Friday, July 31, 2015

Bee Culture

Bee Culture

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.



Fig. 263. A Carniolan Worker

Thursday, July 30, 2015

As the price of both eggs and fowls is steadily advancing

As the price of both eggs and fowls is steadily advancing

As the price of both eggs and fowls is steadily advancing



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.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

The varieties of the domestic hen are as follows

The varieties of the domestic hen are as follows

The varieties of the domestic hen are as follows



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.



Fig. 261. Breeding Yards




Fig. 262. Incubator

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

The leading duck breeds are the Pekin

The leading duck breeds are the Pekin

The leading duck breeds are the Pekin



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.

Monday, July 27, 2015

And Orpington are the leading general-purpose breeds

And Orpington are the leading general-purpose breeds

And Orpington are the leading 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.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

The Leghorn varieties are popular

The Leghorn varieties are popular

The Leghorn varieties are popular



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.

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.



Fig. 260. Brooder

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Hens of course produce most of our eggs

Hens of course produce most of our eggs

Hens of course produce most of our eggs



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.



Fig. 259. Cock

Friday, July 24, 2015

Farm Poultry

Farm Poultry

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.



STANDARD-BRED FOWLS
Barred Plymouth Rocks, male and female; White Wyandottes, female and male

Thursday, July 23, 2015

They like the fields and the pasture grass

They like the fields and the pasture grass

They like the fields and the pasture grass



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.



Fig. 258. Dinner is over

When hogs are kept in pens, cleanliness is most important, for only by cleanliness can disease be avoided.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

We have several breeds of swine

We have several breeds of swine

We have several breeds of swine



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.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

He bought a sow and began to raise pigs

He bought a sow and began to raise pigs

He bought a sow and began to raise pigs



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.

Monday, July 20, 2015

The most profitable type of hog has short legs

The most profitable type of hog has short legs

The most profitable type of hog has short legs



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.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Meat can be more cheaply obtained from hogs

Meat can be more cheaply obtained from hogs

Meat can be more cheaply obtained from hogs



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.



Fig. 257. A Good Type

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Man captured some of these wild animals

Man captured some of these wild animals

Man captured some of these wild animals



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.



Fig. 256. A Pair of Porkers

Friday, July 17, 2015

Swine

Swine

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.



Fig. 255. Which Will You Raise?

Thursday, July 16, 2015

The first group is grown principally for wool

The first group is grown principally for wool

The first group is grown principally for wool



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.



Fig. 254. In the Pasture

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?

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Sheep may be divided into three classes

Sheep may be divided into three classes

Sheep may be divided into three classes



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.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Sheep increase so rapidly mature at such

Sheep increase so rapidly mature at such

Sheep increase so rapidly mature at such



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.



Fig. 253. Sheep have long been called the Golden-Hoofed Animals

Monday, July 13, 2015

Sheep

Sheep

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.



Fig. 252. A Young Shepherd

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Angular cow will make expensive beef

Angular cow will make expensive beef

Angular cow will make expensive beef



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.



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.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

The milk should be weighed and a record kept

The milk should be weighed and a record kept

The milk should be weighed and a record kept



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.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Since the best qualities are not fixed in them

Since the best qualities are not fixed in them

Since the best qualities are not fixed in them



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.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Scrub cattle are not profitable

Scrub cattle are not profitable

Scrub cattle are not profitable



"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.



Fig. 250. Head of a Galloway Cow

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

The udder of the dairy cow is most important

The udder of the dairy cow is most important

The udder of the dairy cow is most important



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.



Fig. 249. Jersey Cow (a Dairy Type)

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

The dairy cow is widely different from the beef cow

The dairy cow is widely different from the beef cow

The dairy cow is widely different from the beef cow



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.

Monday, July 6, 2015

Other breeds of cattle are Devon

Other breeds of cattle are Devon

Other breeds of cattle are Devon



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.



Fig. 248. Aberdeen-Angus Cow (a Beef Type)

Sunday, July 5, 2015

There are two main classes of cattle&

There are two main classes of cattle&

There are two main classes of cattle&



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.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Cattle

Cattle

Cattle




Fig. 247. A Prize-winner

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.

Friday, July 3, 2015

Proportions of a Horse

Proportions of a 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?

Thursday, July 2, 2015

EXERCISE

EXERCISE

EXERCISE



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.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

The horse should be groomed every day

The horse should be groomed every day

The horse should be groomed every day



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.