The Norman Transcript. (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 10, No. 09, Ed. 1 Friday, December 16, 1898 Page: 2 of 8
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FARM AND GARDEN.
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO
AGRICULTURISTS.
Bom* ftp-to-Pate llluta About Cul-
UTNtlon of the Soli ami Yleltli
Thereof—Horticulture, Viticulture aud
floriculture.
So Cirow \Vatercre .
The cultivated cresses aro larger and
superior In flavor to those grown wild,
and the market for the Improved sort
is good, writes W. E. Farmer iu Ameri-
can Cultivator. Wherever there Is a
good swamp with a fresh water brook
flowing through It on tho farm, water-
cressej should he cultivated as a side
crop, and if the markets are near by
quite a little income can be made from
the crop. The method of culture Is
simple, although it requires consider-
able initial labor tc start the beds, "ike
swamp should first be cleared of t{io
trees and bushes as much as possible,
and then be cut up into ditches run-
ning parallel to each other and at right
angles. Each ditch should be about
four feet wide and two feet deep. A
space between tho ditches should be
left on either side large enough for a
man to pa:;s along to gather the crop.
Cross ditches should Intersect these
parallel ones about every 20 feet. All
of the ditches should Btart from the
head of the brook, and the fall in them
should be very slight, so that the water
will flow away very slowly. If one end
of the swamp is much lower than an-
other the dopth of \bo ditches should
vary just enough so that the w ater will
tie kept distributed evenly through
them. Everything depends upon hav-
ing the water under control. If the
swamp is low on orii side the mud from
the ditches should, be thrown up to
form an embankment. At the lowest
point a dam should be constructed to
let off the water when needed. In the
spring and fall the water will collect
too rapidly, and it will be necessary to
drain oft considerable of the surplus
and a good dam will then fully pay for
Itself. When the ditches are all ready
the cresses should be planted In the
bottom of them by securing cuttings
from tilcl beds. The cuttings can often
be taken from the wild cresses in some
neighboring swamp. They will im-
prove in flavor and quality undet their
new conditions. They can also be
raised from seeds, and the seeds are
sown broadcast Into the ditches. The
cuttings are pushed into the muddy
bottom about a foot apart each way,
They will in a season spread all over
the bottom and form a complete mass
of green. In the winter and early
spring the plants are harvested for the
market. In doing this care must be
taken not to destroy the plants, but
simply to cut off.the edible part nnd
leave the root growing. Tho harvester
should take a bunch in the left hand,
and then with a sharp knife cut off the
stalks about four inches down. The
plants should not be pulled. The cress-
es are packed usually in half-peck
baskets, which in turn are packed in
crates. In winter these baskets some-
times sell as high as $t apiece. This
Is the most profitable time to gather
the cresses for market.
was ti greater profit on the investment
when 80 pounds was employed.
On soil well supplied with vegetable
matter, plots receiving G60 lbs. of slak-
ed lime per acre at time of planting
yielded more than plots not limed. But
slaked lime applied as a top dressing
in March on oats growing on sandy
land deficient in vegetabio matter failed
to increase the yield.
In a co-operative fertilizer experi-
ment conducted near Auburn with oats
sown In February, drought caused the
crop to fall on all plots. Tho greatest
resistance to drought and the largest
yields were obtained *on the plots re-
ceiving kainlt.
Scalding seed oats for 10 to 15 min-
utes iu water kept at a temperature of
130 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit effectual-
ly prevented smut here. This is a
standard, cheap and effective method of
Experiment* With Oat*.
The Alabama Experiment Station has
been making some experiments with
oats, and gives the, following summary
of the results:
Among a number of varieties of oats
tested none was found superior In yield
to the common Red Bust Proof oat.
Varieties which produced moderate
yields of grains and relatively large
amounts of tall fine straw were Myer's
Turf and Hatcliett's Black. These and
related varieties are hardy, and are
valuable for grazing and for forage.
In three different experiments Red
Rust l'roof oats sown in November
yielded 7.9, 11.8, and 9.7 bushels per
acre more than the same kind of seed
sown from February 9 to March 1. The
average Increase in these three experi-
ments due to fall sowing was 9.8
bushels.
The period between October 1 and
November 15 is suggested as the best
time for sowing the bulk of the crop
of Hed Rust Proof oats in central Ala-
bama.
A comparison of cotton seed and cot-
ton seed meal applied both in fall and
spring was rendered inconclusive by
.reason of unfavorable weather.
Cowpea vines, plowed under, increas-
ed the yield of cats sown in February
to the extent of 10.4 bushels per acre.
The vield of fall-sown oats on land
where cowpea vines had been plowed
under (after 11 bushels of peas per
acre had been picked) was 2S.6 bushels
per acre against 7.1 bushels on a plot
previously abandoned to weeds '
• . i-i era in nf 91 R hll
and
crab grass, a gain of 21.5 bushels of
oats.
The plot on which only the roots and
Btubble of cowpea vines were plowed
under yielded 34.4 bushels of oats per
acre, against 9.7 bushels where German
millet stubble had b^en plowed under,
an Increase of 24.7 bushels of oats per
acre. Considering yield of peas and of
hay and yield of the succeeding oat I
crop, it was more profitable to cut cow- j
peas for hay than to pick the peas and j
plow under the vines.
Nitrate of soda applied as a top
dressing on both fall-sown and spring-
sown oats, was most profitable when
applied not later than the last of
March, or at least n5 days before the
grain was mature.
Eighty pounds of flitrate of soda per
acre afforded a profit when applied in
March. In one experiment this amount
of nitrate of soda afforded a yield of
Pr
ing from this treatment of seed oais
Is usually 5 to 20 per cent.
Culture of Nuts.
This class of trees has been neglect-
ed, writes Samuel Miller in Colman a
Rural World. The time will come when
men will regret the use of the ax In
many instances. From this time no
walnut tree or hickory tree tbatbearsa
fair nut will be cut down when clear-
ing my land. There Is no difficulty in
growing them from the seed. Simply
follow nature to a large extent. The
walnut falls to the ground, the hull re-
mains soft on the ground, and If the
least bit of soil covers the nut it will
sprout the following spring. To make
speed In establishing a forest of nut
trees, the seed should be put in the
ground where the treo is to remain.
Cover walnuts two inches, hickory one,
acorn one. The latter usually sends a
root down into the earth In the fall
and in the spring sta"ts up a shoot.
I have seen them sprout on tho grcund
in wet weather. Mow long a walnut
will remain dry and still grow, I can-
not say, but 1 have had hickory nuts
that were put away in a drawer for
three years, when put in the ground
In the fall sprout the next spring.
Persimmon seeds should not become
quite dry, and should be put in the
ground in the fall. It is gratifying to
learn from so many to whom I sent
seed of this fruit that they have them
growing. Pecans, hazel nuts and chest-
nuts, treat the sarn as hickory nuts.
Warning ARnliiat Preservative*,
E. (). Grosvenor, dairy and food com-
missioner of Michigan, sends out th.a
following:
We desire to caution dairymen and
dealers in milk against the uso in their
products of the so-called preservatives
now upon the market. Many of these
mixtures are decidedly dangerous, and
the steady absorption of the same, es-
pecially by invalids and children, who
are generally large consumers of milk,
is likely to produce serious if not fatal
effects. Aside from the directly In-
jurious character of some of these pre-
servatives, they all tend to retard fer-
mentation, thus at least indirectly
preventing digestion. Science has dem-
onstrated that the value of all food
depends very much upon the readiness
with which it is assimilated in the
process of digestion and scientific au
thorities agree that whatever prevents
decomposition delays digestion. There
are legitimate methods of preserva
tion which do not involve the use of
noxious drugs and the department will
prosecute dealers in milk found using
these deleterious mixtures.
l'ootl of 1'nrkoon.
The stomachs of 109 yellow-billed
and 40 black-billed cuckoos obtained in
twenty states, the District of Columbia
and Canada, were examined. In the
report the two species are treated to-
gether since they proved to be very
much alike iu diet. The greatest dif-
ference is that the yellow-billed cuckoo
eats more beetles and fewer bugs. The
examination showed that cuckoos do
at times cat fruit, but that it is not
their usual habit. The insect food of
cuckoos consists of beetles, grasshop-
pers, cicadas, bugs, wasps, files, cater-
pillars and spiders, of which grasshop
pers and caterpillars constitute more
than three-fourths. The great major-
ity of the insects found in the stomachs
were harmful kinds. Nearly half of
the cuckoo's food was found to be
caterpillars. In the cuckoos we prob
ably have one of nature's most efficient
checks on the increase of these harm
ful species.—Government Report.
One Trouble with the Fairs.—With
a few noteworthy exceptions, the an
ntial fairs are becoming less and less
of agricultural value and more and
' more festive occasions where people
I gather from far and near to meet old
friends and enjoy a holiday. A good
many are running simply to amuse-
ments, and some of them to amuse-
ments of a pretty low order, such as
cheap gambling games, which are
licensed and tolerated in defiance of
law, a swarm of fakirs being permitted
| to do as they please. If the farmers'
| boys who engage in these games do
' not become gamblers, It is not the
fault of the "society" which stops at
I nothing to fill its coffers. Gambling
games, played openly, blast the morals
of the community far more than the
much criticised "agricultural hoss
Speculations la Cattle Peedlng.
A Chicago paper publishes the fol-
lowing:
Chicago bankers are commenting on
the unusual amounts of cattle paper
now being offered in the local market
and the low rates prevailing In this
rapidly expanding class of loans.
Whereas a year ago the paper purchas-
ed by local Institutions averaged about
5 per cent, the offerings are now chlcHy
at 4&4% per cent, or practically com-
mercial paper rates, and the banks
which look upon the iudustry favor-
ably are investing freely. It is safe to
say that the number of Chicago banks
In this branch of the market is grow-
ing, for In quarters where distrust was
expressed a year ago there now Is an
apparent col servatlve interest. It is
the estimate of well-Informed bankers
that the Chicago holdings of cattle pa-
per this fall are greater than at any
DAIRY AND POULTRY.
INTERESTING CHAPTERS FOR
OUR RURAL READERS.
How flucrnifnl Tanner* Operate Hill
Department of tli Farm—A Few
Hints M to the Care of Lire jok
and FuuJtry.
i. j jici imo mil ui c gitotci iii«"
reventing smut, and the saving result- prev,OUB oorr(.spoIldtnS season.
Special interest has been aroused this
week by au article In a prominent east-
ern financial paper, written by the pres-
ident of a Kansas national bank, in
which the dangers of disaster to the
industry from reckless speculation are
pointed out. The writer says:
"One of the worst features of tho
present cattle boom that presages ul-
timate disastrous results is that too ■
many of the daring operators now in
the saddle are so fearfully in debt that
they must realize that they have no-
thing to lose and all to make if any-
thing is made. I know personally a
few instances where men have now
sums of $10,000 and even double that
amount from commission houses, who
two years ago could not borrow of
their home bank even $100 without se-
curity and did not expect to float their
single name for a single dollar, because
It would not command it. As an in-
stance of how easily money goes out
in large blocks these days in cattle
loans I will cite the circumstance of a
young man who approached me on a
loan of $30 per hend on a string of 300
of Indian territory cattle. He wanted
$9,000, and had not feed enough to pro-
vide for the cattle. I declined this op-
portunity to put our bank In the cattle
business, and to!(l the daring young
Napoleon of an operator to go to Kan-
sas City for his money. lie did and
got it from a commission company, and
this chattel now appears upon our
county records. The effect of such
reckless loaning is not far off and the
home banker, I predict, in another year
will have the local field mote to him*
self than for the last two years.
"I have a circular from one of the
great panhandle ranches offering 17,000
steer eaives for sale. This is a signal
of warning when the calves are adver
tised. It means the present crop ot
calves will bring more money as calves
than if allowed to grow older. It her-
alds a coming drop of prices or a great
dread and fear of its coming and can
mean nothing else. A law passed a
year ago last winter by the Texas legis-
lature permitting lands forfeited to the
state to be re-appraised and sold for $1
per acre, has given new impetus to the
ranch business, and production will be
pushed. High prices will stimulate in-
creased production and all the sooner
hasten the sure coming decline."
Pruning Peachea.
Pruning is one of the important fea-
tures connected with a peach orchard.
Some people seem to have the idea that
it is all very well to prune the apple
and the grape, but unnecessary to
prune the peach. The great peach or-
chards are carefully looked after every
year in this respect. Some growers in-
deed cut back two-thirds of the new
wood each year, that is two-thirds of
the new growth is taken away. The
result is that the tree becomes more
compact and has low extent of limbs to
become an objective point for the driv-
ing wind-storms. In the prairie states
subjected to high winds pruning Is es-
pecially recommended. Pruned trees
bear at first fewer peaches than un-
pruned trees, but the fruit is larger and
brings a relatively better prl;e on the
market. The time to prune is fall or
spring.
Agriculture In Paraguay.
United States Consul Ruffin writes
from Paraguay as follow : The people
are beginning to wake to the necessity
of agricultural development. The farm-
ers are widely scattered and there is
a growing sentiment in favor of cen-
tralization and of heavy foreign colon-
ization. The government, through the
Agricultural bank, gives to each farm-
er $300 in the form of a loan on the
property. It is urged In behalf of the
class that does nol own property that
the government purchase large tracts
of arable land, let them to the farmers,
and give them farming implements,
seeds, etc. There is much enthusiasm
on the part ol the promoters of this
plan.
Outlook for Strawberry Trade.—
Strawberry growers tnat we have con-
versed with are in good spirits. They
are confident that we are on the
threshold of an era of prosperity. The
results of the war. the acquisition of
new territory and the opening of new
channels of trade will break the long
stagnation, unlock < iipital, give an im-
petus to business In every form, and
among many other thing? most devout-
In the course of an address deliver-
ed by the Dairy Instructor for the Bute
County Council, says Dairy World
(Eng.), several suggestions were made
by the lecturer as to the operation ot
milking, which we may summarize as
follows: To milk a cow "clean" has
always been the ambition of the milk-
er, and when the end was attained he
was perfectly satisfied. But to milk a
cow in a cleanly way, although of
equal importance, did not in a large
percentage of cases come within the
scope of his consideration. Good cows
have been quite spoiled through bad
and careless milking, and there are
very few milkers who understand any-
thing about the cow's udder or milk
vessel. A word or two on this point
may not be out of place. The cow's
udder is divided into two chambers by
an Impervious membrane. This divid-
ing substance runs in the same direc-
tion as the backbone, and the milk
from one chamber cannot pass into the
other. For this reason, it is advisable
that the milker should operate, say, on
the front and hind teats on the side
next to him, and having emptied one
chamber of the cow's vessel, should
proceed with the other. This is not,
however, the general practice. It is
customary to operate on the teats of
different chambers simultaneously, on
the ground that that method of proced-
ure preserves the natural state of the
udder, whereas such a contention Is
quite contrary to fact. The lecturer
stated that he was quite sure that the
general method of milking is mainly
responsible for much of the malforma-
tion in the udder of so many cows.
That, of course, is a great evil, as it
detracts from the appearance of the
animals, and lowers their money value
when offered for sale.
Milk at Three Cent*
Whether or not a farmer can pro-
duce milk at three cents a quart, de-
pends, first, on the sort of cows he has,
says Hoard's Dairyman. A cow that
produces 2,325 quarts yields within a
fraction of 5,000 pounds. A good cow
should produce 5,0utl pounds of 3.75 to
4 per cent inilk. At three cents a quart
the cash value of 5,000 pounds of milk
is $69.75. With good farm manage-
ment such cows should be kept for $40;
we have then a profit above the cost ot
feed of $29.75. The labor cost should
not exceed one good man to fifteen
cows. There are several questions to
consider when farmers say they can-
not afford to produce milk at three
cents a quart. Such as the following,
for instance: "Why can I not afford
it?" "Is it because my cows are too
poor iu quality? 1 certainly ought not
to expect to make any profit if I will
not make a practical effort to have
cows that average at least 5,000 pounds
a year of four per cent milk." "Am 1
making any real intelligent effort to
keep better cows?" "Have I been study-
ing this question as a business farmer
ought?" "Have 1 taken pains to breed
and raise better cows or have 1 depend-
ed on buying cows bred by men who
know less about ureeding a good cow
than I do?"
Ilc-ide-, many of ihe societies , iy to be \visi> d, create a much better
trot.
give vaudeville shows with baudy lan-
guage, short skirting and high kicking
which outrivals that of the Bowery
itself. It is high time to refuse state
aid to the sc
cietles that engage in
—Farm and Home.
Bacon for Export
lish call bacon pi;.s
il as
ricultural so-
.-ort ot thing.
What the Eng-
are so greatly
29.3 bushels of oats per acre, while 160 wanted that they bring a very high
lb*, of nitrate of soda per acre result- ,)rire for export. The bacon pig prop-
ed in a yield of 34.1 bushels. This was Pr is one that weighs from 160 to 200
tn increase over the plot recelvhig no pounds A diet of rye, peas, barley
nitrate of soda of 12.9 bushels with the and shorts will prodt: ■ he lean meat
smaller quantity of fertilizer and 17.7 now demanded by ea'ers of pork at
bushels with the larger amount; there home and abi :ad
market for fruit by making the deni-
zens of the great citiesand others more
able to bay Wld eat it. Growers who
have weathered the past five years in
any sh;ipe should now have pretty fair
sailing — Strawberry Specialist.
Skim Milk in Bread.—A contem-
porary states that bakers desire
to encourage the use of skim
milk in bread-making for the follow-
ing reasons: (1) It makes a loaf which
is more moist and will remain moist
longer; (2) it makes a closer loaf; (3)
Improves the eating quality of the
bread; (4) the sugar of the milk cara-
mels iu making nnd browns the crust.
Dirt 111 Milk.
D. H. Ctts, of Kansas agricultural
college 'writes in Farmers' lleview:
The dairy secured samples of milk
from persons that were engaged more
or less in "the dairy business, and plac-
ed these in long, narrow glass tubes.
After being allowed to stand for sev-
eral'hours these tubes were examined
and notes taken on the amount of dirt
that settled u> the bottom. Consider-
able difference was found, some sam
pies being almost free from visible
dirt, while others had so much that it
formed au irregular ring along; the
lower edge of the tube. .While this
test is a good one to detect solid par
tides of dirt in the milk, it is by no
means conclusive, as where milk is
handled in an uncleanly manner more
or less dirt becomes dissolved in the
milk and cannot be separated out. This
goes to illustrate the importance of the
utmost cleanliness in handling milk.
We object strongly to milk being adul-
terated with water, but this is not to
be compared with adulterating it with
dirt.
A Diittrmtd l)uck.
The following duck story is clipped
from a daily paper: Perturbation on
the part of a hen who has hatched
ducklings has been pictured often, but
the reverse of the scene is a new thing
in natural history. Louis V. Bauer of
Phillipsburg, N. Y., started a duck on
the way she should go. Bauer's young
son, hoping for some amusement, slip-
ped one hen's egg into the nest, the re-
sult being a brood of ducklings with
one chick. The old duck eyed the
chicken suspiciously, but, as it had
come from her nest, decided she must
train it with the rest. But her ideas
do not agree with those of the inter-
loper, and guests of Bauer's hotel are
making bets on the outcome. The old
duck headed her brood for the pond
one day, and, as usual the ducklings
promptly set. sail. But the chick, de-
void of swimming instinct, held back
and peeped mournfully. This annoyed
the mother duck and she left her own
family and returned to the shore. She
seemed to remonstrate with the cow-
ard without effect. Finally, being a
good disciplinarian, she gav the chick
a shove into the water and quacked a
fierce order for it to join the others out
i In tke pond. The chick splashed the
about in fright and very nearly
drowned before the old duck picked
It up in her bill and carried it to the
shore. The old duck was not satisfied
with one lesson, however, as she has
made half a dozen attempts to teach the
chicken to swim, all being rank fail-
ures. Now the boarders are making
bets, "Do or don't" on the result, some
holding the chicken will dro.vn und
others that the duck will teach it to
swim.
liePiiscil I'liuntiod Crockery.
The writer has read what all the
chief poultry writers have written
about the importance of feeding fowls
with pounded crockcry. Of course, we
never believed any ot it. Some three
weeks ago when clean::'s off the feed-
ing boards a broken sauicr, an axe and
a hatchet happened to be near, and,
looking about to see that no one wasi
observing the foolish proceeding, we
proceeded to manufacture some new-
fangled grit. Twenty-five hungry hens
and three roosters stood anxiously
around apparently wondering what all
that meant. The fragments were care-
fully spread on the boards, and we
then stood back to see the fowls go for
the stuff. Cut they wall ed av.ay in
disgust. Then some v.heat was scat-
tered on the boards with it. The wheat
was promptly attacked and completely
disposed of. but not so the pounded
crockery. It is there yet, ar.d has been
there about three weeks, and if any of
it has been used by the fowls it can-
not be missed. After a while we will
sweep it off and pound no more.
The Economical Hen.
The lien is an economical adjunct to
the farm. The horse, the cow and the
sheep are consumers of waste products
only to a limited degree. The sheep
may cat weeds, but will not eat grass-
hoppers and crickets to any alarming
extent. The feed that is put into tho
cow and the horse has a market value,
and this cannot be said of the food
consumed by the hen. The food of the
latter is exceedingly varied. Weed and
grass seeds abound in every locality,
and these she carefully hunts up and
makes into a marketable product. She
is also a lover of many varieties of in-
sects, some of which are very destruc-
tive to the plants grown by the farmer.
Moreover, she is a constant visitor to
the grain field after the crop has been
removed and is a veritable Ruth in her
gleaning propensities. On many farms
the product from the heu is about all
profit.
Milk fur the Ilmis.
Milk is one of the best foods that can
be Riven to tho laying hens, but it
should not be sour, nor should it re-
main exposed to become distasteful,
says an exchange. We are often asked
if milk cannot be used as a substitute
for meat. The fact is, milk is superior
to meat, as it is a complete food; but
when we realize that meat is concen-
trated, compared with milk, the dif-
ficulty of substituting milk for meat
is plainly seen, for the hens cannot
drink enough of the milk, there being
about eighty-six per cent of water iu
it. That is, to derive fourteen pounds
of solid matter from milk the hens
must drink eighty-six pounds of water
in the milk, which requires quite a
length of time. Milk should be given
even when meat is fed, as it contains
mineral matter, and also because it Is
more convenient to be obtained than
meat.
Ess Production.
Doubtless the largest profits from
the farmer's poultry yard will always
bo those arising from the sale or use
of eggs. The egg is nearly always
cash. It comes nearer to a circulating
medium than a >st any other thing
the farmer pre . . The demand for
strictly fresh egg:- seems never to be
fully supplied, except in the immediate
locality -where the eggs are produced.
The farmer that produces eggs knows
that he can always sell them for cash,
and that usually there is far more
profit in the exchange than is the case
with any kind of llesh. The produc-
tion ot eggs is increasing from year to
year, but not more rapidly than the de-
mand.
Factory-Made Butter in New South
Wales.—The production of factory-
made butter appears to be steadily in-
creasing in New South Wales. In the
season which ended on March 31 last
the total output was 29,409,966 pounds,
of which 23,713,509 pounds was, accord-
ing to the Melbourne Journal of Com-
merce, made in factories. The total
production was the largest on record,
and, whilst the proportion made in
factories in 1S93-94 did not exceed 60
per cent, it now represents 80 per cent.
The quantity exported, 0,526,673
pounds, valued at £25S,725, was much
in excess of that of the previous year.
A decline is recorded in the production
of cheese, which oniy reached 3,937,16!
pounds in 1897-98, as against 4,019,844
pounds in the preceding year.—Ex.
Death in Ventilation.—The hardest
task yet undertaken is to prevent poul-
trymen from killing their birds with
fresh air. Fresh air has killed more
birds than all other causes combined.
A breeder, during a cold day, whose
first hatch for the season was just out,
had the top of the window down to
give the tiny and tender little chicks
"fresh" air, and yet he had 54 in a
basket not a foot long, all tucked
under a blanket, which he had not
yet put In a brooder and which did
not suffocate. A poultry house can
hardly be too close in winter. No one
would suggest the withholding of pure
air, but it is affirmed that in winter
the ventilator, by causing draughts,
kills the birds.—Ex.
T>r. Pritchard, Royal Vet. College,
says: The check rein is a great
cruelty. It interferes with breathing,
injures the mouth, induces paralysis
and causes stumbling. All veterinary
surgeons condemn it.
Why (ierninnt Oppose American Pork.
Consular Agent Neuer of Gera, Ger-
many, reports on the German opposi-
tion to American pork: Under the
pretense of protectiug the sanitary con-
dition of the people, an unjust and
systematic war is waged against Amer-
ican pork in this city. Warnings are
published by the magistrates against
tho use of raw American pork,
though every piece of bacon and ham
Is subject to an inspection by duly au-
thorized examiners before entering
trade. Dealers in our hog products
aro required to hang signs in con-
spicuous places in their stores, bear-
ing the inscription, "American Meats."
No means are left untried to creata
widespread prejudice, and all local pa-
pers take up the subject of trichinae
in American pork a3 one of their fa-
voi ite thcmeB. The inspection fees
have recently been doubled. Not long
ago a shipment of corned pork was
detained to undergo inspection, there-
by exposing the meat to decay and
prohibiting its entrance. Moreover
the German authorities have ordered
all American pork to be conveyed to
their slaughter-houses for microscopic
examination, regardless of whether it
is to be sold here or elsewhere, a
measure very detrimental to the in-
terests of the dealers in this city.
Not one case of death or even of
disease can be attributed to the con-
sumption of American pork, while I
know of several cases of trichinosis
from the use of freshly-slaughtered
German pork, in spite of microscopic
inspection. If one case of trichinosis
could be traced to meat from our coun-
try, the fact would be published far
and wide, and it is probable that im-
portations of American pork would be
prohibited. It is an established fact,
however, that in consequence of the
salting, pickling and smoking to which
our hog products are subjected, the
trichinae are no longer living, or have
at least lost the power of reproduction
in the human body. From my person-
al experience I am able to state that
I have never known a microscopist to
state that he had observed trichinae
manifesting any sign of life in well-
salted meats. The reasons for this
agitation against our hog products are,
it is generally conceded, entirely false.
Our meats are much cheaper than
those of Germany and form an indis-
pensable article of food for the poorer
classes in this country, thus rousing
tha opposition of German hog raisers
and wholesale butchers.
Foiled Breed* of Cattle,
Col. D. McCrae: We find traces ot
old breeds of polled cattle here and
there over the continent of Europe. In
Austria there is a breed of polled cat-
tle, mostly red tn color, which have
existed there for many years, just how
long is not known; their origin is lost
in antiquity. Polled cattle are com-
mon in Norway, and Iceland has a
hornless breed of "small size, but very
fat and good." Ireland had at one time
a breed of polled cattle. "The Devon-
shire Nats, or polled cattle, now rap-
idly decreasing iu number, possess a
general figure and most of the good
qualities of the horned bea3ts of that
district" was written about 1840, and
now this breed has quite disappeared.
The Yorkshire polls were described as
good for grazing, and for the pail, hav-
ing the same qualities as the Short-
Horns. They are now quite rare. The
Suffolk dun used to be celebrated on
account of the large quantity of milk
that she yielded. They have been
merged into the Red Polls or Norfolk,
now a well known and justly celebrat-
ed dairy breed. This breed is the only
modern breed of polled dairy cattle.
Polled Durhams have of late years be-
come a distinct breed, and are widely
and favorably known. The Polled Ab-
erdeen or Angus cattle have become
one of the most popular of the modern
beef breeds, and one well worthy of a
foremost place in any company. They
have been very much improved in re-
ent years by careful and judicious se-
lection. All these breeds have with
the Galloways probably a common an-
cestry.
Soft Pork,
The Canadian and some other ex-
periment stations have undertaken ex-
periments to find out what kind of
treatment makes soft pork or whether
such pork exists only in the reports ot
the merchants that dock the consign-
ments that are sent abroad. There
have been innumerable cases of con-
signments of pork to England and
other countries, where the original
price was decreased by a certain
amount on the plea that the pork was
found to be soft. It is suspected that
this is only another way of turning a
dishonest dollar. It is charged by
some of the shippers that feeding on
corn is the cause of this. If so it is
directly opposed to the general belief
of feeders.
Undrained Stables.—The evils which
result from lack of drainage in stables
are sufficiently great to attract the at-
tention of a very indifferent observer,
yet the majority of farm stables are
built without tho slightest provision
for this object. All the liquid manure
which is not absorbed by the bedding
soaks into the soil beneath the build-
ing, and, sooner or later, becomes a
source of danger to the health of the
animals above. The absorbant and de-
odorizing properties of earth are very
great, and large quantities of offensive
liquids may be poured into the soil be-
fore It becomes saturated. When the
soil is exposed to the sun and becomes
dried at intervals, it preserves its an-
tiseptic and deodorizing properties for
a long period, but where it is contin-
ually wet and shaded from the sun, as
beneath the floor of a stable, the soil
soon loses its deodorizing properties.—
Nor'West Farmer.
Do not crowd those young pullets
that you are expecting to keep for lay-
era, but aim to keep them growing
steadily.
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Burke, J. J. The Norman Transcript. (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 10, No. 09, Ed. 1 Friday, December 16, 1898, newspaper, December 16, 1898; Norman, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc137439/m1/2/: accessed April 24, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.