Farm animals and farm crops

Front matter

FARM

ANIMALS AND FARM CROP

William Lewis Nida

Contents

Part T. Farm Anofals

PAGES CHAPTEF J. THE UOKSK 1-15

Taming the Wild Horse — Horses Introduced in America — Draft Horses — Coach Horses — Roadsters — Use and Care of Horses — Breaking the Colt

Chapter II. Cattle 16-28

Taming of Cattle— The Ox at Work— Beef Cattle— Dairy Cows — Building Up a Fine Herd

CE AFTER in. MILK AND BUTTER 29-33

Milk as Food — Care of Milk — Butter-fat — Churning — Cheese-making — By-products

CHAPTER IF. SHEEP 34-43

Origin of Sheep- — Their Care — Merinos — Mutton Types — Sheep-shearing

CHAPTER r. SWINE 44-4S

The Wild Boar — Development of Good Types — Their Care and Feed — Lard and Bacon Types — Hog Cholera

CHAPTER VI. POULTRY 49-57

Origin of Chickens — Value to the Farmer — Kinds and Uses of Fowls— Their Care and Feeding — The Young Brood — Poultry Pests

CHAPTER VII. TURKEYS, DUCKS, AND GEESE 58-60

Raising Turkeys — Ducks on the Farm — Geese CHAPTER VIII. INSECTS 61-67

Insect Enemies — Insect Friends — Parts of an Insect —

Biting Insects — Sucking Insects — Insect Growth — I.arva

Stage — Pupa Stage — Life of Insects. CHAPTER TX. THE BEE 68-76

The First Sugar ^Makers— Taming tlie Bee — Making Honey

— The Bee Family — Care of Bees for Profit — Other Services

of Bees CHAPTER X. BIRDS 77-83

Birds of Killingworth — Service to Farmers — Grosbeaks —

Protecting Crops — Paying Their Way

iv

CONTENTS V

Paet II. Soils mw Far:\i Crops

PAGES

CHAPTER XL SOILS 84-95

What Soil Is — Kinds of Soil — Humus — Plant-foods — Liquid Food for Plants — Importance of Water in Soil — Drainage — Tiling — Bacteria in Soil — Rotation of Crops — Different Systems of Rotation

CHAPTER XIL PLANTS AND HOW THEY GROW 96-102"

Parts of the Plant— The Work of Roots— The Stem- Leaves — Flowers — Pollination — Variety in Plant Life — Dissemination of Seeds

CHAPTER Xin. TILLAGE AND FARM MACHINERY . .105-112 Tilling in Ancient Times — Teachings of Jethro Tull — What Tillage Does — The Dust Mulch — Dry Farming — Irrigation — Better Machinery — Iron Tools

CHAPTER Xir. CORN. 113-125

Origin of Corn — Importance to the Pioneer — Indian Farming — The Corn Belt — Choosing Seed Corn — What Constitutes a Prize Ear — Curing the Seed — Testing Seed Corn — Preparation for the Crop — Getting a Good Stand — Cultivation — Harvesting — The Silo — Other Uses of Corn

CHAPTER XV. WHEAT 126-137

Origin of Wheat — Introduction of Wheat Into America — Kinds of Wheat — The Crop — Wheat in Rotation — Enemies of Wheat — Harvesting Tools — Animal Power— The Reaper — Self Binder — Combined Harvesters — Uses of Wheat

CHAPTER XVI. THE FIELD OR IRISH POTATO 138-144

Origin of the Potato — A Tuber — Kinds of Seeds — How to Choose Seed — Soil and Cultivation — Diseases and Enemies — Machinery

CHAPTER XVII. THE SWEET POTATO 145-146

A True Root — Origin — Climate and Soil — The Crop

CHAPTER XVIII. COTTON 147-155

Climate — Soil — Rotation — Cultivation — Harvesting — Boll Weevil

CHAPTER XIX. THE HAY CROP 156-163

Timothy — Clovers — Harvesting Red Clover — Alsike Clover — Alfalfa — Cowpeas.

Vi COA' TENTS

PAGES

CHAPTER XX. ORCHARDS 164-173

Convenience to Market — Hill Country for Orchards — 15est Slopes — Influence of Water — Soil — Preparation for Plowing — Setting Trees — Tilling — Pruning — Spraying — Harvesting

CHAPTER XXI. SUGARS AND OTHER CROPS 174-181

Cuttings of Sugar Cane for Seed — Planting Sugar Cane — Harvesting — Sugar Beet — Cultivation and Harvesting — Eice — Tobacco — Oats, Barley, Eye, and Buckwheat

CHAPTER XXII. THE FARM GARDEN 182-200

The Boy's Experiment Farm — Preparation for Garden Soil — Garden Tools — Mulching — Window Boxes — Hot Beds- Cold Frames — Transplanting — Vegetables — Fruit

CHAPTER XXIII. COUNTRY ROADS 201-212

Bearing Upon Farmers' Profits — Bearing Upon Sociability — Good Roads and Schools — interest of City Peo])le — Koman Roads — Working Out tlie Road Tax — Paying Road Taxes in Cash — The jNIacadam Road — Effect of Surface on Loads — Effect of Grade on Loads — Surfacing Clay and Sandy Roads — Loam Roads — Brick Roads

CHAPTER XXir. PRESERVING FOODS 213-215

Germs Which Help and Hinder — The Yeast Plant — Making Bread — Mold — Canning Fruit — Smoking Meats — Cold Storage — Preserving Fruits — Bacteria in Butter and Cider

CHAPTER XXV. FARM SANITATION 216-224

Location and Surroundings of the Farm House — ^Water Supplv — Sewage and T'dscase — Moscjuitoes and ^ialaria — The House Fly and Typhoid— Fighting Flies— :\Iilk a Germ Carrier — Ventilating the Barn — Principles of Ventilation — Heating and Ventilating the Home — The School Room

CHAPTER XXVI. THE FARMER 'S COLLEGE 225-228

The Department of Agriculture — Helps from Pamphlets — State Experiment Stations — Colleges of Agriculture

CHAPTER XXFII. BOYS' AND GIRLS' CLUBS 229 238

Club Movement — Boys' Corn Clul)S — Father and Son Clubs — Potato Clubs — Tomato Canning Clubs — The Club and School

Part TTI. Appendix

ONE THOUSAND QUESTIONS ANSWERED— INDEX .. .\ucW\x

Part I. Farm Animals Chapter I The Hoese

Taming the Wild Horse. Who tamed and rode the first wild horse and how he did it, we shall never know; but it was an important event for mankind. It happened long ages ago, before men began to write their doings in books. We know that horses lived in the time of the cave men, for we find remains of horses and rude pictures of them scratched on stone in caves and sand drifts. The cave men hunted these wild horses for meat and for their skins.

Variety in Size. The horse w^as then much smaller than he is now. He was about the size of a wild pony. The wild horses that came to live in mild climates where food was plentiful began to groAV larger, with heavier limbs and stronger muscles; but those that passed into cold, bleak lands where food was scarce, grew small like the ponies of the Shetland Islands.

The Horse's Foot. The bones and fossils of the ancient horse show that he was once less than twenty-four inches in height. He had a spreading foot with five toes. At that time he lived in low, marshy lands, and toes were needed to help him get about. As the earth became harder he lost one toe after another and so was able to travel faster to escape from his enemies. The horse's hoof is the nail of the one remaining toe.

Riding Horseback. The Greeks first drove the horse hitched to rude chariots, but later, it is said, they learned to ride him without saddle or bridle. They invented the first bridle bit, which is called the snaffle. Neither Greeks nor Romans shod their horses. At first only kings, nobles, and warriors could afford horses. They were used chiefly in war and for riding and driving in war chariots. But everybody who was able rode horseback; even kings looked upon this as the most dignified way to travel.

The First Work Animal. All this time the farmer had only the plow ox or the stubborn ass to help him raise his crops. "When at last the farmer began to use the horse, he did his work much faster, for the horse has not only better speed and greater strength than tlio ox, but he can hold out longer.

The Horse and the Indian. Horses were not found in America when the white men first came. The Indians were greatly friglitoned when they saw the horses which the Spaniards brought over. They thought these animals were terrible monsters* But the Indians soon learned to use the horse, and, after a time, great herds of horses appeared wild on the western plains.

THE HORSE

The Big- Draft Horse. The time came when men began to Ini'ed horses for different uses. When they wished work horses that could draw very heavy loads at a slow pace, they selected the heavy, stoutlimbed animals that had strong muscles; and by using these as parents they reared more like them. Gradually the colts of these horses grew stronger and larger, and so the draft horse was developed.

Fig. 2. A coach horse.

Coach and Roadsters. Other men wanted horses that could pull heavy coaches with good speed.

Tliey wanted liigli knee action and fine style. So tliey kept this kind to breed from and developed the coach horse (Fig. 2). Still other men wanted speedy horses for light loads, and they reared saddle and race horses.

Kinds of Draft Horses. The draft horse is blocky, heavy, and powerful. He may weigh from fifteen hundred to two thousand pounds and is in much

THE IIOESE 5

demand for pulling great loads on city streets. He has a round body and rather short legs. His hind logs are the stronger, yet he uses his front legs so much in i)ulling that the front quarters are heavy and ]iowerful. His breast is broad and his front legs far ai)art. From France we get the Percheron (Figs. 3 and 4) draft horse, with a gray, chestnut, or black color; from Belgium comes the bay Belgian; the Shire of bay brown or chestnut color comes from England and the smaller but more active Clydesdale (Fig. 5) from Scotland.

How to Hitch a Horse. AVlien a team cannot pull a heavy load, it is often because the feet slip. The heavier the horse is, the better he can hold with his toes. A horse can really pull more on hard or slippery roads if he has a man on his back. This gives him more weight and a better foothold. One wav to

Fiti. 4. Prize six-horse Fcrclicron team.

Fig. 5. A Clydesdale.

help a horse pull heavy loads is to put the whiffletree low down. It is better to have the doubletree under the tongue for heavy inilliug. A farmer once tested this by hitching a horse to a post with a spring balance which would show how many pounds he i^ulled. When the whiffletree was tied six inches from the ground he pulled six hundred pounds more than when it was three feet from the ground.

Driving Fast. When a horse has a light load and is driven for speed, the whiflfietree should be high. This makes the weight on the horse lighter so there is less strain on his legs and feet. Sometimes you

THE HORSE see in the city a two-wheeled carriage with the driver sitting high behind. This is called a hansom cab. The driver's weight makes the thills pull up on the horse and so carries part of the horse's weight. This saves his feet greatly in driving upon hard pavements.

Race Horses. The American trotter (Fig. 6) and the American saddle horse are the best of their kind in the world. Trotters have powerful hind legs and good lungs. They have small heads and large nostrils so they can breathe abundance of air (Fig. 7).

Fig. 6. American trotting horse (Morgan type).

g FAEM ANIMALS AND FAEM CEOPS

Other Uses of the Horse. Among the Tartar tribes of noi'thein and central Asia, mare's milk and horseflesh are still used for the food of man. Old horses are always fattened for the meat markets of France and other countries of Europe.

Most Horses in America. To-day in Great Britain there is one horse to every twenty people; in France, one to every ten people; and in the United States, one to every five people. So we have more horses in America than there are in any other country, and we make tliem do more of our work.

Horse Power Cheap. Human labor costs more than any other kind of labor, so the farmer has learned to use his horses for many purjDoses. Years ago, when harnesses were poor and tools crude, many things were done by human hands that are now done by horse power. To-day one good horse can do as much work as ten men, while his board and keep costs about half as much as that of one man.

Doing Forty Men's Work. A farmer boy who drives a four-horse team hitched to a gang-plow is doing as much work as forty men working with hand tools. Four-horse plows and four-horse harrows are very common on the large farms in the West. Some of the great harvesting machines employ as many as twenty or thirty horses and mules on a single machine.

Feeding the Horse. A horse's stomach is small, so lie cannot use as much bulky food as a cow. He

THE HORSE ought to have at least three good meals every day. When a horse is making long trips on the road he should not have too much hay, but a richer food, like corn or oats. The work horse should have his largest meal at night, when he has plenty of time to eat and digest it. If a horse is not warm, it is better to water before feeding him. The water passes on through the stomach and leaves room for the food. If an animal is verv warm, it should

Fig.

Thoruuijhhnd trotting mares and colts.

not be given either food or water until it has cooled off. Clover hay is not so good for a horse as timothy, because it is more dusty; and dusty hay is liable to give horses the heaves. If dusty hay must be used, it should be sprinkled before feeding.

A Good Variety. It is cruel to feed the horse on nothing but oats and hay all the year round, when lie would 80 iniicli like some bailey, beans, peas, corn, or turnips for a change. In the United States Army a horse is allowed ten quarts of oats a day. It is better to feed corn on the cob, as this makes the animal eat more slowly and it also improves his teeth. When carrots are given, they should be sliced to prevent the horse from choking. It is important to keep a little salt in his trough.

Cleaning the Horse. When a horse comes to the barn with muddy legs, they should be rubbed down or washed, especially in cold weather, to prevent rheumatism. Time spent in cleaning and rubbing the horse in the evening after the day's work is done, is much better for the animal than the same time spent in the morning, because the horse will rest so much better.

His Care. When a horse is warm upon stoppingwork in cold weather, he should be blanketed to keep him from catching cold. On very cold mornings the bits should be warmed by dipping them in water before bridling the horse. Even cold water will keep a frosty bit from freezing to the tongue and tearing the skin. Have you ever tried touching your tongue to frosty iron?

Healthy Shoulders. ]\rany farm horses suffer from sore shoulders. This need not be so. The collar should fit and be kept clean. If there is danger of sore shoulders, they should be washed in salt water at noon aiul in the evening. Salt water is healing, and it makes the shoulders tough. When

THE HORSE H

tlie team is working hard, the harness ought to be removed at the noon hour. The horse should be well cleaned every day with a good brush. The currycomb is harsh and painful, especially when used by rough liands.

A Pleasant Home. The horse's home or stable should be kept clean. It needs to be light, but the windows must not be where the horse will look into them, for this will injure his eyes, as it does yours when you sit facing a window. The horse barn should also have good air. If the barn is made very warm, a window siiould always be open where the draft will not strike the animals.

Shoeing the Horse. Many horseshoers do not understand their trade, and so they injure the feet of the horse. Sometimes they put on shoes that are too big, and this stretches the hoof too much, A very small shoe pinches and makes corns. Some pare the sole too much, and others even use the knife on the frog, which is a great injury to the foot. As the hoof is growing all the time, just as a man's fingernails grow, the shoes need to be changed often, so they Avill not ]nnch t1ie foot.

One Lesson at a Time. In breaking colts it is better not to try to teach them too much at one time. One of the first lessons is to "halter-break" the young colt. This should be done while he is still a suckling. A strong, well-fitting halter is placed on him, and he is tied short to a post near to his mother. A colt should alwavs be tied firmly, for if

CloYo hitch.

I'kkct rope with a half-granny and a half-hitch.

Uowliue : a noose that never slips ; is easily untied.

A slip knot, riinninpr nooso, or halter knot.

I'lccket hitch for joinin.ic a cord and a rope.

Iti cf knot or square knot : never slips : easily untied.

False reef or granny ; difficult to untie ; a had knot.

Fui. 8. Kiiotn Ihnt every

THE HOESE

9 10

Anchor Ijcnd.

Fixed loop in middle of a cord.

Weavers' knot or sheet bend, for joining small cords.

Two balf-liitchcs.

12 13

12 Blackwall hitch.

14! Timber hiich : cannot slip or iamb; easily untied.

farmer t<houtd know.

14 FAEM ANI]\IAI^S AND FARM CEOPS

he once breaks loose lie lias learned a very bad trick (Fig-. 8).

His First Bridle. After the colt is halter-broken so he can be tied or led, it is a good plan to tie his halter to his mother's hame or collar. In this way he gets used to trotting beside another horse. The next lesson is to put on a bridle with a smooth bit. An open bridle is better than a "blind" one, for the horse ought to see everything about him so he will the more quickly get used to the new exiDerience.

Driving the Colt. A saddle may now be put on, or a single harness with crupper and back strap. It is a good plan to drive the horse at first without a cart. The driver passes the lines through the tug or the loop made for the shafts, and in this way keeps the animal from w^iirling suddenly and getting tangled up in the lines. It is well to have a helper lead the colt at first, until he understands what is expected of him.

Driving Double. The colt may now be hitched to a cart with long shafts and a kick strap, or he may be hitched up Avith another horse. When this is done it is a good plan to keep a pair of single lines on the colt's bridle and have these in the hands of a helper. In hitching up double, it is well to use a heavy wagon with a brake and to put the colt on the "off" side. He can now be taught to stop, to back, and to start at the proper signal.

Not Too Many Signals. A horse should be trained earlv to stand still while he is being harnessed and

THE HOKSE 15

liitclied up. Very few words or signals should be used, for a horse has far less brains than a dog; "Whoa" should always mean to stop. "Steady" is the word when we wish the team to go more slowly. "Back" should be used only when we wish the team to move backwards.

Kindness Pays. "The merciful man is merciful to his l)east," and the well-treated horse repays his master's patience and good care. Horses, like all farm animals, should be kindly and gently handled. Jerking and whip]:>ing do harm to the horse, and this means a money loss to the farmer.

CHAPTER II CATTLE

More Useful Than Horses. Horses are a great help to man, hut we could get along without them better than without cattle. Cattle supply us with meat, leather, and milk; and they may also be yoked u]i for work.

Where Cattle Came From. Cattle have come down to us from a queer animal of the cave man's time, called tlie urus. In tliose far-off days there was also a kind of w^ild cattle. Some say the herds of wild cattle mixed with herds of the urns, and this mixture formed the cattle that we have. But nobody is very sure al)out tliis. We know that tlie cave man hunted and kiHod wikl cattle for meat.

Taming the Wild Cattle. A long time after the cave man a higher race of men lived in villages built out over the edge of lakes in Switzerland. These people, called the Swiss lake-dwellers, seem to have tamed the cow. How do you think they did it? They probably kept cows at first for milk only. Instead of hunting all the time for food, the people began to give some time to their cattle and so became herders.

Churning- the First Butter. Then a wonderful discovery was made by some one, and that was how to make butter from milk. Probably some lake-dweller was carrying upon a journey a skin or leather bag of milk, and the motion churned the butter. Milk will not keep long without souring, but butter keeps much longer. The cow, with her milk, butter, hide,

Ik

Fig. 9. A beef treed C Shorthorns).

and meat, must have done a great deal to help these ancient people to better ways of living.

Hitching Cattle to Loads. We do not know when cattle were lirst yoked up and hitched to loads. Perhaps a cow was tied by a leather thong, when suddenly she made off through the woods, dragging a man or the log to which she was tied. Then some

Ig FAEM ANIMALS AN]) FARM CROPS

one liit upon the idea of tying a cow to anything he wished to have moved.

The First Plow. After the yoke was invented, some clever person made a rude plow of sharp sticks tied with thongs, and agriculture took a long step forward, because this enabled the farmer to use animal power to till the soil, instead of doing it all by hand.

Two Kinds of Cattle. Cattle were early brought to America from Europe. Men began to want two kinds of cattle, one for milk and butter and the other for beef. They found that a good milch cow is not very good for beef, for her food all goes to milk; while a fat cow will not give much milk, as her food makes flesh or muscle. By carefully selecting the good milkers for mothers, farmers have developed a fine dairy animal, such as the Jersey, the Guernsey, or the Hoi stein.

Beef Cattle. Other cattle raisers have bred from the large, heavy animals and have herds of fine beef cattle, such as the Shorthorns (Figs. 9 and 17), Herefords, or Galloways (Fig. 10). The beef cow is square, with all bones w^ell covered with flesh. Her back is straight and her legs full and thick. The neck is full and stocky, the legs short and set far apart to support the large, heavy body. The more meat these animals can make from a given amount of food, the more profitable they are.

Their Care and Feed. Beef cattle need different food and care from the dairy animals. The beef type do not require sucli warm barns as the milkers do, because fat animals never need such warm housing as do lean ones. They seem to do better in dry, oi)en sheds that are well bedded. They need such foods as will make them fat most quickly and at the least expense, and cattle feeders know this well.

Fig. 10. A Galloway cow.

Getting Ready for Market. Sometimes calves are fed fattening foods as soon as they can digest them. They are kept on such food until they are ready for the market at from ten to sixteen months of age. Other cattlemen give their young herd the freedom of the range or pasture for a few months, or, perhaps, for a year or two, and then put them on rich,

FARM ANIMATES ANT) FARM CROPS

1!^

I. !• Ui. ii. .!/( onpty dinner pull

fattening foods for a few months before they are sold to the butcher or the packer.

Feeding Meal. When teaching a young calf to eat meal, the farmer puts him in a box stall with another, older calf, and the young one will learn from his companion. Another way is to take a little meal in the hand and put the hand in the mouth of the young calf. (Fig. 11.)

A Mixed Food. A good meal ration for calves is a bushel of ground corn, a bushel of ground oats, a peck and a half of wheat bran, and the same of oil meal, all well mixed. As soon as calves will take hay or fodder, it should be given to them. They will begin to nibble and taste it when two or three weeks old. The best hay is clover, alfalfa, or cow peas. As soon as they begin to chew the cud, finely cut hay is mixed with the meal. In this way one can prepare the calf for weaning. (Fig. 12.)

Saving Cream. When calves are fed on skimmed milk tliey miss the butter-fat that has been taken away as cream. In its place the farmer feeds the calf some corn meal or linseed meal. One or two cents' worth of meal will serve the calf as well as twenty-five cents' worth of cream.

Choosing a Good Dairy Cow. The dairy cow is shaped like a wedge. The neck, thighs, and shoulders are thin and lean. She should be thin, not because she is poorly fed, but because she is turning a large part of the feed she eats into milk. She should be quiet and gentle. She should be strong and have room for a large quantity of food. Her hips are prominent and wide apart, and the rump is high. The hind legs are trim and set well apart.

FAEM ANIMALS AND FAKM CHOPS

Most important of all, slie lias a large, well-shaped udder. The floor of the udder is straight and extends well forward and well backward, too. The

Fig. 13. The dairy type (Jerseys).

udder is soft and fine. The teats are evenly placed and of medium size. The buyer should milk out a few streams to see that the openings are not so small as to make her a hard milker. The milk veins which extend forward from the udder should be large, with many branches, because they supply the blood from Avhicli the udder secretes the milk.

The Jersey Type. The Jersey cow (Fig. 13) is famous the world over for her rich milk. These cows were the first dairy animals to become popular in our country. They change a large part of their food into milk instead of into flesh or fat. Jersey milk is the richest of all. The Jersey heifer matures early and may become a mother at between two and three years. So the dairyman does not have to feed her long until she more than pays her way. This breed came, in the first place, from Jersey Island, in the English Channel. The island is only eleven miles long by five and a half wide, but it is very rich and productive; and the farms there are very small, sometimes not more than two or three acres. The principal industry is dairying, and the stock has been kept pure by forbidding foreign animals to be brought in. The milk is nearly all made into butter.

The Guernseys. The Guernsey cows, like the Jer- Feys, come from one of the islands by that name in tlie English (*hannel. Tliev are somewhat lar^cer

Fig. 14. A record cow ( Holstvin).

than the Jerseys. They have coarser bones and carry more flesh. Guernseys are noted for their yellow milk, which is only second to that of the Jersey in richness. But they often give a greater amount than the Jersey.

The Holstein. This dairy animal was bred 2,000 years ago along the Ehine, in Europe. The Dutch first brought these cows to America, shortly after the settlement of New Amsterdam. The Holstein (Figs. 14 and 107) is noted for the great amount of milk given. The milk is not so rich in butter-fat as that of the Jersey or Guernsey, but the large amount makes her a most desirable cow to keep near large cities like New York, where the milk is sold by measure. Other noted dairy types are the Ayrshire, the Brown Swiss (Fig. 15), and the Dutch Belted.

The Babcock Milk Test. For a long time dairymen did not know how to choose the cows which gave the richest milk. Not many years ago Dr. S. M. Babcock, of Wisconsin, invented a machine to test milk for the amount of butter-fat. Now every farmer may know which cows are valuable for their rich milk and which ones are not worth their keep.

What a Good Cow Produces. A good cow should produce fi'om twelve to fifteen pounds of butter a week. One of the highest records ever made was by a Holstein cow that made thirty-three pounds of butter in one week (Fig. 14).

Caring for the Dairy Cow. Twice each day the dairy cow is driven to the barn to be milked, and the more milk she gives to each pound of food, the more valuable she is (Fig. 16). In order to give an abundance of milk, she must have the best of care and food, and kind treatment; and she must be milked at regular hours. She should have water and ]ilenty of good food at every meal time.