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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1923-11-29, Page 6etIP • addres4: communications to Agro I T ,.,'� N EIt 'COVERING FOR STRAW B•k1RRIES. Strawberry plants may .be injured by alternate freezing and thawing, which `tends to lift them out of the soil and thus injure or break the roots.They may be injure, during the cold of winter by the frost drying out the crown of the plant and the leaves. Heaving of the plants .seldom eccurs'" on a well drained soil,but on soils poorly drained' the plants are likely to suffer considerably, particu- larly during the very early spring after , the snow has melted; In cer- tain situations there may be little loss from cold, as the drying effect of the cold may be lessened because of the natural protection afforded, or the Snow may give the protection 're- quired. In order to make sure of the plants carrying through the winter success- fully it is wise to protect them with a •muleh. A mulch of any material tends to hold the soil under it at a more uniform temperature. The soil will not freeze so quickly under a mulch and is slower in thawing than where no covering is given. Thus. with a mulch the plants are better able to avoid, the alternate freezing and thawing of spring, with its con- •sequent disastrous results. If the in- jury is due to drying out, which often happens in exposed situations, the mulch will overcome this trouble. Plants exposed to the cold, and un- protected from dry, cold winds, may be completely dried out. Under such conditions, if the air is dry, a heavier mulch may be necessary than where the atmosphere is humid and the con- sequent lossfron•1 evaporation less. In situations with a fairly moderate climate a light mulch is all that is necessary, as too heavy a mulch may cairns injury because of the plants being kept damp and mould develop- ing. In the colder sections a good blanket of snow can usually be de- :pended upon, and under such condi- tion a heavy mulch with the snow above may alsoproduce unsatisfac- tory conditions for the plants. Of all mulch materials good clean straw free from weed seed is the best.' This is scattered evenly over the plants at the rate of 2 tons per acre. A coveringthick enough so that the plants are nicely hidden from view is usually ample, and careful scatter- ing, giving an even light covering, is mostsatisfactory. A light covering! of clean marsh hay may be used, but more care is necessary to give a light covering, than with straw, as the com- Ipact hay may hold dampness in the spring and result in decay of the plant. Spruce boughs make a good covering, but it takes considerable time to ga'r;?er and place them. The mulch should be placed in No- vember when the . ground is nicely frozen, and is removed in, the spring during the last week in April or early May. It may be gathered when dry and used for bedding, or may be placed between the rows to serve as a summer mulch, thus conserving moisture and keeping the fruit along the edge of the rows clean from sand. HOW CAN YOU KILL ALL THE LICE ON YOUR HOGS. "My hogs still have lice after I dipped them and made a rubbing post. How's come?" This question was put at me frequently when I was prac- m 1ste 73 Adelaide St, West,. Toronto ticiug veterinary medicine. And my reply was,: "You have killed the lice that were on the hogs, but you haven't killed the lice -in the cracks of the hog -house walls and floors. You haven't remov- ed the source of the lice. "Another reason is that the nits are covered with a thick gelatinous substance which renders them immune to most louse treatments. If the nits are not destroyed they infest the hog again in a week or ten days." "Well, Doc, how can I get rid of these lice in the cracks, and how can I get rid of the nits?" the farmer would ask me. "The best method I know of is to clean up the buildings and pens thor- oughly, brush all the dust and dirt from the ciacks, sweep it into a pile, and burn it. Don't throw it on a pile outside the fence for the lice to crawl back. Take a good stock dip and put one gallon in fifty gallons of water. Spray or soak the walls and floor of the hog house and feeding floor. Spray or dip the hogs. Don't let them get into the hot sun until they are dry, or it will blister them. This will not kill the nits, so the hogs should be treated again in ten days to kill the newly hatched lice." "Crude oil is just as good, isn't it, Doc?" would often be asked me. "No. Crude oil is not as good for treating lousy pigs as a good coal -tar dip. Dip has a healing effect on the irritation of the skin caused by the biting of the lice. is being carried through the winter months, the .eiau should be to pr;gvide her with as near' summer cons iti nrs as possible, with respect to 44Per9150): succulent .feed in the form of toots, access to a mineral leixttrre and -a grain ration of equal parts beriey and oats fed with skinmillr ,or buttermilk, if it can be spared, or in lieu of skim- milk feed about 10 per Bent, tankage. The care given a young sow ,previous to her farrowing her first litter is a strong determining factor in her de- velopment and future usefulness,';, In 1921 the Department of Animal Husbandry of the Ontario Agrieui- tural College supervised the problem i of ing+estigating 800 litters of each, of seven different breeds, viz; Yorkshire, Tamworth, Berkshire, Hampshire, Chester White, Duroc Jersey and Po- land China. This investigation cover- ed this number of litters farrowed in, one year. The 5,600 litters farrowed numbered 49,400 pigs, or an average per litter of 8.82 for a twelve menthe! period. This average is higher than most people would believe, and serves to place pure-bred swine in a better light than many see them. But when 5,600 litters of pigs from pure-bred sows and pure-bred boars of seven;dif ' ferent breeds average all told, -a8=82 pigs per litter, the pure-bred pig, so far as fecundity is concerned, stands above criticism;, and while ..some breeds are more productive • than others it will be noticed from a sum- mary of results that each and every breed has a creditable record. I The data from which the results were obtained was secured from the Canadian Live Stock Records, Ottawa. When a breeder makes application to register the progeny of pure-bred. sire and dame he must furnish: 1. The number of pigs in the litter' 2. The number of males in the litter." 3. The number of females in the litter. 4. The date of farrowing. These application forms furnished Many of my good farmer clients did the source of the information which not have any stock dip, and from them is reliable. The following table shows I usually heard this question: "I'd like the average number of pigs per litter:. to treat these lousy pigs, but I'll have to wait until I can get to town to get No. of Average litters per litter 800 ' 10.2. 9.4 8.3 8.2'. 9.3 8.4 • 8'0 Breed. Yorkshire Tamworth 800 Berkshire 800 • Hampshire 800 Chester White 800 Duroc Jersey. 800, - -Poland. China 800 . some dip." "I am not sure," I'd reply. "If you have kerosene and soap, I can tell you how to treat them. Take two gallons of coal oil and one-half pound of com- mon laundry soap and dissolve the soap in one gallon of boiling water. Add the coal oil to this solution while it is still hot, stirring vigorously for ten minutes, then add one gallon of this mixture to nine gallons of water. Spray the hog with it, after it has cooled. Keep sprayed animals or ani- mals dipped in this solution from the bright sunlight. Best to apply in the evening. Keep hogs in fairly tight pen, as the rubbing against each other will distribute the solution. ...It is well to keep ,animals shaded for couple : a of days after treating with' the coal-' oil emulsion. This can be applied with a spray pump or a sprinkling can." "Say, Doc! Do you think it would pay me to build a dipping vat?" If my clients kept both hogs and sheep, I usually -advised it, for both. could be dipped when they required it. I knew that if they must be treated, by hand that most times it was neg- lected. During such discussions my farmer friend and client would likely say: "Well, I see a number of my neigh- bors use these rubbing posts, and I wonder why they wouldn't do." "Rubbing posts undoubtedly help to keep hogs free from lice," I'd reply. "But you should keep in mind that the only thorough way is to destroy the hatching and breeding place of the lice and then destroy the nits when they hatch. If you don't do this, your work is not effective, for your hogs become reinfested every few days."—Dr. George H. Conn. i This table is of interest for several reasons. Besides proving that each ' and every -breed is fairly prolific, . ie shows that the bacon breeds are•'iii. the lead with the Yorkshire at the top. This is important in Canada where the bacon hog is most in demand. It is well,' to, notice, too, that the Berk- shire and Hampshire breeds, which are sometimes considered es. ieeelaseireest ' tween the strictly speaking bacon type and the pronounced lard type, are, when grouped together, lower in fecundity than the three lard breeds, viz.: Chester Whites, Duroc Jerseys and Poland ,Chinas, while the Poland,' with an average of eight pigs per lit- ter, stands at the bottom. So far as; size of litter is concerned they line up:? 1. Yorkshire 10.2 2. Tamworth 9.4. 3. Chester White 9.3 4. Duroc Jersey .... 8.4 5. Berkshire - 8,3 6. Hampshire 8.2 . 7. Poland China 8.0 Management of the Young Gilt By Prof. Wade Toole, On Care and feeding during develop mutt.—The young gilt selected for breeding purposes should not be forced along as if she were going to be marketed for pork, but rather the system of growing her as followed during the early stages of her life Should be followed. A healthy, thrifty gilt in moderate flesh should be the objective, so that instead of being soft and flabby when she . is called upon to carry . her first litter, she is ' strong, firmly 'fleshed and in a condition to nourish and develop the foetus she is carrying with no undue forfeiture to herself. • ,,, During the summer months possibly, there is no more economic and satis- factory method to develop the young' gilt than to turn her out on good clover pasture; An annual pasture much as peas and oats, sown. at thej rate of 214 bushels of oats and half a bushel of small peas or 1 bushel large' peas to the acre, together with a -mix= : turd of cloven (red 8, alaike 3, sweet clover 4) at 'the rate' of about 15 pounds to'the acre, gives very good. • satisfaction. Pigs are turned into this crop when it is about 8 'to. 10 inches high. Rape is also a suitable pasture crop on which to develop young gilts being kept for breeding purposee. Shade tsf florae description should al- ways be of easy access.! • While en pasture, the young gilt does not require very much grain. A six to seven,months- old It would' riot require more than 3 te pounds of Mixed .graiti per day along with ! about 10 to 15 pounds of wlte with . q w'ateir '‘,ad lib,"to keep her.;in soot! &owing condition; the amount of ' vain of course, to be overned ' grain, �'C� tario Agricultural College the age, size and condition of the gilt and whether or not whey is available. Age of breeding.—A gilt which is well-developed should be bred when be- tween eight and nine months of age unless she is intended for exhibition purposes, when it is advisable to give her a couple of months more to grow. ,A gilt should not be bred too young because the young sow will not usual- ly have the . strength and • properly. nurse her litter without sapping her own vitality touch an •extent as to hamper her own development. If she is unfortunate enough to lose some of her first litter through lack of nourishment, her mammary glands will not develop properly, and as a consequence, subsequent litters will suffer, all of which tends.to deplete her future usefulness. It is not advisable, however, to al, low a well-developed gilt to run too long before being bred, since there appears to be a tendency toward the development of coarseness when a gilt runs barren too long. Care during prcgnaney.—As the young sow commences to show signs of pregnancy, she should not be called upon to rely altogether on the pasture , for hor maintenance. Not that she: should be taken off it, but she should be getting a snfflcient amount of grain to maintain her own body as well as develop the foetus. The value of pasture to the'pregnant sow is not Wily •because of its succulent nature and nutritious variety, but because there is in it a considerable amount of mineral matter available which is es- eential to the . development of • the young.. If, ;on, the 'other hand, a .young sow POULTRY Fowls '•-have many diseases df the Sed and throat, siixiilar in character aid quite difficult to ,diagnose. In all eases of a ,olid nature, where t. nostrils and eyes are affected by catarrhal condition, and: small bubble are noticed in .the comers of the eye and nostrils, with but little if any odor, a simple but very efficient rem edy is the use of two parts kerosen and one part sweet oil. Inject bit the eyes, nostrils and throat by t.. .use of a small spring -bottom oil can A,few drops of camphor added to tin will be a further aid to breathing Where the throat seems to be mos affected and fills with mucus, use-th remedy more freely in the throat than in the nostrils, Carbolated vaseline may be use quite successfully in mild cases, an where the flow of mucus is slight. Ru it in the eyes and nostrils and .force small quantity down the throat. To minimize the spread of the dis- ease, all sick fowls should be separat- ed from the well ones. Roup can al- ways be detected by the acrid odor which it throws off. The .drinking water may also t medicated with permanganate of pot- ash,. at the rate of about one-fourth o a teaspoonful to a gallon of drinking water. This is a very good preventiv to use for all the fowls, especiall where there is any trouble of the kin in the flock. The roosting quarters should be kept clean at all times, and especially during an epidemic: Feed. good, whole some feed in moderate quantities, be- ing careful Homo Education "The GhI!d's First ephool ill the Fainily"•wFroebRl.' ha Do You Appreciate Your Children -13y Helen Gregg Green • I happened to be chatting at my but the other day T, no{aced she war not leading the children in the singing as usual. That afternoon 1 called her to me, as she was 'washing the hoard. I asked, 'Why is it, dear, that my liar tie girl hasn't been. singing lately?' A.nd to my suxprise,`'she began crying;, 'T. eau't sing. All .I do is to tiely I could get'grades like Marie's'." I Bald, "Oh, I thought so!" And Miss Reid, seeing I was inter ested, continued, "Poor little child! She has tried Po began and she does . good 'work in d inize it. school: As for her cousin 14arie, she d "I suppose you've disappointed me is a :brilliant child, but she is not ; a b again,"' she exclaimed, while Hilda lovable one.'I had several'unfortunate stood pulling ner--ously at her little experiences with her, while Hilda," handkerchief. her brown eyes danced, "is the prida� "Wl..y is it," the mother asked, "that of my heart. She has, oh, .so. mucky one member of the family has all the personality." brains? Oh, Hilda, this is too dis- And then L told her the little. incl- heartening!" she added. dent of the report. "But look, Mrs. Field," begged "Ah, at last we have the answer, e Hilda, handing me the report, • "Don't Well, I don't need to go down town, you think my art:grade is good?" anyway. I'm going to see Hilda's It was excellent, and so was her mother," she declared. music grade, both of which the mother The next day my neighbor across e seemed to have ignored. • the way came to see' me. Y A few days later I met Hilda's _"Oh, what a foolish mother I've teacher. been," she said, "breaking the spirit d "How myis little neighbor, Hilda of mylittle g girl, Tam so grateful., to getting along in school?" I inquired. her teacher for opening my eyes •`. "Well," the teacher hesitated, , "I have learned there are other assets • don't know. There's something wrong. besides high gradee. I guess -l-- • Some is killing that child's spirit. didn't appreciate my little girl." I can't fathom it. She has a beautiful And I thought, "I wonder how many voice, quite . the loveliest in the room, of us do appreciate our children?" s •neighbor's acrose the Way, when her little daughter Hilda, and her niece, a year older, came home from school. e "Look at my report, Aunt May- e belle," said Marie, thrusting her re-: he' port at her aunt. '' - • "And where is yours, daughter?''' s Hilda's another demanded. "Oki, darling, don't call me 'daugh- etere" evaded 'Hilda. Then coaxing the child's report card from her, the mother b egan to serut- a . 'See that the drinking water is clean and fresh at all times. A good supply of green stuff and a good roughage like bran mash, should be constantly before the fowls.: If possible, do not allow pools of stagnant water to stand about for the 'fowls to drink from. Do not crowd too many fowls in one roosting place and see that the houses have plenty of fresh air and sunshine. Rainfall Affecting Potato Rot. Very careful records of the rainfall at the College have been kept by the Department of Agricultural Physics .in each of the past sixteen years. In ' comparing the amount of rainfall dur- • ing the months of July,' August and September with the amount of rot in the potato crop in each of the past sixteen years some interesting infor- mation has been obtained. The annual! ambunt of rainfall for the three months referred to for the eight years in which there was no rot was 7.1 inches, for the four years when there was a moderate 'amount of rot 9.8 inches, and for the four years in which the rot was abundant 11.7 inches. "The amount of rainfall, therefore, ap- pears to have a very marked influence: in making conditions favorable or un- favorable for the development. of rot. • SHEEP - Some flock owners consider it a feasible practice to breed ewe'lambs' the first year. While perhaps condi- tions alter cases, I do not believe it advisable to breed ewe lambs ,until they are two years old acid have reach- ed full maturity. It is true that some breeds of sheep come to maturity much earlier' than other breeds, and again some `individuals in•all breeds mature much more rapidly than others, but I have always found it poor economy to mate sheep of .any breed, too young. The first years of the life .of grow- ing animals is `a,most' important pe- riod and I believe more' depends upon this period of growth and develome t P�? a any other -time. 'When animals are young they should be ben ever. l;� y possible chance to grow large bone, strong muscle and high vitality. Mat- ing too young reduces strength and life-giving qualities and ultimately weakens the power of profitable mut- ton and wool production. Mating too young impairs constitu- tional development and makes sheep more susceptible to minor ailments and diseases: Sheep of low vitality do not possess the essential physical strength to overcome attacks of dis- ease and while they may not succumb they are apt to prove unprofitable. By good care and feeding while the ewe webs are young, more can be accom- plished ccomplished in building up strong, robust, disease -resisting constitutions than at anyother time in the life of the lambs rop. I have never practicedmating ewe lambs, but on several occasions I have observed instances where ewe lambs were mated the first year and I am convinced that lambs from ewe.lambs are generally weak and puny and low n vitality. Then, too, the'ewe lambs never recover from the strain of re- production when bred too young, as food and strength intended by nature to make bone and flesh has been re- quired in growing and nursing the offspring. The flock owner who is desirous of building up a fine, attractive and pro- fitable flock of sheep will look a year Or two ahead and so manage his ewe lambs that when they have come to full maturity they will be strong, ro- bust, and have the power of delivering strong lambs. Give the ewe lambs the est of care. 1 Some think that the Canadian cli-i mate is too severe for best results 1n swine This may be so, but the re -1 sults of investigational work covoring''c 85,00') litters in the States, showed al • litter average of 8.17. While not so many litters were studied in Canada, our average of 8.82 pigs per litter' looks favorable to this country. ,i. Other interesting information was' revealed in the work. The percentages i of males ' and females in the 49,400 pigs studied ran 48 per cent. males and 52 per cent. females, showing that' the balance of the sexes is fairly well controlled in nature. Why pay more per pound for one animal than for another? There is a reason and it is this: Cattle dress from forty-eight to sixty-six per cent. of the live weight; hogs from seventy- five to eighty-five and three -tenths, and sheeps and lambs from forty-two to fifty-eight and three -tenths pet, cent. b CANADA SPENDS $108,000,000 IN-EDIJCAYION Canada's a propriatfons for eduoatton 'inorease from. three alt ua - D d daq r �r millions in 1871 to one to hundred and eight millions in 1921. The chart also shows, at left, able school attendance 1891,129,600;0. 19x1 p r• 235,600; 1921, 355,500, thilversity� students,. 1891, 6;100; 191Ei, 16,500; 1921,84 700. Teachers acid rrofesser 11$61 2,700; , �� 1 si � , ,.,, r7 r 1891, 23,4011; 1921, .63,30b, ' belineuendy, 1891, 19 per cent.; 1901, 14:4 per trent.; 1921, 10.5 per cent. ' e. THE CHILDREN'S HOUR WHY ROLLY RABBIT LIVES ALONE. Roily Rabbit made a fine nurse and doctor. ,Soon he had Bruin very com- fortable; so comfortable, in fact, that he began to forget about his pain and remember that he was really hungry. Roily Rabbit was hungry,.too. After he had done everything he could to ease poor Bruin's bee stings, he said, `Let's have breakfast. Ian. ` quite hungry. I had just gone out to gather a little'wood for the morning fire when I heard you call 'help'." "How grateful to you I am for help - ng me. elp-ng.me. I never could have 'gotten away from'those.horrid bees. " I was lust after 'some honey.for' my' break- . ast' when the came of ' r me. Now ou have made me; so.comfortabhe, ;.:I r°ally`do feel",hungry' agani." In short'order, `Roily Rabbit had breakfast ready. 'There was porridge and fresh dewberries: Just a, fine reakfast!, As these two odd friends te, they talked of many things. A strong friendship.seemed to have' grown up between them and soon they, were chatting like old cronies. "I don't see why those bees carne' fter me so," said Bruin. "My mother` of honey just that way last winter nd they didn't bother her." "Very true," said Roily Rabbit, "but , Storing Potatoes. - i If potatoes are grown onlyr for home' rise the. `crop is: Usually stored' in the' cellars . of= the .houses or of •the: barns.• Oecasion`ally potatoes ' .are • stored pits. When the crop is grown• come! mercially, however, it Is generally placed in a potato storage cellar erect- ed for the purpose. In. all cases it is important to store only well sorted, sound, clean, dry potatoes and to keep thein constantly in a dry, cool, dark and well ventilated. place. The temp- erature usually recommended for the best results is from 33 deg. F. to 35 deg. F. It 'is stated that potatoes when placed in storage shrink about a two per cent. per month for a period of six or seven months. b a a this is summer time. Didn t . you know that bees went to sleep in the winter To Get Rid of Vermin. time?" with "Say, now that you remind me i do When animals are troubled vermin, dip them in a bath of commer- cial coal -tar dip made and used ac- cording to directions given by the manufacturer. In winter dust infest- ed parts of skin with powdered pyre- thrum, flowers of sulphur, and tobac- co. Powdered sabadilla is effective for lice of cattle, but is poisonous if licked off. Blanket animals after ap- plying above powders. Use fluoride of sodium on • poultry.—Dr. A. S. Alexander. Measuring Auger Holes. While boring holes in wood with the brace and bit it is possible to deter- mine with a fair degree of accuracy the depth of the bored hole without measuring, simply by counting the turns of the brace and allowing six- teen turns for each inch of depth. The pitch of the screw tip, which feeds the auger forward, is a sixteenth of an' inch, and the cutting blades advance this much for each turn of the brace. This method is :quite a time saver. e• Hoe all grass and weeds away from the trunk of the tree. This destroys a winter home for mice. ! An ad man has a tip for farms with roadside markets; start your: signs four miles or so down the road and lead the buyer to your door. Better put a little good rich garden soil in the'celler or where it will not freeze. It will come in handy to start those early Vegetables a- i flower seed iii next spring. 1 In spite of the fact that milk is seven -eighths water, it.is one of the most important of foods. It is suit. able for persons of all ages, and 'excels other foods by reason of the variety 1 and quality of material it furnishes the body. in scalding a hog, try laying it on, a platform of any sort, ' cover 'one Side with one: or two thicknesses of_ gunny sacks, and pour boiling water on the sacks. Leave a few. minutes, then' serape the hog. Repeat on other side. The sacks tetait' the steam and seem). big is an easy ,mutter. Simple.—ther- ough.--- , S. '1 remember my mother having told me about that. You are so clever, Rally Rabbit. But I believ I shall have that sweet -tooth of mine pulled before it causes me any more trouble—" Bruin never finished that. sentence. He didn't need a sweet -tooth to cause him further trouble. Just as he reach- ed for his cup • of water, he elunisily. caught his sleeve on the- spoon which he had carelessly left in his porridge and now the whole `dish was bottom. side up in his lap. "Oh, what a meas!" said Bruin as, he tried to scramble the most of it back into his dish with one hand. "I really must ;be /mere .careful with these big hands of mine. Just Iook at your nice clean tablecloth. I am sorry. so" "Oh, we all make mistakes, and it will come out in the wash," comforted Roily Rabbit as he bustled around cleaning up the spilled food. But down in his heart, Bruin knew that it did matter. He had been carer less again, forgetting his table man- ners when Roily Rabbit had been so kind to him. He remembered now how many times his mother had cora rected him for the same thing. Right then he resolved that it should never happen again; and it never did, for it wase. lesson for Bruin. - A Human Incubator. The pastor of a church at Gadsden, .Ala., was tailing upon asick Member who lived out of town. Lavinia—er 'Viney,'.' as she .wag' celled --had in lammatoryrheuntatism, and•, was con- .. lned to her bed, where every move Ment meant acute pain, , 1Jpon this oceasioi, her eyes •ware alight with interest. The mother ex- plained, "Viney's chickens are: hateb.. ng to -day." "Upon inquiry) ; it de.. velgped that a number of eggs had been placed about Viney''s niotionle.S, fevered body, a id t)te downy chickq were produced ' in evidence:• -,'1:' S. D try—# --"to t r Don't y b g ow ,house .;plants in very warni room with a- dry atrnos Phere for it can't be` done. , Cicero held that there were. two kinds of contentions; one by reason, one by forte; the former is proper tnen,`the other to brutes,. •