machine, and, lifting the finger, allow the milk to flow

gently into the bottle. Expel all the milk by blowing through the

pipette.

The next step is to add a strong, biting acid known as sulphuric acid to

the test-bottle into which you have just put the milk. A glass marked to

show just how much acid to use also comes with the machine. Fill this

glass measure to the mark. Then pour the acid carefully into the

test-bottle. Be sure not to drop any of the acid on your hands or your

clothes. As the acid is heavier than the milk, it will sink to the

bottom of the bottle. With a gentle whirling motion, shake the bottle

until the two fluids are thoroughly mixed. The mixture will turn a dark

brown and become very warm.

Now fill the other bottles in the same way with samples drawn from

different cows. Treat all the samples precisely as you did the first. Do

not forget to put on each sample the name of the cow giving the milk and

on each test-bottle a number corresponding to the name of the cow.

You are now ready to put the test-bottles in the sockets of the machine.

Arrange the bottles in the sockets so that the whirling frame of the

machine will be balanced. Fit the cover on the machine and turn the

handle slowly. Gradually gain in speed until the machine is whirled

rapidly. Continue the turning for about seven minutes at the speed

stated in the book of directions.

After this first turning is finished, pour enough hot water into each

test-bottle to cause the fat to rise to the neck of the bottle. Re-cover

the machine and turn for one minute. Again add hot water to each bottle

until all the fat rises into the neck of the bottle and again turn one

minute.

There remains now only the reading of the record. On the neck of each

bottle there are marks to measure the amount of fat. If the fat inside

the tube reaches only from the lowest mark to the second mark, then

there is only one per cent of fat in this cow's milk. This means that

the owner of the cow gets only one pound of butter-fat from each

hundred pounds of her milk. Such a cow would not be at all profitable to

a butter-seller. If the fat in another test-bottle reaches from the

lowest mark to the fourth mark, then you put in your record-book that

this cow's milk contains four per cent of butter-fat. This record shows

that the second cow's milk yields four pounds of fat to every hundred

pounds of milk. This cow is three times more valuable to a butter-maker

than the first cow. In the same way add one more per cent for each

higher mark reached by the fat. Four and one-half per cent is a good

record for a cow to make. Some cows yield as high as five or six per

cent but they do not generally keep up this record all the year.

[Illustration: FIG. 274. BABCOCK TESTER AND HOW TO USE IT

The tester, acid, acid measure, test-bottle, and thermometer at bottom;

filling the pipette on right; adding the acid and measuring the fat at

top]

The Babcock tester shows only the amount of pure butter-fat in the milk.

It does not tell the exact amount of finished butter which is made from

100 pounds of milk. This is because butter contains a few other things

in addition to pure butter-fat. Finished and salted butter weighs on an

average about one sixth more than the fat shown by the tester. Hence to

get the exact amount of butter in every 100 pounds of milk, you will

have to add one sixth to the record shown by the tester. Suppose, for

example, you took one sample from 600 pounds of milk and that your test

showed 4 per cent of fat in every 100 pounds of milk. Then, as you had

600 pounds of milk, you would have 24 pounds of butter-fat. This fat,

after it has been salted and after it has absorbed moisture as butter

does, will gain one sixth in weight. As one sixth of 24 is 4, this new 4

pounds must be added to the weight of the butter-fat. Hence the 600

pounds of milk would produce about 28 pounds of butter.

EXERCISE

1. Find the number of pounds of butter in 1200 pounds of milk that

tests 3 per cent of butter-fat.

2. A cow yields 4800 pounds of milk in a year. Her milk tests 4 per

cent of butter-fat. Find the total amount of butter-fat she yields.

Find also the total amount of butter.

3. The milk of two cows was tested: one yielded in a year 6000

pounds of milk that tested 3 per cent of fat; the other yielded

5000 pounds that tested 4 per cent. Which cow yielded the more

butter-fat? What was the money value of the butter produced by each

if butter-fat is worth twenty-five cents a pound?

CHAPTER XII

MISCELLANEOUS

SECTION LXIV. GROWING FEED STUFFS ON THE FARM

Economy in raising live stock demands the production of all "roughness"

or roughage materials on the farm. By roughness, or roughage, of course

you understand that bulky food, like hay, grass, clover, stover, etc.,

is meant. It is possible to purchase all roughage materials and yet make

a financial success of growing farm animals, but this certainly is not

the surest way to succeed. Every farm should raise all its feed stuffs.

In deciding what forage and grain crops to grow we should decide:

1. The crops best suited to our soil and climate.

2. The crops best suited to our line of business.

3. The crops that will give us the most protein.

4. The crops that produce the most.

5. The crops that will keep our soil in the best condition.

1. _The crops best suited to our soil and climate._ Farm crops, as every

child of the farm knows, are not equally adapted to all soils and

climates. Cotton cannot be produced where the climate is cool and the

seasons short. Timothy and blue grass are most productive on cool,

limestone soils. Cowpeas demand warm, dry soils. But in spite of

climatic limitations, Nature has been generous in the wide variety of

forage she has given us.

Our aim should be to make the best use of what we have, to improve by

selection and care those kinds best adapted to our soil and climate, and

to secure, by better methods of growing and curing, the greatest yields

at the least possible cost.

2. _The crops best suited to our line of business._ A farmer necessarily

becomes more or less of a specialist; he gathers those kinds of live

stock about him which he likes best and which he finds the most

profitable. He should, on his farm, select for his main crops those that

he can grow with the greatest pleasure and with the greatest profit.

[Illustration: FIG. 275. FILLING THE BARN WITH ROUGHAGE FROM THE FARM]

The successful railroad manager determines by practical experience what

distances his engines and crews ought to run in a day, what coal is most

economical for his engines, what schedules best suit the needs of his

road, what trains pay him best. These and a thousand and one other

matters are settled by the special needs of his road.

Ought the man who wants to make his farm pay be less prudent and less

far-sighted? Should not his past failures and his past triumphs decide

his future? If he be a dairy farmer, ought he not by practical tests to

settle for himself not only what crops are most at home on his land but

also what crops in his circumstances yield him the largest returns in

milk and butter? If swine-raising be his business, how long ought he to

guess what crop on his land yields him the greatest amount of hog food?

Should a colt be fed on one kind of forage when the land that produced

that forage would produce twice as much equally good forage of another

kind? All these questions the prudent farmer should answer promptly and

in the light of wise experiments.

3. _The crops that will give us the most protein._ It is the farmer's

business to grow all the grass and forage that his farm animals need. He

ought never to be obliged to purchase a bale of forage. Moreover, he

should grow mainly those crops that are rich in protein materials, for

example, cowpeas, alfalfa, and clover. If such crops are produced on the

farm, there will be little need of buying so much cotton-seed meal,

corn, and bran for feeding purposes.

4. _The crops that produce the most._ We often call a crop a crop

without considering how much it yields. This is a mistake. We ought to

grow, when we have choice of two crops, the one that is the best and the

most productive on the farm. Average corn, for instance, yields on an

acre at least twice the quantity of feeding-material that timothy does.

5. _The crops that will keep our soil in the best condition._ A good

farmer should always be thinking of how to improve his soil. He wants

his land to support him and to maintain his children after he is dead.

Since cowpeas, clover, and alfalfa add atmospheric nitrogen to the soil

and at the same time are the best feeding-materials, it follows that

these crops should hold an important place in every system of

crop-rotation. By proper rotating, by proper terracing, and by proper

drainage, land may be made to retain its fertility for generations.

EXERCISE

1. Why are cowpeas, clover, and alfalfa so important to the farmer?

2. What is meant by the protein of a food?

3. Why is it better to feed the farm crops to animals on the farm

rather than to sell these crops?

SECTION LXV. FARM TOOLS AND MACHINES