THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY a^o' G-Coo S:' m m ^ i Return this book on or before the 1 Latest Date stamped below. A charge is made on all overdue books. i University of Illinois Library v -1 IS5 4 -('' ISSo j ^"T20!S: I i n 0 ^ Mh! it, " i n ; i 1 apr„, 1 1 392 OCT 3 0 1 I 997 I 'JBN1 ’’ Q99 MAY 1 1 ■ 933 1 2 ?G04 L161— H41 'Vi Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates r.VA/. https://archive.org/details/beefproductionin5766ward ^3-P U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. DIVISION OF PUBLICATIONS. tlNiVERSITV OF til AUG 3 1 1916 FARMERS’ BULLETINS Nos. 576-600, WITH CONTENTS AND INDEX. PREPARED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF JOS. A. ARNOLD, EDITOR AND CHIEF. WASHINGTON; GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1915 . I 1 K.At. CONTENTS. ^ 6 30 Ko 5 T 6 - (J. 0 0 I - "l , 'i > r» C^^ r F'armers' Bulletin 570. — Breeds of Sheep for . e Farm. Introduction (^lasses oi sheep Middle wooled sheep Ijong wool breeds.. Fine wool sheep y Fross-bred sheep Farmers' Bulletin 577. — Growing ICgyptian Cotton i.n the S.\lt River Valley, Arizona. Introduction Selection of land Slope of the land Early preparation of the land Preparation of the seed bed Planting Early cultivation Early irrigation Thinning Late cultivation Late irrigation Picking Ginning and baling Farmers’ Bulletin 578. — The Making and Feeding of Silage. Making and feeding silage Some points in favor of silage Silage crops Harvesting the crop and filling the silo Total cost of silage i Losses of food material in the silo Feeding value of silage Silage for dairy cattle Silage for horses Silage for beef cattle Silage for the breeding herd Silage for stockers Silage for fattening animals Rations Miscellaneous considerations Silage for sheep Farmers’ Bulletin 579. — Crimson Clover; Utilization. Introduction Crimson-clover'hay Crimson clover as a soiling crop Crimson clover as pasture Crimson clover as a soil improver Crimson clover as a cover crop Vhgt. S 3 10 13 16 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 8 1 1 2 5 12 13 13 14 17 19 20 20 21 21 23 24 1 2 5 6 7 10 '0 ;■■■> i P III IV farmers' bulletins, nos. 576-600. Farmers’ Bulletin 580. — ^Beef Production in the South. Page. The South as a field for beef production 1 Pasture lands and grasses. 1 Forage crops and feeds 3 Methods and cost of raising cattle 5 Finishing cattle for the market ^ 6 The value of cottonseed hulls and meal as a fattening ration for beef cattle . . 10 Corn silage as a substitute for cottonseed hulls 10 Corn stover, sorghum, and Johnson grass hay versus hulls, for steers 11 Wintering steers preparatory to summer fattening on pasture 12 Fattening steers on southern pastures 13 The value of shelter for fattening beef cattle. 14 Tick eradication 14 Breeds of cattle adapted to the South 15 Summary 20 Farmers’ Bulletin 581.— The Agricultural Outlook. The world corn crop 1 Corn from Argentina 6 Argentine corn 9 The world oats crop 12 Oats from Canada .* 17 Other world crops 18 Argentine beef 30 Colonial cotton 40 Crop-reporting systems and sources of crop information in foreign countries. 43 Farmers’ Bulletin 582. — Uses for Chestnut Timber Killed by the Bark Disease. The chestnut-bark disease - 1 Strength and durability of disease-killed timber 2 Deteriorations 2 Merchantability 3 When to cut diseased trees 4 How to manufacture and market chestnut products 6 Relative value of chestnut products 7 Recommendations 24 Farmers’ Bulletin 583. — The Common Mole of the Eastern United States. Distribution 1 Description 1 Habits 2 Runways and nests 2 Active periods 4 Natural enemies and checks 4 Breeding habits 5 Trespassers 5 Natural food 5 Injury and depredations 6 How to destroy the mole 7 Economic status ^ Farmers’ Bulletin 584. — The Agricultural Outlook. Stocks of grain on farms March 1 1 Accuracy of estimates of farm supplies of wheat 2 Shipments of grain out of counties where grown 3 Pre])aring seed corn for planting 4 CONTENTS. Farmers’ Bulletin 584. — The Agricultural Outlook — C ontinued. page. The preparation of seed grain for spring planting »j Wages of farm labor 7 Hours of farm hired labor 9 Trend of prices of farm products 10 Value per acre of crop production 11 Florida and California crop report 22 Farmers’ Bulletin 585. — Natural and Artificial Incubation of Hens' . Eggs. Study of an egg 1 Care of eggs for hatching 1 Period of incubation 3 Time of the year to hatch chickens 4 Natural incubation 4 Ty}3es of incubators 0 Selection of an incubator 8 Incubator cellar or house 9 Setting up and operating the incubator 9 Moisture and ventilation 12 Testing eggs 14 Causes of poor hatches 15 Disinfecting and storing incubators > 15 Summary 16 Farmers’ Bulletin 586. — Collection and Preservation of Plant M.ate- RiAL FOR Use in the Study of Agriculture. Introduction 1 VTiat material should be collected 1 Sources of materials 2 General suggestions for field work 2 Suggestions concerning the arrangement of materials 3 Collection of plant specimens 3 Collection of seeds and grains - 9 Collection of wood specimens 18 Collection of fungi, lichens, and mosses 21 Farmers’ Bulletin 587. — Economic Value of North American Skunks. Introduction 1 Kinds of skunks 2 General habits of skunks 5 Scent glands 6 Breeding habits 7 Food of skunks 7 Beneficial habits of skunks 10 Undeserved prejudice against skunks 12 Protection of skunks 13 Commercial value of skunks 14 Trapping skunks 15 Raising skunks for their fur 16 Summary 22 Farmers’ Bulletin 588.— Economical Cattle Feeding in the Corn Belt. Introduction 1 Decline in the supply of feeder cattle 2 Cost of producing cattle 3 Buying and selling cattle 5 Cost of feeding cattle 7 VI FAKMERS' BULLETINS^ NOS. 57()-<)()(). Farmers’ Bulletin 588. — Economical Cattle Feeding in the ('orn Belt— C ontinued. r>a^f. Care of the manure 10 Systems of farming to maintain soil fertility 12 Cattle feeding on high-priced land 12 L^igth of the fattening period ■ 13 Quality of cattle to use 14 Winter fattening 14 Feeding on pasture Jo. Methods adapted to moderate-priced land 15 Hogs following cattle 17 Shrinkage in shipping to market , 19 Farmers’ Bulletin 589. — Homemade Silos. Introduction 1 (General considerations , 1 The concrete silo 9 'Phe stave silo 30 The modified Wisconsin silo 43 Bills of materials 47 Farmers’ Bulletin 590.^ — The Agricultural Outlook. Losses of live stock .• 1 How to use anti-hog-cholera serum 3 Losses of cattle 7 Monthly variation in numbers of farm animals 8 Winter wheat forecast 10 Florida and California crops 10 Louisiana sugar crop of 1913 11 Trend of prices of farm products 12 Farmers’ Bulletin 591. — The ('lassification and Grading op Cotton. Introduction 1 Grade names 2 Factors that influence the grade 3 I’nited States official cotton grades 7 Grade characteristics of different growths 13 Relative values of different grades 16 Relative value of different lengths of staple 18 Summary and conclusions 22 Farmers’ Bulletin 592. — Stock-watering Places on Western Grazing Lands. Need for water on the range 1 Daily water requirements of live stock 2 Relation of v^ater supply to food production 3 Warm and cold water 3 Distance range stock should travel to water 3 Natural watering places and their improvement 4 Artificial watering places 9 Fse of cement 26 Farmers’ Bulletin 593. — How to Use Farm Credit. Nature and use of capital 1 How capital is secured 2 Proper and improper uses of credit 2 Gbjection to use of credit 3 Principal more important than interest 3 Repayment and duration of loan 5 CONTENTS. VTT Farmers’ Bulletin 593. — How to Use Farm Credit— C ontinued. Repayment of long-time loans Rates of interest Improving credit conditions Farmers’ Bulletin 594. — Shipping Eggs by Parcel Post. Introduction Summary of results of experimental shipments The eggs Preserving eggs in water glass Containers Packing eggs for shipment Supplies for shippers Unpacking eggs when received The return of empty containers Methods of bringing producer and consumer together Contracts or agreements between producers and consumers Parcel-post zones Direct marketing of larger quantities of eggs than private families require . Opportunity of extension of parcel-post marketing to other products Summary Farmers’ Bulletin 595.^ — Arsenate of Lead as an Insecticide Against THE Tobacco Hornworms in the Dark-tobacco District. Introductory. . Necessity and advantages of the use of an insecticide Injury to tobacco by the use of Paris green Advantages of the use of arsenate of lead Results that have been obtained from the use of arsenate of lead Mow to apply arsenate of lead to tobacco The grade of arsenate of lead that should be used When to apply arsenate of lead Dosage of arsenate of lead required Cost of arsenate of lead . . . . , Summary P'armers’ Bulletin 596.^ — The Culture of Winter Wheat in the Eastern United States. Introduction Soils adapted to wheat Fertilizers Rotations Wheat as a nurse crop Wheat as a cover crop Preparation of the seed bed Preparation of the seed Sowdng the seed Pasturing and mowing Cultivation of the crop Harvesting the crop Thrashing Farmers’ Bulletin 597.— The Road Drag and How It Is LTsed. Introduction Purpose of the drag How the drag is constructed How to use the drag When to use the drag I’age. 6 (j 1 2 2 4 5 8 9 11 12 12 13 14 18 19 20 1 1 2 2 3 5 5 () 6 6 8 1 2 3 5 G G 7 8 8 10 10 10 12 1 2 2 7 8 Mil FAKMEKS BULLETINS; NOS. 576-600. Farmers’ Bulletin 597. — The Road Drag and How It Is Used — C ontd. page. Features of road construction involved 10 Cost of drag maintenance 12 Conclusion 14 Farmers’ Bulletin 598. — ^The Agricultural Outlook. Winter- wheat condition and forecast May 1 1 Wlieat fed to live stock 3 The outlook for the 1914 foreign wheat crop 4 Rye 6 Hay 6 Pastures 7 Spring plowing and planting 7 Trend of prices of farm products 7 Honeybees 8 Beet sugar in the United States, 1913 9 Sources of sugar supply 11 Final returns for the Hawaiian sugar campaign of 1912-13 12 Acreage and yield of cotton in 1913 13 Basis for interpreting crop-condition reports 13 Florida and California crop report 14 Equivalent in yield per acre of 100 per cent condition on June 1 21 Farmers’ Bulletin 599.— -Pasture and Grain Crops for Hogs in the Pacific Northm^est. Introduction 1 Management of pastures 1 Grain ration while hogs are on pasture 3 Hogging off crops 5 Crops suitable for pasture and hogging off 10 Summary 27 Farmers’ Bulletin 600.— An Outfit for Boring Taprooted Stumps for Blasting. Introduction •. 1 Placing the charge 1 Power outfit for boring stumps 2 Method of operating 3 Results obtained in a test 4 Grade of power to use 5 Cost of the outfit 5 Conclusion 5 < US. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 576 Contribution from the Bureau of Animal Industry, A. D. Melvin, Chief. May 2, 1914. BREEDS OF SHEEP FOR THE FARM. By F. R. Marshall, Senior Animal Husbandman in Sheep and Goat Investigations, Animal Hus- bandry Division. INTRODUCTION. Recent market values for meat animals have caused a renewal of interest in the raising of live stock on farms. The study of raising and disposing of crops to the best advantage also suggests the more general and more careful production of live stock. In this movement the possibilities of securing profits from farm sheep are becoming better and more widely understood. Variations in wool values explain in large part the increases and decreases in numbers of farm sheep during the past 50 years. At present many former raisers of commercial sheep who bred altogether for wool are giving more attention to mutton, and most of the new flocks being established are of some of the mutton breeds. A system of sheep farming that is to be continuously successful can not ignore either wool or mutton. In many cases the two products will be worthy of equal consideration; in others, either one may be empha- ized according to the peculiarities of conditions, management, and marketing. A decision to raise sheep chiefly for mutton purposes leaves much 'ill to be considered in making a choice of type and breed. The hoice of a breed is not the most important question. Any breed is ar s^uperior to no breed. Once established, there must be advance in AQ character and usually in the size of the flock. Such advance can not be made unless the same breed and type is adhered to in securing '•ams. The female of mixed breeding, no matter how good indi- idually, is an uncertain quantity when used as a breeder. There are nough highly improved breeds to allow a choice of one that will lave special fitness for almost any combination of real needs. In his bulletin it is aimed to discuss the breeds in a way that will enable Note. — D iscusses the breeds in a way to enable those not familiar with them to know >^’hich are likely to meet their requirements. 31623°— 14 2 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 576 . those who are not familiar with them to know which ones are likely to meet the requirements. Some of the breeds differ very strikingly in appearance. Differ- ences in size, color, and covering of face and legs, while quickly no- ticed, are not the main points which determine whether a breed is likely to prove satisfactory upon rough pasture land, for winter lamb- ing, or any of the points that must be taken into account when start- ing into sheep raising. The breeds differ very widely in their special points of usefulness for various sections and systems of management. The differences are mainly a result of breeding for special qualities needed by the farmers in the localities in AAdiich and for which the breed Avas formed. The minor points, such as color and shape of head, must be regarded as sIioaa ing hoAV far the animals, are true to the type of Avhat the breeders tried to produce, not only in appear- ance but in breeding and feeding qualities. In starting into sheep raising the most important thing is to decide what plan can best be followed. The available feed and care and the selling outlets will determine this. If pa’sturage is sparse, feed expensive, and marketing arrangements poor, wool Avill need to be the first consideration. If there is a good market for winter lambs and the feed and care that can be given are such as are needed, then the ability of the ewes to get in lamb in the spring and the mutton qualities are the important things to look for in the breeding stock. If it is desired to haA^e lambs come early and to feed them to be sold before the time stomach worms become troublesome, the choice would not fall upon the same breed that would ‘fit in if there was a better chance to keep the lambs on clean pastures and they were expected to take care of themseh^es more largely through their first summer. . It is not to be expected that all farmers in a countA^ will select the same breed of sheep. Some may Avish to follow plans that differ from the ones favored by other farmers. However, there are many advantages that may be realized if a number of farmers in a com- munity adopt a common plan of sheep raising and use rams of the same type, at least, if not of the same breed. If their lambs are simi- lar and ready to ship at the same time, a number of owners can join together to fill a car, or if the number of lambs is large and the quality uniform they will sell themselves, as the buyers will come after them. Another advantage in community breeding is that new rams can be purchased jointly. Owners of tAvo small flocks can go together and buy a better ram than either of them alone would care to pay for. When the daughters of such a ram are ready to breed he can go to another flock in the neighborhood in exchange for one that has been siring good lambs but is too closely related to ewes in his flock to permit of further use. BKEEDS OF SHEEP FOR THE FARM. 3 CLASSES OF SHEEP. There are 30 breeds of improved sheep that have been brought to fixed types as adapted to the needs of their native homes. Of these. 12 are well established in the United States and a number of others are gaining in poiDularity. The better-known breeds can be grouped into three classes, each class having its own general qualities. The Middle Wool class includes Southdowns, Shropshires, Hamp- shires, Oxfords, Dorsets, Cheviots, Suffolks, and Tunis, the last two not being numerous. The Long Wool class includes the CotsAvold, Leicester, and Lincoln breeds, and the Romney Marsh, which is not as well known in Amer- ica as the others. The fine-wool class includes the American Merino and the Ram-* bouillet. The various strains of Merinos formerly known by numer- ous names are now grouped into three types. A, B, and C. MIDDLE WOOLED SHEEP. The following breeds are included in this class: Southdown, Shropshire, Hampshire, Oxford, Suffolk, Dorset, Tunis, and Cheviot. The first five are collectively referred to as down ” breeds, because of the nature of the country in which they were developed. This country is one of ranges of hills or “ downs,” as they are called in southern England. The “ doAvn ” breeds have all been bred primarily for mutton, with special emphasis upon some useful character con- sidered necessary for the style of farming and the markets of the various counties or shires from which most of the breeds take their names. The face and leg color of all the “ down ” breeds is of some shade of brown or black, and the fleece occupies a middle position between the length and coarseness of the long wools and the extreme flneness and density of the fine wools. While there are breed variations in fineness, length, and density, the fleece is always close and dry enough to fur- nish excellent protection. THE SOUTHDOWN. The Southdown is the oldest of the middle wool breeds and on that account flocks of the breed are strikingly uniform in their qualities and appearance. Their body conformation is the ideal one for mutton and no breed surpasses them in the estimation of the market. From the raiser’s standpoint they are not so large as is desirable. Because of their conformation the weights are large in proportion to the apparent size and they will become fat enough for market while growing. Being of medium size they are more active than larger sheep and better adapted to rolling or hilly pastures. The ewes are 4 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 576. good mothers and milkers. With good management the number of lambs raised Avill average 120 per cent of the ewes bred. The Southdown is readily recognized by its very blocky, low set appearance. The breadth of the back, thickness of loin, with the plumpness of the thighs and twist, are breed points of greatest value. The head is short and broad, and the eyes prominent. The fleece is very close, quite fine, but usually too short to weigh heavily. The face is sometimes partly covered with wool and varies in its color from brown to mouse color or very light gray. The legs show the same color as the face. • Fig. 1. — A Southdown ewe. The blocky thick build is characteristic of the breed, as well as the full, plump breast and the short head. The breeders’ association for this breed is American Southdown Breeders’ Association, F rank S. Springer, secretary, 510 East Monroe Street, Springfield, 111. THE SHROPSHIRE. The Shropshire is the most widely known and bred of the “ down ” breeds in America. In body it is intermediate between Southdown and larger breeds. The lambs reach common market weight later than the larger breeds and slower gains may be most economical in some sections. Where sheep raising can not be made a specialty, it is often desirable to keep the lambs to be finished in winter quarters. Under such management the lambs of breeds of intermediate size BREEDS OF SHEEP FOR THE FARM. 5 are not likely to be above the best selliiio- weight when sold. This plan, however, involves the need of adopting methods to avoid trouble from stomach worms in summer and fall. In weight, length, and fineness of fleece the Shropshire ranks very high and the proceeds of the wool are a very important part of the income from the flock. In breeding for a valuable fleece along with mutton qualities the Shropshire breeders prefer sheep that are well Avooled up over the poll, down below the eyes, and on the ears. This along with the shape of the head, and color of face and legs, serves as a distinguishing feature. The head is ordinarily wide between Fig. 2. — A Shropshire ram. This illustration shows the desirable face and leg covering and appearance of fleece, but the animal is not as compact in form as is usually preferred. the eyes and ears, short, breedy looking, and varies in color from brown to almost black, the legs where not wooled showing the same color. Aside from the head the Shropshire type calls for a very attractive smoothness and compactness of body set upon short legs. This type can be recognized whether the wool is long or short, trimmed or untrimmed, by standing some distance off and studying the outlines and appearance of the animal before endeavoring to examine points of detail. The breeders’ association for this breed is American Shropshire Kegistry Association, Miss Julia M. Wade, secretary. La Fayette, Ind. 6 FARMERS^ RLILLETIX 57G. THE IIAMPSHIKE. The strong point of the Hampshire is tlie rapid rate of growth in the lambs Avhen well fed. This quality is associated with unusual size, the breed being the largest of the middle wool class. Because of this feature the breed is favored by persons wishing to get lambs upon the market at an early age and who are prepared to furnish feed and care to insure this rapid growth The ewes rank with other middle wools in the number of lambs pro- duced, and are fully average in milking qualities and mothering their Fig. 3. — A Hampshire ewe. The square and I’ugged appearance shown is peculiar to the Hampshire. The nose does not show as strong as is usual. The ears are typical. lambs. On account of its size and weight the Hampshire is not adapted to very rough or scanty pastures. In appearance the Hampshire is large framed, rather tall, heavy boned, rugged, and somewhat coarse looking. Apart from the size, the head is the most distinctive feature. This is large, strong in the nose in both sexes, black in color, and the ears are large and seldom erect. A fine or a small head is not associated with the qualities upon which the Vireed’s popularity is based. The face is sometimes wooled })elow the eyes, though commonly only over the crown. BREEDS OF SHEEP FOR THE FARM. 7 There is considerable variation i:i the length and closeness of the fleeces, the opener ones running more to length, but a fairly close and rather coarse fleece is most common and does not shrink heavily in scouring. Associated with the dark color of face and legs, the skin is usually inclined to be blue. The breeders’ association for this breed is American Hampshire Sheep ^Association, C. A. Tyler, secretary, 310 East Chicago Street, Coldwater, Mich. Fig. 4. — An Oxford ram. Thi.s illustration shows the square type of the Oxford. The fleece does not appear as well as in some of the better specimens of the breed. The shape and expressit»n of the face are typical. THE OXFORD. An idea of the Oxford may be gained from the fact that the blood of the Hampshire and Cotswold was used in forming the breed. Be- ing a very large and heav}’ breed, the lambs grow rapidly when well fed, and can be matured early if desired, though not so eaj*!}^ as those of some of the less growthy breeds. They fit in Avell under a plan of slower early growth and later finishing, such as is suitable Avith the amount and kind of feed and labor available in many sec- tions devoted to mixed farming. The breed is an a\"erage of the doAAm breeds in respect to yield of lambs, milking qualities, and length of life. 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 576 . The fleece of the Oxford is of special importance. While usually more open than in similar breeds, yet it is close enough for protection, and the extra length adds to the weight as well as making it useful when length of fiber, without too great coarseness, is needed. The typical Oxford is a large-framed, heavy-boned, strong-looking sheep. The appearance of size is added to by the extra length of wool, though some individuals run to the shorter, more compact style of fleece. The head is less coarse and lighter colored than that of the Hampshire. The face and leg color varies, but is usually a light brown, and there is a small white spot on the end of the nose. The face is partly covered with wool. The ears are of medium size and not usually wooled. Fig. 5. — A Dorset ram. This illustratioo shows a close fleece. The strength of the head and the horns are characteristic of mature rams of the breed. The breeders’ association for this breed is American Oxford Down Record Association, W. A. Shafor, secretary, Hamilton, Ohio. THE DORSET HORN. The* Dorset is of the middle wool type, but is not a “ down ” breed. Both rams and ewes have horns. The faces and legs are white. The type is one of a little larger and coarser frame with less com- pactness than is found in the smaller down breeds. Openness of shoulder is quite common. The fleece is medium in closeness and length, and coarser than the Shropshire. There is little wool on BREEDS OF SHEEP FOR THE FARM. 9 the face and legs, and the belly is frequently short Avooled or nearly bare. The strong feature of the Dorset is the breeding habit. The breed was developed in a section where early lambs were desired and early breeding ewes were preferred. The ewes can regularly be bred to lamb in the fall. Two crops of lambs in one year are possible, though seldom advised. Twins are quite numerous and the ewes are extra milkers. Partly because of the milking qualities of their mothers the lambs grow and mature rapidly. This point, combined with the early breeding habit, makes the breed particularly popular with Fig. 6. — A Cheviot ram. The general form shown in this illustration is characteristic of the Cheviot. The shape and bareness of the head is also characteristic, but the face has not the appear- ance of life usually shown. farmers raising winter or “ hot house ” lambs for marketing from / Thanksgiving to Easter. The breeders’ association for this breed is The Continental Dorset Club, J. E. Wing, secretary, Mechanicsburg, Ohio. THE CHEVIOT. The Cheviot is a mountain breed. It is accustomed to grazing over rough places and is very active and alert, both in appearance and behavior. It is vigorous and hardy, and capable of producing mut- ton upon lands unsuited to other breeds. The breed is distinguished by the short and very blocky appear- ance, which is due in part to the length of the fairly dense fleece. 10 FARMERS BULLETIN 576. [T^here are no brown markings, and the bare white face with the strong nose, prominent eye, and erect ear have gained the Cheviots many admirers. The conformation has been miicli improved, but sharp and poorly covered shoulders are common. In development (of hindquarters the breed rivals the Southdown. The breeders’ association for this breed is American Cheviot Sheep Society, F. E. Dawley, secretary, Fayetteville, N. Y. OTHER MIDDLE WOOLED BREEDS. The Suffolk is a “ down ” breed. The ewes are hardy, very prolific, / and heavy milkers. The face and legs are bare, dark black, and the belly wool is light. /"^The Tunis is an Asiatic sheep, hornless, brown faced, heavy eared, and the wool is white, brown, or reddish, or mixed in color. The breed also has the fat tail character. The lambs are rapid growers, '^d the blood is sometimes used by raisers of winter lambs. The breeders’ association for this breed is American Tunis Sheep Breeders’ Association, Charles Rountree, secretary, Crawfordsville, Ind. LONG WOOL BREEDS. '^^^^he long wools, bred chiefly for mutton, are the largest breeds of sheep. All of them are large-framed, square-bodied sheep, with very broad backs. Their fleeces are open or loose as compared with the (jine and middle wools, coarser, and very long. ^As their size indicates, the breeds of this class have been developed for level lands where feed can be obtained without much travel. With proper attention they will thrive upon lands that are too low and wet for the breeds of the middle wool class, though the keeping of any sheep on marshy ground is not to be advised. The long wools have been found to thrive in regions of excessive rainfall, the long wool carrying the water off the body as the close fleece will not do. Lambs of the long wooled breeds do not mature so rapidly nor fatten so young as those of other mutton breeds. On some farms the total- weight of the lambs produced by these sheep will be greater in pro- portion to the land used for the flock than from the smaller breeds, but extra weight in lambs beyond 95 pounds usually lowers the price on the market. The profit from an animal is determined no less by the cost of raising than by what it sells for, and both these things must be taken into account in deciding what class of sheep to raise. The long wools are favored by only a small proportion of farmers who raise lambs for market. BREEDS OF SHEEP FOR THE FARM. 11 THE COTSWOLI), The typical Cotswold is a big-bodied, rather tall sheep, of stylish appearance. The color of the face, ears, and legs is white or white mixed with a little brown. The wool extends up over the poll and hangs in ringlets of varying length over the face. All over the body the wool hangs in long wavy ringlets that do not show in the same way on other breeds. Generally the thigh wool is hairy, though the fleece as a whole is bright, and, on account of having no excess of oil, is light in shrinkage and sells well. The shape and strength of bone are typical, as weU as the appearance of the fleece and the forelock. The breeders’ association for this breed is American Cotswold Registry Association, F. W. Harding, secretary, AYaukesha, AYis. THE LINCOLN. The Lincoln is shorter and more compactly built than the Cots- wold. The face and legs are white with occasionally a bluish tinge. The back is very strong, heavily and firml}^ fleshed. The wool is of great length, though much coarser than that of the shorter wooled breeds. Instead of hanging in the ringlets of the Cotswold it is in larger, broader locks, with a characteristic curl at the outer end. The breeders’ association for this breed is National Lincoln Sheep Breeders’ Association, Bert Smith, secretary, Charlotte, Mich. 12 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 576. THE LEICESTER. The Leicester is very easily distinguished from the other long wools by its lean and strong face. The nose is decidedly Eoman and the j^ad is bare of wool from the ears forward. The Leicester has a very wide and well covered back, but the depth of body is less than in the ^her long wools. This feature, with a strong tendency to lightness of belly wool, gives the breed a leggy appearance. The wool is finer and softer than that of the Cotswold or Lincoln, though not always so thick upon the body. The fleece hangs in locks smaller than those of the Lincoln and without the Cotswold’s appearance of ringlets. Fig. 8. — A Lincoln ewe. The shape of the head and the amount of covering is typical. The breeders’ association for this breed is American Leicester Breeders’ Association, A. J. Temple, secretary, Cameron, 111. OTHER LONG WOOL BREEDS. Other long wool breeds are the Komney Marsh, or Kent, the AVensleydale, and Devon Long AA’^ool. There are some flocks of the first named in America. They have denser, closer fleeces than the breeds discussed, and it is claimed for them that they are more accus- tomed to lowlands and to scantier fare than the other long wools, though hardly equal to them in conformation. BEEEDS OF SHEEP FOR THE FARM. 13 The breeders’ association for this breed is American Eomney Breeders’ Association, J. E. Wing, secretary-treasurer. Mechanics- burg, Ohio. FINE WOOL SHEEP. j ^All fine wool sheep are descendants of earlier Spanish stock. The American Merinos have been bred nearly altogether for wool. Some breeders of the Delaine, or C type Merino, have bred to some extent for a mutton carcass in addition to fineness and length of wool. J In the case of the Kambouillet there has been a greater effort to im- l prove the mutton qualities. A common characteristic of all Merinos and Eambouillets is the fineness of the wool. It is for this quality they have been bred, and while there are variations, there is as much of uniformity in fineness as in any one character of any class of sheep. This fineness is an important quality of wool, although its value in the market varies from time to time. The length of Merino wool varies, less than one- ^ third of the fleeces being long enough for combing. Wool of tli^ fineness of the Merino and of combing length (over 2 inches) is known as Delaine. The fleeces of fine-wool sheep are heavy in oil or yolk, sometimes losing over 70 per cent in scouring. Wliile some- times quoted at a seeming low price per pound on this account, it must be remembered that a fair basis of comparing fleece values is to consider the fleece weight along with its value -per pound. Along with the fineness and oil of the fleeces of the fine-wool sheep there is the tendency to wrinkles and folds upon the neck and body, con- sidered as necessary in the production of the finest wool. The extent of the development of wrinkles varies and is referred to later. Other special features of the fine-wool sheep as a class are: The ability to stand traveling long distances for feed and water, and the instinct to herd closely. It is these qualities that have caused fine- wool sheep to be used so largely on the range. In addition to the points named, the fine wools as a class have strong resistance to internal parasites and are long lived. They are slow in maturing, the ewes produce few twins, and do not rank high as mothers and milkers. The ewes are much more likely to breed in spring and summer than are the ewes of the mutton breeds, and this has caused them to be used by winter lamb raisers for mating with mutton rams. A few of the rams are hornless, but most of them have strong curving horns. The ewes are always polled. Sheep of this class have^ been found to thrive under a wide variety of conditions, sometime^ on rather low moist land. ^ THE AMERICAN MERINO. The statements previously made apply equally to the A, B, and C types of Merinos. In the A and B types the body is considered only 14 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 576 . SO far as is necessary to secure the vigor and stamina needed to enable the sheep to 2:)roduce a hea\y fleece of fine wool. Some breeders are now giving more attention than formerly to strength of top line and heart girth. The A type is the extreme in the size and number of wrinkles as well as in the fineness of wool. On account of the wrin- kles the A type is not considered desirable for commercial wool raisers. Merinos of the B type are stronger in body than the A’s, less heavily Avrinkled, and grow avooI that is longer but not so fine. Fig. 9 . — An A type Merino ram lamb. The wrinkles over all parts of the body, the density of the fleece, and the covering of the face and legs are characteristic. The C type, or Delaine Merino, is larger and less wrinkled than the other types. In rams two good-sized folds on the neck are desired, Avhile the body is sometimes quite smooth. Length of wool is de- manded in this type, together Avith as much of Aveight and fineness as can be combined Avith it. Some C type flocks have considerable mut- ton value and the lambs are fed to be marketed after their first shear- ing. Mdiile Merinos are recorded as being of A, B, or C type, there is nothing to prevent mating A’s and C’s to produce B’s. In fact, such is common practice. Because of this it is especially necessary to be assured that the parents and grandparents of the ram to be used Avere of the type it is desired to raise. The breeders’ associations for Merinos are American and Delaine Merino Kecord Association, S, M, Cleaver, secretary, Delaware, BREEDS OF SHEEP FOR THE FARM. 15 Ohio; Dickinson Merino Sheep Kecord Co., Mrs. Beulah McDowell Miller, secretary, E. F. I). Xo. 2, Xew Berlin, Ohio; National Delaine Merino Sheep Breeders’ Association of Washington County, J. B. Johnson, secretary, 218 West Pike Street, Canonsburg, Pa.; Stand- ard Delaine Merino Sheep Breeders’ Association, E. JNI. AAood, sec- retary, Saline, Mich. ; Michigan Merino Sheep Breeders’ Association, E. N. Ball, secretary, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Vermont, New York, and Ohio Merino Sheep Breeders’ Association, Wesley Bishop, secretary, E. F. D. No. 1, Delaware, Ohio. Fig. 10. — A Rambouillet ewe. The size and squareness of form with face and leg covering are characteristic of the l)est Rambouillets. THE KAMBOUILLET. The Eambouillet is the largest and strongest bodied of fine-wool sheep. Many Eambouillet breeders give most attention to the fleece, though size is usually more sought for than in the American Merinos. Some of the ewes have backs broad and fleshy enough to compare fav- orably with the best of the mutton sheep. The rams are likely to be high in the withers and low back of the shoulders. Their size, growthiness, and strong vitality are their strongest points from a mutton standpoint. In selecting for a combination of mutton and wool, much will depend upon the course followed by the breeder of the flock from which the purchase is made. 16 FAEMERS BULLETIN 570 . I ^Rambouillet fleeces vary in fineness and length, but are usually quite dense. They carry less oil than the American Merinos, but afford \ am ple protection from storms and low temperatures of any section. In selecting fine- wool rams it is necessary to be correctly informed in regard to the actual age of the fleece and to know whether or not the wool was shorn close to the skin over all parts of the body at the previous shearing. The breeders’ associations for this breed are American Rambouillet Sheep Breeders’ Association, Dwight Lincoln, secretary, Milford Cen- ter, Ohio; International Von Homeyer Bambouillet Club, E. N. Ball, secretary, Ann Arbor, Mich.. CROSS-BRED SHEEP. rit is sometimes, though rarely, good policy to cross breeds of sheep. In a farm flock that is to be maintained and enlarged by keeping ewe lambs raised, sires of the same breed should be used continuously. If it appears really necessary to change breeds it will be quicker and [Cheaper to sell the stock on hand and start over again.- The ewe of mixed breeding is a very uncertain quantity as a lamb raiser. With flocks of fine-wool ewes it is sometimes desirable to use mutton rams to sire lambs having more mutton quality than could be had with purebred Merinos. Both ewes and ram lambs from such a cross should be marketed and a large enough number of ewes mated with good rams of the same blood to produce lambs to replace old ewes. o WASHINGTON ; GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1914 Ww y ^ US.DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Wm. A. Taylor, Chief. March 14, 1914. GROWING EGYPTIAN COTTON IN THE SALT RIVER VALLEY, ARIZONA. By E. W. Hudson, Assistant, Crop Physiologji and Breeding Investigations. INTRODUCTION. Large yields of uniformly long and strong fiber of Egyptian cotton can be obtained only by proper attention to the selection and prepara- tion of the land and by careful cultivation and irrigation of the ciop. It is also veiy important to manage the crop so that the bulk of it will ripen early. Cotton ripened in October or November is always superior to that ripened later. Growers of Egyptian cotton should prepare the land during the previous autumn, or at latest during the winter, so as to have it ready for planting early in the spring. Egyptian cotton is a long-season crop and should be planted early in March. The object of this paper is to describe methods of preparing the land and irrigating and cultivating the crop which have proved successful in the Salt River Valley. SELECTION OF LAND. Since it is very important that the land be prepared as early as possible, it is well for those who expect to plant cottbn to have the natter in mind in handling the land with the preceding crop. The question of what soil is best adapted to cotton is often asked. Iny land that will grow good crops of alfalfa and grain will also ;tow good cotton. The heavier and more fertile soils as a rule will TOW a smaller and more fruitful plant with shorter nodes, and hence nore fruiting branches. While some raw desert land will make good cotton, it has been demonstrated that land previously in idfalfa will produce better cotton, and the crop can be produced more economically. New land does not hold the water so well and as a rule requires more frequent irrigation. It is usually uneven, with spots of lighter soil here and there which have to be irrigated separately in order to keep the growth uniform. While in some nstances good yields of excellent fiber have been obtained on raw ‘and, the best results are to be had on old land, especially if it has deviously been in alfalfa. 30036°— 14 2 farmers' bulletin 577. A great deal of the land in the Salt River Valley of Arizona is infested with Bermuda and Johnson grasses. This infestation is worse on land that was under cultivation prior to the completion of the Roosevelf Dam. The growing of a cultivated crop is the surest means of ridding the land of these troublesome weeds. There are, conservatively speaking, fully 10,000 acres on the south side of the Salt River alone that would be greatly benefited by cropping with cotton. This is as good land for cotton as any in the valley. Most of it is level, and it has been made rich by crops of alfalfa. SLOPE OF THE LAND. Land that is nearly level .will require less water for the crop, can be irrigated more evenly, and will produce more uniform cotton than land with a heavy slope. If there is much grade to the land it will he found that the fields dry out in spots during August and September, and in order to avoid injury to the cotton it will be necessary to irri- gate these spots separately, thus causing much extra work. The best grade to be given will depend somewhat upon the character of the soil, a steeper grade being possible in light soils into which the water sinks readily than in heavy soils which will not become thor- oughly wet unless the water stands for some time. Where alfalfa land is plowed up in order to plant cotton it is often advisable to irrigate the cotton in a different direction from that used in irrigating the alfalfa, in order to secure a lighter grade. EARLY PREPARATION OF THE LAND. The first stage in the preparation of the land depends upon its condition, whether weedy or clean, and upon the nature of the pre- ceding crop. In preparing land which is overrun with Johnson grass for cotton, the best plan is to plow about 2 inches deep during August, allowing the soil to dry out thoroughly; then to disk and harrow thoroughly, dragging as many of the roots to the surface as possible. A spring- tooth harrow may be used to advantage in this work. Dining November or December the land should again be given a shallow plowing and pulverized by disking and harrowing. At this time it may be well to go over the land both ways with an orchard culti- vator or some similar tool having long teeth. This will bring a great many of the roots to the surface, and if in sufficient quantity they should be raked up and burned or hauled off the field. The land may then be left fallow until the latter part of February. Bermuda grass alone is not so hard to eradicate as Johnson grass or a mixture of Bermuda and Johnson grasses. It is possible by shallow plowing during November or December, followed by thorough disking and harrowing, to put Bermuda-grass land in shape for cotton. If the land is kept thoroughly disked and harrowed during the winter, the freezing will greatly aid in kilHng the roots. Two or three weeks before Ranting, the land should be plowed from 4 to 6 inches deep and thoroughly pulverized. If regular cultivation be kept up during the early part of the growing season, or until the cotton plants become large enough to shade the ground, the Bermuda grass will not have a chance to establish itself sufficiently to become a nuisance. EGYPTIAN COTTON IN SALT KIVER VALLEY, ARIZONA. 3 It may cost the grower from $6 to $10 an acre to put Bermuda and Johnson grass land m proper condition for cotton. The weeds can then be kept down by intensive cultivation, altliough it may be found necessary to chop out the grass in the rows at the time the cotton is being thinned, and in bad cases once or twice later in the season. By this method it is possible for the growers to eradicate both of these grasses within two years and to grow a remunerative crop on the land while this is being done. In preparing to plant cotton on ahaha land which is not overrun with Bermuda or Johnson grass, the same general plan can be fol- lowed. HoweA^er, it will not be necessary to do as much disking and harrowing or cross plowing as in the case on land infested with Bermuda or Johnson grass. If alfalfa land is plowed 2 inches deep early in the autumn and turned up to the sun until thoroughly dry and then later in the season plowed 4 to 6 inches deep, there will be very little trouble from the growth of alfalfa during the following season. While alfalfa land may be prepared at any time prior to the' planting season, the best results wiU be obtained if the land is plowed first in October or November, followed by a second plowing in January. In preparing n to cotton, a stalk small pieces. Then cutter should the land should be plowed, disked, and harrowed until in perfect tilth, when it may be left until planting time. In the absence of a stalk cutter the plants can be dragged down with a heavy drag after a hard freeze. A great many of the stalks will be pulled out, and those remaining in the ground can be loosened with a mattock. This treatment is inexpensWe, costing only about $1 or $1.25 per acre. After all the plants are pulled out of the ground, the field should be raked crosswise with a hayrake and the stalks put up in windrows and burned. PREPARATION OF THE SEED BED. There will be no occasion to regret the labor expended during the winter in preparing the seed bed, since if this is done thoroughly a great deal less work will be required during the summer to grow the crcy), and the yield will be correspondingly larger. ^ It depends upon the kind of soil and the condition it is in whether a double plowing is necessary to put the land in good tilth or whether this can be done with a single plowdng and double disking and double harrowing. Land preAUously in cotton or grain, if irrigated before plowing, can be put in perfect condition by one plovdng. Land previously in alfalfa should be plowed twice. During the latter part of February borders should be thrown up about 2 rods apart. Just before planting time, which is between March 10 and April 1, the land should be flooded and then disked and harrowed until in perfect tilth. ’ As an example of how not to go about this work, the case may be cited of a farmer who last year plowed and leveled his land very poorly and, instead of disking several times after the irrigation just before plant- ing the seed, made small furrows and planted the seed with the idea of pulverizing the land when culti- vating. This piece of cotton had to be hoed twice and cultivated several times more than a near-by field which was double-disked and harrowed until it was in perfect condition before the seed was planted. 4 farmers’ bulletin 511 . At this time, if the soil is very heavy it may be advisable in rare instances to throw up beds, for the reason that land of this character may have to be irrigated in order to germinate the seed. The beds should be made 3-| feet wide and 8 inches high, but should be dragged down to not more than half of this height before planting. A drag can easily be constructed of 2 by 6 inch scantling that will take two (or possibly three) beds at a time. It should be weighted down until it drags off enough of the surface clod to get down to the moist soil. Bedding is usually unnecessary,^ since, if pulverized sufficiently after a thorough irrigation and before planting, most of the soil of the Salt River Valley will hold moisture enough to bring up the seed without further watering. PLANTING. Planting should be done between March 10 and April 1, or as soon as possible after the danger of frost is over. Either a 1-horse or a 2-horse planter may be used, though the latter will be more satis- factory. On land which has been made very rich by previous crops of alfalfa and Bermuda grass, cotton should be planted in rows 4 feet apart. On new land, desert land, and grain land that has never been in alfalfa, the rows should be 3 feet apart. Under normal conditions, seed should not be planted less than 1 inch or more than 2 inches deep. If the soil is in perfect condition, 1 to li inches is a sufficient depth to plant, but one should always bear in mind that the seed must be planted deep enough to insure prompt germination and bring the young plants above the ground. It is very important that only as 'much land should be irrigated at one time as can be prepared and planted before it becomes too dry to germinate the seed. Failure to follow this practice often results in a poor stand. To insure a good stand, from 40 to 50 pounds of seed to the acre should be planted. This quantity will give a thick drill of seed, which, germinating together, will break through any crust that may form. A thin drill of seed on land which tends to crust is very apt to result in a poor stand of cotton. It is never advisable to flood the land after planting in order to germinate the seed, since the young plants are unable to push through the crust formed by flooding and a poor stand results. In the case of very heavy land which has been bedded, an irrigation in furrows may be given in order to germinate the seed. EARLY CULTIVATION. As soon as the plants are visible in the rows, cultivation should begin. It is very important to cultivate as soon as possible, in order to break any crust that may have formed, to check evaporation, and to kill the weeds. The benefits from frequent shallow cultivation at regular intervals during the early growing season are that the root system will develop better, the soil will be aerated, weeds will be kept down, and less water will be required. 1 None of the soils thus far planted to cotton in the Salt River Valley are of such a character as to neces- sitate bedding. Experiments conducted at Sacaton last year proved that bedded land required four more irrigations than land which was not bedded. EGYPTIAN COTTON IN SALT RIVEE VALLEY^ ARIZONA. 5 EARLY IRRIGATION. If the land is level and contains the proper amount of moisture when the seed is planted, and if intensive cultivation is practiced, the crop will not require an irrigation for six weeks or two months after planting, except on new land, which may require irrigation sooner. At the end of this time, the cotton should be given a light furrow irrigation, followed by cultivation as soon as the ground is dry enough to work. In some instances one cultivation after an irrigation will be sufficient to mulch the surface properly. If one cultivation does not put the field in good condition, it should be gone over a second time as soon as possible. In any event the crop should be cultivated again in ten days or two weeks. Under ordinary con- ditions it wdll not be necessary to irrigate again for three or four weeks, when the field should be given another light irrigation, fol- lowed by thorough cultivation. These two irrigations should be enough to carry the crop until about July 1. It is understood that cultivation should always follow any rains that may come. It may be necessary to irrigate more frequently on new land, owing to the fact that such land will not retain moisture so well as land that has been in crop, particularly alfalfa. In all probability new land will have to be irrigated at least three or four times between the date of planting and July 1. Certain tyj)es of old land may also require an extra irrigation during this period. Wilting of some of the plants in the middle of the day during the early stages of development is not conclusive evidence that a general irrigation is needed. The reason for irrigating sparingly during the first part of the season is to prevent the too rapid growth of the plants. If given fre- quent heavy irrigations, the plants wdll grow woody and they will be apt to maintain this tendency throughout the season at the expense of fruitfulness. The foundation for maximum production will be laid if only sufficient water is given the plants during the early stage of development to keep them in a healthy growing condition. THINNING. Cotton should generally be thinned after the second irrigation, when the plants are between 8 and 12 inches high.' On land which has been enriched by previous crops of alfalfa and where the rows are 4 feet apart, the crop should be thinned so as to have the plants from 8 to 16 inches apart in the row. On new land or land that has previously been in cotton, where the rows are 3 feet apart, the plants should be thinned to from 4 to 6 inches apart, depending upon the richness of the soil. Usually the grower can contract for the thinning or chopping at a cost of $1 per acre, which will allow the workman fair wages. The thinning may be done in one or two operations. Wliile the productiveness of the individual plants does not seem to be increased by thinning twice, this is likely to result in a more uniform stand and hence in a larger total yield. If the cotton is to be thinned twice, the plants may be thinned after the first irrigation and cultivation to a distance of 2 or 3 inches apart in the row. This distance will give the remaining plants room to grow and will insure plants enough to replace those which may be 6 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 577. killed during the later cultivations. By thus leaving the plants somewhat crowded, the tendency to develop large limbs or vegeta- tive branches will be checked and the development of fruiting branches will be favored.^ The fmal thinning may in this case be delayed until the plants are larger and stronger than when the thin- ning is done in one operation. Thinning should be conducted so as to obtain a uniform stand of plants properly spaced" in the row. For example, if the nature of the soil requires that the plants be thinned to a distance of 6 inches apart, the largest possible yield will be obtained if there is a plant in every 6 inches of the row in all parts of the field. LATE CULTIVATION. Cultivation should continue at intervals of from 10 to 15 days as long as a horse can get between the rows of cotton without breaking the plants. It will be found more economical to use a riding culti- vator until the plants are too high. When the plants have 8 to 10 leaves, it is desirable to begin to draw the earth toward the plants. This may be continued very gradually at each cultivation until the plants are on a ridge 3 to 4 inches high and 12 to 14 inches wide. The advantage of having the cotton plants ridged in this manner is that in the later irrigations a more even distribution of the water can be secured. This practice also helps to conserve the moisture in the soil immediately around the plants and to cover up any weeds and grass that may start be- tween the cotton plants. After the cotton plants have become so large that a 2-horse cul- tivator can no longer be used, the crop may be cultivated once or twice with a single-row 7-shovel cultivator or with a spike- tooth cultivator. These very late cultivations will of necessity be in the middle of the row^s and thus will not disturb the small ridge that has been thrown up around the cotton plants. Having the cotton plants on a small ridge will also greatly facilitate handling the late irrigations after the plants have become too large to cultivate. LATE IRRIGATION. After July 1 on most soils the crop will probably require an irri- gation every 10 or 15 days. At this time the cotton plants will be flowering and should be given enough water to prevent any serious wilting during the middle of the day. Some ^ting early in the season does little or no harm, but after the flowering begins the plants must not be allowed to wilt. When the flowers can be seen above the crowns of the plants and a decided yellow color is noted in looking out over the field, it is evident that irrigation has been postponed too long. This rule holds good until after the first of October. To obtain a maximum yield it is imperative that strict attention be paid to late irrigation. Late irrigation on soil that will take water evenly should not exceed a 6-hour run. Some fields are so spotted and take water so unevenly that it may be necessary to allow water to run longer. These are exceptions, however, and in- dicate a very poor soil or an excessive grade. 1 Cook, O. F. A New System of Cotton Culture. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Circular 115 pp. 15-22, March 1, 1913. . The Abortion of Fruiting Branches in Cotton. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Circular 118, pp. 11-16, March 22, 1913. EGYPTIAN COTTON IN SALT EIVER VALLEY, ARIZONA. 7 After an irrigation, the water should always be drained off and not allowed to stand in the lower ])art of the field, as this is not only bad for the cotton but injures the land. From observations made in 1913 it is believed that some farmers in the vaUey reduced their yields materially by giving excessive irrigation late in the season and allowing the water to stand in a lake at the lower part of the field. ^ After the first picking, at least one or two irrigations should be given. None of the soils of the Salt River Valley are perfectly uniform. During the latter part of the season practically every field will con- tain spots, varying in extent, where the plants need water before a general irrigation is necessary. By throwing a ridge across the field and turning a small head of water down between the rows, the spot that is drying out may be irrigated without wetting the rest of the field. This practice, of course, entails a little extra expense in irri- gating, but the uniformity and increased yield thereby obtained will more than balance the additional cost. Following this practice in one case increased the yield by a third of a bale of lint per acre, as compared with that obtained on similar soil in a field not handled in this manner. PICKING. Picking should begin between September 1 5 and October 1 . It is nec- essary to pick the crop at least three times. Egyptian cotton must be picked clean — that is, free from trash — in order to command the very best price, for no dependable cleaning device has been found which can be attached to the roller gin. The farmer who violates this rule, hoping that the grader will overlook dirty cotton, which has been picked with a lot of broken leaves and squares mixed through it, is certain to be disappointed in the price obtained for his product. The Egyptian cotton grown in the Salt River Valley will doubtless be graded more closely every succeeding year. The associations and exchanges which are helping the growers in selling their crops can not afford to market a poor and dirty grade of cotton. In order to find a ready market for cotton having so long a staple, it will be necessary that the community establish a reputation for the clean- ness of its product. To this end, the associations must use much discrimination in grading, throwing into the inferior grades all dirty cotton as well as that which has been damaged by frost or by poor irrigation. The different pickings of Egyptian cotton should be kept separate in ginning and baling, as there is often a marked difference in each picking, which will be detected when the grading is carefully done. Frosted cotton should always be picked separately and ginned and baled apart from earlier pickings. If a hard frost kills the plants, it is advisable to pick as soon afterwards as possible aU cotton that is open, thus avoiding mixing the cotton from bolls which opened before with that from bolls which opened after the frost. This will not be necessary if the field has been gone over just before the frost and very little cotton is open on the plants. Effort should be made to time the pickings so that the second pick- ing will not be made until late in the season. Where the crop is very heavy and the first picking is early, it may be necessary to make four 1 When water is regularly allowed to stand at the bottom of the field for several hours after irrigation, the fiber produced is apt to be weak. 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 577. pickings, but it is believed that three, properly distributed, will usu- ally be sufficient. Growers often begin picking much earlier than is necessary. A few open bolls are mistaken for a good picking. It does not pay to make the first picking until from 600 to 1,000 pounds of seed cotton per acre can be obtained. Until recently it was believed that Americans could not pick Egyp- tian cotton at 2 cents a pound and make living wages comparable with what could be made in picking cotton in the Southern States. This matter has been closely followed in southern Arizona during the past two years, and it is now fairly certain that the average workman from the Southern States can make more money picking Egyptian cotton in Arizona than in picking Upland cotton in the South. The case was thus stated by one young man: I thought at first that I could not pick this small-boll cotton and was badly discour- aged, but found after working a week that I could pick 200 to 225 pounds a day and do it easily. You don’t have to carry a big, heavy sack around all the forenoon and break your back picking Egyptian cotton, and you have only to pick half as much of it as short cotton to make the same wages or more. Two cents per pound is a fair price for picking Egyptian cotton, and industrious workers can make as much as $4 per day, although the average picker will hardly exceed S2.25 per day. The record so far for Arizona is an average of 270 pounds per day for six days, with a maximum of 300 pounds, or $6, for one day. The most important supply of labor for cotton picking in Arizona is afforded by the Papago and Pima Indians. There are, conserva- tively speaking, 5,000 to 7,000 people in these tribes who promise b}^ virtue of their industry, patience, and honesty to play a most impor- tant part in establishing the cotton industry. The Indians are the most satisfactory laborers that can be had in Arizona for this work and have done well wherever they have been employed. They are satisfied with fair returns for their labor and have learned to like the work, although until recently they were totally unfamiliar with it. It is of the utmost importance that this labor supply be developed thoroughly and that the Indians be treated fairly. GINNING AND BALING. The ginning and baling of Egyptian cotton should receive much attention, since spinners of this type of cotton are accustomed to a product which is much more carefully handled than American Upland cotton. Poller gins must be used, and a first-class mechanic is re- quired to operate the ginning plant. There should be no leaves, seeds, or other trash in the cotton when it goes to the press. The cleanness, or grade, ’’ is a very important factor in the price paid for a fancy cotton of this character. The bales should present a neat appearance, comparable to those which are exported from Egypt. They should be thoroughly cov- ered with heavy burlap, and the ends should be sewed. For each bale a large and representative sample should be taken during the gin- ning, so that it will not be necessary to cut open the bale in negotiating for its sale. o WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1914 4/' j- IS. DEPARTMENT GF AGRICULTURE THE MAKING AND FEEDING OF SILAGE. MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE . . T. E. Woodward SILAGE FOR HORSES George M. Rommel SILAGE FOR BEEF CATTLE . . . W. F. Ward SILAGE FOR SHEEP . . . . . E. L. Shaw MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE. By T, E. Woodward, of the L liry Divlnon. SOME POINTS IN FAVOR OF SILAGE. Within the last 30 years silage has come into general use through- it the Lhiited States, especially in those regions where the dry industry has reached its greatest development. Silage is uni- •rsally recognized as a good and cheap feed for farm stock, and irticularly so for cattle and" sheep. There are several reasons for e popularity of silage. 1. Silage is the best and cheapest form in which a succulent feed n be provided for winter use. 2. An acre of corn can be placed in the silo at a cost not exceeding .at of shocking, husking, grinding, and shredding. 3. Crops can be put into the silo during weather that could not be dlized in making hay or curing fodder ; in some localities this is an important consideration. 4. A given amount of corn in the form of silage will produce more lilk than the same amount when shocked and dried. 5. There is less waste in feeding silage than in feeding fodder. Tood silage properly fed is all consumed. 6. Silage is very palatable. 7. Silage, like other succulent feeds, has a beneficial effect upon the digestive organs. 8. More stock can be kept on a given area of land when silage is the basis of the ration. Note. — Gives methods and costs of growing and harvesting silage, feeding value, and instructions for filling the silo. .Vdapted for general circulation. Supersedes Farmers’ Bulletin 55G. 32787°— Bull. 578-14- -1 2 farmers" bulletin 578. 1). On account of the smaller cost for labor, silage can be used for supplementing pastures more economically than can soiling crops, unless only a small amount of supplementary feed is required. 10. Converting the corn crop into silage clears the laiid and leaves it ready for another crop sooner than if the corn is shocked and husked. Because of these advantages of silage it is the general opinion among dairy farmers who have built silos that the use of silage has increased milk production per cow and has increased the profits per acre, though it is no doubt true that in certain localities which are well adapted to the growth of alfalfa or other hays of good quality, the same amount of food nutrients may be produced at less cost in the form of hay than as silage. SILAGE CROPS. Almost any green crop can be successfully made into silage if suffi- cient care is taken to force out the air from the material. On account of the difficulty, however, of expelling air from plants with a holloAV stem, such as timothy, oats, and barley, these crops are rarely put into the silo. CORN. In all parts of the United States where the silo has come into gen- eral use the principal silage crop as corn. One reason for this is that ordinarily corn will produce more food material to the acre than any other crop which can be grown. It is more easily harvested and put into the silo than any of the hay crops, such as clover, cowpeas, or alfalfa. A^ith the harvesting machinery which we have at the pres- ent time these crops are much more difficult to handle after being cut. Furthermore, corn makes an excellent quality of silage. The legumes, such as clover and alfalfa, are liable to rot unless special care is taken to pack the silage thoroughly and force the air out. The only objection which has been raised concerning corn silage is the fact that it contains insufficient protein fully to meet the requirements of animals to which it may be fed. Some persons have advised mixing clover, cowpeas, or alfalfa with the corn when filling the silo in order to correct this deficiency of protein. Such a procedure is not to be advised, however, if it is possible to cure the clover or other crop into hay, which usually can be done if hay caps are used. Since some dry forage should always be fed Avith the silage, it is better to use the leguminous hay in this Avay rather than to coiiA^ert the crop into silage. VARIETY TO PLANT. The best A^ariety of corn to plant is that Avhich Avill mature and yield the largest amount of grain to the acre, since the grain is the THE MAKING AND FEEDING OF SILAGE. 3 most valuable part of the corn plant. The variety commonly raised in any particular locality for grain will also be the most satisfactory 10 grow for silage. As will be seen from the table below, taken from the First Annual Eeport of the Pennsylvania State College, (>8 per cent of the digestible food materials present in the corn plant are found in the ears and 37 per cent in the stover. Yield of digcstihle matter in corn. Constituent. Yield per acre. Ears. Stover. Total crop. Protein Pounds. 244 2, 301 125 Pounds. 83 1,473 22 Pounds. 327 3,774 147 Carbohydrates . . Pat. . . ! Total 2,670 1,578 4,248 Fig. 1.— a field of good corn. CULTIVATION AND YIELD. In some sections it is a common practice to plant the corn a little thicker when raised for silage than for grain. Weeds should be kept out, or they will be cut with the corn and may impair the quality of the silage. The amount of silage that can be obtained from an acre of corn will vary from I to 20 tons or more. A oO-bushel per 4 FARMERS BULLETIN 578. acre crop of corn will yield about 8 to 12 tons of silage per acre, depending upon the amount of foliage and stalk that accompanies the ear. Southern varieties of corn as a rule carry a larger propor- tion of the plant in the form of stalk and leaves than do the northern- grown varieties. TIME TO HARVEST. Corn should be harvested for the silo at about the same time tliat it is harvested for fodder — that is, when the grain has become glazed and the lower leaves of the stalk have turned brown. The following table taken from the Eighth x\nnual Report of the New York Experi- ment Station Avill furnish valuable information as to the proper time to cut corn for the silo : ChcmivdJ clKingcs during groirth of corn phntt. Stage of growth. Yield per acre. Tasseled July 30. Silked Aug. 9. Milk Aug. 21. Glazed Sept. 7. Ripe Sept. 23. Total yield ^ Pounds. 18, 045 Pounds. 25,745 Pounds. 32, 600 Pounds. 32, 295 Pounds. 28, 460 Water 16, 426 1,619 22, 666 27,957 4,643 25.093 20,542 7,918 Dry matter 3,078 201.30 7, 202 302. 48 Asii 138.91 232. 15 ■ 364.23 Albuminoids 239U7 436. 76 478. 69 643. 86 677. 78 Crude fiber 514. 19 872. 93 1,261.97 2,441.29 228. 90 1,755.85 4,239.82 1,734.04 Nitrogen-free extract 653.91 1,399.26 167. 75 4, 827. 60 314. 34 Fat 72. 20 259. 99 The table shows that there is a steady increase in the amount of dry matter and food ingredients in the corn plant up to the time it is ripe. This indicates very plainly that immature corn is inferior to mature corn, whether fed fresh or as silage. Silage made from immature corn is not only less nutritious but also more acid than that made from more matui-e corn. The corn should not be allowed to become thoroughly ripe and diy, however, because the stalk and foliage are rendered more difficult to digest, and, besides, the corn can not be packed into the silo tightly enough to jirevent “ fire-fanging ” without using excessive amounts of water. In case the corn is frozen before it is properly matured for cutting, it should be harvested at once before it has had time to dry out to any great extent. Enough water should be added to replace that lost by evaporation through standing in the field after frosting. SORGHUMS. Sorghums, both saccharine and nonsaccharine, are readily made into silage. On account of their superiority to corn as drought- resistant crops they are more dependable and yield more in those THE MAKING AND FEEDING OF SILAGE. 5 regions of the West Avhere the rainfall is too light or irregular for a good groAvth of corn. The Kansas station reports in Circular ‘28 that if the sorghums are harvested at the proper stage of maturity — that is, Avhen the seed has become hard — tl'oy Avill make silage which is less acid and moi’e palatable than silage made from corn. Further- more, its experiments indicate that there is little difference in the feeding values of these silages. It is all-important that the sorghums be harvested at the proper stage of maturity if the best results are to be secured. A mixture of corn and sorghum has proved satis- factory in some localities Avhere the rrdnfall was so variable as to make the corn crop uncertain. CLOVER. Clover is a successful silage crop yielding a palatable product high in protein. The silage made from clover as from other legumes has an objectionable odor, necessitating particular care in feeding to avoid tainting the milk. It does not pack so Avell as corn, so great care should be exercised in the tramping of the silage at the time of filling, and the depth of the silo should also receiA^e particular atten- tion. A shalloAV silo Avill not proA^e satisfactory. CloA^er should be chopped before siloing as a matter of convenience in feeding and also to secure more thorough packing, although it can be placed in the silo Avithout chopping. Clover should be harvested at the same time as for making into hay — that is, Avhen in full bloom and some of the first heads are dead. As stated elseAvhere, it is usually inadvisable to make clover into silage if it can be made into hay, as is the case under most conditions. It is better practice to raise corn for silage and use the cloAer in the form of hay as a supplement to the silage. COWPEAS, ALFALFA, AND SOY BEANS. All these crops can be successfully made into silage by exercising the same precautions as Avith clover. They should be cut at the same time as for haymaking. IIoAveA-er, it is ordinarily preferable, as Avith clover, to make them into hay rather than silage. The fermentations Avhich take place in silage made of legumes cause a greater loss of nutritiA^e material than Avith corn silage. Corn husks and pea Aunes from canning factories, beet pulp and other by-products are also used in certain localities for filling the silo. HARVESTING THE CROP AND FILLING THE SILO. HARVESTING THE CORN. Corn for the silo can be cut either by hand or by machine. Hand cutting is practiced on farms Avhere the amount of corn to be har- vested is so small as to make the expense of purchasing a corn har- 6 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 578 . vester too great to justify its use. Hand cutting is also resorted to through necessity when the corn is down or lodged in such a manner as to prevent the use of the machine. This method of cutting, how- ever, is slow and laboriouc and there are probably few localities now where the purchase of a harvester would not be a profitable invest- ment. In case the exj)ense is considered too great to be borne by one farmer, two or more could advantageously purchase a machine together. In using harvester it will be found a great advantage to make the bundles rather small. This will take more twine, but the extra expense will be more than offset by the ease of handling the bundles Fig. 2. — Corn harvester at work. and in feeding them into the silage cutter. Two or three horses, preferably three, and one man will be required to run the harvester, and they should be able to cut about G acres a day. The harvester should not get so far ahead of the haulers that the corn will dry out to any considerable extent. (See fig. 2.) HAULING TO THE CUTTER. This is ordinarily done with the 'common flat hay frames. An objection to their use is that it is necessary to lift the green corn fodder to a considerable height in loading, which is hard v/ork. A THE MAKING AND FEEDING OF SILAGE. 7 low-wheeled wagon is preferable to a high-wheeled one. A low-down rack quite commonly used in some parts of the United States can be easily made. (See hg. 3.) The following are the directions for making this rack, taken from F armers’ Bulletin 292 : The rack * consists of two 4 by G inch bed pieces, 18 or 20 feet in length, bolted together at one end to form a V. On top of these timbers is built a rack G feet in width. The bottom of this rack is about 8 feet long. The end boards are 4 feet high, built flaring so they do not quite touch the wheels. The apex of the V is suspended below the front axle of an ordinary farm wagon by means of a long kingbolt. The other ends are attached below the hind axle by U-shaped clevises. The materials needed in its construction are 80 board feet of 4 by G inch plank, 9G feet of boards 1 by 12 inches, 22 feet of lumber 2 by 4 inches, 1 long kingbolt, 2 stirrup rods, and bolts and nails. The load should be as large as possible, especially when the haul is for some distance. This is a matter which rarely receives sufficient attention by persons filling silos, and in consequence the expense of filling becomes unnecessarily high. Pig. 3. — A low-down rack suitable for hauling corn to cutter. CUTTING THE SILAGE. THE CUTTER. There are on the market several makes of silage cutters that will give satisfaction. The capacity of the machine to be purchased is an important consideration which should not be overlooked. Many persons make the mistake of getting a cutter which is too small, thus making the operation of filling the silo very slow and interfering with the continuous employment of the entire force of men. It is better to get a machine large enough so that every one will be able to keep busy all the time. The larger cutters are equipped with self-feeders, a labor-saving device which the smaller sizes lack. Other factors to be taken into account in purchasing a cutter are the amount of work to be done and the power available. Of course, for the filling of a very small silo it would not be wise to buy a large machine. Neither would it be advisable to overload the engine or motor by using a cutter which is too large for the power available. 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 578. THE ELEVATOR. Two types of elevators are in use — the old-style chain carrier and the blower. (See fig. 4.) The chain carrier requires less powei-. ])ut is harder to set up and there is more litter around when it is used, especially in windy weather. For these reasons the blower is now fast displacing the carrier. Fig. 4. — Silage cutter with chain carrier. The bloAver should be placed as nearly perpendicular as possible so as to reduce to the minimum the friction of the cut corn upon the inside of the pipe and lessen the danger of clogging. (See fig. 5.) POWER REQUIRED, The poAver necessary to operate the cutter Avill depend upon its size and Avhether the elevator is a chain carrier or a bloAver and upon the rate of feeding. It is possible to feed sloAvly and to get along Avith less poAver than Avould be required Avith full feeding. THE MAKING AND FEEDING OF SILAGE. 9 As a rule, however, a joerson should have power sufficient to run the cutter at full capacity, and even a little surplus is advisable. The power required for a cutter and blower, if a gasoline engine is used, is about 1 horsepower for each 1-inch length in the cutting cylinder; that is, a 15-inch cutter will take a 15-horsepower engine, an 18-inch cutter will require an 18-horsepower engine, and so on. If a steam Fig. 5. — Silage cutter with blower. engine is employed, the power should be at least two-thirds of that indicated for the gasoline engine. LENGTH TO CUT. The usual length of cutting varies from one-half to 1 inch. The latter is considered a little too long, since pieces of this length will neither pack so closely in the silo nor be so completely consumed Avhen fed as Avill the shorter lengths. On the other hand, the longer the pieces the more rapidly can the corn be run through the cutter, 82787°— Bull. 578—14 2 10 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 578 . PACKING THE SILAGE. Ordinarily the blower or carrier empties the cut corn into the top of the silo and there are one or more men in the silo to distribute and tramp the material. Unless there is some one to do this the cut material will be thrown too much in one place and the leaves, stalks, and grain Avill not be uni- forml}^ distributed throughout the silo. The sides should be kept higher than the center, and the whole surface .kept well tramped. Much of the tramping should be done close to the wall. Various contrivances have been used for distributing the silage. The one commonly recommended for this purpose, however, is a metal pipe similar to the one in which the cut corn is elevated, but put together loosely in sections. The corn from the blower passes down this pipe into the silo, and being loosel}^ put together it can be swung so that the material can be placed anywhere in the silo. (See fig. 6.) With this contrivance no Avork with a fork is necessary and one man can do the work of tAvo or three and do it more easily. There is very little loose material flying about in the silo and the work is much cleaner. Another adA^antage is a lessening of the danger of being struck by some foreign object Avhich might pass up the blower pipe. HeaAw kniA^es of the cutter have been knoAvn to j^ass through the blower and into the silo. As has been mentioned, this pipe is put together in sections, so that as the silage rises in the silo the sections can be readily detached as required. ADDING WATER. Fig. 6. -Jointed-pipe silage dis- tributor. In case the material has become too dry before it is put into the silo, Avater should be added to supply the deficiency of moisture necessary to make the silage pack properly. Unless it is Avell packed the silage AAnll “fire-fang” or deteriorate through the groAvth of mold. Enough water should be added to THE MAKING AND FEEDING OF SILAGE. 11 restore the moisture content of the corn to wliat it woultl be if cut at the proper stage. The water ina}- be added by running directly into the silo b}^ means of a hose or by running through the blower. It is claimed that by running it into the blower the water is more thor- oughly mixed with the cut corn. It seems to be good practice, no matter Avhat the condition of the corn is, to wet down the material thoroughly at the top of the silo when through filling. This will help to })ack the top layer and lessen the amount of spoiled silage on to]). COVERING THE SILAGE. Several 3"ears ago it was a common jiractice to cover the silage with some material, such as dirt or cut straAv, in order to prevent the top layer from spoiling. At present when any provision at all is made for this purpose it consists usually in merely running in on top cornstalks from which the ears have been removed. By this method some of the corn grain is saved. The heavy green cornstalks pack much better than straw does and so exclude the air more effectually. The top is thoroughly tramped and then wet down. Sometimes oats are sown on the top before wetting. The heat generated by the fermenting mass will cause the oats to sprout quickly and form a dense sod which serves to shut off the air from the silage beneath, and in consequence only a very shallow layer spoils. Whenever pos- sible, it is better to begin feeding from the silo as soon as it is filled ; by doing this no covering is necessary and there should be no loss on account of spoiling. LABOR AND TEAMS REQUIRED. The labor and teams to be used will of course depend upon the help available, the length of haul, and the efficiency of the machinei\y. With plenty of help, a short haul, and good machinery the following distribution of labor might well be used : 1 man and 3 horses to bind the corn. 3 or 4 men to load the corn. 3 men and 6 horses to haul. 1 man to help unload. 1 man to feed the cutter. 1 or 2 men to work in the silo. 1 man to tend the engine, if steam engine is used. Total, 11 to 13 men, 9 horses, and 3 wagons. The least amount of help which it would be possible to work to advantage might be arranged as follows : 1 man and 2 horses to bind the corn. 2 men to help teamsters load. 2 men and 4 horses to haul and unload. 1 man to feed. 1 man in the silo. Total, 7 men, 6 horses, and 2 wagons. 12 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 578. A good manager is required to arrange , the help so that each man and team can do the most efficient work. Without careful attention to this matter the operation of filling the silo becomes needlessly expensive. COST OF HARVESTING AND FILLING. It is not i^ossible to set any definite figure as the cost of filling the silo because of the great variation in conditions in different parts of the country. But in order to give some idea of the probable cost a fcAV figures are taken from Farmers’ Bulletin 292. The investiga- tion reported in this bulletin included the work done upon 31 farms in Wisconsin and Michigan. The labor of each man was rated at 15 cents 2 >er hour and the same value placed upon each team of two horses. Engine hire was estimated at $1.50 per day, including the engineer. Twine Avas rated at 111 cents a pound, coal at $5 a ton, and gasoline at 13 cents a gallon. The farmers owned the cutters. In this inATstigation the cost per tOn A^aried from 16 to 86 cents. InAxstigations conducted by the Dairy Division during the past feAV years Avith 87 silos in A^arious parts of the United States indicate the cost of filling to be an average of 87 cents per ton. This does not include interest on investment nor depreciation of machinery or silos. COOPERATION IN SILO FILLING. The high cost of silo-filling machinery makes it oftentimes advis- able for seA^eral farmers to cooperate in the purchase of a cutter and engine, or at least a cutter, since an engine is more easily rented than a cutter. By varying the time of planting in the spring each man can get his silo filled Avhen the corn is at the proper stage of maturity. Besides this the farmers can help one another in filling, so that there need be a very small cash outlay. TOTAL COST OF SILAGE. As Avith the cost of filling the silo, no definite figure can be set as to the cost of silage. This Avill depend upon the yield per acre, the cost of groAving an acre, and the cost of filling. SeA^eral years ago the cost Avas Auiriousl}^ estimated at from $1 to $1.50 per ton. At ])resent this is much too Ioav. The aforesaid data collected by the Dairy Division on the filling of 87 silos in various parts of the country shoAV the cost of groAving the silage crop to aver- age $1.58 per ton. This includes interest on iiiA^estment in land or rental price, as the case may be, but does not include interest on the cost of equipment nor the depreciation of the equipment. This $1.58 added to the 87 cents, Avhich represents the cost of filling, makes the total cost of the silage $2.15 per ton. The cost of the silage for the individual farms varied fi’om $1.10 to $5.-12 per ton. In general, it THE MAKING AND FEEDING OF SILAGE. 13 may be stated that $1.50 to $1: per ton represents the limits between which most of the silage is produced. LOSSES OF FOOD MATERIAL IN THE SILO. When any crop is made into silage certain fermentation takes i^lace, Avhicli results in the production of a considerable amount of heat and the consequent loss of food material. The extent of this fermentation is dependent upon the amount of air in the silo. The more air there is present the higher will be the temperature of fer- mentation and the greater the loss of food ingredients. Fermenta- tion will continue until all the oxygen of the air has been used up or has been displaced by carbon dioxid. In the deep silos of the present time the pressure is so great that very little air is left in the silo; consequently the losses of food ingredients are reduced to a minimum. As before mentioned, on account of the difficulty of pressing out this air in crops with a hollow stem, they are seldom put in the silo. Some experiments conducted at the Wisconsin station show that the losses in the siloing of corn are not nearly so great as in the. field curing of corn fodder. According to Prof. Woll, in modern, well- built, deep silos the loss should not exceed 10 per cent. More food material can be saved by putting the corn crop into the silo than by harvesting and storing it in any other way. FEEDING VALUE OF SILAGE. COMPOSITION. The chemical composition and nutritive value of silage will vary according to the crop from which it is made, the degree of maturity of the crop, and other factors. The figures in the following table, taken from Henry’s “ Feeds and Feeding,” show the average amount of digestible nutrients in 100 pounds of silage and other succulent feeds : Crop. Total dry matter. Dige Protein. istible dry m Carbohy- drates. atter. Fat. Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. Green fodder corn 20.7 1.0 12.2 0.4 Corn silage 26.4 1.4 14.2 .7 Green sorghum fodder 20.6 . .6 11.6 .3 Sorghum silage 23.9 .1 13.5 .2 Uncured red clover 29.2 2.9 13.6 .7 Clover silage 28.0 1.5 9.2 .5 Uncured soy bean 24.9 3.1 11.0 .5 Soy-bean silage 25.8 2.7 9.6 1.3 Uncured cowpeas 16.4 1.8 8.7 .2 Cowpea vine silage 20.7 1.5 8.6 .9 Pasture grass 20.0 2.5 10.1 .5 Oats and peas (imcured) 20.3 1.8 10.2 .4 Mangels 9.1 1.0 5.5 .2 Sugar beets 13.5 1.3 9.8 .1 Sugar-beet pulp (wet) 10.2 .5 7.7 Prickly pear 15.8 .4 6.2 .2 14 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 578. It will be observed that about three-fourths of the total weight of silage consists of water. It will also be noticed that both corn and sorghum contain a large amount of carbohydrates in proportion to the protein. Silage is a bulky, succulent feed with a wide nutritive ratio, and for these reasons it will give the best results when fed with some other feed richer in dry matter and in protein. SUCCULENCE. In feeding cattle it is quite important that the ration include some succulent material, such as fresh grass, root crops, or silage. A feed containing a large amount of water in the form of natural plant juices is not only more easily digested but is also more palatable and, besides, serves the useful purpose of keeping the whole system of the animal in good condition. A silage-fed animal is rarely troubles ! with constipation or other digestive disturbances, the coat is notice- ably sleek and soft, and the skin is soft and pliable. It is a well- known fact that a cow usually reaches her maximum production when she has access to a good pasture. The best and cheapest substitute for fresh pasture grass during the fall and winter is silage. PALATABILITY. No rough feed is more palatable than good corn silage. Sometimes, however, a cow will not eat silage readily until she has acquired a taste for it; this may require several days. But silage is not pe- culiar in this respect, for it has been observed that range horses or cattle shipped into the corn belt refuse corn the first time it is offered to them. The quality of palatability is of great importance, as it induces a large consumption and stimulates the secretion of digestive juices. SILAGE FOR DAIRY CATTLE. Silage has been found to be particularly well adapted as a feed for dairy cows and as a consequence silos are more numerous upon farms devoted to dairying than upon any other kind of farms. In many sections silage has come to be the dairy farmer’s main reliance for cow feed in winter. • SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDS. AVhile silage is an excellent feed, it is not a complete one for dairy stock. It is too bulky and watery and contains insufficient protein and mineral matter to meet fully the requirements of the dairy cow. It should be combined with some leguminous hay, such as clover, cowpeas, or alfalfa. These will tend to correct the deficiencies of the silage in dry matter, protein, and mineral constituents. A ration of silage and, say, alfalfa hay alone is satisfactory, however, only for THE MAKING AND FEEDIN(i OF SILAGE. 15 cows which are dry or only a small amount of milk and for heifers and bnlls. Cows in full milk require some concentrated feed in addition to ha}^ and silage, as they can not consume enough of these feeds to keep up a large floAy of milk and maintain body weight. AMOUNT TO FEED. The amount of silage to feed a cow Avill depend upon the capacity of the animal to consume feed. She should be fed as much as she will clean up without waste when consumed along with her hay and grain. Kaise or lower the amount until the i^roper quantity is ascertained. Generally speaking, a good cow should be fed just short of the limit of her appetite. If she refuses any of her feed it should be reduced at once. The small breeds will eat 25 or 30 pounds per day; the large breeds 40 or more; and the medium-sized ones amounts yary- ing between. RATIONS. Ironclad directions for feeding cows can not be giyen. In general, howeyer, the}" should be supplied with all the roughage they will clean up with grain in prpportion to butterfat produced. The hay will ordinarily range between 5 and 12 pounds per cow per day Ay hen fed in connection Ayith silage. For Holsteins 1 pound of con- centrates for each 4 jiounds of milk produced Ayill proye about right. For Jerseys 1 pound for each 3 pounds of milk or less Avill come nearer meeting the requirements. The grain for other breeds Avill yary betAA^een these tAyo according to the quality of milk produced. A good rule is to feed seyen times as much grain as there is butterfat produced. The folloAving rations haA^e been found satisfactory: For a 1,300-pound coav yielding 40 pounds of milk testing 3.5 per cent : Pounds. Silage -40 CTover. co^ypea. or alfalfa hay ^ 10 Grain mixture 10 For the same coav yielding 20 pounds of 3.5 per cent milk: . Pounds. Silage 40 Clover, cowpea, or alfalfa hay 5 Grain mixture 5 For a 900-pound coav yielding 30 pounds of 5 per cent milk: Pounds. Silage 30 Clover, cowpea, or alfalfa hay 10 Grain mixture ,, 11 16 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 578. For the same coav yielding 15 pounds of 5 per cent milk: Pounds. Silage RO Clover, cowpea, or alfalfa liay ! 8 Grain mixture 5 A good grain mixture to be used in a ration which includes silage and some sort of leguminous hay is composed of — Parts. Corn chop 4 Wheat bran 1 2 Linseed-oil meal or cottonseed meal 1 In case the hay used is not of this kind some of the corn chop may be replaced by linseed or cottonseed meal. In many instances brew- ers’ dried grains or crushed oats may be profitably substituted for the bran, and oftentimes gluten products can be used to advantage in place of bran or oil meals. TIME TO FEED. The time to feed silage is directly after milking or at least several hours before milking. If fed immediately before milking the silage odors may pass through the cow’s body into the milk. .Besides, the milk may receive some taints directly from the stable air. On the other hand, if feeding is done subsequent to milking, the volatile silage odors Avill have been thrown off before the next milking hour. Silage is usually fed twice a day. Many objections have been made to the feeding of silage, some condenseries even refusing to let their patrons use it. These objec- tions are becoming less common, since milk from cows fed silage in a proper manner is in no way impaired ; furthermore there is nothing about silage that will impair the health of the animals. FEEDING FROZEN SILAGE. Frozen silage must be thawed before feeding. If it is then given immediately to the cows before decomposition sets in no harm will result from feeding this kind of silage ; neither is the nutritive value known to be changed in any way. SILAGE FOR CALVES, BULLS, AND DRY COWS. Calves may be fed silage as soon as they are old enough to eat it. It is perhaps of greater importance that the silage be free from mold or decay when given to calves than when given to mature stock. They may be given at all times all the silage they will eat up clean. Yearling calves will consume about one-half as much as mature stock; that is, from 15 to 20 or more pounds a day. When supple- mented with some good leguminous hay, little, if any, grain will be required to keep the calves in a thrifty, growing condition. THE MAKING AND FEEDING OF SILAGE. 17 There is a decided opinion among some breeders of dairy stock that a large allowance of silage is detrimental to the breeding quali- ties of the bnll. Whether there is any scientific foundation for this opinion remains to be determined. Pending further investigations, however, it is advisable to limit the allowance to about 12 pounds of silage a day for each 1,000 pounds of live weight. When fed in this amount silage is thought to be a good, cheap, and safe feed for bulls. It should of course be supplemented with hay, and with a small allowance of grain also in the case of bulls doing active service or growing rajiidly. Cows when dry will consume almost as much roughage as when they are milked. Silage may well form the principal ingredient of the ration; in fact, with 25 to 40 pcunds of silage and a small supple- mentary feed of clover, cowjiea, or alfalfa hay, say 5 to G pounds a day, the cows will keep in good flesh and even make some gain. Cows in thin flesh should receive in addition a small amount of grain. Silage will tend to keep the whole system in good condition and in this way lessen the troubles incident to parturition. SILAGE FOR SI MMER FEEDING. One of the most trying seasons of the year for the dairy cow is the latter part of summer and early fall. At this season the pastures are often short or dried up, and in such cases it is a common mistake of dairymen to let their cows droji off in flow of milk through lack of feed. Later they find it impossible to restore the milk flow, no matter how the cows are fed. Good dairy practice demands that the milk flow be maintained at a high level all the time from parturition to drying off. It becomes necessary, therefore, to supply some feed to take the place of the grass. The easiest way to do this is by means of silage. Silage is cheaper and decidedly more convenient to use than soiling crops. The amounts to feed will depend upon the condition of the pastures, valuing all the way from 10 pounds to a full winter feed of 40 iiounds. It shoidd be remembered in this connection that silage contains a low percentage of protein, so that the greater the amount of silage fed the greater must be the amount of protein in the supplementary feeds to properly balance the ration. SILAGE FOR HORSES. By George M. Rommel, Chief of the Animal Husbandry Division. Silage has not been generally fed to horses, partly on account of a certain amount of danger which attends its use for this purpose, but still more, perhaps, on account of prejudice. In many cases horses 18 FARMERS^ BULEETIN 578. have been killed by eating moldy silage, and the careless person who fed it at once blamed the silage itself, rather than his own carelessness and the mold which really was the cause of the trouble. Horses are peculiarly susceptible to the effects of molds, and under certain con- ditions certain molds grow on silage Avhich are deadly poisons to both horses and mules. Molds must have air to grow and therefore silage Avhicli is packed air-tight and fed out rapidly Avill not become moldy. If the feeder Avatches the silage carefully as the Aveather AA^arms up he can soon detect the presence of mold. When mold ap- pears, feeding to horses or mules should stojA immediately. It is also unsafe to feed horses frozen silage on account of the danger of colic. This is practically impossible to avoid in very cold Aveather, especially in solid-Avall silos. By taking the day's feed from the unfrozen center of the silo and chopping aAvay the frozen silage from the edges and piling the frozen pieces in the center the mass Avill usually thaAV out in time for the next feed. Corn to be made into silage for horses should not be cut too green, as sour silage Avill result and may cause colic Avhen fed. The corn should be aa’cII matured and cut Avhen the grain is beginning to glaze. The silo should be tilled rapidly and the corn should be vigorously tramped and packed Avhile filling. At least three men should be inside the silo, moving constantly, tAVo around the edges and the third across and around the center. This is by far the most important point in connection Avith feeding silage to horses, and the liA^es of the horses fed on silage may depend on the thoroughness Avith Avhich the tramping is done. If properly done no danger is likely to result ; if not properly done air pockets may form and cause the accumula- tion of a small mass of mold Avhich the feeder may oAerlook but Avhich might be sufficient to kill one or more horses. The value of silage for horses is greatest as a means to carry them through the winter season cheaply or to supplement pasture during drought. As the danger of mold is greater in summer than in Avinter, silage should not be fed to horses in that season unless a large number of animals are getting it, and the daily consumption is so large as to preclude the formation of mold on the surface. To cheapen the ration of brood mares in Avinter no feed has more value than good corn silage. If the grain goes into the silo with the stover no additional grain is needed for brood mares, hay being the only supplementary feed necessary. If there is little grain on the corn the silage should be supjAlemented Avith 1 pound of old-process linseed-oil meal or cottonseed meal daily per 1,000 pounds live Aveight, sprinkled over the silage. Horses to be Avintered on a silage and hay ration should be started on about 5 pounds of silage daily per 1,000 pounds live weight, the THE MAKING AND FEEDING OF SILAGE. 19 grain and hay ration being gradually decreased as the silage is increased until the ration is 20 jiounds silage and 10 pounds of hay ' daily per 1,000 pounds live weight. It will require about a month to reach the full feed of silage, but the period may be decreased somewhat, depending on the judgment and skill of the feeder. Mares fed in this manner will be in splendid condition for foaling, and, so far as the writer’s ex})erience goes, the foals will be fully as vigorous, Avith just as much size and bone, as if the mares were fed the coiiATiitional grain and hay ration. Work horses'Avhen idle can be Avintered satisfactorily in this man- ner, but much silage is not recommended for horses at heavy Avork for the same reason that a driving horse can not do his best Avhile on Avatery grass pasture. The Avriter knoAvs of cases Avhere stallions receiA^e a ration of silage, but has had no experience in feeding them in this manner. There seems no reason Avhy silage should not be a valuable feed for stallions during the idle season. Silage should also be useful for young horses, especially drafters, but here again the Avriter can not quote his oavu experience and experimental data are meager. To summarize, silage is safe to feed to horses and mules only Avhen it is made from fairh^ mature corn, properly stored in the silo. When it is properly stored and is not alloAved to mold, no feed exceeds it as a cheap Avinter ration. It is most valuable for horses and mules Avhich are not at lieaAw Avork, such as brood mares and Avork horses during the slack season. With plenty of grain on the cornstalks, horses Avill keep in good condition on a ration of 20 pounds of silage and 10 ])oimds of hay for each 1,000 pounds of live Aveight. SILAGE FOR BEEF CATTLE. Ry W. JF. Ward, Animal Hushandman in Beef Cattle Investigations. There is no roughage Avhich is of more importance to the producer of beef cattle than silage. The A^alue of silage to the beef producer varies considerably and is dependent upon a large number of other factors. If rough fodders are scarce or are high priced, if the grain is high priced, or if the grain is not near a good market that much of it can be readily sold, silage Avill have a greater AGilue than if the opposite conditions exist. It is a great saA^er of grain regardless of Avhether it is to be fed to stock cattle or fattening cattle. It will lessen the grain feeding by practically the same amount as is con- tained in the silage. The value Avill also depend someAvhat upon the kind of cattle to Avhich it is to be fed. If there is an abundance of rough fodders Avhich can not be marketed, silage Avill not be so val- 20 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 578 . liable. But in a case of this kind the silage would prove more » valuable if used for the calves and pregnant cows and the coarse fodders used for the other stock. SILAGE FOR THE BREEDING HERD. For wintering the entire breeding herd there is no roughage better than silage. All of the animals will relish a ration containing it and it will create a good appetite for all other feeds. Cows that are fed all of the silage they will consume along with clover hay will go through the winter in fine shape and make small gains. If the amount of silage is limited, a more economical method of wintering them will be to reduce the silage to a half ration, letting them have the run of a straw stack and feeding about 2 pounds of cottonseed meal or oil meal per day. Some dry coarse fodder or straw should always be kept before animals getting silage, as it reduces the amount of silage consumed and prevents the bowels from becoming too loose. The succulent feed will cause the. breeding cows to give a good flow of milk even though the calf be born in midAvinter, and a thrifty calf Avill result. If the silage is free from mold or rotten spots there Avill be no danger in feeding it to breeding cows. Silage is especially beneficinl for calves Avhich have just been weaned. They take to this ration quicker than to dry feed and there is usually little loss in weight from the Aveaning. The silage should be supplemented Avith some good leguminous hay, as alfalfa, coAvpea, or cloA’-er, and the calves should be given a small amount of grain. A mixture of one-half corn chop and one-half cottonseed meal is excellent. SILAGE FOR STOCKERS. Each farmer aa ill have to plan the rations for his cattle according to the amount of the various feeds he has on hand. Stockers can be wintered on silage and some good hay, fodder, or straAv, but this may not ahvays be the most profitable. When hay is high priced and grain is reasonably cheap or plenty of silage is available, it may be more economical to omit the hay altogether. A ration of corn silage alone has often been profitable for thin cattle. Stockers Avhich have been fed liberally all Avinter and made to put on good gams usually do not make as large daily gains Avhen put on grass as do steers Avhich have not been quite so AA^ell fed. The time the cattle are to be finished for market and the degree of fatness to be attained should govern to a large extent the method to be folloAved during the Avinter. When beeves are expected to sell high in the early summer and the steers are to be finished for market at that time, a heavy roughage ration AA ith a small amount of grain should be fed during the Avinter months. THE MAKING AND FEEDING OF RILACJE. 21 SILAGE FOR FATTENING ANIMALS. Silage stands first in rank of all the ronghao’es for finishing cattle. Formerly, durin£>' the era of cheaj) corn and other concentrates little attention was given to the roughage^ as it was usually considered merely a “filler” and of A^ery little economic value in feeding. No especial care was taken in selecting any particular kind, nor Avas the quality of it seriously considered. As the prices of the concen- trated feedstuffs adAvanced, the feeder looked about for methods of cheapening the cost of producing beef, and soon found this could be accomplished by using judgment in selecting his roughage Avith respect to the grain fed. This has continued until at the present time the roughage receives as much attention as the concentrated feed, and has been made to take the place of a large amount of the latter. The feeding of silage came into general use Avith the advent of expensiA^e grain and is becoming more poimlar each year. With the present prices of feedstuffs there is hardly a ration used for feeding cattle Avhich can not be cheapened by the use of this suc- culent feed. By combining it Avith other feeds the efficiency of the ration is increased to such an extent that the amount of the daily gains is invariably greater and the cost of producing a pound of gain is lessened. The heaviest daily gains are usually made during the first stage of the feeding period, and silage can then be used to advantage in large quantities Avith a small amount of grain, but as the feeding progresses the amount of silage should be lessened and the grain increased. In some places the price of hay and stover is so high that the greater the proportion of silage used in the ration the more profitable is the feeding. Conditions in general are such that any giA^en ration Avill not suit a large number of farmers, nor Avill it be so profitable for some as it Avill for others, so each farmer must determine for himself just Avhat combination of feeds Avill be most profitable for his use. IIoAvever, to give a general idea of some of the rations adapted to different localities and Avhich may ])rove satisfactory for a 1,000-pound steer, some examples are giA^n beloAv : RATIONS. P'OR THE CORN BELT. Ration /. Corn silage Corn stover Cottonseed meal or oil meal Shelled corn - Ration 2. Corn silage CloA^er hay Shelled corn Pounds. 6 14 25 15 22 FARMERS^ BULI.ETIN 578, FOR THE EASTERN STATES WHERE HAY IS VERY HKHI AND CORN IS Corn silage .30 Corn stover 0 Cottonseed meal or oil meal 4 Shelled corn lo FOR THE SOUTH WHERE COTTONSEED ISIEAL IS OF MODERATE PRICE AND COWPEA HAY IS RAISED ON THE FARM. R (it ion 1. Pounds. Corn silage R.l Cowpea hay 8 Cottonseed meal or oil meal 7 Ration 2. Corn silage Cottonseed hulls Cottonseed meal FOR THE WEST WHERE CORN CAN NOT BE RAISED. 80 12 Ration 1. Pounds. Kafir-corn silage 80 Prairie hay 8 Cottonseed meal 8 Kafir-corn meal ^ 10 Ration 2. Kafir-corn silage 25 Alfalfa : 7 Kafir corn 15 It should be understood that the above rations are not necessarily to be fed in the exact quantities given above, but should be modified to suit local conditions or tile actual conditions on each farm. They are given to show approximately the average amounts and character of feed that would be consumed daily by a 1,000-pound steer during the feeding period. It is Avell to feed as near a balanced ration as possible without materially increasing its cost. Sometimes the prices of available feeds are such that a farmer is justified in deviating from the stand- ard. Such conditions are illustrated by the use of some of the rations iriven above. The second ration shown for the South is an example, as that ration is very narrow, but in certain localities it is more profitable than one which is balanced by the use of high-priced carbohydrate feeds. T\vo rations are shown for tlie West where kafir-corn silage is used. With some farmers it would undoubtedly be more profitable to use alfalfa hay as a substitute for cottonseed meal, while Avith others the purchase of the cottonseed meal would be more economical. THE MAKING AND FEEDING OF SILAGE. 23 MISCELLANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS. Silage is a quick finishing roughage in that it produces large daily gains and produces a glossy coat and a soft, pliable skin. Moreover, it can be used to advantage at times for carrying cattle for a longer time so as to pass over a period of depression in the market, or to carry the cattle along in thrifty condition so they can be finished at a later period. For many years the belief was general that cattle which received silage as a major 2 :)ortion of the roughage would have to be kept in Avarm barns and not exposed to the cold. While they do need protection from the cold Avinds and rains and need a dry place to lie doAvn, it has been clearly demonstrated that Avarm barns are not only unnecessary, but that fattened cattle make both larger and cheaper gains Avhen fed in the open sheds than Avhen confined in barns. Stocker or thin cattle receiving silage will, of course, need more pro- tection than animals Avhich are being fattened. Silage can be profitably used to supplement the pastures for steers during a time of drought, Avhen they are being finished for market, but it is still an open question Avhether it can ahvays be used profit- ably for feeding to breeding cattle during such times.* The theory that silage-fed cattle shrink A’ery heaAuly in shipping to market is erroneous. MTiile the actual shrinkage during transit is sometimes greater, the fill taken at market is usually good, and if good judgment is used in preparing them f(h shipping the net shrinkage is no greater than for cattle Avhicli have been fed on dry feeds. For 3G hours preAuous to shipping nice bright hay and stoA’er should be substituted for the silage in the ration. The general impression that choice or prime carcasses can not be made by the use of succulent feed is equally untrue, as the silage-fed cattle usually make more desirable carcasses than cattle fed a similar ration, except that silage aa as replaced by one of the coarse fodders. There is no appreciable difference in the percentage of marketable meat that steers Avill dress out Avhich haA^e been finished on a silage ration and a dry ration. The meat seems equally bright and the fat as Avell intermixed aa ith the lean. If silage makes up the bulk of the roughage it Avill be necessary to haul large amounts of bedding into the sheds to keep the animals dry, as there is no Avaste in silage, or else make a cement floor and coA^er Avith bedding to absorb the urine and prevent the animals from slipping and to give them a Avarm place to lie doAvn. When the enormous saving in the quality and amount of the feed is considered, this disadA^antage does not seem so hard to overcome by the stockman Avho has the capital to put up the silo and pave his feed sheds or feed Tots. 24 farmers’ bulletin 578. SILAGE FOR SHEEP. By E. L. Shaw, Animal Husbandman in ^lieep and Goat 1 nveslif/aiions. The use of this succulent feed for sheep has attracted the attention of most farmers only during the past feAv years. Although a few sheepmen fed silage many years ago with good results, most dock- masters have been slow in giving it a trial. Owing to the wonderfu’ increase in the use of silos on farms, and owing to the cheapness oi silage as compared with other succulent feeds, such as roots, farmei’^ are constantly raising the question regarding the feeding of silage t sheep. A great deal has been said of its bad effects upon sheep, bi these have arisen either because an inferior quality of silage was fe or on account of carelessness on the part of the feeder .n not feedin it properly. A good quality of silage is extremely palatable and can be fed t. all classes of sheep with good results. It must be borne in niiiK however, that silage which is either very sour, moldy, or froze should not be fed. The amount of silage reported in feeding trials varies from 1 to ' pounds per head per day. The amount to feed depends upon tin class of sheep and the character of the other feeds comprising th< ration. As a general rule from 2 to 4 pounds per head per da}^ is considered as much as should be fed. Lamb feeders have found silage a very satisfactory feed, and tin a^nount fed ranges from 1 to 3 pounds per day. AYhere lambs an on full feed of grain, such as corn, and are receiving a fair allowano of hay, they Avill, as a rule, only consume from 1 to 2 pounds pe’ head per day. In feeding breeding ewes before lambing a daily allowance of fron 2 to 3 pounds should be considered a maximum quantity. Aftei lambing the amount can be slightly increased. In feeding silage or any other succulent feeds it must be borne in mind that the value of such feeds to a large extent is to act as an appetizer and to keep the digestive system in good condition. Under ordinary conditions where silage is fed it should not constitute mor< than one-half of the entire ration, and it should be fed with other feeds that will properly balance the ration for the purpose intended. o WASHINdTOX ; GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1914 US. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Wm. A. Taylor, Chief. April 17, 1914. CRIMSON CLOVER: UTILIZATION. By J. M. Westgate, Agronomist in Charge of Clover Investigations, Office of Forage-Crop Investigations. INTRODUCTION. Crimson clover may be utilized in a number of different ways, 'or feeding purposes it may be used as a soiling crop, hay, ensilage, nd pasture for all classes of live stock. In addition, it is of special alue as a green-manure crop to increase the humus and nitrogen ontent of the soils upon which it is produced. When cut for hay the tubble and roots remain in the soil, and when pastured the uneaten )arts of the plants, as well as the manure made while the cattle are )eing pastured, are added to the soil for the benefit of the succeeding rops. Also when cut for seed the stubble and roots remain, and, if lesired, the straw can be scattered back on the land to further •ncrease its fertility. Crimson clover is also of some value as a honey olant, furnishing an abundant supply of nectar for a short period in die spring. One disadvantage of crimson clover is the comparatively short leriod in the spring during which it may be utilized. This drawback :an be overcome materially by the seeding of both late and early strains, in addition to the ordinary variety. In this way the season for cutting either the hay or green feed is lengthened. Plowing under for green manure is a time-consuming process, and the use of varieties having different dates of maturity would enable the farmer to utilize a much larger acreage for this purpose. The white-blooming, white- seeded strain is from two to three weeks later than the ordinary crimson variety.^ 1 A discussion of the growing of crimson clover, the preparation of the seed bed, soils and sections adapted to this crop .etc. , will be found in Farmers’ Bulletin 550 entitled “Crimson Clover: Growing the Crop,” copies of which may be procured free of cost by addressing the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Note. — This publication gives time of cutting, methods of harvesting, feeding value, and use as a soiling crop, as pasture , as a soi 1 i mprover, and as a cover crop. Adapted to the Eastern States. 32784°— Bull. 579—14 1 2 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 579. CRIMSON-CLOVER HAY. TIME OF CUTTING. In order to obtain the best hay, crimson clover should be cut when the most advanced heads are beginning to show faded flowers at their base. At this stage the plants contain the maximum amount of protein and dry matter, while the leaves are still present and the stems are comparatively green. The chief danger of later cutting is owing to the fact that the short hairs on the stems and flower heads soon become dry and stiff and in this state are more likely to form Fig. 1.— Tedding crimson-clover hay shortly after being cut. In the background the hay is being brmched or shocked with pitchforks. hard hair balls in the intestinal tracts of horses to which the hay may be fed. If cut before the full-bloom stage, less than the maxi- mum quantity is obtained and the hay is somewhat more difficult to cure. HARVESTING. Crimson clover for hay should be mown after the dew is off in the morning and allowed to lie in the swath for a few hours. It should then be tedded at least twice, with an interval of about six hours of sunshine between the different tedding operations. (See fig. 1.) The hay will then be in a condition to rake into windrows. (See fig. 2.) After lying in the windrow for a day of good drying weather, the hay can be placed in small shocks, where it will cure nicely in three or four days unless rain should intervene. It ordinarily requires CRIMSON clover: utilization. 3 about a week from tlie time the hay is cut until it can be safely placed in the barn. For the best results in curing, both the ground Fig. 2. — Raking crimson-clover hay. After being tedded once or twice the hay is raked into windrows and later placed in large bunches or shocks. and the air should be warm and dry. The hay should not be hauled to the barn until it is dry enough to rattle when handled with tlie fork. (See fig. 3.) Fig. 3.— Hauling crimson-clover hay to the bam. This hay had been cut five days previously. It is important in curing crimson-clover hay that the leaves be not allowed to become so dry as to crumble in either the swath or 4 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 579. windrow. Crumbling leaves result in a very dusty hay, as well as in much loss. Rain is somewhat less harmful to crimson clover in the shock than to other forms of clover or alfalfa, but, nevertheless, it is subject to a good deal of leaching if exposed to the rain. This leaching action of the rain dissolves the more soluble portions of the hay, such as some of the protein, sugars, etc. Analyses of samples of crimson-clover hay were made by the Bureau of Chemistry of the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture. One sample was subjected to water from a sprinkler, to imitate three successive rains of one hour each at inter- vals of three days. A duphcate sample gathered at th^ same time and under the same conditions was not subjected to water falling upon it during the process of curing. The analyses showed that the sample which had been subjected to the artificial rain had lost about three-fourths of its sugar, one-ninth of its protein, and three-fourths of its mineral constituents. The percentage of protein in the unleached sample was 14.88, as compared with 13.19 for the leached sample. If untimely rains wet into the shocks for a considerable depth, it is the practice in some sections to remove the top third and place it to one side instead of pulling the shock to pieces. The remaining part of the shock is then inverted and the old top again placed in position on the old base of the shock, which has become the top. This permits a sufficiently rapid drying out of the shock without shattering the leaves. SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION. Crimson clover cures rather readily, and as a result spontaneous combustion of the hay is very rare. In one instance a farmer living near Brighton, Md., noticed smoke issuing from the center of Ins crimson-clover mow six months after the clover had been placed in the barn. The heating originated where the hayfork had dropped the bunches of hay and thus had thoroughly compacted the mass. The hay was somewhat damp when placed in the barn and appar- ently the combustion did not take place until most of the moisture had been ehminated. The barn and most of the hay were saved by cutting out, with a hay knife, the area surrounding the smoldering mass, and wetting each successive layer with buckets of water before it was removed to a near-by field. The hay was entirely black and showed numerous sparks here and there before being wetted down. It is important that the hay should be free from external moisture, such as dew or rain, when placed in the barn, as this condition often causes it to develop heat. If the hay is not perfectly cured when placed in the barn, material changes sometimes take place without the hay mass taking fire. One instance was noted near Seaford. CRIMSON CLOVER : UTILIZATION. 5 Del., where the mowing away of liay wiiich was too green resulted in the production of the so-called “hrown hay, which, although un- sightly in appearance, is usually greatly relished by stock. FEEDING VALUE. Crimson-clover hay is considered by dairymen to he fully equal, if not superior, to red or alsike clover as a roughage feed for their cows. The New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station conducted a feeding experiment with milch cows which showed that crimson clover was worth $16.55 per ton when substituted for wheat bran at $26 per ton, for dried brewers’ grains at $20 per ton, or for mixed timothy and redtop hay at $16 per ton. In addition to its value for milch cows, it is also an important constituent of the roughage feed of sheep, horses, mules, and other animals in the sections where it is grown. When grown in grain mixtures the resulting hay can be fed to advantage, especially to horses. CRIMSON-CLOVER HAIR BALLS. It is very important in cutting hay that it be cut before it has become mature, else the dry, ripened hairs on the stems and heads are hkely to cause hair balls to form in the ahmentary tracts of horses and mules. These hair balls are of a solid, compact, feltlike struc- ture and nearly always cause death. The experience of a veteri- narian of Dover, Del., has been that only one case out of about a hundred recovered. It is stated that often the horses affected are those belonging to newcomers in the crimson-clover district, espe- cially those who are not familiar with the feeding of crimson clover or advised as to the proper stage to cut it for hay. Much less trouble is experienced by those who are accustomed to feeding it, since they do not feed it in large quantities but in mixture with other hay and are careful to cut it before it has passed the stage of full bloom. If the hay is sprinkled with water 12 hours before feeding, the danger of hair-ball formation is said to be considerably reduced. The danger is also greatly reduced if other hay or roughage be fed with the crimson clover. Occasionally, however, horses which have been fed judi- ciously as long as 10 or 12 years have become stricken with this com- plaint. Figure 4 shows two hair balls taken from different horses. Ordinarily, horses and mules only are affected with these hair balls. CRIMSON CLOVER AS A SOILING CROP. The ability of crimson clover to make its growth very early in the spring brings it to the stage where it can be cut and fed green to cattle at a time when most other green growth is just starting. 32784°— Bull. 579—14 2 6 FAKMEKS" BULLETIN 579. Usually crimson clover may be cut and fed green to the stock for a period of two to five weeks, especially if tlic early or late maturing varieties be utilized in connection with the ordinary variety. The fact that all roughage is likely to be scarce in the spring makes crimson clover, in the sections where it succeeds, an especially valuable addi- tion to the list of forage crops on the farm. CRIMSON CLOVER AS PASTURE. Crimson clover furnishes earlier pasture than any other of the clovers. As a pasture crop it comes on after rye and before the red- clover pasture is available. When there are two fields on the farm Fig. 4.— Crimson-clover hair balls taken from horses which had died from the presence of these masses in the alimentary tracts. The larger one is the largest of six taken from a horse which had been fed on crimson-clover hay for 12 years before his death. Horses have died within a few months after com- mencing to eat crimson clover. The smaller hair ball is as large as a regulation baseball. wliich may be successfully pastured it is sometimes possible to get as much as eight weeks of spring pasturage from crimson clover. (See fig. 5.) This permits the ordinary pastures to develop a good growth of grass before it is necessary to turn the cattle upon them. The remaining portions of the clover plants, as well as the droppings, are usually plowed under shortly after the cattle are removed, and this makes a very good preliminary treatment for the succeeding crop. One instance was noted near Salisbur}^, Md., where a dairy- man with 40 cows pastured them for three weeks on 3 acres of crim- son clover. He then pastured the same 40 head on 7 acres for six weeks, feeding in addition a daily ration of 4 quarts of bran. CRIMSON clover: utilization. 7 Crimson clover is only occasionally pastured in the fall. A light pasturing then with sheep or calves induces it to stool out better than is the case when the fall growth is not pastured. From Vir- ginia southward the open winters make possible considerable winter pasturing with calves and hogs. Heavy stock should not l)e pas- tured on fields when the ground is soft and muddy. Milch cows have been observed to make more milk when pastured on crimson clover than when pastured on red clover or alsike clover. Crimson clover may also be pastured with horses and pigs. The only drawback to its utilization as pasture is the fact that its season is comparatively short, not extending beyond two months in the spring. Pigs, sheep, calves, and chickens may, however, obtain considerable pasturage during the fall and open winter months. Fig. 5.— Cows pasturing on crimson clover. The clover in the immediate foreground has been cut and fed green to other stock. Cattle are somewhat subject to bloating if pastured on crimson clover that is wet with rain or dew. They are not, however, troubled to the extent that they are when pastured on either red clover or alfalfa. CRIMSON CLOVER AS A SOIL IMPROVER. When a crop of crimson clover is turned under a large quantity of humus and fertilizing material is added to the soil. This is especially true when all of the crop is plowed under as green manure. Often, however, the field is left standing for hay or seed, thus leaving only the stubble and roots in the field. (See fig. 6.) Tlie stubble and roots appear in many cases, however, to be almost as effective in soil improvement as is the plowing under of the entire crop, except where the soil is rather low in humus. MTien the crop is cut, about 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 570. 40 per cent as much nitrogen is returned to the soil as- when the entire plant is plowed under. A full crop of crimson clover with a green weight of roots and tops of about 10 tons per acre is ordinarily regarded as equivalent in its effects to an application of fresh barn- yard manure at the rate of about 8 tons per acre. This estimate seems justified by the relative composition of the clover plants and the manure. A ton of fresh manure ordinarily contains about 7.8 pounds of nitrogen and 500 pounds of dry matter, as compared with about 8.8 pounds of nitrogen and 370 pounds of dry matter per ton of green crimson clover. When the clover is plowed under the soil has really gained only in humus and in the nitrogen abstracted from the air by the nodule-forming bacteria on the roots of the clover. The soil gains, on the other hand, in potash and phosphorus as well Fig. C.— Plowing under crimson clover and grain stubble. The haystacks are to be seen in the back- groimd. The dark strip in the center was occupied the previous fall by corn shocks. as in nitrogen and humus when the manure is applied and, conse- quently, ton for ton the manure would appear to be somewhat more valuable than the crimson clover. When crimson clover is seeded fairly early it will accumulate nearly half of its final quota of nitro- gen before winter and after most other crops have ceased their growth. It also resumes its growth very early the following sprmg, so that it is out of the way in time for the regular spring-seeded crops. This characteristic makes it of special value in the economic mamte- nance of soil fertility, since it is possible to grow a money crop, such as corn, cotton, or tomatoes, each summer and at the same time turn under each year either the stubble or the entire crop of crimson clover. It has been found most desirable to commence plowmg under the crimson clover at least a week or 10 days before it commences to CBIMSON CLOVER : UTILIZATION. 9 bloom. This gives three or four weeks for tliQ plowing under of the crop and for the preparation of the ground for the spring-seeded crops. For early-planted truck crops it is often desirable to turn under the crimson clover when it is only half or two-thirds grown, as the ground at that time is likely to be much less cloddy from baking than if the plants are left until they are nearly or quite in bloom. Not only is nitrogen in a very available form added to the soil, but the nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash already in the soil are caught and kept from leaching during the winter. The phosphoric acid and potash are thought to be rendered more available to the subsequent crops by this process. The physical condition of the soil is also materially benefited by the growth of crimson clover. The sandy soils are increased in humus, thus being made more retentive of moisture. On the other hand, the stiff, heavy clay soils are rendered more open and friable. Even if the crimson clover be winterkilled, there is usually enough fall growth available as a source of soil fertility the following spring to more than pay for the cost of establishing the stand. It is generally considered that a bushel of crimson-clover seed sown on 4 acres of ground will increase the succeeding yield of corn about the same amount as would a ton of complete fertilizer applied at the rate of 500 pounds per acre on 4 acres of similar land. The relative increase of such a crop as corn is greater on poor land than on fields already capable of producing good crops. If the land in question is so poor as to bring only 10 or 15 bushels of corn per acre, a good stand of crimson clover turned under will ordinarily double the yield. To obtain a satisfactory stand of the clover on such poor land, how- ever, manure or commercial fertilizers, and often lime, must be applied. A part of the increased yield of the subsequent corn crop must be credited to the residual effect of the fertdizer used in connection with the crimson clover. On land that will make 30 bushels of corn per acre a yield of 45 bushels may ordinarily be expected following crimson clover. On land richer than this an increase of more than 10 bushels per acre is uncommon. A specific instance may be men- tioned in the case of J. B. Watkins & Bro., of Midlothian, Va., whose farm is a shallow sandy loam with a clay subsoil. This soil was badly run down and w^as not producing more than 12 to 15 bushels of corn per acre. About 300 pounds of bone meal were broadcasted when the clover was first seeded on fallow land. The following spring a part was cut for hay and the rest turned under. The entire field was then put in corn, and each summer for nine years crimson clover was seeded in the corn at the last working. The yield from a measured acre the ninth year was 55 bushels. The portions from which a crop of hay was cut annually gave yields of corn essentially the same as where the entire crop was plowed under. 10 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 579. CRIMSON CLOVER AS A COVER CROP. Crimson clover in sections where it succeeds is regarded as a most satisfactory cover crop on soils which would otherwise be left bare during the winter. (See fig. 7.) It is especially valu- able in orchards, where it is generally plowed under as a green-manure crop. Its rapid growth during the autumn reduces the mois- ture and, to some extent, the plant-food content of the soil. This induces the trees to stop growing earlier in the autumn and to ripen their wood well in advance of cold weather, thus ren- dering them less suscepti- ble to winter injury. The plants retain for the use of the trees the following sea- son much of the plant food which would otherwise leach out of the ground during the winter and early spring. A good stand of crimson clover not only re- duces erosion and the gully- ing of the fields, but on sandy fields the blowing of the soil by the wind is greatly lessened. The plants also serve to hold the snow to a greater extent than if the field was left bare dur- ing the winter. Fig. 7. — Crimson clover as a cover and green-manure crop. The clover on the left has been turned under to act as green manure. ADDITIONAL COPIES of this publication may be procured from the Superintend- ent OF Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. , at 5 cents per copy WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1914 IS. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BEEF PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTH. W. F. Ward, Senior Animal Husbandman in Beef Cattle Investigations, inimal Husbandry Division, and Dan T. Gray, Chief of the Animal Industry ^vision of the North Carolina Experiment Station. THE SOUTH AS A FIELD FOR BEEF PRODUCTION. There is no section of the country which can produce cattle more japly than the South, for the lands are still cheap, the grazing is )d, the pasture season is long, feed can be produced at a minimum r t, and inexpensive shelter only is required for the animals during winter months. The native cattle throughout this section are )r in quality and small in size, but they are also cheap in price, ey are not worthless, however, and their cheapness is their redeem- ( feature, for they are good foundation stock from which may be )duced an excellent herd of beef animals by judicious selection and the continued use of purebred beef bulls. '/heap lands combined with cheap cows for foundation stock make )ossible to start in the cattle business in the South with an outlay far less capital than in most other sections of the country. Then, expensive barns are unnecessary for beef cattle in the South; the iy shelters needed are open sheds facing south, under which young tie may take shelter from cold rain or wind. Mature beef cattle aally need no other protection than that afforded by trees, hedges, iderbrush, canebrakes, and other natural shelters. PASTURE LANDS AND GRASSES. ( )f the total land area of the South, 73.1 per cent is made up of razing land, woods, or waste lands, and a very large portion of If latter would produce excellent pasture for cattle. The types of '* and the nature of the land vary widely in each State, but in each are found soils which produce abundant grazing. The stiffer 5 usually produce better grazing and fatter cattle than do the jt or sandy soils. The lime lands, black prairie lands, and jivial lands furnish the best pastures. TE. — Gives instruction in handling and feeding beef cattle, the best breeds for the , and the best pasture plants. Adapted to the Southern States. 32789°— Bull. 580—14 1 2 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 580. The natural grasses of the coastal region of the South are Bermuda, carpet grass, and lespedeza.^ Bur clover should be planted on the sod. If pasture grasses are planted, some Italian rye grass should be planted with the other seed, as this grass will grow rapidlj^^^ and furnish early spring grazing before the other grasses get started. On the sandy coast lands it furnishes good pasture the latter part of the winter, surpassing rye for this purpose. A mixture of redtop and alsike clover should be planted on the wet lands. That portion of the South which lies between the coastal region and the Piedmont region may be called the upland section. There Ber- muda, lespedeza, carpet grass, and crab grass are the most important natural grazing plants. Pedtop, orchard grass, paspalum, alsike clover, bur clover, white clover, and tall oat grass may be planted for grazing purposes. If the soil is damp, as creek bottom land, alsike, redtop, and paspalum will do well. The sod of paspalum should be planted, as the seed are scarce and but a small percentage of them germinate. If there is much lime in the soil the clovers will grow readily. In the Piedmont region the principal permanent grasses are blue grass and white clover. On the uplands of this section a mixture of orchard grass, tall oat grass, and alsike clover may be planted for pasture purposes and gives very satisfactory grazing. Sometimes red clover is planted with other grasses where the land is to be grazed but two or three years before being put into cultivation. Bed clover or red clover and timothy are sometimes planted for hay, and after cutting the first year are grazed the second year, after which the land may be planted to other crops. Redtop is often sown on the damp lands and, combined with the white clover which usually grows on such lands, furnishes good grazing. Johnson grass is usually found on the black prairie lands and the lime lands of Alabama and Mississippi. This furnishes good grazing for one or two years, after which it is necessary to plow the land to get it well started again. Melilotus, or “ sweet clover,” is quite generally sown on the Johnson-grass land for pasture purposes and gives good grazing for two years. A combination of melilotus, bur clover, white clover, Johnson grass, and lespedeza furnishes excellent grazing for nine months of the year. As melilotus will grow on poor lime soils which may be but a few inches deep, it is the most valuable plant to sow for pasture on such soils. On damp prairie soils alsike clover, paspalum, and white clover grow well. 1 Full information concerning the pasture grasses and forage crops of the cotton region is given in Farmers’ Bulletin 509, whioh may be secured free of charge upon application to the Department of Agriculture, BEEF PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTH. 3 FORAGE CROPS AND FEEDS. A great variety of leguminous hays and other forage crops can be grown in the South. In the whole of the cotton region corn, sorghum, co^t^peas, and soy beans produce good crops for forage purposes. Crimson clover and vetches grow well in the South Atlantic coastal region. In Florida and along the Gulf coast velvet beans, beggar weed, teosinte, and Japanese sugar cane are the principal forage crops. In the Piedmont region alsike clover, red clover, timothy, millet, orchard grass, and sometimes alfalfa are grown for hay. Fig. 1. — The shaded area represents the portion of the United States to which the results secured in the Alabama feeding experiments are applicable. The dark circle in Alabama shows the approximate location of the test farm. The location of the various cattle markets to which southern cattle are shipped are shown. The most important plants grown for hay and forage in the black prairie section and on the alluvial soils, in addition to corn and sorghum, are alfalfa, melilotus, lespedeza, Johnson grass, Ber- muda, hairy vetch, and common or Oregon vetch. All of these plants are especially adapted to the prairie or alluvial soils. In the semiarid portions of the Southwest kafir, milo maize, sweet sorghum, and feterita are the principal forage plants. Some native grasses are cut for hay, while Rhodes grass is being grown to a certain extent for this purpose. 4 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 580. Corn grows well throughout the South and is the principal crop grown for grain for feeding purposes and is more generally used for silage than any other crop. Because of its adaptability to almost all soils, the wdde variation of time during which it may be planted, and its luxuriant growth in southern latitudes it is considered the most im- portant silage crop. On rich soils a yield of 10 tons of silage per acre is not uncommon. The sorghums stand near the head of the list as the most important forage crops, because of the wide range of terri- tory in which they may be grown and their adaptability to widely different climatic conditions. Sweet sorghum is usually grown where the rainfall is abundant, while the nonsaccharin or grain sorghums are grown where the rainfall is less or where semiarid con- ditions prevail, as in portions of Texas and Oklahoma. Milo maize and kafir each make a good quality of silage and will produce a good yield of forage during a season which is so dry that Indian corn would make little growth. Sweet sorghum can be planted later than corn and often makes a heavier yield. The cost of growing sor- ghum and corn is about the same. A combination of corn and sor- ghum makes a silage which is greatly relished by cattle. The corn may be permitted to mature slightly more when ensiled with sor- ghum than when put up alone. Velvet beans are seldom used for hay, but they are raised exten- sively for forage purposes near the Gulf coast. They furnish excel- lent grazing during the winter months. Japanese sugar cane is also used as a roughage for cattle in the extreme South. Soy beans are sometimes combined with corn for producing silage, and such silage has a higher feeding value than corn silage. The most important hay crops of the South are alfalfa, Johnson grass, cowpeas, soy beans, and in some sections lespedeza, crab grass, Bermuda, red clover, melilotus, crimson clover, and prairie grasses. Excellent yields of cowpea hay, soy-bean hay, or sorghum can be secured after one of the small-grain crops or crimson clover has been taken off the land. Lespedeza is grown quite extensively for hay on the alluvial lands of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. It yields from 2 to 4 tons of hay per acre, which is equal to that of red clover or alfalfa in feeding value. The stems are fine and the hay is made up largely of leaves. Crimson clover has been successfully grown for hay along the Atlantic coast and with varying success in other por- tions of the South. As it matures in the spring, the hay is rather hard to cure. The hay is of fair quality only, being inferior to red clover. Crimson clover has been more successfully grown as a graz- ing crop than as a hay crop. In addition to the farm-grown feeds already enumerated, the southern cattleman- can secure cottonseed meal, which has proven to be more valuable, pound for pound, than any other feed. BEEF PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTH. 5 METHODS AND COST OF RAISING CATTLE. A common practice in raising cattle in the South is to use the native or scrub cattle for breeding purposes and to let them run on the free range or on pastures and old fields the year through, with little care or attention. This is a poor practice and a wasteful method. Good calves can be secured by breeding these native cows to purebred bulls of the beef breeds, selecting the best of the female calves for breeders and mating them with another purebred bull of the same breed. The quality and size of the cattle can be very rap- idly improved by this method. Few farmers should try to raise purebred cattle as a business, as it requires more skill to make the business a success than the average farmer can give to it. Any good farmer, however, can make a success of grading up his native herd by the use of purebred bulls. Fig. 2. — What good blood will do. A native Alabama cow and her calf by a purebred Hereford bull. For several years the Bureau of Animal Industry and the Alabama Experiment Station have been conducting experiments to determine the cost of raising beef cattle to various ages under farm conditions. This work has been conducted under actual field and feed-lot con- ditions with native cattle. In every case a trained man supervised the work and kept the records, and in some instances this man actually fed the cattle. The experiments have been repeated and original results tested by the duplications. Very little effort has been made by the department to give publicity to this work, although the data have been published by both the station and the department.^ Now that the results of several years’ feeding are available and the principles of beef production, in the extreme South at least, have 1 See B. A. I. Bulletins 103, 131, 147, and 159; or Alabama Bulletins 150, 151, 158, and 163. Other publications will be issued at an early date. 6 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 580. been fairly well worked out, it is believed to be desirable to present these results in popular form. An added reason is the demand from the South for practical advice on beef production, especially in those sections which have been released from quarantine against Texas fever. In one experiment^ conducted in northern Alabama, when the calves were grazed on native grasses for about six months of the year, and grazed on the corn and cotton stalk fields and the waste lands and fed some rough feed and a little cottonseed the rest of the year, it was found that when all expenses of the calves and their dams, including labor, feed, pasture, 6 per cent interest on the capital invested, depreciation in value, insurance, and the manure credited at $1.25 per ton, the cost per hundred pounds of raising a calf to 12 months of age was $2.35 ; to 24 months of age, $2.28 ; to 30 months of age, $2.39; and to 33 months, $2.31. When all of the above expenses were charged against the calves and no credit was made for the manure produced, the cost of raising the calves increased to $4.96 to $5.25 per hundredweight. . A later experiment^ was carried out under farm conditions such as prevail throughout the South below the' thirty-fifth parallel of latitude and without the detrimental influence of the cattle tick. The calves were born in March and April and grazed with their mothers until frost. They were then taken from their mothers and turned into cornstalk fields, cotton fields, and a peanut field which was to be' pas- tured by fattening hogs, and given about 1 pound of cottonseed cake per day. The calves were about 9J months old when the fields were exhausted. The average weight of each calf at this time was 460 pounds. The cost per head was $14.36, or $3.12 per hundredweight, when the feed consumed by the calves and their dams was charged at market prices, pasturage was charged at 50 cents per head per month, 6 per cent interest was charged on the capital invested, 10 per cent depreciation in value of the breeding herd was taken into consideration, taxes were paid on the cattle, and labor had been charged at the prevailing prices. The calves were then fed for three months on corn silage, sedge- grass hay, and cottonseed meal. At the end of this time they weighed 560 pounds each and had cost $20.24 per head, or $3.61 per hundred- weight. When sold they returned a net profit of $6.81 each after all of the above expenses had been paid. FINISHING CATTLE FOR THE MARKET. FATTENING CALVES. At least three points may be urged in favor of fattening beef cattle as calves: First, more breeding animals can be kept on a farm when ^ See B. A. I. Bulletin 147, or Alabama Bulletin 150. 2 Results to be published at an early date. BEEF PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTH. 1 the offspring are disposed of at an early age than when they are re- tained until maturity; second, the younger the animal the cheaper each pound of beef is made ; third, the money invested is turned more rapidly when the animals are sold when young. Calves which can be jirofitably finished for the market must be high in quality and well bred, otherwise they will not fatten prop- erly. Then, too, more care and skill must be exercised in feeding a jmung animal than an old one ; young calves will not grow and fatten Avith any degree of satisfaction under a careless system of feeding and management. The younger the animal the greater the skill Fig. 3. — A champion Shorthorn cow that has produced many prize winners. Such cows give a liberal flow of milk for the calves. They have proven especially desir- able for the farmer who raises small numbers of cattle. required to care for and feed it; one case of overfeeding will often put the stomach and bowels out of condition for weeks. The Bureau of Animal Industry and tlie Alabama Experiment Station have conducted five exj)eriments in fattening calves.^ These tests were made during the years 1909 to 1913, inclusive. The calves used were grades of the Shorthorn, Hereford, Aberdeen- Angus, and Red Polled breeds. They were about 8 months old AAdien put into the feed lots. Each lot of animals was composed of from 15 to 52 head. 1 See B. A. I. Bulletin 147, or Alabama Bulletin 158. Later experiments now ready for publication. s FARMERS^ BULLETIN 580. All calves in the experiments made satisfactory gains ; the average for all lots was about 1.65 pounds per calf per day. The cost of the gains ranged from $5.13 to $6.97 per hundred pounds. The fattening of calves for market proved profitable in every test made. Cottonseed meal, cottonseed hulls, and alfalfa hay proved to be an excellent ration and a profitable one for fattening calves. Cotton- seed meal and cottonseed hulls proved to be a good fattening ration for calves for a short feeding period. When fed in conjunction with cottonseed meal, corn silage of rather poor quality produced the same daily gains on calves as did cottonseed hulls and cheapened the cost of the daily gains. The substitution of two-thirds of the cottonseed meal in a ration with corn did not prove profitable when corn cost 70 cents a bushel and cottonseed meal $26 a ton. In one test it was profitable; to replace one- third of the cottonseed meal with corn-and-cob meal, but in a second' test nothing was gained by the introduction of corn-and-cob meal. The first year the calves which received corn-and-cob meal made slightly larger daily gains,- and sold for more than did the calves which received cottonseed meal as the sole concentrate. The second year the addition of corn to the ration did not increase the size of the daily gains, nor did the calves which received corn sell for any more per pound than the other calves. , In a third test 52 high-grade Aberdeen- Angus calves fed on a ration of about 3 pounds of cottonseed meal, 2 pounds of cowpea hay, and as much cottonseed hulls as they would eat made daily gains at a cost of $5.55 per hundred pounds and returned a net profit of $3.50 each. , • In a fourth experiment 31 calves which were fed for 112 days in the dry lot and then fed 89 days on pasture made good daily gains, but the profits were not as large as they would have been if the calves had been sold at the end of the winter. The gains made during the summer were good and were made cheaply, but the price of calves was so much lower in the summer than at the close of winter that the continued feeding into the summer months was not profitable. FATTENING MATURE CATTLE. WINTER FATTENING. To realize the greatest profit on cattle it is necessary to finish them on the farm where they are raised.- This is not always possible, however, for in certain sections of the country grazing conditions BEEF PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTH. 9 are not good. In each case it is neceshary to buy cattle and finish them during the winter and spring months on dry feeds, if manure is desired for the crops. As ir.anure is almost essential to the pro- duction of good tobacco, cotton, and other farm crops, a farmer is often Avilling to feed cattle with little cash profit in order to secure manure for his crop. This is often cheaper for him than maintain- ing a herd of beef cattle, especially if the farm is small or the pasture land limited. Land may be so high in price that it is more profitable to buy feeders than to raise cattle. Sometimes it is de- sired to build land up more rapidly than can be done by keeping Fig. 4. — A champion Hereford bull of the type which has proven so desirable in beef sires. Notice the wonderful depth of chest and strong constitution, as well as the thickness of loin and fullness of quarter. a few cows the year through, so cattle are bought for feeding pur- poses and fattened, primarily to obtain the manure. Cottonseed meal is the principal and most imimrtant southern con-> centrate. In fact, southern feeders seldom give other concentrated feeds consideration. More attention, however, is demanded in a selection of the roughages, as there are a number which may be pro- duced cheaply on the farm. One of the questions most frequently asked is, “ Can I afford to buy cottonseed hulls to feed, or must I de- pend entirely upon farm-grown roughages ? To answer this ques- tion a discussion of some of the experiments made at several south- ern experiment stations is given, showing the values of some of the principal roughages for fattening cattle. 32789°— Bull. ."iSO— 14 2 10 FAKMEKS^ BULLETIN 580. THE VALUE OF COTTONSEED HULLS AND MEAL AS A FATTENING RATION FOR BEEF CATTLE. For a number of years cottonseed hulls and cottonseed meal have been considered the most important ration for fattening cattle in the South. This ration produces rapid gains for the first GO days, but after the third inontli the gains usually decrease very fast. Experi- ments carried on in South Carolina,^ Texas, ^ Alabama,® North Caro- lina,^ and Mississippi ' show that for feeding periods of three to five months’ duration the steers fed on cottonseed hulls and meal made daily gains of 1.43 pounds to 2.06 pounds. The amount of cotton- seed meal required to make 100 pounds of gain varied from 282 to 589 pounds and the amount of hulls from 1,120 to 2,030 pounds. The cost of 100 pounds of gain varied from $7.66 to $14.76, and the profits varied from a loss of $5.15 per head to a profit of $6.88 each when cottonseed meal cost $26 per ton and cottonseed hulls $7 per ton. Cottonseed hulls is a good roughage for cattle which are to be fed but a short time, and for such periods are more valuable than would seem from the chemical analysis. CORN SILAGE AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR COTTONSEED HULLS. Silage is very popular as a roughage for several reasons: Large yields can be ])i*oduced per acre: it can be stored in a comparatively small space; the trouble of curing hays and fodders for feeding is reduced; the feeding period can be very materially lengthened; and it has proven more profitable for finishing beef cattle for the market than any other i-oughage. Silage is a quick finishing roughage, as it produces large daily gains, gives mellowness to the animals, and gloss or ‘‘bloom” to the coat. No trouble is ever experienced in getting animals to eat it. The decrease in tlie amount of gain as the feeding period lengthens beyond tlie third month is not abrupt as with hulls and meal. Feeding tests made in Alabama,® South Carolina,^ North Carolina,^ and Texas'^ show that the daily gains made by steers fed on silage were usually greater than when hulls were used and the amount of grain required to make 100 pounds of gain was smaller in every test* with the silage-fed steers. The use of silage reduced the cost of the daily gains. The longer the feeding period the greater was the difference in favoi- of silage. 1 South Carolina Bulletin 169. 2 U’exaa Bnllotin 153. SR. A. T. Bullelin 159, or Alabama Bulletin 163; B. A. I. Bulletin 103. ^ North C:aro!ina Bulletins 218 .and 222. ^ irississijjpi Ihilletins 121 and 92. ®Alal)ama Bullelin 163, or B. A. I. Bulletin 159. Texas BuUeliii 97. BEEF PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTH. 11 The silage-fed steers finished better than the ones fed on hulls, sold for higher prices per pound, killed a larger percentage of marketable meat, and made greater profits. When cottonseed meal costs $20 per ton, silage when used for fattening steers is usually more profitable at $3 per ton than cotton- seed hulls at $7 per ton. CORN STOVER, SORGHUM, AND JOHNSON GRASS HAY, versus HULLS FOR STEERS. Corn stover when used as the sole roughage for fattening steers is not entirely satisfactory. It is not very palatable, and steers Pig. 5. — An Abordeen-Augus bull showing quality, compactness, and smoothness. Such bulls got calves which grow rapidly, mature early, and finish out well in the feed lot. Avill not consume as much of it as they should. When, however, it is fed in reasonable amounts along with clover, alfalfa hay, or corn silage, it is a profitable and satisfactory roughage as a feed for finishing steers. In tests where stover was the sole roughage smaller daily gains, a larger amount of grain to make 100 pounds of gain, and more expensive gains were made than when cottonseed hulls were fed. Unless stover can be secured cheaper than hulls it will be more profitable to use the latter in rations for fattening animals. Steers which receive stover as the sole roughage do not finish well and do not sell as well as steers which have been fed on 12 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 580. cottonseed hulls or corn silage. Stover is a farm-made roughage which can be used to best advantage by the breeding herd or the stock cattle. In extensive tests in Alabama it was learned that sorghum fodder could not be substituted profitably for cottonseed hulls. The steers fed on sorghum hay made smaller and more expensive gains than those fed on hulls. Sorghum was not equal, pound for pound, to cottonseed hulls for finishing cattle. When Johnson grass hay was worth $10 and hulls worth $7 per ton it was found to be more profitable to feed hulls as a sole roughage than to feed a combination of Johnson grass hay and hulls. WINTERING STEERS PREPARATORY TO SUMMER FATTENING ON PASTURE. The tests ^ conducted to determine the most profitable way of wintering steers which were to be fattened on pasture the follow- ing summer lasted three years. Each year a carload of steers was run on range, which consisted of cotton and cornstalk fields and some native grasses growing on the waste land, without any feed, while the other lots of steers were run on range and given, in addition, a half ration of cottonseed meal and hulls, or cotton seed, cowpea hay, or cheap waste hay. The records were kept during the winter and also during the subsequent summer, when they were being fattened for market. The following conclusions were drawn from these tests : Steers which had to secure maintenance from range alone during the winter lost considerably in weight — over 100 pounds per head. Steers which received a half ration of hulls and meal in addition to the range were as heavy in the spring as they were in The fall, when the test began. The average cost of wintering a steer in this manner was $5.21. Cattle which received cowpea hay lost but 9 pounds each during the winter, while those wintered on coarse waste hay lost a little weight but were wintered at a cost of but $2.06 per head. The steers which began the grazing season the following summer in the thinnest condition made the greatest gains in weight, and those which had been fed during the winter made the smallest gains during* the summer. This was true to such an extent that at the end of the summer the steers which had been fed during the winter could hardly be detected from the ones which became so thin on range alone. The winter feeding of steers was profitable when the steers were to be finished for market early in the summer, but was not profitable when steers were grazed the whole of the following summer. 1 See B. A. I. Bulletin 131, and Alabama Bulletin 151. Other results to be published at an early date. BEEF PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTH. 13 The use of the old corn and cotton stalk fields, cheap or damaged hays, and old straw stacks proved to be the most economical method of wintering steers which were to be grazed all summer. Cattle which are being wintered on range alone should not be permitted to get so poor that they become weak. If an animal gets very poor, it should be fed some in order to avoid loss. FATTENING STEERS ON SOUTHERN PASTURES. The use of certain supplementary feeds in addition to the grass has been found to be more profitable than grazing cattle without feedd Fig. 6. — A champion Galloway bull. This breed has a rugged constitution and is especially adapted to withstand rigorous winters and graze upon scanty pastures. Few are found in the South. Cottonseed cake is an excellent supplementary feed for cattle on pasture. Larger daily gains, but more expensive gains, were secured when cake was fed, but the cake-fed steers sold for enough more at the end of the season to make the feeding of cake extremely profitable. Cold-pressed cake did not give as satisfactory results as the com- mon cottonseed cake, when cold-pressed cake cost $23 and cottonseed cake $26 per ton. Cotton seed at $14 a ton proved somewhat more valuable than cottonseed cake at $26 a ton for feeding to steers on pasture. 1 See Bureau of Animal Industry Bulletins 1.31 and 1.59 or Alabama Bulletins 151 and 163. 14 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 580. The use of alfalfa hay in addition to cottonseed cake for steers on pasture did not prove profitable or satisfactory. Steers which were fed a heavy ration of cottonseed cakQ on pasture and finished early in July proved far more profitable than steers which did not receive as much cake daily, but were fed for a longer time and sold late in the summer. The feeding of cattle on pasture increased the size of the gains, caused the animals to fatten much faster and smoother, increased their value per hundredweight, and produced better carcasses and a higher percentage of marketable meat than the grazing of steers on pasture alone. THE VALUE OF SHELTER FOR FATTENING BEEF CATTLE. Cattle make better gains when fed under open sheds facing the south than when confined in closed barns. The use of sheds saves a small amount of feed which would be ruined by rain falling upon it, and they also protect from the weather all manure which is dropped under them. Sheds are essential for feeding cattle on heavy clay or prairie soils, in order that the steers may have a dry place to lie down and to prevent injury to the land by trampling in w^et w^eather. On sandy loam lands steers which w^ere fed under shelter did not sell for enough more to pay for the upkeep of the sheds dur- ing each of three years. On sandy or sandy loam lands the cattle may be profitably fed on the cultivated fields, thereby dropping the manure directly upon the land. The troughs should be moved occasionally, so that the manure may be scattered more uniformly on the land. If large numbers of cattle are fed, they should be moved to different fields during the feeding period and the manure plowed under. In three experiments in Alabama^ shelter other than that fur- nished by trees, undergrowth, etc., proved unnecessary for mature animals. Sheds are absolutely essential in feeding calves for the market. TICK ERADICATION. The Federal Government realized the importance of the South as a field for producing beef cattle and began investigations in breed- ing and feeding cattle in the South in 1904, and in 1906 began a sys- tematic fight on the cattle tick. From that time until February 16, 1914, there have been 215,908 square miles of land actually freed of the tick, and at the present time the work is being carried on in every Southern State. In some States, as in Mississippi, the work is pro- gressing very fast, and it is simply a question of time when the whole South will be free of the Texas fever tick. 1 See Animal Industry Bulletins 103 and 159 and Alabama Bulletin 163. BEEF PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTH. 15 BREEDS OF CATTLE ADAPTED TO THE SOUTH. Notwithstanding the fact that the type of the aniiiial is of very much more importance than the breed, there are some breeds of beef cattle which are better suited than others to the South. The different breeds are not so entirely similar as to prohibit the possi- bility of making a mistake in the selection of one to suit a particular farm or community. The question is often asked, “What is the best breed of beef cattle for the South?” The answer to this general question can not be given by naming any one particular breed. There is no such thing as a “ best ” breed of beef cattle. One breed may be specially adapted for a certain purpose, or a Pig. 7. — A champion Red Polled bull of the type which represents the dual-purpose animals. certain farm, or a certain section of the country, while another may be better suited for a different purpose, a different farm, or a different section of the country. It is, however, very often pos- sible to answer the question, “What is the best breed of beef cattle for my farm? ” when the adviser is perfectly familiar with the char- acteristics of both the breeds of beef cattle and the farm. The breeds of cattle with which this bulletin deals are divided into two general classes, the beef type and the dual-purpose type. The Shorthorn, Hereford, Aberdeen- Angus, and Galloway are the prominent breeds belonging to the beef type, while the Devon and the Red Polled are, at least for the South, the most important breeds belonging to the dual-purpose type. 16 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 580 . THE SHORTHORN. The Shorthorn is popular everywhere in the world where beef animals are grown. In conformation they adhere closely to the beef type, though certain families, as the Bates, have exceedingly strong milking tendencies. They are the largest of our beef animals, the cows usually attaining weights from 1,300 to 1,400 pounds and the bulls from 1,800 to 2,100 pounds or more, where conditions are favorable and the cattle tick has been eradicated. When com- pared with other beef breeds of cattle the Shorthorn is a heavy milker; no beef breed is better able to nourish the calf. For this reason the American farmer has always regarded the Shorthorn as better suited to general farm purposes than any other breed. A few Shorthorn cows have, in fact, made exceedingly high milking records. In color the Shorthorn may be pure red, red and white, pure white, or roan. This breed produces high-class beef, but, compared with the Aberdeen- Angus, the Shorthorn will not dress as high a percentage of high-class meat. For this reason the Short- horn steer has not in recent years maintained his reputation at the fat-stock shows, the purebred and grade Aberdeen-x\ngus or Here- ford having surpassed him repeatedly. Shorthorn bulls, however, mated with grade cows have revolutionized the character of the meat cattle of the world. The Shorthorn is well adapted to the South, but they are not as early maturing and do not graze as well as do the Herefords. On a farm, however, where the pasture grasses are well developed and too much effort is not required to get a sufficient amount to eat, it would be difficult to find a breed of beef animals which would surpass the Shorthorn. Polled Durham cattle are really Shorthorns, except that they are hornless. The “ single standard ” Polled Durham was the first type of hornless Shorthorn to attract attention. The originators of this type used pure Shorthorn bulls on “ muley ” cows of the Shorthorn type, and finally developed what they called the Polled Durham breed. These cattle were very much like the average Shorthorn, except that they tended toward the dual-purpose type. The “ double standard ” Polled Durham rel)resents the demand of Shorthorn breeders for a hornless breed of Shorthorn cattle; these cattle are eligible to registration in the American Shorthorn Herdbook, as well as in the Polled Durham Herdbook. THE HEREFORD. This breed of cattle has been materially improved within the last 25 years and now ranks as one of the most prominent breeds of beef cattle. In fact, this breed is now probably the most popular in the South. In size this is one of the largest breeds, ranking next to the BEEF PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTH. 17 Shorthorn. From the standpoint of the average farmer, the weakest point ps their inability to give a large quantity of milk; in fact, the cows average low in the amount of milk produced and are open to criticism in this respect. The color is characteristic, the body being red and the head and face white. The breed is especially Avell adapted to southern conditions. For many years to come the South must necessarily be mainly a grazing district. On account of exceptional vigor, rustling ability, a thick coat of hair, and temperament, the Hereford has taken first place as a grazing animal. The Hereford is more vigorous than the Short- horn, and on this account is often capable of securing a good living Fig, 8. — A champion Polled Durham bull. A type that is popular among the breeders of these cattle. from pastures Avhich afford a too limited amount of grass for Short- horn cattle. No breed of beef cattle equals the Hereford for withstand- ing the unfavorable conditions which alwa3^s accompany the range system of farming. Hereford bulls have accomplished remarkably fine results when crossed with the native cows of the ranges of Texas and the Western States. THE ABERDEEN-ANGUS. In general conformation this breed differs somewhat from that of the Shorthorn and Hereford, the body being, as a rule, lower to the ground and more cylindrical. This breed, however, is not as large as the Hereford or Shorthorn, but does not fall far short of the weights 18 farmers' bulletin 580. reached by the two larger breeds. The almost universal color is black, although red occurs at rare intervals. A small amount of white on the underlines is not objectionable. As milkers the Aber- deen-Angus cows rank only fair. They do, however, afford more milk than the Hereford, but the breed is not the equal of the Short- horn in this respect. This breed produces remarkable beef animals. The Aberdeen- Angus steer in the fat-stock shows has made a wonder- ful record, surpassing all other breeds repeatedly in this respect. Although the Aberdeen- Angus is hardly the equal of the Here- ford on the range, nevertheless, on account of his vigor and rustling habits, he is well suited to range conditions, and is therefore well adapted to the South. The Aberdeen- Angus is much better suited than the Shorthorn to southern grazing conditions. THE GALLOWAY. This breed of beef animals has never been extensively introduced into the South; a few herds, however, are found in Texas. They originated and were developed in a very cold and damp country — southwestern Scotland — so have never been thought of as being suited to the southern part of the United States, where the summers are long and hot. The individuals of this breed are short of leg, close to the ground, polled, black in color, have long hair, and are slow to mature when compared Tvith the Shorthorns, Herefords, and Aberdeen- Angus. The Galloway is an extremely hardy animal and is well suited to the ranges of the Northwest, where food may be scarce, and where the winters are severe. THE RED POLLED. The native home of the Red Polled cattle is in England. This breed represents the dual-purpose type in its true form, as the typical cows yield milk liberally and fatten quickly and sat- isfactorily when dry. The udder is often deficient in the fore part and the teats are usually large. The color varies from light to dark red, but a little white on the belly and udder is not particularly objectionable, although the solid color is preferred. The Red Polled cattle are not as heavy as the beef breeds, the cows under favorable conditions averaging perhaps 1,200 pounds. As beef producers these cattle hold very good rank, but of course they do not win the highest honors when shown in competition with the beef breeds. As milk producers they have long held high rank. At the Pan-American dairy test in 1901 five Red Polled cows took fifth rank among 10 breeds. This breed of cattle is well suited to the South, and the southern farmer who wants a cow that will yield a good flow of milk and at the same time raise a calf which is acceptable from the beef BEEF PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTH. 19 standpoint will not make a mistake in selecting the lied Polled cattle. They are hardy, gentle, and reasonably good grazing animals. THE DEVON. The Devon in conformation closely resembles the beef breeds, though it is smaller in size, mature bulls seldom weighing 2,000 pounds and usually from 1,400 to 1,800, while the cows weigh about 1,000 pounds when raised under good conditions. In color they vary from light to deep red, although the rich deep color is more popular. They have a white switch and may have some white on the under- paid of the body, although white on other portions of the body is not permissible. P^iG. 9. — What good feeding will do when combined with good blood. International grand champion steer, 1912. The Devon is a wonderful rustler, and will keep in good condition on pastures in which some cattle of the beef breeds could hardly subsist. They are slower of growth than the beef breeds, but do well in the feed lot, comparing very favorably with the Herefords or Shorthorns. The cows are usually good milkers, many of them giving more milk than the calf will take at first. The result of this abundant milk flow is usually a good calf. In some sections of the South the Devons have become popular because of their capacity for grazing during the summer months and making use of the rough feeds and native grasses during the winter, There is no breed of cattle in this country which make work 20 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 580. oxen superior to the Devon. They are quick, intelligent, attain good size, and stand the heat well. For these reasons they are exceedingly popular in the timber sections and the lumber camps of the South. SUMMARY. Good pastures are essential for profitable beef production. Plant pasture grasses over the waste lands. Use purebred beef bulls for grading up the native stock. Always select the best heifers for breeding purposes. Eradicate the ticks on the farm. Use the coarse fodders, straws, and the stalk fields for wintering the breeding herd. Wean the calves when the pastures get short. Put them in the cornfields and pea fields while weaning and teach them to eat cotton- seed cake or cottonseed meal. Eaise and finish beef cattle on the same farm when possible. A mixture of cottonseed meal, cottonseed hulls, and alfalfa hay is a good ration for fattening calves. Silage is the best roughage for fattening any class of cattle. More care is necessary in feeding calves than in feeding grown cattle. At the present prices corn silage is a cheaper and better feed for fattening beef cattle than cottonseed hulls. Hulls and cottonseed meal make an excellent feed for a short feed- ing period, but do not produce good gains on cattle after the third month. It is not entirely satisfactory to use corn stover as the sole roughag( . When Johnson-grass hay costs $10 and hulls $7 per ton it is mor*" profitable to feed the hulls alone. Summer feeding on pasture is usually more profitable than wintei' feeding. Finishing cattle early in the summer is usually more profitabh than finishing them later in the season. Fattening steers on grass and cottonseed cake is nearly alwaY‘ more profitable than grazing them without feed. Thin steers when put on pasture make larger and cheaper daih gains than fleshy ones. Pound for pound cold-pressed cottonseed cake is not equal to the common cottonseed cake. The use of a small amount of corn in addition to cottonseed cake has proven profitable for feeding steers on grass. o WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1914 an U.S.DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EWRS: BUIXETI 581 Contribution from the Bureau of Statistics (Agricultural Forecasts) and Bureau of Plant Industry, March 18, 1914. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. CORN. — World acreage and production. Imports from Argentina. OATS. — World acreage and production. Imports from Canada. BARLEY, RYE, POTATOES, AND FLAX.— World acreage and production. BEEF. — Imports from Argentina. COTTON. — Recent developments in colonial production. Crop Reporting Systems and Sources of Crop Information in Foreign Countries. THE WORLD CORN CROP. By Charles M. Daugherty. Indian corn, or maize, although the last of the great cereals to be discovered, is now grown over a broader extent of the earth’s surface than any other grain, excepting wheat. Originally merely the primitive food grain of the aborigines of tropical and semitropic al regions of the Western Hemisphere, its cultivation has within a few centuries extended to aU Continents; the exceptional produc- tivity of the plant, in both corn and fodder, and the manifold uses made of grain, stalk, pith, leaves, and cob have won for it the fame of being America’s most valuable contribution to agriculture. In so far as can be determined from existing statistics, the world’s recorded corn acreage amounts at present to approximately 170 million acres. As, however, no figures are extant respecting the area planted in many of the smaller producing States of Central and South America, ilsia, Africa, and numerous islands, the recorded acreage doubtless falls short of the actual by several million acres. The bulk of the world’s crop, as is well known, is grown in America, where the plant is believed to have originated. Roundly 130 million acres are planted annually in the principal producing countries of America; of this upward of 105 million are in the United States, over 13 million in Mexico, 10 million in Arg;entina, and almost a million acres in Uruguay, Canada, and Chile combined. In the United States corn, measured by the surface devoted to its culture, is far and away the leading crop; the annual acreage is more exten- sive than the total surface under all other cereals. The annual yield 32786°— Bull. 581—14- 1 2 FAEMEKS^ BULLETIN 581. ill good years surpasses iii magnitude the combined wheat and barley crops of the whole of Europe. Doubtless the most striking feature of the crop, however, is that the enormous production is absorbed almost in entirety by the home demand. In spite of an increase since 1897 of 25 million acres in the area planted, exports, which in that year attained the maximum of 189 million bushels, have since almost steadily declined, and in 1913 amounted to only 45 million bushels. The tremendous increase in domestic consumption suggested by these facts is further emphasized by the incident tnat during 1913 over 5 million bushels were added to the home supply by imports from Argentina- — a movement probably due in part to the coincidence of a change in fiscal regulations governing importa- tion of corn into the United States with a heavy shortage in the domestic crop, the 1913 yield being only 2,445,000,000 bushels, com- pared with 3,125,000,000 bushels in the preceding year. T: compare the vast extent of land under corn in the United States with that in other countries serves little purpose other than to illustrate the heavy monopoly of this industry by the United States. Mexico is second among all corn-growing countries in point of acreage. The production (although the tortiUa, a food made from parched corn, constitutes the chief subsistence of the masses) is insufficient for, domestic needs, and several midion bushels annually are imported from the United States. In Argentina corn culture has in recent years made great strides. From 3 million acres in 1900, plantings have been rapidly extended, and a recent estimate of the Argentine Department of Agriculture puts the land seeded for the crop maturing in the spring of 1914 at 10,250,000 acres. A distinctive feature of com growing in Argentina is that the bulk of the crop is raised for export. Preeminently a pastoral country, the vast fields of alfalfa, and a mild climate that permits grazing in a great part of the pastoral zone practically the year round, minimize the demand for corn as an ani- mal food; considerably less than 100 million bushels meets annual domestic requirements for all purposes. As during the past two years the production has amounted^ respectively, to 296 milhon and 197 million bushels, Argentina has figured as the most important single source of supply for the great importing nations of Europe. Exports to all countries out of the banner crop of 1912 amounted to 190 million bushels. If the present rate of increase in culture be maintained, the Pepublic would doubtless be in a situation eventually to supply single handed the entire import demand of all European States. Much of the Argentine corn is of the flint variety. In the Eastern hemisphere the principal maize-growing regions are southern Europe, Asia, the Mediterranean countries of Africa, and the Union of South Africa. In southern Europe the crop is grown for the grain on an expanse of territory extending from west to east THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 3 across the entire continent and reaching northward from the Mediter- ranean and Black Seas to latitudes including Switzerland and a small part of southern Germany. The value of the luxuriant semitropical foliage of the plant has, moreover, extended its cultivation for fodder into countries v/here the seasons of warm sunshine are too short for the grain to matm-e, and hence maize is grown for forage to a greater or less extent in many countries of northern Europe, even as far north as Scotland. In southern Europe the crop is cultivated for grain on an aggregate of about 30 million acres, the total annual produc- tion usually ranging between 600 million and 700 million bushels. The variety raised is for the most part the small-grained yellow flint, designated by English-speaking people as round maize’’ in distinc- tion from the “flat” or large-grained dent variety, consisting of wd:iite and yellow mixed, wliich reaches European markets from the United States. In Portugal, corn, known in the vernacular as milho, is cul- tivated on a much larger scale than any other cereal and constitutes, among other uses, the chief food of the peasant class. ^ Spain and France have each over a million acres under maize. Concentrated in the northern part of the former country and southern part of the latter there are extensive districts where it is the chief grain cultivated and the principal reliance of the peasants for human food. Granoturco, the Italian name for corn, is grown annually in Italy on an extent of about 4 million acres, and in two provinces, Lombardy and Venetia, on a somewhat jnore extensive scale than is wheat; polenta, a dish prepared from corn, is in parts of the Kingdom the staff of life of the masses. Upward of a million bushels are raised annually in Greece, and in 1910 the annual output of European Turkey was officially returned at 22 million bushels. Corn culture in Europe, however, is largely centralized in a group of countries comprising Austria- Hungary, Roiimania, Servia, Bulgaria, and in the southern govern- ments of Russia. In this territorj^ upward of 20 million acres are planted annually and the normal yield is approximately 500 million bushels. The important position the crop occupies in the agriculture of these countries is indicated by the fact that in Hungary proper, the principal corn-growing country of Europe, and in Bulgaria the acreage is second only to that of wheat, while in Roumania, where the grain is known as ^^porumb, ” and in Servia, where it is called ‘‘cucurza, ” it is more extensive than that of any other cereal. Excepting Austria-Hungary, whose annual production is a few million bushels short of domestic requirements, corn is grown in the rest of this territory in surplus quantities. Aggregate exports usually ranging between 50 million and 80 million bushels a year, are made from Roumania, Bulgaria, Servia, and Russia to Austria- Hungary, Italy, Spain, and, chiefly, to the noiiproducing States of north Europe. 4 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 581. Outside of America and Europe the most extensive corn-growing area in the world is m Asia, notably in Turkey, southern Asiatic Russia, British India, French Indo-China, the Philippines, China, and Japan. Although the crop in none of these countries attains the proportions of a principal one, there are localities in most of them where its culture is of great local importance. In Asiatic Turkey an official report indicated over 900,000 acres under cultivation in 1910, and in 1911 a small area of 150,000 acres was returned m Asiatic Russia — in Ferghana, Samarkand, and Syr-Daria. In British India, where in some districts food made from corn is the chief article of native diet, over 6 million acres are planted yearly. An annual area of over one million acres is grown in the Philippines and upward of 130,000 acres m Japan. Statistical record of the area and yield in Chma and Indo-China is nonexistent. It is known, however, that the gram is grown to a considerable extent m parts of Chma, and in the northern part its value as a human and anunal food is supplemented by the general use of the stalks as fuel. In the French colony, Indo- Chma, the growing popularity of the culture is indicated by the fact that the annual imports into the mother country from this possession increased from 571,000 to 3,710,000 bushels during the period 1906 to 1911. Corn is grown quite generally on the Continent of Africa, but, excepting that it is an important article of food among the native tribes of the central colonies, definite information respecting the extent of its culture is limited to the countries along the Mediter- ranean and to the Union of South Africa. In Egypt, the principal produemg country, the area (about 1,900,000 acres) is more extensive than that of cotton; the grain constitutes the chief food of the Eg}q> tian fellah and enters almost wholly into domestic consumption. Small areas are also cultivated in Tunis, Algeria, Tripoli, and Morocco. In the Union of South Africa the raismg of ‘Anealies,’’ the local name for corn, has in late years been attracting much attention ; the acreage, notably in Natal, has been much extended and, at the takmg of the census of 1911, the total South African production was found to have increased to over 30 million bushels. In normal years a few million bushels are now available for export. Corn, it may be added, is grown on a small scale in the northern latitudes of Australia and New Zealand, and in many islands throughout the world for which few statistics are extant. The world’s corn production, in so far as accurate estimates are obtamable, is in magnitude practically equal to, and in one year at least has exceeded, that of wheat. The importance of the part taken by the United States in the industry is indicated by the fact that in 1911 the crop produced was upward of 72 and in 1912 over 71 per cent of the world’s recorded production; in 1913, with a shortage of almost 678 million bushels in the domestic outturn, as compared with the previous THE AGEICULTUEAL OUTLOOK 5 year, the domestic crop represents 68 per cent of the recorded crop of the world. Details, by countries, of the area and production of specified countries in 1913 and preceding 3 ^ears are given hi Table 1: Table 1. — Coni crop of countries named, 1911-1913. . Country. .'Vrea. Production. 1911 1912 1913 1911 1912 1913 ! i KORTII AMERICA. United States Canada: Ontario Quebec Other Total Canada Me.vico Total Acres. 105, 825,000 Acres. 107,083,000 Acres. 105,820,000 Bushels. 2, 531,488,000 Bushels. 3, 124, 746, 000 Bushels. 2,446,998,000 298,000 23, 000 (') 279,000 19,000 (') 260,000 18,000- (') 18,467,000 712,000 6,000 16,466,000 476,000 8,000 16,182,000 586, 000 .5,000 321,000 298, 000 278, 000 19, 185,000 16,9.50,000 1 16,773,000 2 13,375,000 U) (*) 190,000,000 190, 000, 000 190,000,000 2, 740,673,000 3,331,696,000 2,6.53,771,000 SOUTH AMERICA. Argentina Chile Uruguay 7,945,000 46,000 498, 000 8, 4.56, 000 56,000 (^) 9, 464, 000 (=*) {^) 27,675,000 1,221,000 3,643,000 295, 849, 000 1, .527, 000 8,000,000 196, 642, 000 1,200,000 4, 000, 000 32, .539, 000 305,376,000 201,842,000 EUROPE. Austria-IIungary : Austria Hungary proper Croatia-Slavonia Bosnia-Herzegovina Total A ustria-H un- gary Bulgaria France Italy Portugal Roumania Russia: Russia proper 748. 000 6. 090.000 1.024. 000 51 0. 000 752. 000 6, 022, 000 1,065,000 549. 000 705,000 6,422,000 G) (^) 11.856.000 137,423,000 24. 006. 000 8, 416, 000 15. 053. 000 176,694,000 24.166.000 8, 555, 000 13,280,000 194,299, 000 24, 000, 000 7, 480, 000 8,372,000 8, .388, 000 . . 181,701,000 224, 468, 000 239, 059, 000 1 . 562. 000 1.049. 000 4. 066. 000 G) 3.153.000 (•') 1.177.000 3.938.000 G) 5. 138. 000 G) G) 3.888.000 G) 5.305.000 30,589, 000 16, 860, 000 93, 680, 000 15, 000, 000 110, 712,000 30. 000. 000 23.733.000 98. 668. 000 15.000. 000 103,921,000 30.000. 000 22. 000. 000 108.388. 000 15,000,000 118.104. 000 3,177,000 759, 000 67. 842. 000 14. 087. 000 Northern Caucasia Total Russia Servia Spain Total * 3,936,000 4 4, 086, 000 4 4, 233, 000 4 81,929, 000 4 79, 964,000 4 72, 870, 000 1.443.000 1.145.000 1.446.000 1.149.000 G) 1,105,000 26, .531, 000 28, 730, 000 22, 833, 000 25, 069, 000 23. 621 . 000 25.140.000 585, 732, 000 623, 656, 000 654, 182, 000 ASIA. British India (including native States) Japan Philippine Islands AFRICA. Algeria Egypt Union of South Africa Total 6,312,000 1 132, 000 747,000 (■’) 136. 000 840. 000 (=) G) 988,000 (^) 3, 550, 000 2 4,277,000 (n (n (n (n (n (U 39, 000 1,840,000 G) 31,000 1,903,000 C) 24,000 (=*) C) 554,000 67, 903, 000 30, 830, 000 374,000 60, 857, 000 5 30,830,000 394,000 57,500,000 5 30, 830, 000 99, 287, 000 i 92, 061, 000 88, 724, 000 AUSTRALA.SIA. Australia: Queen.sland New South Wales i i 181,000 i 213, 000 1.54,000 i 1()8, 000 G) (^) 4.601.000 i 3,752,000 7.833.000 i 4,649,000 (3) i (■>) 1 Less than 500 acres. ^ Includes Asiatic Russia (10 Governments of). 2 Estimate for 1910. £> Census figures of 1911 repeated. 3 No official statistics. 6 FAKMEKS^ BULLETIN 581. Table 1. — Corn crop of countries named^ 1911-1913 — Continued. Country. Area. Production. 1911 1912 1913 1911 1912 1913 AUSTRALASIA— continued. A ustr alia — Continued . Victoria Acres. 20,000 Acres. 18,000 Acres. (n S:! Bushels. 1,013,000 1,000 7,000 Bushels. 818,000 Bushels. (0 (‘) (>) Western Australia South Australia 1,000 (2) 2,000 Total Australia 415,000 340,000 315,000 13, 455, 000 9, 221,000 8, 620,000 New Zealand 13,000 6,000 5,000 478,000 278,000 220,000 Total Australasia Grand total 428,000 346,000 320, 000 13,933,000 9,499,000 8,840,000 13,479 991 000 4,362,288,000 3, 607, 359, 000 1 No official statistics. 2 Less than 500 acres. Table 2. — Total production of corn in countries named in Table 1, 1894-1913. Year. Production. Year. Production. Year. Production. Year. Production. 1894 Bushels. 1.671.307.000 2. 834.750.000 2.964.435.000 2. 587. 206. 000 2. 682.619.000 1899 Bushels. 2. 724.100. 000 2, 792, 561,000 2. 366. 883.000 3.187.311.000 3.066.506.000 1904 Bushels. 3. 109. 252. 000 3.461.181.000 3. 963.645.000 3.420. 321.000 3.006.931.000 1909 Bushels. 3.563. 226.000 4.031.030.000 3.479. 991.000 4.362. 288.000 3. 607.359.000 1895 1900 1905 1910 1896 1901 1906 1911 1897 1902 1907 1912 1898 1903 1908 1913 CORN FROM ARGENTINA. By Frank Andrews. RECENT IMPORTS. In September last a large increase occurred in the relatively small imports of corn into the United States, the new traffic coming chiefly from Ai^gentina. Occasional imports had been made in former years. In the year ended June 30, 1909, the United States imported 258,000 bushels, of which 195,000 bushels came from Argentina. The imports declined to about 118,000 in the next fiscal year and to 52,000 in the year ending June 30, 1911, increasing to about 53,000 in the following year. The imports during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1913, amounted to 903,000 bushels, of which 880.000 came from Argentina. The imports in September, 1913, amounted to 522,000 bushels; in October, 473,000; in November, 1,633,000, and in December, 2,343,» 000 bushels. Of these amounts, Argentina furnished in September, 499.000 bushels; in October, 421,000; in November, 1,509,000, and in December, 2,173,000 bushels. Compared with the production of the United States these imports are relatively small. The entire crop of Argentina, ranging from 175,000,000 to 300,000,000 bushels annually, is only about 10 per cent of the average consumption in the United States. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 7 Corn productioji and exports of Argentina and the United States are shown in Table 3. Here is illustrated the fact that the Argentine crop goes cliiefly to foreign countries, while tlie United States crop, in still greater proportions, is consumed at home. Table 3. — Comparison of Argentine and United States corn as to production, exports, and average value. Year. Argentina. United States. Average value i of corn imported into the United Kingdom from 1909-1913. Profbiction. Exports. 2 i 1 Production. Exports^2 year begin- ning July 1. Argentina. United States. Btishels. Bushels. Bushels. Bushels. Cents per bushel. Cents per bushel. 1909 177,155,000 89, 499, 359 2, 772,376,000 38, 128, 498 74 77 1910 175,187,000 104, 727, 358 2,886,260,000 65,614, 522 64 73 1911 3 27, 675, 000 4,928,362 2,531,488,000 41,797,291 63 63 1912 295,849,000 190,459,100 3,124,746,000 50, 780, 143 71 83 1913 4 196, 642, 000 4 190, 000, 000 2,446,988,000 68 68 1 The values of articles imported into the United Kingdom include the value in the country of origin, plus all costs of delivery to the United Kingdom. Hence, the two columns are comparable, since both apply to values in same country of destination. 2 Including corn meal reduced to terms of corn. 5 Crop failure, due to drought. 4 Preliminary. CORN PRICES. Comparing values of Argentine with United States corn in the British market for the past five years, it is found that in three years out of the five United States corn is valued considerably higher than Argentine. But in 1911 and in 1913 the average values of the con- signments from each of these countries were the same in the British markets. A considerable part of the corn imported into the United States from Argentina is received at New York, and it was sold in that city in November and December, 1913, at prices ranging from 73 to 80 cents a bushel, or several cents under the prices of the No. 2 yellow grade of United States corn in that market. A comparison of prices of Argentine corn with other corn at New York, with the contract grade at Chicago, with the average farm price in the United States of all kinds of corn; and with the average export value in Argentina of the corn imported here from that country, is shown in Table 4. It is to be understood that the imports for these last months of 1913 consisted of old corn, which was harvested in the winter or spring of 1912-13. Attention is invited also to the marked fluctua- tions in the import values of this Argentine corn, ranging from under 60 cents in September to over 80 cents a bushel in October; falling to 72 in November, and further to 62 cents a bushel in December. 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 581. Table 4. — Comparative cash prices in the United Slates of Argentine and domestic corn, September to December, 1918. [Cents per bushel.] A’ ear and month. Average import value of Argen- tine corn.i Average farm price of corn in U. S. on 1st of month. ■Wholesale price at New A'ork, N. Y. Wholesale prices at Chicago, lU., “contract” grade corn. No. 2 yellow corn. Argentine corn. Low. High. Low. High. Low. High. 1913. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. September 59.7 75.4 79.5 86.2 71. 5 78.5 October 80.3 75.3 76.0 80.2 68.0 73.2 November 72.0 70.7 79.0 85.0 77.5 77.5 71.5 76.2 December 62.2 69.1 73.0 85.0 73.2 80.0 65.5 78.5 1 Average declared wholesale value in Argentina of corn imported into the United States from that country. OCEAN AND RAILROAD FREIGHT RATES. During the last three months of 1913 the rates paid for full cargoes of corn from Argentina to New York were from 6 to cents per bushel when shipped from San Lorenzo, an upriver port on the River Plate, and from 5 to 5| cents when shipped from Rosario, a port farther down that river. Rates to Galveston ranged from 5 to TJ cents, and one rate was counted to San Francisco from Buenos Aires at about 9J cents per bushel. The rates on corn to New York from Chicago, over the cheapest routes for a number of years, have not been far different from the rates of the last few months of 1913 to New York from San Lorenzo, and have been a cent or two higher a bushel than the rates from the lower River Plate. In fact, corn is shipped from Rosario, Argentina, to New York for about the same rate as is charged by rail from Buffalo to New York. However, the lake rate from Chicago to Buf- falo is frequently as low as 1 cent per bushel, and rarely averages 2 cents for a season. To Galveston the rates of the last few months of 1913 were con- siderably lower from the upriver ports of Argentina than from Kansas City. The rate from Kansas City to Galveston in 1913 was 9.8 cents per bushel, while 3 out of 4 rates from Argentina to Galveston were less than 7 cents, one of them being as low as 5.1 cents per bushel. The ocean rates quoted in this article apply to full cargoes; that is, where a ship is chartered to carry corn only. Regular lines of steamships, where smaller lots than full cargoes are carried, often charge lower rates than are paid on full cargoes of corn. The freight rates on grain from the Atlantic coast of the United States westward are considerably higher than for the eastbound traffic, since relatively small lots of grain are shipped westward. Corn shipped by rail from New York to Chicago would be charged 14 cents per bushel. Hence it would cost from 19 to 21 cents per bushel THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 9 to pay the freight on corn shipped from Argentina to Illinois, by way of New York, at the rates quoted at the close of 1913. This cost applies oidy to ocean freight from Argentina plus railroad freight in the United States and excludes any costs of transfer. Ocean freight rates on corn to Liverpool from Buenos Aires were from 6 to 10 cents per bushel and from San Lorenzo from 8 to about 12 J cents a bushel for the last few months of 1913. Early in Octo- ber, 1913, two vessels were chartered to carry corn from Rosario — one to New York and the other to Liverpool. The cargo for New York was charged at tlie rate of 5.4 cents per bushel and the cargo for Liverpool at the rate of 6 cents per bushel. The time from Buenos Aires to New York is about the same as from Buenos Aires to Liv- erpool. Fast steamers often make the voyage over either route in 24 days, while some of the slower ones require 10 to 15 days longer. Of 10 different vessels arriving at New York with corn in November and December, 1913, 3 vessels brought more than 260,000 bushels each and all but 2 brought more than 100,000 bushels each. The largest cargo of these 10 consisted of 285,200 bushels. The two smaller loads were brought b}^ ships which carried a large assort- ment of other cargo. One of these ships, which arrived on December 6, brought about 61,000 bushels of corn in about 24,000 bags, and the cargo included also nearly 11,000 quarters of beef, 4,100 car- casses of mutton, besides wool, sheepskins, tallow, hides, corned beef, miscellaneous meat products, etc. ARGENTINE CORN. By W. J. T. Duvel, Crop Technologist. Within the last few years increasing quantities of corn have been imported into the United States from the Argentine, most of which has been consigned to the Corn Products Refining Co., of New York, for manufacturiug purposes. The importations, however, of the 1913 crop have exceeded those of former years, the total importations from July 1, 1913, to February 13, 1914, as reported by Bradstreet's, being 7,132,980 bushels, approximately 85 per cent of which was dis- charged at Atlantic ports, and the remainder at Gulf ports. The Argentine being the corn belt of the Southern Hemisphere, the crop matures approximately six months in advance of corn in the United States, so that export shipments begin during the early part of June. The duration of the voyage from the Argentine to tlie United States under favorable conditions is approximately 30 days. While the total production of corn in the Argentine under the most favorable conditions is considerably below the production in the State of Illinois, less than half of the Argentine crop is consumed within the Republic, so that the Argentine exports have greatly exceeded those of the United States during the past few years. 32786°— Bull. 581—14 2 10 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 581. - The Argentine corn is handled in burlap bags containing from 130 to 135 pounds, in contrast to the corn from the United States, which is exported mainly in bulk. The most common method of discharg- ing cargoes at United States ports is to hoist with crane and tackle from 12 to 15 bags at a time and shift them to barges or lighters alongside the vessel, where the corn is inspected as the bags are opened. From 7 to 15 days are usually required to unload a cargo, depending largely on the condition and quantity of the corn and the weather. QUALITY AND CONDITION OF ARGENTINE CORN. Corn as grown in the Argentine consists almost exclusively of the hard, flinty varieties with medium to small kernels, mostly yellow in color. The character of the corn, having both small cobs and small kernels, results in a much lower moisture content in the Argen- tine shelled corn than is normally contained in the large dent varie- ties of the United States. As a result of the small size of the kernels, the Argentine corn can not carry, without increased danger of dete- rioration, as high a percentage of water as the larger dent corns of the United States. On the other hand, the hard and firm texture of the Argentine corn is such that it can be ‘^conditioned” to much better advantage than our dent corns. Duiing the summer of 1912, through the courtesies of the Corn Products Eeflning Co. and the grain-inspection department of the New York Produce Exchange, several cargoes of corn from the Argentine were examined at the time of discharge at the port of New York. The average results of mechanical analyses on 157 samples from four of the cargoes, representing a total of 638,000 bushels, are contained in Table 5. The data shown in this table represents new corn of the crop of 1912. Table 5. — Average qualltg and condition of four cargoes of Argentine corn, crop of 1912, os discharged at New York. Steamship. Date of arrival at New York. Days in transit. Number of samples taken. Bushels in cargo. Moisture content. Weight per bushel. Sound corn. DirL chaff, cob, etc. 1912 Per cent. Pounds. Per cent. Per cent. A Oct. 19 35 55 180,000 14.55 60.87 93.84 0. 10 B July 8 27 48 260, 000 14.80 60.10 95.28 .17 C Aug. 4 45 28 66, 000 17.02 57. 75 63.74 .28 D Aug. 5 34 26 132, 000 15. 43 60. 01 90.02 .17 Total 157 638,000 Average of 4 cargoes 15.10 60.05 90.50 .16 From Table 5 it will be seen that the average moisture content of the total 638,000 bushels was 15.1 per cent, the weight per bushel more than 60 pounds, the percentage of sound corn 90.5, and the dirt, chaff, cob, etc., approximately one-sixth of 1 per cent. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 11 During the months of December, 1913, and January, 1914, sam- ples to the number of 591 were secured from 16 different cargoes of Argentine corn as discharged at New York- and at Gulf ports. The average moisture content of these samples (old corn of the 1913 crop) was 13.7 per cent, or 6.6 per cent loss than the average mois- ture content of corn shipped from country stations in central Illinois durmg December, 1913, and January, 1914, the latter being new corn of the 1913 crop. From the standpoint of moisture content alone this represents a difference in value of approximately 5f cents per bushel, based on a New Y"ork price of about 70 cents per bushel, not giving consideration to the increased danger of deterioration of hie-h-moisture corn. While the average moisture content of the Argentine corn is low, a considerable quantity is damaged, musty, sour, and heating when discharged. This is evidenced by the fact that of the 591 samples previously referred to, the maxhnum mois- ture content was 41.6 per cent, the minimum being 9.2 per cent. Attention is also called to the distinctly inferior quality and con- dition of the corn from steamer C as shown in Table 15. This ship was tvdce delayed during transit as the result of accident, and some of the corn was iii the ship more than 60 days, and some of it had become sea damaged and ship damaged. Excluding three samples which showed a moisture content of 32.7, 34.8, and 37 per cent, the average for the cargo w^ould be 14.9 per cent. WEEVIL IN ARGENTINE CORN. A considerable quantity of Argentine corn is likewise infested with weevil. Samples of screenings from practically all of the cargoes have been submitted to Dr. F. II. Chittenden, in charge of Truck-Crop and Stored-Product Insect Investigations of the Bureau of Entomology, but no new species have been found. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. A w^ide diversity of opinion exists as to the chemical composition of Argentine corn as compared with the dent varieties of the United States. While the data available are not sufficient to justify the drawing of any deffiiite conclusions, the results of the chemical analyses of a limited number of samples of Argentine corn as dis- charged at New Y"ork indicate that the Argentine corn is superior, from the standpoint of chemical composition, to our dent corn as loaded for export at our Atlantic and Gulf poids, as showni in Table 6. Table 6 shows the average results of the chemical analyses of 98 sam- ples of Argentine corn, representing 4 cargoes v/ith a total of 638,000 bushels of the crop of 1912, as discharged at New York, together with the average of the analyses of 129 samples of North American corn, representmg two cargoes of the 1910 crop and two cargoes of the 1911 crop with a total of 910,146 bushels as loaded for export. 12 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 581. Table G. — Chem'cal composition of four cargoes of Argentine (lint corn as discharged at New York and of four cargoes of North American dent corn as loaded for export, calculated to a water-free basis d Item. Argentine corn crop of 1912 as imported at New York. North A merican corn crops of 1910 and 1911 as loaded for export. Ash Per cent. 1. 72 Per cent. 1.43 4. 07 9. 81 2.18 G. 19 Ether extract (oil) 5. 52 Protein 11. 01 Crude fiber 1.99 Pentosans G. 02 Invert sugar .30 .38 Sucrose 1. 08 1. 13 Acid calculated as acetic .33 . 28 Undetermined 72. 03 74. 53 1 Chemical analyses of the individual samples made by Cattle Food and Grain Laboratory of the Bureau cf Chemistry. From Tabic 6 it will be scon that the ether extract or oil was approximately 1.5 per cent greater in the Argentine corn than in the United States corn, while the protein was 1.2 per cent greater. In the consideration of these anai 3 "ses it is necessary to note that they represent commercial corn and are therefore not comparable with the analyses shown in textbooks, which are based on selected, hand- shelled samples. THE WORLD OATS CROP. By Charles M. Daugherty. The cultivation of oats on an extensive scale is an industry con- fined almost exclusively to the northern and central states of Europe, to the North Atlantic and North Central States of the United States, and to the Dominion of Canada. Of the 144 million acres which, as nearly as can be estimated, constitute the world’s oats area, upward of 85 per cent is in the above-named territory. Elsewhere than in Europe and North America the cereal is not extensively produced. No statistical account exists of its culture in Asia, excepting in Asiatic Kussia, where about 6 million acres a year are raised, and in Asiatic Turkey, where in 1910 about 300,000 acres were reported. In Africa, the crop flourishes only in Tunis, Algeria, and the Union of South Africa; in the two first-named colonies tlie total surface under this grain is only about a half mil- lion acres annually; in the last named, the census of 1911 returned an outturn of 9,661,000 bushels. In Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile, the only South American states that report crop acreages, the yearly sowuigs cover an extent of little more than 3 million acres. In fact, no country of the Southern Hemisphere figures pre- eminently as an oats grower; the area in the Australasian colonies even, where conditions might seem favorable to the development of THE AGRICULTUKAL OUTLOOK. 13 tlic iiidiistry, aggregates little more than a million acres. It is note- worthy, however, that lately its exploitation has attracted tmusiial attention in the Provhice of Buenos Aires, Argentma. Since 1908 seedings have ex])anded from less than a million to over 3 million acres; production, from 33 million bushels to 69 million m 1912 and to 116 million in 1913. As the grain is raised almost solely for ship- ment abroad, this smgle Province has suddenly taken rank secojid only to Russia as an exporter, 61 million bushels having been em- barked thence in 1912 and 59 niillion in 1913. Tlie distribution of the oat area of the two principal producing Continents is about 85 million acres annually in Europe, 38-^- million in thelhuted States, and lOJ million in Canada. In Europe tlie oats belt lies almost wholly in latitudes north of those of upper Hungary, farmers to the south as a whole paying little attention, compara- tivel}^, to the crop. Of the entire European acreage, over 75 million acres lie north of the parallels above referred to, while m the southern countries, i. e., Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Roumania, Bulgaria, Servia, and Turkey, an annual total of less than 8 million acres is sown. Causes contributing to the partial centralization of the industr}?" in north and central Europe are obvious. Summer oats, the prmcipal variety sown, is peculiarly adapted to the shorter seasons of warm weather characteristic of northern latitudes. From time immemorial the grain has been in the more northerly parts of that Continent the favorite cereal food for aiiimals, especially for horses. In addition to hay, barley, pulse, and the various root crops — swedes, turnips, mangolds, and potatoes — which are dug and fed there by millions of tons each year, oats has been, especially in whiter, an mdispensable article of provender. Increasing demand was a constant hnpulse to extension of native production. In mod- ern times the anunal ration has been modified, particularly in coun- tries bordering on the English Channel, by extraordmarily heawy imports of oil-cake (including oil-seeds from which cake is manu- factured), barley, locust beans, etc. Maize, though not so popular as an anunal food, especially for swine, as in the United States, is also imported in great volume. Oats, however, has retamed its tradi- tional rank as a stock food and the tendency in many countries has been toward an expansion rather than a contraction of its cidture. Moreover, the great European oat belt lies almost wholly m latitudes wRere maize wnll not mature, and hence the smaller gram occupies to some extent an economic position there as an indigenous live- stock food similar to that held by corn in the United States. Of the 85 million acres of oats in Europe, about 43 million are in Russia, 11 million in Germany, 10 million in France, 5 million in Austria, 4 million in the United Kingdom, 3 million in the Scandi- navian states — Sweden, Norw-ay, and Denmark — aud 1 million in 14 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 581. Belgium and Netherlands combined. Relative to other grain cultiva- tion, the crop in each of these countries presents features suggestive of dietary, economic, and commercial customs of the people. In the United Kingdom, Scandinavian states, and Austria a wider extent of land is devoted to oat cultivation than to any other cereal. The short growing season, the universal use of porridge as a breakfast dish in countries north of the English Channel, and the marked preference for the grain and straw as a food for some species of animals, have all contributed to give its culture a preeminent place in the agriculture of these countries. Production in the United Kingdom even then does not suffice for domestic needs. From 50 million to 60 million bushels a year are drawm from foreign sources. The French, the greatest consumers of wheat per capita in Europe, in efforts to make native supplies meet domestic requirements, devote a larger area to wheat than to any other cereal, with oats second. In each of the great rye-consuming nations, Germany and Netherlands, the surface annually under oats ranks next in breadth to that of their great bread grain. The premier oat-producing country of the world, howrever, is Russia; though the area is much less extensive than that of rye or wheat, it represents annually about half the entire European acreage under this cereal. The production, enormous in volume, is consumed for the most part by the native live stock, as is the case in most coun- tries. Annual exports during the past few years have ranged be- tween 58 million and 96 million bushels, consigned in the order of their importance as purchasers to the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Ger- many, France, and to other European countries. On the North American Continent oats, measured by the extent cultivated, is the third cereal in importance in the United States and the second in Canada. Tliough the acreage in the United States is not so extensive as that of the Russian Empire, the total yield is superior, thereby giving the Republic rank by a small margin as the leading producer of the world; the normal annual output of each country is upward of a billion 32-pound bushels. In late years the Canadian acreage has increased rapidly and is now^ almost equal to that of Germany; the increase, however, has been mostly in Saskatchewan and Alberta; in the Maritime Prov- inces and Manitoba the industry has made but moderate progness. Almost the entire North American crop is consumed on that conti- nent. Excepting expoi'ts of 33 million bushels in 1912 from the United States, the quantities annually shipped abroad have never exceeded from 1 to 2 million bushels and imports have been of like negligible proportions. The record exports from Canada were lOJ million bushels in 1912-13; imports are practically nil. In 1913 the so-called world’s crop amounted to 4,672 million bushels, over 53 million more than that of the preceding year and the THE AGEICULTURAL OUTLOOK, 15 largest ever harvested. In every producing country of noteworthy importance as a producer, yields were heavier than in 1912, except- ino; a fading off of near 300 million bushels in the United States. Table 7 gives the details of area and production for the past three years in all countries for which estimates are available. In making comparisons between certain countries it might be noted that in the case of a few — notably Austria, Denmark, France, Roumania, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand — production is stated in bushels of measure, for other countries in 32-pound bushels. As the measured bushel of oats — -particularly in northern Europe — weighs on an average 39 pounds, the crop of a country measured by that standard would not show its real magnitude when compared with that of another country estimated in bushels of 32 pounds. Original statis- tics, in units of weight, however, are not obtainable for all countries. Table 7. — Oat crop of countries named, 1911-1913. Country, Area. Production. 1911 1912 1913 1911 1912 1913 NORTH AMERICA. United States Canada: New Brunswick Quebec Ontario Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta Other Total Canada .... Mexico Total A ares. 37, 76;i, 000 A ores. 37,917,000 Acres. 38,399,000 Bushels. 922,298,000 Bushels. 1,418,337,000 Bushels. 1,121,768, 000 208,000 1.430.000 2. 800. 000 1.308.000 2. 333.000 1.221.000 325, 000 195.000 1.296. 000 2, 785, 000 1.348.000 2.556.000 1.461.000 325. 000 195.000 1.303.000 2.814.000 1.398. 000 2.755.000 1, 639, GOO 330. 000 5,986,000 37.500.000 84.860.000 60.037.000 107,594,000 59.034.000 10.168.000 5,607,000 33.516. 000 97.053. 000 57. 154.000 117,537,000 67. 630. 000 13. 132.000 5,946,000 39.025.000 105.159. 000 56.759.000 114.112.000 71.542.000 12. 126. 000 9, 631,000 9, 966,000 10,434,000 365, 179, 000 391,629, 000 404, 669, 000 (Q (e (9 17,000 17,000 17,000 1,287,494,000 1,809, 983,000 1,526, 454,000 SOUTH AMERICA. Argentina Chile Uruguay Total 1,980,000 58.000 29.000 2, 548,000 69.000 86.000 2, 946,000 (9 (9 47,192,000 1,861,000 590,000 69, 169,000 3.380.000 1.825.000 115, 879, 000 4.000. 000 2.000. 000 49, 643, 000 74,374,000 121,879, 000 EUROPE. Austria-Hungary : Austria Hungary proper Croatia-Slavonia T? Bosnia-Hcrzegovina Total Austria-Hun- gary Belgium Bulgaria Denmark Finland France Germany Italy Netherlands Norway Roumania 4. 641.000 2. 653.000 247.000 229.000 4.613.000 2.473.000 239. 000 203.000 4.707.000 2.866.000 256, 000 (9 135,143,000 89,656,000 5.554.000 5.405.000 146,376,000 76, 768,000 3.311.000 4. 766.000 160,091,000 96,634, 000 6.163.000 5.981.000 7,770,000 7,528,000 235,758,000 231,221,000 268,869,000 639.000 447.000 2 996,000 (1) 9.863.000 10,694,000 1. 270. 000 342.000 2 264,000 992.000 (1) (9 (’-) (9 9.840.000 10, 841,000 1.254.000 341.000 (9 943.000 (9 (9 (9 (9 9.881.000 10,967,000 1. 251. 000 342,000 (9 1.290.000 43.249.000 10.421.000 41.188.000 22. 642. 000 303.328.000 530. 764. 000 40.973.000 17. 724. 000 8,593,000 26.222.000 38,000,000 11.500.000 42.395.000 26.618.000 313.656.000 586.987.000 28.306.000 16.317.000 11.607.000 20.775.000 39.000. 000 12.000. 000 43.300.000 27.219.000 322. 131.000 669. 231. 000 43.469.000 29, 000.000 11.734.000 35. 138.000 1 No official statistics. 2 Area in 1907 (census). 16 FARMERS BULLETIN 581, Table 7. — Oat crop of countries named, 1911-1913 — Continued. Area. Production. 1911 1912 1913 1911 1912 1913 1 QROPE— continued. Russia: Russia proper Acres. 38,398,000 2. 894. 000 1.311.000 A eves. A cres. Bushels. 690, 753, 000 78. 465.000 23.681.000 1 Bushels. Bushels. Poland Northern Caucasia Total Russia (Ku- 42,603,000 145,785,000 147,512,000 792,899,000 972,111,000 11,169,490,000 259,000 1,268,000 1,952,000 262, 000 1, 279, 000 (2) (2) 1,351,000 (Q 5,050,000 33.858.000 63. 462. 000 5,477,000 23.035.000 75.900.000 6, 889, 000 25,333,000 86,000,(X)0 Spain Sweden United Kingdom: England 1.841.000 206, 000 964, 000 1.040.000 1,866,000 207. 000 956. 000 1,0-46, 000 1.772.000 202,000 938,000 1.049.000 74.119.000 7,087,000 36.751.000 59.207.000 68.431.000 7,040,000 .37,928,000 66. 867.000 70.387.000 6,981,000 37.148.000 66.610.000 A\ ales Scotland Ireland Total, United King- dom 4,051,000 4,075,000 3,961,000 177,164,000 180, 266, 000 181,126,000 Total 2,353,295,000 2,584,171,000 2, 960, 929, 000 ASIA. Cyprus (2) (2) (2) 466,000 419,000 500,000 Russia: Central Asia 1.024.000 3. 953. 000 2, 000 12.197.000 53.272.000 37, 000 Siberia Trans-Caucasia Tctal Russia (Asiatic) Total 4,979,000 (^^) 0) 65, 506, 000 95,473,000 C) 65,972,000 95,892,000 AFRICA. Algeria 434.000 148.000 (2) 476.000 124.000 0) 539, 000 (2) (2) 11,520, 000 4.650.000 9.661.000 12, .351, 000 2,067,000 * 9,661,000 17,973,000 4,1:34,000 4 9,661,000 'Tunis 1 Union of South Africa Total 1 2.5,831,000 24,079,000 31,768,000 AUSTRALASIA. Australia: Queensland :: 1 2,000 78,000 .393,000 78.000 62.000 64,000 1,000 71.000 302.000 108.000 84.000 51.000 4,000 (2) (2) 156,000 (2) 0) 52,000 1.756.000 10,005,000 1.172.000 801,000 2. 128.000 6,000 1.191.000 4.730.000 1.392.000 992,000 1,. 552, 000 85,000 (2) (2) 1.726,000 ' (2) 0) New South Wales Victoria South Australia Western Australia 'Tasmania Total Australia 677,000 617,000 874,000 15,914,000 9, 863, 000 16, 625, 000 New Zealand .303,000 404,000 387, 000 10,412,000 20,282,000 14,01:3,000 'fotal Australa‘:'Ia Grand total 980, 000 1,021,000 1,261,000 26,326,000 30,145,000 30,638,000 j 3,808,561,000 4,618,644,000 4,672,168,000 1 ' IncliKles Asiatic Rus.sia (10 Governments of). ^ Included in European Russia. 2 No official statistics. ^ Repetition of 1911 census figures. Table 8. — Total production of oats in countries named in Table 7, 1895-1913. Year. IToduction. Year. Production. Year. Production. Year. Production. 189.5 Bushels. 3.008.154.000 2.847.115.000 2.63.3.971.000 2. 903. 974. 000 3. 256. 256. 000 1900 Bushels. 3.166.002. 000 2. 862. 615. 000 3, 626, :30:3, 000 3,378,0.34,000 3.611.302.000 1905 Bushels. 3.510.167.000 3.544.961.000 3.603.898.000 3, .591, 012, 000 4.312.882.000 1910 Bushels. 4.182.410.000 3.808.561.000 4.618.644.000 4.672. 168.000 1896 1901. ... 1906 1911 1897 1902. .. 1907 1912 1898. 1903 1904 1908 1913 1899. 1909 THE AGEICULTUKAL OUTLOOK. 17 OATS FROM CANADA. By Frank Andrews. T]io increased importation of corn from Argentina has been accom- panied by an unusual importation of oats from Canada into the Ignited States. Relatively small consignments were received in July, August, and September, 1913, and with October a larger movement began. In that month the total imports of oats into the United States amounted to about 2,525,000 bushels, in November to 5,132,000, in December to 5,578,000, and in January, 1914, 2.959.000. All but a very small proportion of those imports was received from Canada, the amounts from other countries being but a few hundred busliels at the most in a month. The total imports during the four months ending January, 1914, amounted to over 16.000. 000 bushels, or more than the total imports during the seven years beginning July 1, 1906, and ending June 30, 1913. The in- creased importation followed a short harvest. The oat crop of the Ihiited States in 1913 was 297,000,000 bushels under the crop of 1912, which, however, was the largest on record, and from which nearly 34.000. 000 bushels were exported from the United States. In 1911 the short crop of 922,000,000 bushels was followed by an importa-' tion, chiefly from Canada, of 2,622,000 bushels. The crops, imports, and exports for a series of years are shown in Table 9. The average farm price of oats in the United States on December 1, 1913, was 39.2 cents, or 7.3 cents per bushel above the corresponding price December 1, 1912. For the month of December, 1913, the cash prices of contract oats at Chicago ranged from 37t cents to 40 J- cents per bushel and in the corresponding month of 1912, 311 to 33-J cents per bushel; the increase in price in December, 1913, was approxi- mately the same both on the farms of the United States and at Chi- cago, the increase being not far from 7 cents per bushel. In 1910, when the crop was about 5 per cent greater than that of 1913, the price at Chicago in December ranged from 31 to 321 cents per bushel for contract oats, or about the same as in 1912, and the average farm price for the United States December 1, 1910, was 34.4 cents, or 2.5 cents above 1912. The 1910 crop was not low enough to invite im- ports to any extent, the total receipts from foreign countries in the 12 months following July 1, 1910, being slightly over 107,000 bushels. In the following year, however, when production dropped below 1 billion bushels, the farm price on December 1 rose to 45 cents per bushel, or about one-thhd more than in the preceding year; and the Chicago prices were from 45f to 47f cents per bushel, while the imports in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1911, rose to 2,622,000 bushels, the high- est figure for 3 years. 32786°— Bull. 581—14 3 18 FAEMERS^ BULLETIN 581. It is apparent, therefore, that the short crop and tlie lar^e imports of oats for 1913 were not attended by a great increase of price in the United States. Table 9. — Production, exports, and imports of oats, for the United States, 1906 - 1913 . Year. I’roduction. Exports (domestic.)? 12 months liepinning July 1. Imports, 12 months beginning July 1. From Canada. From other countries. Total. 1906 Bushels. 964. 905.000 754. 443. 000 807.156.000 1.007.129.000 1.186.341.000 922. 298. 000 1.418.337.000 1.121.768.000 Bushels. 4,014, 042 1,158,622 1,510,230 1,685,474 2,044, 912 2,171,503 33,759,177 Bushels. 72, 707 273, 826 5,047, 636 946, 479 97,062 2, 609, 307 708, 033 Bushels. 1,845 90,481 1,619,353 88, 032 10, 256 13,050 15, 866 Bushels. 74,552 364,307 6, 606, 989 1,034,511 107,318 2,622,357 723,899 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 The oat crop of Canada in 1908-1912 averaged 328,000,000 bush- els a year, of which 2 per cent was exported. Hence the average yearly surplus of Canada was equal to only 0.6 of 1 per cent of the average crop of the United ^States. More than one-half of the Canadian production of 1908-1912 was harvested in the region extending from the crest of the Canadian Rocky Mountains to I lake Superior, and embraced in the Provinces of Alberta, Saskat- chewan, and Manitoba. The crops of the Province of Ontario also were large ones, usually exceeding those of any single province except Saskatchewan; hence, the principal oat-producing regions of Canada border on the United States from eastern New York to western Idaho, and are connected by convenient rail or water transportation with most of the leading grain markets of this country. OTHER WORLD CROPS. By Charles M. Daugherty. TRE WORLD BARLEY CROP. Barley has a remarkable adaptability to different environments. It is a favorite grain in a number of subtropical regions; is the sec- ond most important grain in Japan, and continues to hold its place in the countries of the ancient civilizations in western Asia and bordering the Mediterranean. Its cultivation in v/estern Asia is mentioned in very ancient writings, and a wild, tv/o-rowed barley is still found in Palestine that has been claimed to be the parent of the cultivated variety. Notwithstanding its apparent southern origin, it is grown more successfully than any other gram in extreme northern latitudes, being often the leading grain crop in such regions, THE AGRICULTUEAL OUTLOOK. 19 particularly in northern Europe and in Iceland. It grows also at very high elevations. Wliile barley is used largely for malting purposes, it forms the principal dependence for stock feed in northern regions not suitable for the growing of crops more generally appreciated as food for live stock. Its excellence for this purpose also assists to maintain its importance in the more southern latitudes. Similarly, its use as an important human food, which in ancient times was very general, still persists in Japan, in western Asia, and in north Africa, while in districts of the north of Europe, where climatic conditions are too rigorous for other cereal crops, barley becomes the main dependence for bread, as does rye in the less ex- treme northern latitudes. Its use elsewhere is general, but not large, being most commonly utilized in the form of ‘‘pearE’ barley for soups, etc. Though the production of barley in this country, excepting that gi^own in the Pacific Coast States, is at present important only in those States settled largely by farmers from the northern regions of Europe familiar with the cultivation of this grain in their former home lands, it is a crop suitable for a large portion of the country, including the Southern States. The production in the United States is increasing more rapidly than any of the other leading cereals. From 1870 to the banner cereal year 1912 it increased ninefold, against fourfold for oats, threefold for corn and wheat, and twofold for rye. The international trade in barley is nearly one-third as large as that in wheat, but is material only for a few countries, almost two- thirds of that exported coming from Russia, and considerably more than half of the total imports being taken by Germany. German imports in 1913 were close to 150 million bushels, and those into Great Britain over 50 million. Exports from both countries are insignificant. The N'etherlands imported over 40 million bushels, which, coupled with exports almost as great, show the movement to have been largely through, rather than merely into, that country. Belgium imported over 17 million bushels. Imports into other countries are of little moment. Russia’s contribution of about 177 million bushels to the inter- national trade, in 1913 was supplemented by exports of about 30 million from the Netherlands, 17 from Roumania, 14 from Canada, 12 from the United States, 12 from Hungary, and 10 from India, with relatively small exports from other countries. 20 FARMERS BULLETIN 581, Table 10. — Barley crop of countries named, 1911-1913. . I Area. 1 Troduction. Country. - - y [- - 1 1911 1912 1913 Acres. 7, 499, 000 1911 1912 1913 :i^ORTH AMERICA. United States Acres. 7, 627, 000 Acres. 7,530, 000 Bushels. 160, 240, 000 Bushels. 223,824,000 Bushels. 178, 189,000 Canada: New Brunswick 3,000 100, 000 520, 000 448.000 274. 000 164.000 13,000 3,000 94. 000 512. 000 481.000 292. 000 187. 000 13. 000 2,000 89. 000 485. 000 496. 000 332. 000 197. 000 12. 000 79, 000 2, 271,000 13, 722, 000 14,949,000 8,661,000 4, 356, 000 377,000 74, 000 2, 226, 000 15. 093. 000 15. 826. 000 9. 575. 000 6.179.000 405, 000 74,000 2.263.000 14.589.000 14.305.000 10. 421.000 6.334.000 333, 000 Quebec (Ontario Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta Other Total Canada 1,522, 000 1,582,000 1,613,000 44,415,000 49,378,000 48,319,000 Mexico (0 (Q (}) 6, 500, 000 6, 500, 000 7, 000, 000 Total 211,155,000 279, 702, 000 2.33,508,000 EUROPE. Austria-Hungary : Austria 2, 710, 000 2, 736, 000 158.000 180. 000 2,634,000 2, 603, 000 156. 000 220. 000 2. 699. 000 2. 866. 000 158, 000 (Q 69, 383, 000 73, 596, 000 2. 640. 000 2. 970. 000 74. 145.000 70. 140. 000 1.978.000 2. 857. 000 75.923.000 75.845.000 2.956.000 3.904.000 Ilungarv proper Croatia-Siavonia B osnia-Herzegov ina Total Austria-Hun- gary 5,784,000 5,613,000 148,589,000 119,120, 000 158, 628, 000 Belgium 83, 000 621,000 2 578, 000 (0 1,908,000 3, 917, 000 612, 000 69, 000 2 89, 000 1,253,000 84, 000 G) (Q (Q 1. 877. 000 3, 928, 000 604, 000 66, 000 (Q 1.235.000 84, 000 (0 (') (*) 1, S90, 000 4, 087, 000 620, 000 66, 000 (Q 1,390,000 4, 445, 000 12, 390, OOO 21,016, OCO 6,631,000 47.631.000 145, 132, 000 10, 882, 000 3, 416, 000 2, 550, 000 26. 157. 000 4. 316. 000 10, 000, 000 22, 872, two 6, 759, 000 49, 079, 000 159, 924, 000 8, 403, 000 3, 364, 000 3. 086. 000 21,295,000 4. 142. 000 10, 000, 000 23,000,000 6. 368. 000 48.370. 000 188, 709, 000 10. 803. 000 3. 296. 000 3. 202. 000 27. 339. 000 Bulgaria Denmark Finland France Germany Italy Netherlands Nonvav... . Roumania Russia: Russia proper 23,013,000 1,240,000 3, 836, 000 320, 959, 000 27, 938, 000 55, 296, 000 Boland Northern Cauca,sia Total Russia (Euro- Iiean) s 28, 089, 000 4 28, 873,000 431,197, 000 404, 193, 000 4 464, 200, 000 4 574,118, 000 Servia 255, 000 3, 567, 009 446, 000 257, 000 3, 298, 000 (0 (Q 3, 869, 000 (Q 4, 609, 000 86, 792, 000 13, 725, 000 4, 777, 000 59, 994, 000 13, 660, 000 3, 445, 000 68, 772, 000 17,000,000 Spain Sweden United Kingdom: E ngland 1, 337, 000 87,000 174, 000 158, 000 1, 365, 000 92,000 192, 000 165, 000 1, 470, 000 90, 000 198.000 173.000 43,378,000 2, 729, 000 6, 489, 000 7, 039, 000 42, 897, 000 2, 839, 000 7,117,000 7, 259, 000 49,337, 000 2, 788, 000 7. 598. 000 8. 004. 000 Wales Scotland Ireland Total United King- dom 1,756,000 1,8-14, 000 1,931,000 59, 695, 000 60,112,000 67, 727, 000 Total 937,853,000 i 1,040, 961,000 1,214,919,000 ASIA. British India... . 7, 840, 000 (■) (') (0 (') (Q (0 2, 229, 000 0) 2, 049, 000 (') 2, 100, 000 Cyprus Japanese Empire: Japan 3, 173, 000 3, 000 3, 132, 000 (Q 3, 296, 000 (') 86, 468, 000 46, 000 90, 559, 000 45, 000 101,073,000 46, 000 Formosa Total Japanese Em- pire 86, 514, 000 90,604, 000 101,119,000 1 No official statistics. 2 Area in 1907 (Census). 3 Exclusive of winter barley. < Includes Asiatic Russia (io Governments of). THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK 21 Table 10. — Barley crop of countries named, 1911-1913 — Continued. Couniry. Area. Production. 1911 1912 1913 1911 1912 1913 ASIA— continued. Russia: Central Asia Acres. 420.000 451.000 2, 000 Acres. Acres. Bieshcls. 5,694,000 4, 300, OCO 27, 000 Bushels. Bushels. Siberia Transcaucasia Total Russia( Asiatic)! . Total 873, 000 (9 (9 10,021,000 12, 263, OCO (9 98,764,000 104,916,000 103, 219,000 AFRICA. Algeria Tunis 3. 320. 000 1. 193. 000 (•') 3. 430. 000 1.119.000 (9 3, 152, 000 (d (9 47,588,000 13,319,660 1,359,000 32, 887, 000 3, 070, 000 4 1,359,000 50.031.000 6,400,000 4 1.359.000 Union of South Africa Total 62, 266, 000 37, 310, 000 57, 790, 000 AUSTRALASIA. Australia: Queensland 6,000 7.000 53. 000 34. 000 3.000 5.000 2,000 11,000 53. 000 41.000 4.000 6.000 9,000 (9 (•') 69,000 G) 86, 000 85.000 1,383,000 562.000 35. 000 147.000 16,000 133.000 1,057,000 725. 000 38, 000 153. 000 151,000 ^33,000 5 1,057,000 1,360,000 5 38,000 5 153,000 New South V/ales Victoria South Australia W estern Australia Tasmania Total Australia 108, OCO 117,000 2, 298, 000 2, 122, 000 2, 892, OOO New Zealand 34, 000 32, 000 37, 000 950,000 1,290,000 1,420,000 Total Australasia 142,000 149,000 3, 248, 000 3,418,000 4,312,000 Grand total 1,373, 286,000 1, 466,313,000 1,613, 748, 000 1 Exclusive of winter barley. ^ Fibres for 1911 repeated. 2 Included in European Russia. « Figures for 1912 repeated. 3 No official statistics. Table 11. — Total production of barley in countries named in Table 10, 1895-1913. Y'ear. Production. Year. Production. Year. Production. YYar. Production. 1895 Bushels. 915.504.000 932. 100.000 864.605.000 1,030,581,000 965, 720, 000 1900 Bushels. 959, 622, 000 1.072. 195.000 1.229.132. 000 1.235.786.000 1, 175, 784, 000 1905 Bushels. 1.180. 053.000 1, 296, 579, 060 1.271.237.000 1.274.897.000 1.458.263.000 1910 Bushels. 1.388. 734.000 1.373. 286.000 1.466.313.000 1, 613, 748, 000 1896 1901 1906 ... 1911 1897 1902 1907 1912 . . 1898 1903 1908 ... 1913 . . 1899 1904 1909 THE WORLD RYE CROP. The surface annually sown to rye in the w^orld amounts approxi- mately to 108 million acres; of this the heavy proportion of 95 per cent, or 103 million acres, is in Europe, the continent where the plant is believed to have originated. Native to the territory between the Black and Caspian Seas, its cultivation has expanded, partly because of an exceptional power of resistance to the damaging effects of rig- orous Vfinters, over large areas of central and northern Europe. In Bussia, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands the grain is grown over a broader extent of land than any other cereal, and to the great mass of the population of these countries the ^^black bread ’’ made 22 FARMERS BULLETIN 581, from rye flour is the chief article of food. Other States in the rye belt — Denmark, Sweden, and Norway — though cultivating oats more than any other grain, give second place to rye. Rye cakes, especially in Sweden, are the great staple of consumption. In the restriction of its culture on an important scale to a few European nations, rye is, among the great food grains, unique. In the countries mentioned above an aggregate of over 94 million acres are now sown annually, while in all other Europe the total area each year is less than 9 million. The cultivation on other continents is of small comparative importance. So far as statistics show, less than 3 million acres are grown in Asia, none in Africa, excepting about 20,000 acres in the Union of South Africa, only a few thousand acres in South America and Australia, and a total of less than 3 million acres in the United States and Canada. Table 12. — Rye crop of countries named, 1911-1913. Country. NORTH AMERICA. United States Canada : Quebec Ontario Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta Other Total Canada Mexico Total EUROPE. Austria-Hungary : Austria Hungary proper Croatia-Slavonia B osnia-H er zegovina Total Austria-Hun- gary Belgium Bulgaria Denmark.... Finland France Germany Italy Netherlands Norway Boumania Russia: Russia proper Poland Northern Cauca^jia Total Russia (Euro- pean) Area. Production. 1911 1912 1913 1911 1912 1913 A cres. 2, 127,000 A cres. 2,117,000 Acres. 2, 557,000 Bushels. 33,119,000 Bushels. 35, 664,000 Bushels. 41,381,000 13.000 97. 000 5.000 2.000 14.000 (Q 11,000 93. 000 5.000 3.000 15.000 (9 10,000 85.000 5.000 3.000 16.000 (9 200,000 1, 728, 000 104.000 61,000 394.000 5,000 173.000 1,711,000 105.000 57,000 377.000 5,000 156.000 1,567,000 103.000 68,000 398.000 8,000 131,000 127,000 119,000 2, 492, 000 2, 428,000 2,300,000 (2) (2) (9 70, 000 70,000 70,000 35,681,000 38, 162, 000 43,751,000 4.995.000 2.557.000 176,000 30,000 5.021.000 2. 660. 000 188, 000 41,000 4.853.000 2.677.000 167,000 (9 105,269,000 47, 782,000 2,541,000 379,000 119,620,000 49,000,000 1,350,000 450,000 109,099,000 52, 256, 000 2,553,000 666,000 7, 758, 000 7,910,000 1-55,971,000 170,420,000 164,574,000 648. 000 545. 000 3 682, 000 (^) 2, 902, 000 15, 161,000 302. 000 557. 000 3 37, 000 326. 000 (9 (9 (9 (9 2,969,000 15, 489, 000 305. 000 564.000 (9 265.000 (9 (9 (9 (9 2, 958, 000 15, 849,000 307. 000 562.000 (9 224.000 24.360.000 8.992.000 19. 286. 000 10. 153. 000 45. 894. 000 427,776.000 5, 297, 000 16.110.000 948, 000 4.989.000 21.342.000 10,000,000 18. 473. 000 12.344.000 48.890.000 456, 600, 000 5. 285. 000 16.094. 000 1.042.000 3. 583. 000 21.385.000 9, 000, 000 18.736.000 12.104. 000 52. 677. 000 481,169,000 5. 589. 000 15. 265.000 973, 000 3.711.000 65,058,000 5,258,000 520, 000 642,173,000 95,453,000 4,739,000 70, 836, 000 4 72,933,000 4 74,990,000 742, 365, 000 1,011,029,000 < 1,002,468,000 1 Less than 500 acres. 2 No official statistics. 3 Area in 1907 (census). 4 Includes Asiatic Russia. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK 23 Table 12. — Rye crop of countries named, 1911-1913 — Continued, Country. Area. Production. 1911 1912 1913 1911 1912 1913 EUEOPE— continued. Servia Acres. 123. 000 1,987,000 989. 000 55, 000 Acres. 123,000 1,944,000 0) 62,000 A cres. (*) 1,917, 000 (0 58, 000 Bushels. 1.711.000 28. 897. 000 23. 825. 000 1. 750. 000 Bushels. 1.748.000 18. 867. 000 23.323.000 1.500.000 Bushels. 1.378.000 27,916,000 22,000,000 1.750.000 Spain Sweden United Kingdom Total 1,518, 324,000 1,820,540,000 1, 840, 695, 000 ASIA. Russia: Central Asia 241,000 2,113,000 1,000 587,000 19, 086, 000 13, 000 Siberia Transcaucasia Total Russia (Asiatic) AUSTRALASIA. Australia: Queensland 2, 355, 000 (2) (9 19, 686, 000 32, 953, 000 (9 (“) (U (U 1,000 (9 (9 2, 000 59. 000 34, 000 8,000 6,000 24.000 2,000 50. 000 25, 000 10. 000 8,000 15, 000 New South \ v ales 4. 000 3.000 1.000 1,000 1,000 2, 000 1,000 1,000 26, 000 10, 000 7.000 3.000 13, 000 Victoria South Australia 'Western Australia Tasmania 2, 000 Total Australia 10,000 6,000 133, 000 59, 000 110,000 New Zealand 4, 000 6,000 (9 109, 000 90, 000 90, 000 Total Australasia i 14, 000 12, 000 242, 000 149,000 200, 000 Grand total j 1,573,933,000 1, 891, 804, 000 1,884,646, 000 1 No official statistics. s i^ess than 500 acres. 2 Included under European Russia. * No official statistics of area. Table 13. — Total production of rye in countries named in Table 12, 1895-1913. Year. Production. Year. Production. Year. Production. Year. Production. 1895 Bushels. 1. 468. 212. 000 1.499.250.000 1.300. 645.000 1.461.171.000 1.583.179. 000 1900... Bushels. 1.557.634.000 1.416.022.000 1.647. 845.000 1.659.961.000 1.742.112. 000 1905. Bushels. 1.495.751.000 1.433.395.000 1.538. 778.000 1.590.057.000 1.747.123.000 1910. Bushels. 1.673. 473.000 1.573.933.000 1.891.804.000 1.884. 646.000 1896 1901. ... 1906. 1911. 1897 1902 1907. 1912. 1898 1903 1908 1913 1899 1904 1909... . THE WORLD POTATO CROP. Table 14 gives as nearly as possible the area under potatoes through” out the world in 1910, 1911, and 1912, and the world’s production for the same years. The areas and production for 1913 are available for a few countries, but their total would not be comparable to the totals of the preceding years. The most striking fact exhibited in the table is the immense preponderance of Germany in the produc- tion of this crop. Out of a total of 5,945,846,000 bushels, the world’s crop of 1912, Germany produced 1,844,863,000 bushels, or 31 per cent. It is remarkable that the immense Kussian Empire, with 8,291,429 square miles, produced only about three-fourths the quantity of potatoes that Germ.any produced on her 208,780 square 24 FAKMERS^ BULLETIiiT 581. miles, while the United States, mth 3,026,789 square miles, produced not quite one-fourth the German crop, although the area under potatoes in the United States was nearly half the potato area of Germany, and the Kussian potato area exceeded that of Germany by nearly 3,000,000 acres. The explanation is to be found in the xact that only 28 per cent of the German potato crop is used for human consumption, while the rest is used in the arts and for stock food. For the last-named purpose nearly 42 per cent is used, show- ing that Germany, with a very limited area of pasture land, has to depend largely on garnered produce to feed her live stock. The steady increase of the German potato crop, with a practically sta- tionary acreage, shows the possibilities of intensive cultivation. By comparing the production of 1911 with that of 1912, for the principal countries, it is seen that the former was a lean year, the latter a fat year, representing an advance not only over 1911 but in most cases over earlier years, the German production of 1912 being the highest on record. The United Kingdom is an exception, its production in 1912 having been the lowest since 1908. Table li.—Acj'eage and 'production of potatoes, 1910-1912. Country. Area. Production. 1910 1911 1912 1910 1911 1912 NORTH AMERICA. TTnited States (contigu- ous) Acres. 3, 720,000 Acres. 3,619,000 Acres. 3,711,000 Bushels. 349,032,000 Bushels. 292,737,000 Bushels. 420,647,000 Canada: Prince Edward Island. . Nova Scotia 31,000 31.000 40. 000 125. 000 158.000 26.000 24.000 20.000 11,000 31,000 31.000 41.000 124. 000 157.000 26.000 30.000 24.000 15.000 33.000 32.000 43.000 116,000 158,000 27.000 31.000 27.000 17.000 4.203.000 3.582.000 5.228.000 15.548.000 17.295.000 2.860.000 2.917.000 2.340.000 1.631.000 5.581.000 5.641.000 8.826.000 15.763.000 16.043.000 5.490.000 5.510.000 4.606.000 3.778.000 6. 741.000 9.447. 000 7. 558. 000 15.945.000 22.090.000 6, 182; 000 6. 552. 000 5.775.000 3.995.000 New Brunswick Quebec Ontario Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta British Columbia Total Canada 466,000 479,000 484, 000 55,610,000 71.238,000 84,885.000 Mexico 0) (9 (9 (9 924, 000 1,, 542, 000 924,009 1,533,000 924,000 1,524,000 Newfoundland Total 407,108,000 366, 432, 000 507,980,000 SOUTH AMERICA. Argentina 127,000 53, 000 267,000 68,000 (9 66, 000 44.564,000 7,862,000 18,923,000 7,440,000 50,000,000 9,656,000 Chile Total 52,426,000 26,363,000 59,650,000 EUROPE. Austria-Hungary: Austria 3.069.000 1.508.000 193,000 97,000 3.108.000 2.666.000 190,000 49, 000 3,092.000 2, 059; 000 240, 000 62, 000 491.126.000 176.974.000 28,490,000 5, 048, 000 426.406.000 163.067.000 23,138.000 2, 329, 000 460.821.000 199.017.000 22,997,000 3, 472, 000 Hungary proper Croatia-Slavonia Bosnia-Herzegovina Total Austria-Hun- gary 4,867,000 6,013,000 6, 053, 000 701,638,000 614,940,000 686, 307, 000 Belgium (9 7,000 134,009 0) 387.000 8,000 134.000 (9 (9 (9 151,000 (9 104,719,000 432,000 30.517.000 17.386.000 100,934,000 511,000 29.523.000 22.691.000 100,000,000 500,000 28, 889, 000 23,488,000 Bulgaria Denmark Finland 1 No official statistics. THE AGRICULTUHAL OUTLOOK, 25 1\\BLE 14 . — Acreage and production of potatoes, 1910-1912 — Continued. ('ountry. Area. Production. 1910 1911 i 1912 1910 1911 1912 EUROPE— continued. . Acres. Acres. Acres. Bushels. Bushels. Bushels. France 3,823,000 3,853,000 3,863,000 313,189, 000 469, 386, 000 552,074,000 Germany 8,145,000 8, 207,000 8, 257, 000 1,597,174,000 1,263,024.000 1,844,863,000 (Jreece 0) (0 C) 331,000 331,000 551,000 Italy 702,000 712,000 712, 000 56,563,000 62,141,000 56,313,000 Luxemburg 30,000 30, 000 37,000 5,085,000 4, 692, 000 8, 683, 000 Malta 4,000 4,000 0) 654,000 834,000 2 834,000 Netherlands 401,000 411,000 426,000 88,377,000 103,468,000 121,878,000 N orway 102,000 102,000 102, 000 22,398,000 22,017,000 29, 825, 000 Eoumaiiia; Potatoes alone 25,000 30,000 30,000 3,847,000 4,240,000 3,748,000 Potatoes among corn. . . 50,000 61,000 60, 000 999,000 1,429,000 1,081,000 Total Iloumania 4,846,000 5,669,000 4,832, 000 Russia: Russia proper 8,059,000 8,166,000 C) 898,152,000 851,120,000 925,775,000 Poland 2,586,000 2, 606, 000 0) 400,234,000 278,309,000 411,281.000 Northern Caucasia 202, 000 203,000 0) 15,637,000 13,670,000 19, 768, 000 Total Russia (Euro- 10, 847,000 10,975,000 1,314,023,000 1.143,099, 000 1,356,824,000 Senna 28, 000 31,000 0) 3,110, 000 2, 154, 000 2, 1.54,000 Spain 798, 000 0) 632, 000 91,014,000 92, 000, 000 93, 089, 000 Sweden 377, 000 378, 000 G) 66, 855, 000 58, 391,000 65, 765, 000 Switzerland (Q G) 0) 46, 712, 000 2 46,712, 000 2 46,712,000 United Kingdom: England 377,000 403,000 437,000 92, 108, 000 99,858,000 78,961,000 Scotland 137, 000 143,000 150, 000 32, 790, 000 36, 407,000 35,041,000 Wales 20, 000 27, 000 26,000 4,915,000 6, 547, 000 4,704,000 Ireland 593, 000 591, 000 595,000 107, 178, 000 137,941,000 95, 077, 000 Total United King- dom 1,133,000 1,164,000 1, 208, 000 236, 991,000 280, 753, 000 213, 783, 000 Total 1 4,702,014,000 4,323,270,000 5,237,364,000 ASIA. I Japan ! 108,000 [ 169, 000 0) 24, 718, 000 25, 168, 000 60, 210, 000 Russian Asiatic 1 404,000 1 423,000 G) 29, 246, 000 32, 956, 000 58, 564, 000 T otal ! 1 53,964,000 58, 124, 000 1 118, 774,000 AFRICA. Algeria 43,000 45,000 1,687,000 1,606,000 1 , 606, 000 Union of South Africa: Cape of Good Hope C) (G G) 1, 283, 000 1, 283, 000 1,283,000 Natal 0) (G (G 627, 000 627,000 627, 000 TransA^aal. (Q 0) (*) 1,272,000 1, 272, 000 1, 272, 000 Orange Free State (Q 0) G) 618, 000 618, 000 618, 000 Total Union of South Africa ' ■ ■ 1 3,800, 000 33 , 800,000 3.3,800,000 Total 1 5, 487, 000 5, 406, 000 5, 406, 000 AUSTRALASIA. Australia: Queensland 8,000 8, 000 8,000 506, 000 584, 000 489, 000 New South Wales 36, 000 44, 000 43, 000 3, 739, 000 4,519,000 2, 806,000 Victoria 02, 000 63, 000 48, 000 6, 532,000 6, 097, 000 4, 446, 000 South Australia 8,000 8, 000 ' 7, 000 693,000 893,000 846, 000 Western Australia 2, 000 2,000 3,000 222, 000 219, 000 348, 000 Tasmania 21,000 26, 000 22,000 2, 758,000 2, 617, 000 2, 321, 000 Total Australia 137, 000 151, 000 131,000 14,450,000 14,929, 000 11,256,000 Nerv Zealand 31,000 29, 000 28, 000 6, 739,000 5, 283, 000 5,410, 000 Total Australasia 168, 000 180, 000 159, 000 21,189,000 20, 212, 000 16, 666, 000 Grand total 1 5, 242, 188, 000 4, 799, 807, 000 5,945,846,000 1 No official statistics. 2 Data for 1911. 2 Census figures for 1911. 3278G°— Bull. 581—14 4 26 FAEMEKS"' BULLETIN 581. THE WORLD FLAX CROP. Previous to the invention of the cotton gin, the flax plant was the chief source 'of raw material for the textile industries and for the spinning and weaving handicrafts that were an essential feature of every household. Excepting in Europe, its culture for fiber during the subsequent century practically ceased, and an extensive industry — confined almost exclusively to certain parts of the United States, Canada, Argentina, and British India — has been developed in the cultivation of the plant for its seed, the straw with a few unimportant exceptions being treated as a cumbersome waste. The seed is utilized almost entirely for the extraction of linseed oil, valuable because of its exceptional drying properties, in the manufacture of paint, linoleum, patent leather, printer’s ink, and soap; the residue, linseed oilcake, because of its high nitrogenous content, is one of the most valuable of cattle feeds. Modern flax culture therefore serves two important purposes; of the 19 million acres which approximately represent the total area sown in the world, upward of 5 million acres (of v^hicli million acres are in Kussia) are devoted primarily to the production of fiber; the remaining 14 million acres are cultivated almost exclusively for the seed. Cultivation differs somewhat according to the purpose for which the product is designed. In fiber production the sowing of from 2 to 3 bushels of seed per acre, and the careful pulling and handling of the straw b}^ hand, has for its chief object long straight and silky fiber; the yield of seed, partly because the plant is usually cut a little before maturity, is generally small. The seed, however, constitutes a product of valuable secondary importance, especially in Russia, where the enormous acreage, even with a small yield per acre, gives the country rank as one of the largest producers. In other fiber- producing countries the saving of the seed is of minor importance and in Ii eiaiid it is neglected altogether. In the culture of flax for seed, on the other hand, the common cus- tom is to sow only from 2 to 3 pecks per acre. The result is a short straw and a coarse fiber, and the effect of the subsequent thrashing of the seed by machinery is to destroy whatever value the straw may have had for textile purposes. In no country where flax is grown exclusively for the seed does the straw to any great extent serve manufacturing uses; probably the most successful example is the manufacture in a small way of binder tvdne, though many efforts have been made to use it for paper stock and some other purposes. In this connection it may be of interest to note that, after the close of the Civil War, when flax growing for seed in the United States was largely concentrated in southern Ohio, quite an extensive industry sprang up there in the manufacture of cotton bagging from the THE AGPJCULTURAL OUTLOOK. 27 coarse fiber obtained from the straw, an otherwise valueless product. The removal of the customs duty on the competing product, jute, together with other causes, soon aimihilated the industry. Flaxseed cultivation in its migratory movement northwestward to its present center in the Dakotas and western Canada has since increased in mammoth proportions, but the industry of utilizing the fiber in the manufacture of cotton bagging has never been resumed. Of the four countries which produce flax for the seed alone, i^rgen- tina in the winter of 1913-14 produced, according to the preliminary estimate of the Argentine Department of Agriculture, 38,974,000 bushels from 2,614,000 acres. Canada’s crop in the fall of 1913 was 17,539,000 bushels from 1,552,800 acres; the 1913 crop of the United States was 17,583,000 bushels from 2,291,000 acres, and that har- vested in British India in the spring of 1913 was 21,428,000 bushels. The total 1913 product of the four countries which, excepting the crop of Russia, constitutes the commercial crop of the world, was almost 96 million bushels, as compared with 102 million bushels in the previous year. Table 15 is a detailed statement of the area and pro- duction of flaxseed and flax fiber for the years 1912, 1911, and 1910 for all countries for which figures are available. Table 15. — Flax crop of couidries named ^ 1910-1912. 28 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 581. THE AGEICULTURAL OUTLOOK, 29 CO o Tf* ^ vT) GO O ^ O 05 o o o o o o o o o (>ro (>r o o 88 o o o 8 _^S 8 o"' iri CQ X 05 (N > o o ?S 8 o o o o o o coo o o o coo o o o o o o coo oT o o o o o o o o o ft D"© o J'§ ^ OJ ^ CQCOt S-c ^ •S §ft s g^ocCiE-i 3 .s ^ 30 FAEMERS' BULLETIN 581. Table 16 , — Total production of fax (seed and fiber) in countries named in Table 15, 1S96-1912. Year. Production. Year. Production. Seed. • Fiber. Seed. Fiber. 1896 Bushels. 82.684.000 57. 596.000 72.938.000 66.347.000 62.131.000 72.314.000 83. 891.000 110.455. 000 107. 743. 000 Pounds. 1.714.205. 000 1.498.054.000 I 1.780.693.000 1.138.763.000 1 1.315.931.000 1.050.260.000 1.564.840.000 1.492.383.000 1.517.922. 000 1905 Bushels. 100. 458. 000 88. 165. 000 102. 960. 000 100. 850. 000 1(X), 820, 000 85. 053.000 101.118.000 126, 260,000 Pounds. 1.494.229.000 1.871.723.000 2. 042. 390. 000 1, 907, .591, 000 1.384.524.000 891,112,000 1.284.607.000 1897 1906 1898 1907 1899 1908 1900 1909. 1901 1910 1902 1911 1903 1912 1904 ARGENTINE BEEF. By George K. Holmes. MOST PROMINENT NEW SUPPLY. Chilled and frozen beef is coming from Argentina at a rate of 9,000,000 pounds monthly, and the importations are exciting con- jectures concerning their importance in the supply of dressed beef for consumption in the United States. In October last this country received from Argentina 2,069,794 pounds of chiUed and frozen beef; in November, 3,988,898 pounds; in December, 9,440,488 pounds; in January, 8,935,797 pounds; or, in the four months, a total of 24,434,977 pounds. Argentina, however, contributed 58 per cent to the total imports of chilled and frozen beef during the four months, the remainder coming from Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay, Canada, and Mexico. Argentina is far in the lead as a source of imports of dressed beef into this country, and has future possibilities of enormous increase, and therefore an examination of the factors of the situation is timely. RISE OF THE ARGENTINE EXPORT TRADE. Many years ago Argentina established an export trade in salted beef, at a time before fresh beef was preserved b}^ freezing or chilling, and years ago also live cattle were exported, chiefly to England. In the course of time Argentine cattle became infected with the foot and mouth disease, and the British Government, to protect home cattle, prohibited the importation of live cattle from Argentina. Argentina, however, had become too important a source of fresh beef to the United Kingdom to be lost, and consequently British and other companies established slaughtering and freezing works in Argentina and exported the frozen beef, mostly to England. A revolutionary element v/as introduced into the Argentine ex- portation of frozen beef by the diminishing per capita supply of beef in the United States, which rapidly led to the extinction of the ex- port trade of this country in refrigerated beef. This beef had mostly THE AGEICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 31 gone to the United Kingdom. Four of the great slaughtering com- panies of Chicago and other cities bought or built slaughtering and chilling or freezing establishments in Argentina and speedily domi- nated the business of slaughtering beef animals there for export. In 1911 the seven freezing companies then operating in Argen- tina made a combine limiting in a certain degree the exportation of chilled and frozen beef. In April, 1913, one of these companies, which in the meantime had passed into the control of a Chicago com- pany, expressed a desire to increase its shipments because of the in- creased capacity of its works, but this proposition was not agreed to by the other companies and the agreement of 1911 was not renewed. Of the seven companies, two were Argentine, three English, and tv/o, although registered as Argentine companies, belonged to Chicago companies. At the present time there are nine establishments for slaughtering, chilling or freezing, and exporting beef, located in or near Buenos Aires, and five of these companies are owned or operated by Chicago slaughtering and packing houses. These five do by far the major portion of the entire business. NUMBER OF CATTLE IN ARGENTINA. In a census taken in Argentina in 1888 it was ascertained that there were 21,961,657 cattle in that country, and that of these cattle 17,574,572 were natives, 3,388,801 were grades, and only 37,858 were purebreds and crossbreds. Not included in the foregoing classes were 960,426 milch cows and work oxen. By the time of the national census of 1895 the number of cattle in Ai’gentina had slightly declined, and the total was 21,701,526. The native cattle had absolutely and relatively declined very considerably and the grades and purebreds had increased correspondingly. In 1908 there was a live-stock census which ascertained that the number of cattle in Argentma was 29,116,625; this number was larger than for any year either subsequently or before. The improve- ment in the beef qualities of the cattle continued, and the census found 10,785,280 natives, or only about one-third of the total number of the cattle; it found 14,027,207 grades, or nearly one-half of the total number of cattle; and it found also 918,749 pure breds and crossbreds. The improvement of Argentine beef cattle has been speedily and intelligently performed. Argentine cattle owners have been the readiest and best buyers of the British pure-bred beef cattle, and have bought them in large numbers. So rapidly have the Argentine cattle herds been improved in beef qualities in recent 3^ears that the}'* are now producing export beef that is not excelled by that of an}' other country at present exporting in large quantities. 32 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 581. In consequence of drought, the estimated number of cattle in Argentina, December 31, 1909, was 27,824,509, a reduction of 1,300,000 cattle from the number of 1908. There was some recovery in 1910, for which year the estimate was 28,827,900, and the cattle hardly maintained their numbers in 1911, for which year the esti- mate was 28,786,168. The last estimate received in this country is that of December 31, 1912, which gave to Argentina 29,016,000 cattle, a number slightly under that of the census of May 30, 1908. The figures may be found in Table 1 7, and an analysis of the cattle of 1908, as determined by the census, with distinction of breed, sex, and age, by groups, may be found in Table 18. Table 17. — Numher of caille in Argentina, 1888-1912. Classes. 1888. (Census. )i 1895. (Census, May 10. )2 1908. (Census, May 30. )3 1909. (Estimate, Dec. 31. )‘ 1910. (Estimate, Dec. 31. 1911. (Estimate, Dec. 31. )a 1912. (Estimate, Dec. 31. )6 Cattle; Natives 17, 574,. 572 3, 388, 801 37, 858 1 960,426 14,197,159 4, 678, 348 72, 216 /1, 800, 799 \ 953,004 10, 785, 280 14, 027, 207 918, 749 2, 163, 900 1,221,489 i Grades 1 1 Purebreds and cross- breds i !Milcli cows Work oxen 1 Total j I ! 21,961,657 j21,701,526 29, 116, 625 27,824,509 j28,827,900 28, 786, 168 29,016,000 1 The Animal Industry of Argentina, by Frank W. Bicknell, Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. Depart- ment of Agriculture, Bui. 48, p. 57. 2 Segundo Censo de la Republica Argentina, 1S95, vol. 3, pp. 200, 204. s Agricultural and Pastoral Census of the Nation, 1908. Stock-breeding, vol. I, pp. 202, 310. 4 La Argentina Agricola, 1911-1912, p. 105. & Bolotin Mensuel de Estadistica Agricola, December, 1912, p. 14. 6 Boletin Mensuel de Estadistica Agricola, May, 1913, p. G. Table J8. — Numher of cattle in Argentina distinguished by breed, sex, and age groups, census of May 30, 1908. Classes. Total. Calves, male. Calves, female. BuUs. Steers. Cows for breeding. Milch cows. Work oxen. Natives 13,071,282 15, 060, 446 112,786 872, 111 1,668,165 2, 009, 691 13,241 120,346 1,510,930 1, 881,339 12, 434 106, 709 517,562 276,052 15, 424 77,412 1,533,655 3, 027,143 15, 189 111,040 5, 554, 968 6, 832, 982 50, 132 387, 822 1,2.36,621 866, 579 5,504 55, 196 1,049, 381 166, 660 862 4,586 Grades Purebreds Crosshrefls . Total 1 29,116, 625 3, 820, 443 3,511,412 886, 450 4,687,027 12,825,904 2,163,900 1, 221, 489 CONDITION OF THE CATTLE-PRODUCING INDUSTRY. The conditions under which beef cattle are kept and the essential facts relating to the beef-animal producing industry have been under obs(‘rvation by three noted experts of this country, one of them as special agent of the Tariff Board in 1911. The Argentine beef, both for home consumption and for export, is not corn fed. Part of it is the ])roduct of native pastures, but the best of it is fed on alfalfa. In the Province of Buenos Aires, reports the special agent of the Tariff Board, “the land is worth too much money on the market to be profitable with cattle or sheep grazing. The summer droughts THE AGIHCULTURAL OUTLOOK. 33 make it hard to grow cultivated grasses. Alfalfa is a success in every })art of the country.” “Agriculture is coming in rapidly and lands are constantly being subdivided into farms. Never, so far as was noted, do the farmers keep live stock on their farms more than the animals needed for work, or perhaps some cows for dairy use, or a few sheep bought for food to be killed off one at a time as needed.” One-third of the cattle of the Republic are in this Province. Ranchmen very often lease lands to the farmers or colonists, usually for wheat growing. This withdraws the land from stock growing for three to five years, when it is sown to alfalfa and returned to stock again, while the colonist moves on to develop another piece of land from wildness to wheat and to leave it later in turn to alfalfa. The Province of Entre Rios,” says the special agent, “is fully occu- pied and fully stocked with sheep and cattle. It is a land where peren- nial grasses are not much seen, and those found are of hard, coarse kinds, of little use. The nutritious grasses are mostly annuals, and annual clovers abound. The Province is going rapidly to agriculture.” Concerning the Province of Corrientes, the special agent writes that “it is a great cattle country, but many of the herds are of the unimproved native stocks, with wide horns and huge bony frames. They go to the salting works at about five or six years of age. Good cattle thrive in southern Corrientes and some day doubtless will over all of the Province.” “There is no probability of much immediate development of the live-stock industry” in the Province of Chaco. In the Province of Santa Fe “the number of cattle, now 2,639,480, will increase, no doubt, ov/ing to the laying down of lands to alfalfa.” “In Pampa Central the 5,000,000 sheep are decreasing, due to the coming in of agriculture. Cattle, on the other hand, are likely to increase, as it is a great alfalfa-growing region.” In summing up the results of his observations in Argentina, the special agent of the Tariff Board states that in his opinion “there is no doubt that sheep breeding in Argentina has passed its meridian and is now on the decline. This is because of the large immigra- tion to Argentina and the continually laying down of lands to agriculture.” “Contrasting cattle breeding with sheep breeding, the production of good cattle on alfalfa will no doubt increase in Argen- tina as time goes on, especially if prices for beef remain good. It is probably the most marvelous place for cattle breeding in the world. This is especially true of the regions where alfalfa is grown. In Argentina cattle seem to bloat very little on alfalfa pasture. They run in thousands on the alfalfa pastures, which are perennial, and in winter eat alfalfa hay from ricks piled up for them, without men taking the trouble, as a rule, to take it out for them.” 34 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 581. It is important to remember, however, that the great defect in Argentina is the weather, which is most uncertain, llains may come at any time of the year or they may not come at all. Some- times a region will be without much, if any, rain for one, two, or three years. The rainfall in normal years is just sufficient for the grasses and crops. In exceedingly rare seasons it is excessive. Per- haps in half the years it is too light. One year in seven, more or less, it is withheld. In 1830 nearly all the cattle, horses, and sheep of Argentina perished for want of water, ^ffiut no doubt the losses were much more severe than they could be to-day, for wells and windmills abound on every hand.’’ SLAUGHTER OF COWS. STEERS, AND CALVES. Estimates of the slaughter of cows, steers, and calves in Argentina have been compiled from trustworthy sources, with results that may be found in Table 19. There are three classes of slaughtering estab- lishments, namely, the chilhng and freezing estabhshments of the exporters, the salting establishments, and the public slaughter- houses, which slaughter for domestic consumption. Although the total number of cattle in the Kepublic declined after 1908, and had not recovered the decrease by the end of 1912, it will be observed in this table that the cows slaughtered in the public slaughterhouses increased from 382,114 in 1908 to 948,088 in 1912; that the slaughtered steers increased from 445,487 in 1908 to 605,296 in 1912; and that the slaughtered calves increased from 194,774 in 1908 to 316,878 in 1911, the number for 1912 not being obtainable. In the salting estabhshments also the slaughter of cows and steers increased in large degree from 1908 to 1912. There is Httle or no calf slaughtering in these establishments. As might be expected, the increase of slaughter in the chilling and freezing estabhshments has been enormous. For cows, the increase was from 16,452 in 1908 to 122,929 in 1912; for steers, the increase was from 709,498 in 1908 to 1,245,091 in 1912; and for calves, the increase was from 7,835 in 1908 to 18,626 in 1912. Upon consohdating the slaughter of the three classes of estabhsh- ments it appears that the slaughtered cows increased from 426,321 in 1908 to 1,155,985 in 1912, or 171 per cent; the slaughtered steers increased from 1,375,406 in 1908 to 2,225,497 in 1912, or 62 per cent; and the slaughtered calves increased from 202,609 in 1908 to 340,158 in 1911, or 68 per cent. To show how the increased slaughter has counted against the restoration of the number of cattle of 1908, the percentage of increase of slaughter in the two years 1911 and 1912 over that of the two years 1909 and 1910, when the number of cattle was considerably diminished below the number of 1908 on account of drought, has been computed. The slaughter of cows increased 79 per cent, of steers 36 per cent, and of calves (to 1911 only) 29 per cent. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 35 Very evidently, future increase in the supply of beef from Argen- tina must depend on a slaughter that is below the natural increase of the herds. The report of the slaughter for 1913 has not been received, but it is a matter of general knowledge in Argentina that cow slaughter was overdone during the year; and, if so, this over- slaughter of breeding stock has postponed to that extent an increase of beef production out of the natural increase ot the herds. Table 19. — Number of cattle slaughtered in Argentina in chilling and freezing, salting, and public slaughterhouses, 1904-1912. [1904-1911 from La Argentina Agricola, 1911-1912; 1912 from Memoria presentada al Congreso de la Nacidn por el Ministro de Agricnltnra, Dr. Adolf Mugica, 1912.] Year. Total. Chilling and freezing establishments. Cows. Steers. Calves. Cows. Steers. Calves. 1904 359, 367 283, 437 305,279 0) 426,321 564, 023 799, 680 1, 278, 328 1, 155, 985 988, 811 1,290,767 1,280,309 (1) 1, 375, 406 1, 487, 507 1,584,495 1,952,053 2, 225, 497 108, 454 106, 697 119,960 (') 202, 609 224, 622 301, 095 340, 158 (2) 1,476 2,527 954 0) 16, 452 39, 935 108, 338 150, 245 122, 929 306, 352 517,036 563,517 6) 709, 498 758, 782 852, 150 1, 094, 906 1, 245, 091 1905 1906 1907 (U 7,835 9,989 12,917 23, 280 18, 626 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 Year. Salting establishments. Public slaughterhouses. Cows. Steers. Calves. Cows. Steers. Calves. 1904 22, 781 28, 329 39,975 (U 27,755 53,515 114,381 86; 871 84, 968 212, 959 304, 930 245, 103 6) 220, 421 287, 981 318, 757 300, 741 315, no 335, no 252,581 264,350 382, 414 382, 114 470, 573 576,961 1,041,212 948, 088 469,500 468, 801 471,689 452, 780 445, 487 440, 744 413,588 556, 406 665, 296 108, 454 106, 697 119, 960 151, 955 194, 774 214, 633 286, 060 316,878 (1) 1905 1906 1907 b) 1908 1909 1910 2,118 1911 1912 1 Number omitted from sources of information. 2 Data incomplete. EXPORTS OF MEAT ANIMALS AND PACKING-HOUSE PRODUCTS. A full statement of the exports of meat animals and packing-house products from Argentina has been compiled for each year from 1895 to 1912, with results that may be found in Table 20. The exports of chilled beef did not begin until 1908, when 13,783,159 pounds were exported. The amount increased to 55,624,263 pounds in 1912, and to a much higher quantity in 1913. Argentine chilled beef is rapidly displacing Argentine frozen beef in the British market, a change promoted by the Chicago interests that have become pre- dominant in the Argentine chilling and freezing establishments. The frozen beef exported from Argentina in 1895 weighed 3,498,870 pounds, in 1908 it weighed 384,841,590 pounds, and in 1912 it weighed 700,225,052 pounds. The exports of chilled and frozen beef increased 90 per cent from 1908 to 1912. 36 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 581. The exported live cattle numbered 408,126 in 1895, and lias not since been equaled in any one year. The number fell to as low a figure as 60,916 in 1908, and the largest number since 1905 was reached in 1912, when it was 261,416. Prohibition of imports into the United Kingdom, on account of foot-and-mouth disease in Argentina, account for the great decline in exports of cattle. The jerked-beef trade was at one time very large and the cx]:)orts amounted to 121,450,000 pounds in 1895. In 1912 the exports of this beef had dwindled to 19,453,390 pounds. The frozen-mutton trade reached its height in 1904, when 195,365,000 pounds were exported. Fluctuations mark the exports of subsequent years, and in 1912 the exports were 154,707,805 pounds. Argentina’s exports of live meat animals and of packing-house products may be consolidated into a total if expressed in value. For 1895 the combined values amounted to $18,746,218; in 1908 the amount was $37,912,228; and in 1912 it was $67,252,319. A study of Table 20 discovers that foreign inducements to increase the exports of chilled and frozen beef have met with large responses from Argentina, so large indeed in the most recent years that this trade is retarding the natural increase of herds, if not almost preventing it. The cause of retardation next back of this is the cessation of the exports of chilled beef from the United States, Vvdiich has thrown upon Argentma the principal portion of the task of continuing the export supply to the United Kingdom and other countries. The imports of dressed beef from Argentina into the United Kingdom are increasing, yet they were a diminishing fraction of the total during the past three years. They were 83 per cent of the total in 1911, 82 per cent in 1912, and 78 per cent in 1913. Table 20 . — Exports of meat animals and paching-house products from Argentina, 1895- 1912. Total value, all articles named. Live meat anim-als. Year. Total value. j Cattle. Sheep. 1 1 j Swine. Dollars. Dollars. Number. Dollars. Number. Dollars. Number. Dollars. lS9o 18, 746,218 8, 064, 703 408, 126 6, 758, 117 429, 949 1, 247, 103 5, 572 59, 483 189(5 17, 280,712 7, 800, 538 382, 539 6,314,526 512, 061 1, 482, 403 374 3, 609 1897 14, 534, 644 6, 310, 204 238, 121 4, 842, 584 504, 255 1, 460, 047 666 7, 573 1898 18, 019,144 9, 103, 268 359, 296 7, 421, 284 577, 899 1,673,487 587 8, 497 1899 16, 301,677 8, 185, 623 312, 150 6, 585,170 543, 462 1, 573, 964 1,830 26, 489 1900 16, 702, 051 4, 123, 855 150, 550 3, 549, 415 198, 102 573, 861 40 579 1901 19, 205, 726 1,990,197 119, 189 1,911,059 25, 749 75, 519 250 3,619 1902 26,412,782 3,112,473 118, 303 2, 748, 749 122, 503 355, 763 532 7, 961 1903 26, 759, 552 4, 768, 520 181,860 4, 282, no 167, 747 485, 628 54 782 1904 26, 051, 906 2,836,269 129, 275 2, 752, 971 28, 128 82, 241 73 1,057 190.5 38, 613, 362 5, 332, 703 262, 681 4, 979, 866 120, 166 351,462 95 1,375 190(5 29, 988, 482 1,922,510 71,106 1, 617, 480 102, 916 304, 321 49 709 1907 32, 485, 349 2,310,413 74, 841 1, 990, 206 no, 567 320, 091 4 116 1908 37, 912, 228 2,112,362 60, 916 1,811, 131 103, 792 300, 478 26 753 1909 1910 53, 220, 701 65, 913, 927 4, 202, 302 4, 137, 910 8, 236, 160 132, 450 89, 733 3, 944, 746 3, 914, 474 7, 915, 654 88, 636 77, 180 256, 601 223, 436 320, 448 33 955 1911 184, 112 110,690 2 58 1912 67, 252, 319 9,124,118 261, 416 8,820,177 104, 898 303, 680 9 261 Including some goats. THE AGEICULTUEAL OUTLOOK, 37 Table 20. — Exports of meat animals and pacl'ing-house products from Argentina, 1895- 1912 — Continued. Packing-house products. Year. 1895 . . 1896.. 1897. . 1898. . 1899. . 1900. . 1901 . . 1902. . 1903. . 1904. . 1905. . 1906.. 1907. . 1908. . 1900. . 1910. . 1911. . 1012 . . Total. Dollars. 10,681,515 9, 480,174 8, 224, 440 8,915,876 8,176,054 12,578,196 17,215,529 23,300,309 21,991,032 23, 215,637 33, 280, 659 2,8,065,972 30,174,936 35,799,866 41.338. 767 49, 082, 791 57.677.767 58, 128, 201 Beef, frozen. Beef, chilled. Beef, jerked. Povnds. 3, 498, 870 6, 606, 278 9, 350, 000 12.935.000 20.016.000 54.212.000 98.996.000 154.363.000 179. 721.000 215.489.000 336,988,542 339,087,321 304,724,221 384,841,590 461, 720, 401 540, 715,628 6,56,393,195 00,225,052 Dollars. 61,260 115,668, 163, 706' 226, 467 350, 431 2, 372, 894 4,333,281 6, 756, 769 7,866 ‘ ‘ 9, 432, 252 14, 750, 694 14,842,566 13, 338, 386 16,845,293 20,210,525 23,668,248 28, 731,709 30,650, 28 j Pounds. Dollars. 1 1 1 1 1 13, 783, 159 2, 694,021 IS, 609, 029 33,280,642 55,624,263 603, 300 117, 921 811,588 1,456, 768 2,434,812 Pounds. 121.450.000 101.208.000 79.891.000 49. 035.000 42. 249. 000 36.264.000 53.563.000 49.172. 000 28.640. 000 25.851.000 55,749,925 10.251.390 23, 476, 785 14,661,681 25,622,886 20, 816, 823 26, 720,519 19.453.390 Dollars. 4,077,529 3,104,927 2, 379, 992 2, 042, 392 1,967,069 1,910,272 2, 778.674 2,554,789 1,488,047 1,343,213 3,607,598 575, 760 1, 136, 824 745,770 1,278,676 996,864 1,603, 458 1,351,722 Blood, dried. Pounds. 3.086.000 2. 701 . 000 2.370.000 1.806.000 933,000 797,451 2, 209, 935 2. 039. 000 3.027.000 2.557.000 6,981,968 7, 140, 699 7, 200, 224 9,689,217 9, 444,506 10.831,200 14', 175,578 13,333,421 Dollars. 67,541 59, 115 51,859 39,520 20, 427 17, 453 48, 366 44, 652 66, 243 55,953 152, 799 156, 285 157,565 212,055 206,699 237,069 310, 248 291, 834 Packing-house products— Continued. Year. 1895. 1896. 1897. 1898. 1899. 1900. 1901. 1902. 1903. 1904. 1905. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1910. 1911. 1912. Bones. Tons. 43,565 20,093 40,201 34, 943 20, 658 25,030 27,068 34, 505 31,002 25 , 036 ! '60,185,5801 51,814, 7141 '54, 643, 216’ j57, 537,855' 57,811,226 i65,011,449 90,020,432 159, 678, 5221 Dollars. 477, 875 183,976 399, 239 445,078 257,385 337,068 306, 593 329, 771 284, 438 243, 418 964, 890 826, 200 1,070,608 1,356,869 1,293,331 1,397,946 2, 364,213 914,275 Cracklings, j Hoofs. Horns. Intestines, salted and dried. Pounds. Dollars} Pounds. Dollars. Tons. Dollars. Pounds. Dollars. 1,524,963 30,038 1,336,151 8, 773 2,514 123, 236 991,028 21,120 1,533,491 30,205; 1, 154, 671 7,581 1,951 95, 626 966, 098 20,527 1,555,315 30, 636' 1,424,812 9, 354 1,977 96, 931 1,688, 965 36,419 1,247, 695 24,576, 1,772, 679 11,640 1,658 81,310 2,616, 271 56, 761 1,530, 722 30, 150 1,507,924 9,901 1,673 82,046 2, 609, 785 56, 724 1, 704, 940 37,314 1,651,738 9,038 1,440 112, 980 2, 955, 563 64, 247 2, 515, 463 55,052’ 1,650,250 9,030 1,874 146,997 4,384,014 95, 163 2,388,380 52, 270 2, 409, 365 13, 182 2, 436 191, 058 5,112, 615 110,640 1,982,021 43,379’ 1,942,000 10,629 1,546 121,250 4, 130, 712 89, 152 2,385,044 52, 200 2, 126, 137 11,633 1,896 148, 668 13,673,247 105,325 3,255,158 71,243 2, 493, 403 13, 647 5, 416, 702 182, 050 6, 947, 953 151,602 3,227,534 70, 634 1,933,434 10,580 5, 103, 649 169, 750 7, 758, 146 120,809 3,727,979 81,595 2, 438, 288 13,338 4,459,906 148, 357 6,396,415 139, 197 4,171,103 91,278 2,372,150 12, 976 4,929,486 164, 000 7, 202, 292 156, 634 5, 859, 827 1 128,252 2, 696, 226 14, 746 6, 080, 287 202, 282 8, 189, 871 177,813 6,382,317 i 139,663 2, 153, 894 11,781 7, 054, 720 234, 700 10, 475, 931 227, 778 7,433,911 1 162,716 3,511,928 19,217 6,313,974 210,055 13,417,8.33 292, 467 7, 220, 433 ! 158,028 1 1 3,013,238 16, 487 6, 272, 634 208, 671 15, 104, 804 328, 018 1895. 1896. 1897. 1898. 1899. 1900. 1901. 1902. 1903. 1904. 1905. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1910. 1911. 1912. Packing-house products— Continued. Meat extract. Meat, frozen, n. o. s. Meat preserved. Mutton, frozen. Pounds. Dollars. Pounds. Dollars. Pounds. Dollars. Pounds. Dollars. 328, 173 201, 105 888, 460 15,. 556 2,0.35,424 89, 094 92,334,000 1,616,638 1,076,307 659, 565 1,333,963 23,357 4,504,349 197, 162 99, 439, 000 1,741,058 405,922 248, 750 1,. 537, 885 26,926 2,538,100 111,098 112,202,000 1,964,526 667, 474 584,329 2,140,553 37, 480 3,577,963 156,614 131, 909, 000 2, 309, 590 843, 823 738,711 2,033,000 35, 573 4,004,000 175,244 124,841,000 2, 185, 792 253, 990 222, 351 2,401,000 68,319 3, 097, 000 1.35, 563 124, 367, 000 4, 355, 019 477,951 418,414 3,109,000 88, 440 2,085,927 91,402 138, 920, 000 4,864,587 653, 335 571,952 5, 556, 000 158,086 3,624,487 158, 650 176, 531, 000 6, 181, 601 764,093 668, 913 6,918, 000 196, 834 8, 248, 677 361, 059 172, 271,000 6, 033, 140 456,564 399, 691 9, 235, 000 262, 777 5, 355, 000 234,361 195, 365, 000 6,841,162 960,048 840, 467 12,085,617 343, 829 5,485,045 240, 117 172, 7.32, 615 6,048,677 928, 293 812, 667 13,575,927 386, 265 2, 775, 591 121,501 148,563,585 5, 202, 368 1, 974, 852 ■l.*728, 869 15, 269, 060 434,441 3,515,834 153, 895 153, 848,011 5, 387, 384 1,521,121 ! 1,331,654 25,112, 599 714,506 3, 808, 283 166, 696 173, 823, 892 6, 086, 919 2, 979, 504 1 2,608,383 22,019, 545 626, 484 14,087,667 616,648 146,594,877 5. 1.33, 426 3, 358, 355 1 2,940,046 24, 475, 048 696, 361 26, 635; 688 1, 165, 900 165, 569, 869 5,797, 848 1,136, 641 ! 995, 064 32,114,538 913, 719 33, 980, 230 1 , 487, 386 189,410,414 6, 632, 720 1,349, 061 ’ 1,181,025 34,526,241 982, 362 1 39,019,215 1 1,707,9.36 154, 707, 805 5, 417, 482 38 FAilMEKS^ BULLETIN 581. Table 20. — Exports of meat animals and packing-house products from Argentina, 1805- 1 912 — Continued . Packing-house products— Concluded. Year. 1895. 1896. 1897. 1898. 1899. 1900. 1901. 1902. 1903. 1904. 1905. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1903. 1910. 1911. 1912. Oils, animal. Tallow, pressed. Tallow and fat, melted. Tongues, preserv- ed and salted. All other. Pounds. Dolls. Pounds. Dolls. Pounds. Dollars. Pounds. Dolls. Dollars. 94.5, 633 33,067 18,929 580 89,481,000 3,674,480 1,75.5, 717 153, 349 30, 274 773, 143 28, 527 8,360 257 75, 272,000 3,068,050 1,410,801 123, .501 21,072 842, 607 28, 082 778 24 69, 529,212 2,56.3,086 1, 244,644 1G8, 302 5,610 650,950 593, 442 689, 520: 24,015 25,840 31, 195 2, 210 58 64, 685, 212 53. 242.000 54. 756.000 2, 762,324 2, 128, 397 2, 707, 141 1, 235,062 1, 284, 406 1,500, 750 108, 122 112,364 197,049 5,600 9, 575 293 327, 428 14,697 12, 436 381 73, .564, 000 3, 766,120 1,522,885 198, .332 381 , 863 19, 698 113, 904 3,490 108, 236, 000 5,991,722 1,244,394 161,979 538, 755 28, 190 204, 263 6, 2.59 80,603,000 4,. 589, 134 1,046,177 137, 194 .533 428, 938 20,097 187, 373 5,742 80,070,000 3,871,660 1,392, 602 182, 771 4,714 731,416 47, 699 53, 448 1,839 100, 878,087 5, 134, 861 1,143,559 150, 168^ 578,479 648, 424 44, 150 155,356 4,760 55, 778, 585 3,708,038 670, 194 88,008 925, 631 490, 601 36,972 218, 668 6,700 68, 155, 209 4, 638, 596 1,669,032 219, 170 1,483,039 760, 735 811, 227 39.917 46; 930 52,834 61,320 8i; 339 99, 950 3, 062 96,951,694 119, 764, 895 128, 761, 868 168, 482, 146 166, .570, 75S 5,819,530 7,308, 167 9, 202, 897 11,3.56, 988 10,918, 713 1,925, 780 2,648,796 2,089,612 1,. 573, 716 1,392, 745 2.52,886 347, 828 1,196,521 1,020,6.56 765, 774 926,011 1, 182, 400 9,235 283 274, 400 206,655 182, 890 1, 223,585 873,064 1,302,322 IMPORTS OF MEAT INTO THE UNITED STATES. Although the United States exported 1,143,357,441 pounds of meat and meat products during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1913, and is still exporting large amounts, mostly pork and pork products^ oleo oil, and tallow, large imports of beef liave been received since October, 1913, nearly three-fifths of it from Argentina. In October, 2,069,794 pounds of fresh and frozen beef were received from Argen- tina and passed inspection by the Bureau of Animal Industry; in November, 3,988,898 pounds; in December, 9,440,488 pounds; and in January, 8,935,797 pounds; and the total for the four months ‘is 24,434,977 pounds. During the same time from other countries were received 17,729,621 pounds of fresh and frozen beef, and the total from all countries thus becomes 42,164,598 pounds. During the four months the imports from Argentina included also 537,9^h3 pounds of fresh and frozen mutton, 177,801 pounds of canned beef, 1,268,887 pounds of oleo stearin, and 470 pounds of edible tallow. The total meat and meat products imported from Argentina during the four months and not condemned weighed 26,420,078 pounds. Only 1,278 pounds of Argentine beef were condemned as unfit for consumption. Tlie details of the imports of meat and meat products into this country from Argentina and from all countries in the aggre- gate during the four montlis from. October to January just past may be found in Table 21 . Two-fifths of the imports of fresh and frozen beef during the four montlis came from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, and Uruguay. THE AGKICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 39 The present beef production of this country for one year, it is esti- mated, is somewhat less than 7,000,000,000 pounds, and the imports of fresh and frozen beef from all countries at the recent rate would amount to about 2 per cent of the national production; the imports from Argentina for a year at the present rate would be about 1.3 per cent of the national production. Table 21— Meat and meat products imported from Argentina and all countries and inspected hy the Bureau of Animal Industry, October, 1913, to January, 1914- Commodity. All countries, 4 months. Argentina. Total. Argentina. Other countries. October, 1913. Novem- ber, 1913. Decem- ber, 1913. January, 1914. Not condemned. Flesh and frozen: Beef Povnds. 42,104.598 215.061 967,564 1,364 488.761 Pounds. 24,434,977 Pounds. 17, 729,621 215.061 429.621 1,364 488,761 1 Pounds. 2,069,794 Pounds. 3.988,898 Pounds. 9. 440. 488 Pounds. 8,935,797 Afntton 537,943 10,204 237.422 290,317 Ooat meat- Pork Total.. Canned: Beef 43. 837,. 34 8 24.972,920 18,864,428 2,069,794 3,999,102 9,677.910 9,226.114 1 2.181.629 6.622 11,. 5 44 27.118 119 177.801 2,003,828 6,622 11,544 27,118 119 31.025 130.176 16.600 Vpal Mutton Pork 1 j Other 1 Total 2,227.032 177,801 2.049,231 1 31.025 130, 176 16.600 Cured: Rp.fif 338,001 2,007 1.137,606 338,001 2,007 1.137.606 1 Mutton Pork Total . ... 1.477.614 1,477.614 San Rape 259.546 41,623 1.943.699 23.822 12 20 33, 120 44.042 259.-546 41.623 674,812 28,822 12 Compound _ Oleo-stearin Olen oil 1.268,887 46,070 63, 709 546.588 612,620 Olp.omavprarinp i T ,ard 20 33,120 43,572 Beef extract 1 . . F.dibip, tallow 470 470 Total, not condemned . Condemned. Total 49,892,878 181,712 26,420.078 1,278 123.472,800 180,434 2,115,864 i 4.093,836 ! 462 10,354.674 i 1 816 9,855,704 1 1 i SUMMARY. The conclusions of the subject may be briefly assembled. Imported Argentine dressed beef adds to tlie national supply of the United States, at the recent rate, a little over 1 per cent. Wide some of this meat has come from British frigorificos at Buenos Aires, a great deal of it has been consigned by the Buenos Aires frigorificos of the Chicago slaughtering and packing companies, to themselves at New York for sale by themselves in New York, or wherever they please to send it by rail. It is not assumed that they are using Argentine beef to beat down the prices of Chicago beef. 40 FAEMERS^ BULLETIN 581. Practically, the Argentine beef that has come to this country has relieved the London market of just so much downward pressure, and Ai’gentine dressed beef is about four-fifths of the imported supply of the United Ifingdom, or one-third of the national consumption of beef. As between the United Kingdom and the United States, Argentine dressed beef is free to go to the better market. In this country it is competitive, if it is really competitive at all, only with the lower grades of domestic dressed beef. Cattle in Argentina are not more numerous than they were five years ago, and perhaps they are less numerous. That country can not increase its beef supply permanently until the slaughter first ceases to increase or actually lessens sufficiently to give its herds liberty and time to increase. COLONIAL COTTON. By George K. Holmes. SUPPLEMENTARY TO THE AMERICAN CROP. Xotable efforts have been made to stimulate the production of cotton in colonies since 1903 by the British Cotton Growers’ Asso- ciation, and, on a less extensive scale, by the German Colonial Economic Committee, by the Colonial Cotton Association of France, by the Industrial Association of Lisbon, by the Cotton Industrial Association and Cotton Exchange of Italy, by the Netherlands Cotton Growing Association, by the Belgian Cotton Association, and for Spain by the National Industrial Propaganda. Ten years ago the fear of the European spinners that the L^nited States cotton crop would be insuff cient for their uses led them to begin this extensive movement. As the annual report of the British Cotton Growers’ Association for 1912 states, ‘ff the climatic conditions M-ere always favorable in the United States this association might never have come into existence. One of its main objects, and that of the German, French, and other similar associations, is to extend the cultivation of cotton throughout the world and broaden the basis of supply, so that the failure of the crop in any one particular country will be balanced by a corresponding increase in other countries. The broader the basis the broader the supply, with a consequent greater steadiness in price.” The year immediately antedating this great movement is 1903. Table 22 has been compiled to show the colonial production of cotton in that year and also in every following year to 1912. The British efforts have been especially active in Nigeria, Nyassaland Protecto- rate, Uganda, British East Africa, and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 41 The German efforts have been matle mainly in German East Africa and in Togo. In the British African countries mentioned 7^263 hales of cotton were produced in 1903, 42,266 hales in 1907, and 50,988’ hales in 1912, an increase of 35,003 hales from 1903 to 1907 and an increase of 8,722 hales during the last five years. In the British West Indies cotton production increased from 866 hales in 1903 to 5,492 hales in 1907, from which quantity the production fell to 5,048 hedes in 1912. 'Idirough the German association cotton production increased from 191 hales in German East Africa and Togo in 1903 to 2,365 hales in 1907, and to 11,224 hales in 1912. In all the British colonies and in Anglo-Egyptiaii Sudan the cotton production of 1912 shows an increase of 13,201 bales over that of 1907. If all of the cotton-producing colonies are combined, as they are in Table 22, it may he observed that their production in 1903 was 36,269 hales, and in 1907, 92,565 bales, or an increase of 56,296 hales in four years. In 1912 the cotton production was 102,890 hales, or 10,325 hales above the total production of 1907, five years previous. Theoretically, an almost fabulous quantity of cotton can be grown in the colonies embraced in Table 22. Some of this cotton is quite similar to the Upland cotton of the United States, but much of it is of shorter fiber, while again cotton of long fiber is produced on the sea islands. But it is a large undertaking to induce the natives of these colonies to labor, and to labor during the long period of time required to produce a cotton crop; in some of the more promising of the colonies, great obstacles have been overcome, or need to be overcome, to transport the cotton to the seaboard. Some of the problems of this sort are gradually being solved. In some of the British colonies the producers are guaranteed a minimum price for the purpose of encouragmg them to raise a crop. The results of the efforts of the British and German associations, and in a less degree of the other associations, as exhibited in Table 22, emphasize the magnitude of their combined undertakings to pro- duce enough cotton to supplement the American crop of 14,000,000 bales and over in any considerable degree. One county alone in Texas produced in 1909 77,000 bales, or three-fourths of the com- bined product of all of the cotton-growing colonies. There are many counties in Texas and other States that each produce from one-third to one-half of the colonial production. 42 FABMEES^ BULLETIN 581. I Table 22 —Colonial cotton production^ 190S-1912. [Computed to bales of 500 pounds gross, or 478 pounds of lint net. Egypt and India not Included.] National and geographic groups. 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 BELGL^N. Bales. Bales. Bales. Bales. Bales. Bales. Bales. Bales. Bales. Bales. 1 1 3 1 1 BRITISH. Africa: i Nigeria 606 3,004 3, 134 6,385 8,556 4,800 10,529 5, 185 4,682 9, 148 Nyassaland Protectorate. . 118 597 1,625 1,101 844 1,582 1,729 3,634 2,845 6, 773 45 201 819 4,024 3, 401 5,429 19,442 17,456 21, 986 Other Africa Ti 917 449 634 351 717 521 469 441 1,020 Total Africa 751 4,563 5,409 8,939 13, 775 10, 500 18, 208 28, 730 25, 424 38, 927 America: Mostly or enthely West Indies 866 1,653 2, 508 3,290 5,492 5,776 4,303 4,989 6,392 5,048 Asia 1,012 1,490 1,962 3,920 4,774 4,352 3,840 5, 639 7,940 9,122 Europe 285 345 340 348 443 364 379 411 392 975 Oceania i 1 18 79 54 82 89 90 no 165 125 Total British 2,915 8,069 10, 298 16, 551 24, 566 21,081 26,820 39,879 40,313 54, 197 DUTCH. Asia: East Indies i 12, 632 15,367 13, 280 15,944 19,652 19,932 113,235 14,504 11,902 2 11,902 FRENCH. Africa! 3 346 206 447 619 649 911 832 3 1,742 3 1, 976 America: West Indies i 1 13 7 14 10 26 12 12 8 28 Asia (mostly Indo-China)i. .... 13,693 15, 269 18,117 11,082 15,877 20,968 14,146 9, 451 8,709 2 8, 709 Oceania i 71 49 39 110 109 73 348 417 336 4 923 Total French 13,768 15, 677 18, 369 11,653 16,615 21,716 15,417 10, 712 10, 795 11,616 GERMAN. Africa (mostly East Africa and Togo) 1 191 1,371 1,489 1,764 2,365 3,190 4, 762 10, 132 7,372 11,224 Oceania: Bismarck Archipel- ago ! 240 56 15 38 5 Total German 431 1,427 1,504 1,802 2, .370 3, 190 4,762 10,132 7,372 11, 224 ITALIAN. Africa: Eritrea 43 62 370 890 636 770 1,307 1,247 PORTUGUESE. Africa ^ 6 179 518 282 431 241 468 209 576 576 Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian 6,517 15,097 19,441 17,782 28,558 24, 170 13,222 13,238 17,3 2 12, 128 Total for countries men- tioned 36,269 .55, 859 63,473 64,015 92,565 91,221 74,560 89,445 89,657 102,890 GRAND DIVISIONS, Africa 7,468 21,599 27, 126 29,215 46, 121 39, 641 38,207 53,912 53,813 66,078 America 867 1, 665 2,515 3,304 5,502 5,802 4,315 5,001 6,400 5,056 Asia 27,337 32, 128 33,359 30,946 40,303 45, 252 31,221 29,594 28,551 29,733 Europe 285 345 340 348 443 364 379 411 392 975 Oceania 312 123 133 202 196 162 438 527 501 1,048 Total 36,269 55, 859 63, 473 64, 015 92, 565 91,221 74,500 89,445 89,657 102,890 1 Exports. New Caledonia alone, without Tahiti production, 2 Year preceding. 6 imports into Portugal. 3 Production. In connection with the foregoing study of possible new sources of supply it will be helpful to refer to the present principal sources of world supply of this crop. In Table 23 is given such a statement, with comparisons, so far as available, for decennial periods back to 1870. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 43 Table 23. — Production of cotton. Y ear. United States. Egypt. British India. Bussia. Beni. 1870 Bales. 4,024,527 6, 356, 998 8, 562,089 10, 266, 527 12, 005,688 15,092,701 13, 703, 421 13, 677, 000 Bales. 408, 359 575,307 843, 877 1,124, 617 1,548, 713 1,514,730 1,538, 395 1,560, 922 Bales. Bales. Bales. 1880 1890 1,699,582 2,471,449 3, 600, 837 3,284,519 2,751,4rA 3, 677, 824 1900 1633,065 2 1,020,570 2 981,921 2 1,135,137 2 1,053,845 44,000 76, 869 1910 1911 . 1912 1913 (pr'^liminary) 1 Not including Khiva and Bokhara. 2 Including Khiva and Bokhara. CROP REPORTING SYSTEMS AND SOURCES OF CROP INFORMATION IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. [Paper read by Chatiles M. Daugherty before a recent meeting of special field agents at the U. S. Department of Agriculture.] Government crop reporting, or crop estimating, as distinct from census enumeration, has been a development, in all countries where it is practiced, of the past 50 years; and hence has been coincident with the marvelous expansion of the world’s cultivated land, wdth the multitudmous improvements in farm methods and agricultural ma- chmery, and with the wide extension of the means of transport and communication which have characterized that period. Even before steamship, railway, and telegraph had promoted rapid and volumi- nous interchange of commodities among nations, it had been recog- nized that a prompt, even though approximate, knowledge each year of the areas under the great food crops, of the condition of the plants at intervals during the growing season, and of the final results of the thrashings would be of great economic and commercial value; and although some tentative efforts were made earlier in the century, notably in England and France, to devise some trustworthy scheme of crop estimating, no satisfactory system of acc|uiring and popular- izing such knowledge was evolved until the adoption in the United States of the crop-reporting system, which has now been in operation for the past 48 3 ^ears. In France, it is true, the French Department of Agriculture in its yearbook publishes a continuous record of the acreage and production of wheat and potatoes each year since 1815, the year of Waterloo, to the current date. Up to 1882, however, the figures are decennial estimates for census years, and for the intercensal years merely office estimates, not based upon actual investigations in the field. Estimates of the French Department of Agriculture, based on the crop-estimating system proper, date only from 1882. In Great Britain the official record of the area annually devoted to certain cereals, as estimated by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, extends back to 1866, but estimates of yields only to 1884. The 44 farmers' bulletin 581 . ofFicial figures, it may be added, are often supplemented by the private estimates of Sir John Lawes, who from experiments conducted at his experimental farm at Kothamsted and other data had worked out estimates of .the annual area of wheat in the United Kingdom from 1852 to 1866 and of the annual production from 1852 to 1884. Com- bining the official and private estimates wo have a continuous record of the surface under wheat and the yield in the United King- dom from 1852 to date, but annual estimates bearing the sanction of official authority exist for acreage only from 1866 and for production from 1884. The science and practice of crop estimating may therefore be said to have had its origin in 1866 in the United States. Within the next half century organizations for prompt estimation of areas, yields, and other valuable economic facts respecting agriculture were established in practically all the more progressive and commer- cially important countries of the world. Every nation of Europe, excepting Turkey, now publishes annual official estimates of the yields of a greater or less number of its crops. In Asia crop reporting- systems gather more or less comprehensive data in Asiatic Kussia, British India, Japan, and even in a few Provinces of China. In Africa the result of an estimating system is now available annually for Egypt, Algeria, Tunis, and two or three States of the Union of ►South Africa. On the Western Hemisphere annual estimates rela- tive to the more important crops are made in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile, and official reports are issued annually respecting the cereal crops of each State of Aus- tralia and in New Zealand. As a rule the official crop-reporting organizations in the different foreign countries are under the control and form an integral part of the respective Departments of Agricul- ture, and though the methods of collecting the information and working out the results vary to some extent in the various Govern- ments it is notable that the same fundamental principle underlies all systems, i. e., periodical reports made either directly or indirectly to the central Government by authorized voluntary correspondents resident in each of the smaller political divisions of a country and thoroughly familiar with local conditions. The reports are made on schedules formulated and furnished by the central Government. The correspondents in the political subdivisions usually consist of one or more local administrative officials and a small number of other competent persons, distinguished as being representatives of agri- cultural societies or as being closely identified with the actual tilling of the soil. Separate corps of correspondents analogous to the township and county correspondents and State and special agents of the United THE AGRICULTUEAL OUTLOOK. 45 States Department of Agriculture, do not exist; in other words, when in the prosecution of an inquiry several sets of schedules are returned to the department here one set is returnetl to the central offices abroad. To generalize respecting details of the various methods of collecting data in countries wliere the political organization of each differs from the others in the classification and nomenclature of its })olitical subdivisions is, however, practically inq)ossible. It would probably be of more interest to describe briefly the system of a single country — France. In France the official crop-reporting organization consists, on the one hand, of an administrative bureau in the Department of Agricul- ture, and, on the other, of what may for convenience be called a corps of crop correspondents resident in each political subdivision of the country. The functions of the administrative ])ureau, in so far as crop reporting is concerned, are the preparation and mailing of sched- ules and the tabulation amd publication of the results. The functions and organization of the crop correspondents, as compared with those of our own country, are somewhat peculiar. The political subdivi- sions of France, ranging from the smallest to the largest, are com- munes, cantons, arrondissements, and departments. No exactly corresponding subdivision of the territory of the United States exists, the nearest approach being townships, counties, and States. With the before-mentioned political subdivisions of the country in mind, the organization of the crop correspondents may be described as follows: In each rural commune (there are 36,222 rural and urban) is maintained an organization known as the communal statistical com- mission, consisting of the chief administrative officer of the commune, one member of the municipal council, and not less than three nor more than five farmers. In each rural canton, the next largest administrative unit, and of which there are 2,911 (urban and rural) in France, is a similar organization, known as the cantonal statistical commission — members, the chief administrative oflicer of the canton, the justice of the peace, other cantonal functionaries, and from three to seven prominent farmers. Each arrondissement, the next largest unit, is represented in this crop-reporting system by officials known as special professors of agriculture, and the departments by depart- mental professors of agriculture; both classes of professors have access to and a deliberative voice in the sessions of the communal and cantonal commissions, where their functions are largely of an ad^dsory and supervisory character; both, in the crop-reportmg sys- tem, perform the same supervisory functions in the arrondissements and departments as do the cantonal commission in the cantons. For any periodical inquiry respecting areas or production, schedules prepared by the bureau above mentioned are transmitted tlirough 46 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 581. the chief officers (prefects) of the 86 departments to eacii of the four classes of bodies which constitute the crop-reporting scr'vdce of the Republic;' i. e,, to the communal commissions, to the cantonal com- missions, to the special professors of agriculture in the arrondisse- ments, and to the professors of agriculture in the departments. The most imp«)rtant duties relative to collecting the data and ffiling out the schedules now devolve upon the communal commissions. By the aid of communal cadasters — that is, permanent revised registers kept in the archives of each commune, showing the actual distribution of the surface of the commune among various crops, w^oodland, the average yield per hectare, etc., in a selected or cadastral year — the commissions fill out the schedules for their respective communes and return them to the prefects of the departments. The cadaster, it may be noted incidentally, is in many European countries a fundamental element in making estimates of both area and production ; it enables an almost exact enumeration of areas to be made and, partly because of the rigid system of crop rotation followed, permit a very satis- factory estimate of yields. It is partly due to the cadaster that crop estimates in European countries are rarely, if ever, adjusted to census figures. The prefects, as rapidly as the completed schedules are received from the communal commissions, arrange them in groups by cantons and refer them to the respective cantonal commissions. The province of any given cantonal commission is to revise and, if necessary, to correct the communal schedules and to combine the data they contain into a recapitulative schedule for the entire canton. The work of verifying and correcting the communal schedules is dis- tributed among the members of the cantonal commissions in such a way that to each member is assigned those communes with which he is most familiar. He has the right to demand enlightenment on doubtful points from the communal commissions and to appeal to competent authorities for complementary information. The recapitu- lative schedules when comj^leted for the cantons are forwarded through the prefects of the departments to the special professors of agriculture in the several arrondissements by whom they are in turn corrected, revised, combined into a recapitulative schedule for the arrondissements and forwarded through the medium of the prefect to the departmental professors of agriculture. Recapitulative sched- ules for the departments are then made up and submitted to the central bureau, where they are tabulated for the whole of France and published. The results of all investigations as soon as available are published in the official Journal of the Republic, issued daily, and later in the Bulletin of Agricultural Intelligence (monthly) published by the Ministry of Agriculture. The final and revised figures on the area and production of about 40 crops appear by departments in TPIE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 47 the yearbook of the Ministry, published about 15 to 18 months after the harvest of the crops to which the figures relate. The French system of estimating area and production, it is appar- ent, is one where the data gathered by a corps of reporters, most nearly resembling our corps of townsliip reporters, are successively corrected, approved, and indorsed, before they reach tlie central OiTice, by the crop reporters of each of the larger subdivisions of the Republic. The figures are always under the control of ollicial bodies presided over by an oiTicial of the various political subdivisions of the country, and the process of arriving at a final result may be described as a cumulative one. Perhaps after all the radical differ- ence between this system and that in force in the United States is that ill France the correctional and re visional functions performed by the cantonal commissions and the professors of agriculture in the aiTondissements and departments devolve in our country upon the Crop-Reporting Board, and that the final tabulation of the schedules, after they reach the Ministry of Agriculture, is more simple, since onlj^ one schedule from each of the 86 departments remains to be tabu- lated. The French system is in a broad sense typical of that prac- ticed in some other foreign countries, particularly in countries having cadasters, but it has been cited here not so much from that fact as to illustrate the variations in crop-estimating systems which may arise from differences in the political constitutions of governments, from geographical and climatic causes, and even from the mental attitude of a people toward government and economy. In Great Britain, for instance, the schedules prepared in the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries are primarily turned over to the Board of Trade. Agents of the last-named board, known as collectors of inland revenue and stationed throughout the various counties, mail them to the farmers in their respective jurisdictions. When filled out the schedules are collected by these agents, and through the Board of Trade returned to the Board of Agriculture for the elaboration and pubheation of the data. In Argentina estimates of the Depart- ment of Agriculture on production of wheat, flaxseed, oats, and barley arc made from returns of thrashing-machine operators, but the figures of nonthrashabie farm products are collected by means of crop cor- respondents. In Sweden the preliminary estimates of the yield of wheat and other cereals are based on the natural increase from the seed; i. e., without reference to acreage, the total yield is estimated to represent an increase of fifteenfold, seventeenfold, twentyfold, etc., of the seed sown. In the work of the United States Department of Agriculture the foreign crop statistics, used mostly in compiling estimates of the so- called world’s crop, in answering verbal and other inquiries, and in 48 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 581. varied research work, are for the most part the final estimates emanat- ing from and published by the crop-reporting bureaus of foreign Departments of Agriculture and other official organizations, whose functions embrace that class of work. Although identical data, excepting for the great food crops, are seldom in existence for all countries, and although there is great variation in the number of crops reported on by the different governments, the estimates, as a whole, cover a wide range; and embrace areas sown, quantities of seed sown per unit of surface, areas destroyed by winter kill and other causes, areas harvested, periodical condition of the crops, total and per capita production, in terms both of units of measurement and weight, average yield per unit of surface, percentage of loss due to drought, hail, floods, vermin and other causes, total and per capita consumption, cost of production, average monthly and annual prices of farm produce, and other data. The estimates used are pref- erably the final ones published in the yearbooks of the respective governments: for the smaller divisions and islands of the great Empires — British, German, French, and Dutch — the figures are usually taken from the Statistical Abstracts and other publications of the mother countries. The larger divisions of the British Empire — Canada, Australia, and British India — it may be noted, have crop estimating organizations of their own and issue yearbooks and other periodical publications relative to the crops of their respective terri- tories. The yearbooks of many foreign countries, however, are not published until from several months to two years after the crops to v/hich they relate have been harvested. In such cases it is neces- sary to utilize for current data preliminary and sometimes even unofficial estimates. Preliminary estimates, of cereal crops especially, are made by practically all countries that have crop-reporting organizations. These are made and published in some countries before harvest and in others as soon after as possible. In those countries which publish an ofheial daily gazette — as, for example, the Journal Officiel in France, the Keichsanzeiger in Germany, the Wiener Zeitung in Austria, the Pester Lloyd in Hungary, and the Journal of Industry and Commerce in Russia — these preliminary figures, immediately after they are compiled, are made available to the general public through the medium of an official organ. In some other countries they are first disseminated through small leaflets and afterwards published in greater detail in the succeeding issues of monthly or other periodical official bulletins such as are exemplified in the monthly Technical and Economic Bulletin published by the Depart- ment of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in Italy, the monthly bulletin of Agricultural Intelligence by the department of agriculture in France, and the Bulletin of Agriculture, Mines, and Mountains by THE AGRICULTUEAL OUTLOOK. 49 the Department of Agriculture, Commerce, and Public Works in S])ain. Of course the official data, as soon as released, are widely copied by the unofficial agricultural and trade journals of the various countries, but in the careful work done by this Department it is required that in all possible cases the actual official figures only must be used. In the foreign-crop work of the Department the presumably more accurate figures of agricultural censuses are of course utilized when- ever available. Circumstances, however, limit their use within a narrow range. In some countries, among which populous British India is a notable exam})le, no agricultural census has ever been taken; even in Great Britain none exists cxce])ting that of 1908. In some other countries the intervals between census takings are of extraordinary duration, having extended in Argentina from 1895 to 1908; the last one in Bussia was taken in 1897. Decennial censuses are taken regularly in France, Germany, and some other countries; in the quinquennial censuses of Denmark and Norway the areas returned under the various crops are utilized unchanged in estimating the crop production of intercensal years. From a statistical point of view it may be said in general that in most foreign ^countries the value of their agricultural censuses, particularly in tneir relation to the great food crops, is chiefly historical, but for the minor crops they constitute in countries which make no estimates respecting*such crops the only existing official data. As has been previously stated, the annual estimates made by the crop-reporting systems abroad are seldom adjusted to census figures. Other valuable sources of information on foreign crop statistics are the volummous reports made to the Department of Commerce and published under the title of ' ‘ Daily Consular and Trade Keports.” Beports similar in character, but published less frequently, ai*e made by the consuls of the Imited Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, and other nations to their respective home governments. These reports — all of vdiich are on file in the bureau library — contain, among other data, statistical information often not to be found in the official publications of the countries to which the respective consuls are accredited — information which, though it may not have the stamp of official authority, often constitutes the latest or perhaps the only data extant upon a given subject. In a recent report of a Hungarian consul, for instance, appeared an estimate of the v/heat crop of Brazil, a country for which neither official nor ‘unofficial esti- mates have been heretofore available. For countries which have no official crop-reporting systems or for which no recent census figures are available, the consular reports constitute a prime authority. The daily, weekly, and monthly trade and agricultural journals of the various countries are also fruitful sources of statistical mfor- mation, especially respecting current market conditions, trade move- ments, etc. A few of them — notably the Tunes of London, the 50 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 581. Marche FraBpaise of Paris, and the Journal of Commerce and Industry of St. Petersburg — make and publish detailed annual estimates respecting the cereal crops of their respective countries which, in some quarters and on some occasions, meet with as much or more faith than do the official estimates. A feature of.some of the great commercial journals, such as those usually referred to as Broom- halls, Beerbohms,’’ and Dornbusch,” is the publication of a compilation each autumn or early winter, giving the world’s wheat crop of the current year by countries of production. These, of course, antedate all oflicial compilations on this subject, and, though not suitable for permanent record, give the earliest mdica- tion of the probable supply as compared with previous years. Foreign crop statistics, it may be added, when considered with refer- ence to single countries separately, present a valuable record of the agricultural resources of each, but when the attempt is made to consider them totally as a unit, a lack of uniformity in crop-reporting systems, and differences in the methods of expressing the results, detract in some cases from their value. A striking illustration is found in the statistical statements of various countries resj^ecting the condition of the crops during the growing season. In the crop report- ing system of England an average condition is expressed by 100, and variations from the average by proportionate figures above or below 100. In Sweden an excellent condition is expressed by 5 ; variations from that standard are expressed on a descending scale from 4.9 to 1. In Germany an exactly opposite significance is given to the same figures, excellent being expressed by 1, good by 2, fair by 3, and so on. In some other countries the condition reports are expressed in descriptive terms, i. e., as excellent, good, fair, etc. The lack of uniformity, as illustrated by this example, detracts to some extent from the value of comparisons in other instances. The defect has attracted widespread attention. For many years the International Statistical Institute has at each of its triennial sessions passed resolu- tions advocating a concerted movement among the nations for uni- formity. Many commercial and agricultural organizations have repeatedly indorsed the proposed movement, but having no power to put their desires into execution nothing tangible has ever been effected. The establishment in 1908 of an International Institute of Agriculture at Rome, where are assembled in continuous work dele- gates from all the great agricultural countries of the world, has now created a center from which, it is expected, powerful influences will constantly be exerted for improvement of crop-reporting services, for their extension to all countries, for uniformity of statistical state- ments, and for a general unification of methods of statistical work throughout the world. US.DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Contribution from the Forest Service, Henry S. Graves, Forester. In cooperation with the Bureau of Plant Industry, W. A. Taylor, Chief, May 16, 1914. USES FOR CHESTNUT TIMBER KILLED BY THE BARK DISEASE. By J. Cb Nellis, Forest Examiner, Forest Service. THE CHESTNUT BARK DISEASE. Most of the chestnut timber north of the Potomac River has been ittacked and much of it killed by the bark disease, which is now ipreading to Virginia and West Virginia. To prevent the further ;pread of the disease the Department of Agriculture recommends he destruction of advance infections.^ The wood of diseased trees nay safely be used for any jDurpose. The problem of utilizing tim- )er cut to destroy advance infections, however, is simple as com- )ared with using the large amount of dead standing timber where he chestnut has been diseased for several years. To help the -wner of diseased trees to solve this larger problem is the purpose of his bulletin. 2 Wdien the spores of the fungus which causes the disease are carried y the wind or other agency into any wound on the trunk or Umb of , chestnut tree, they germinate and cause a spreading canker which irdles the part attacked and eventually kills the tree. The disease oes not injure the wood; rotten wood is caused by sap rots, heart Dts, and insects. Samples of wood from diseased trees examined mder the microscope in the Forest Service showed no abnormal tructure which could be attributed directly to the bark disease, xcept that the annual rings of growth developed after the trees )ecame infected were narrower than those foTmed before"* infection, he result of the partial girdling of the tree each year by the fungus. feet and longer 4 inches and wider “Clear face” means a cutting having the poor side clear. A “sound cutting” is one free from rot, shakes, and other defects which materially impair the strength of the piece. USES FOR CHESTNUT TIMBER KILLED BY BARK DISEASE. 15 STANDARD DEFECTS. One knot 11 inches in diameter. Two knots not exceeding in extent or damage 1 1-inch knot. Worm, grub, knot, or rafting pinholes not exceeding in damage one 11-inch knot. Straight split in end longer than 6 inches. Wane along one edge exceeding one-sixth the length of the board. A representative scale of prices received by mills in Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia for four representative grades of chestnut lumber is as follows: Firsts and seconds, 1 $43 to $45 No. 1 common, 1 30 to 33 Sound wormy 15 to 18 No. 3 common 10 to 12 It is important to note that the prices received by southern mills for the upper grades are for almost clear lumber, long and wide. The minimum lengths and widths quoted in the summaries of grading rules are accepted only in a small proportion of the shipment. The usual run of logs yields but a small jiroportion of upper grades; much of the southern chestnut is wormy and below the grade of No. 1 common. The chestnut lumber produced north of the Potomac River is largely used for local building and construction purposes. A great deal, of course, goes into sawed ties and in New England into switch timbers. The following partial list of uses for chestnut lumber in the Northern States shows the wide adaptability of the wood: Barn timbers, sheathing, floors and stalls, bridge plank, car construction, crating, docks, framing, floor lining and outside floors, ice houses, lath and tobacco lath, porches, pickets, roof boards, sheds, shingles, ship timbers, sidewalk stringers and plank, siUs, and steps. Following are the prices obtained for chestnut lumber cut in the Northern vStates in 1911, a representative year: Average value of chestnut lumber per thousand f. o. h. mill, 1911 . State. Value per thousand Connecticut $18.71 Delaware 16. 7^ Maryland 15. 7 1 Massachusetts 18. 28 New Hampshire 17.99 state. Value per thousand. New Jersey $17.50 New York 17. 44 Pennsylvania. - . 17. 25 Pvhode Island. . , 18. 60 The cost of logging and sawing chestnut varies. For a portable miU operating in the woods the following costs are approximate: Per thousand. Cutting $1.25 Skidding 1.75 Sawing and piling 4. 00 7. 00 To obtain the total cost of lumber, the value of stumpage, and the cost of hauling the lumber, loading it on cars, etc., must be added to the above. 16 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 582. Table 3 shows the amount ol‘ lumber which can be obtained from different-sized chestnut trees. Table 3. — Board feet of lumber obtainable from chestnut trees of different sizes d [Based on measurements, from the various diameters, of from 2 to 17 trees.] F^iameter breasthigh. Height of tree— feet. Trunks of trees used to top diameter (inside bark). 50 60 70 80 90 Board Board Board Board Board Inches. feet. feet. feet. feet. feet. Inches. 9 10 15 22 7 10 26 32 40 48 56 7 11 42 50 58 69 80 8 12 58 68 78 92 107 8 13 74 87 100 116 133 8 14 92 107 122 141 160 8 15 no 127 147 168 190 9 16 129 150 172 196 222 9 17 174 200 226 255 9 18 198 227 257 291 10 19 223 257 292 328 10 20 250 288 327 368 10 21 276 318 363 409 11 22 305 350 400 451 11 23 333 385 440 493 11 24 363 420 479 538 12 25 396 457 520 583 12 1 From Forest Service Bui. 96, “Second-Growth Hardwoods in Connecticut.” Scaling by international rule, with 10 per cent deducted for circular saw kerf. TIES. Chestnut finds a wide use for ties, but it must meet the competition of better woods, and therefore does not hold its place as well as in the pole market. In durabihty it compares well with white oak, but its mechanical life in service is relatively short. Chestnut ties are both hewed and sawed, the cost of manufacture ranging from 10 cents per tie upward. Hewed ties may first be sawed to the proper lengths and then hewed flat on two parallel sides, or a tree may be hewed on two sides before cutting into tie lengths. Sawing costs more than hewing, but saves considerable lumber from the sides of logs. Moreover, sawed ties cost less to haul than hewed ones, and the cost of hauling is the most variable factor in the cost of tie production. As a rule, there is more profit in sawing lumber than ties. In the case of crooked trees, however, hewed ties are probably the most profitable product, provided there is not a sawmill or stave mill in the immediate vicinity. To secure information on the size of ties demanded and the prices paid, the stumpage owner should consult the nearest railroad station agent. Specifications used and prices paid by a few of the railroads during the winter of 1913-14 were as follows: New York, New Haven & Hartford R. R. : First class Second class Third class Size. ' 8 ^ X 1 " X 1 " — 12^' hewed X 1" X 9^' sawed '8" X X 6'"— 12"" hewed ,8" X 6"" X 8"" sawed '8" X 6"" X 5""— 12'" hewed ,8" X 6"" X 7"" sawed Price. I $0. 70 } .55 } .35 USES FOR CHESTNUT TIMBER KILLED BY BARK DISEASE. 17 New York Central & Hudson River R. R First class Second class Third class Pennsylvania Railroad : First class Second class Third class Delaware, Lackawanna c'c W'estern R. R. h'irst class Second class Size. ■ 8 ^ X 7 // X 7"— 8 ^ X 7 // X r" 8 r X X X 6" X 8 r X 6 "' X 8" .8^" X 7' X 7 V2^‘' pole 1 s(piare / square pole square 1x7^^ pole 1 \x scpiare j |x ])ole \ \x 7''' scpiare j X 5'^ pole 1 X 6 ^^ square j I’rice. $0. 65 .60 .50 (' 8 =^' X 7 ' X 8'^ — 12'^ square \ (8.^- X 7^^ X 7 ^ pole J f8^^ X 6^^ X 7 ^'' squarel {8Y X 6'^ X 6" pole / .45 .20 .60 .40 Fig. 5.— Making hewed chestnut ties. Trolley ties usually range from 8 feet by 6 inches by 8 inches to 8 feet by 8 inches by 8 inches. Some companies acce])t a 7-foot tie and some take ties with faces as narrow as 5 inches. Ties are usually required to be of sound timber, free from defects, and to have been cut in the fall, winter, or early spring. In New England chestnut is specified for switch timbers 7 by 9 inches, in lengths as ordered. They are purchased by the board foot, bringing from $18 to $20 per thousand feet. Fig. 6.— Chestnut poles to be used for the manufacture of keg staves. SLACK COOPERAGE. Chestnut is being used for nail-keg staves. These are f-inch thick, 18 inches long, and from 2 to 5 inches at the bilge. They are usually required to be chamfered, crozed, and jointed. Chestnut is also used for cement, apple, and other kinds of slack barrel staves. Barrel staves are 28 or 28^ inches long, and from 2 to 6 inches wide; cement staves are f to ^ inch thick; apple staves J-inch thick, and flour staves, f-inch 18 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 582. Table 4 shows the number of ties obtainable from chestnut trees of different sizes. Table 4. — Number of 8-foot by 6-inch by 8-inch ties obtainable from chestnut trees of different sizes d [Based on measurements, for the various diameters, of from 2 to 17 trees.] Diameter Height of trees- -feet. breasthigh. 50 60 70 80 90 Inches. Number of ties. Number of ties. Number of ties. Number of ties. Number of ties. 10 1 1 1 1 3 11 1 1 2 2 4 12 2 2 3 3 4 13 3 3 3 4 5 14 3 3 5 5 8 15 5 5 5 6 9 16 6 6 7 7 9 17 6 8 8 10 18 7 8 9 11 19 7 8 10 12 20 8 10 11 13 21 9 10 11 14 22 11 10 14 17 23 12 12 14 17 24 12 13 15 19 25 15 15 18 21 1 From Forest Service Bui. 96, “Second-Growth Hardwoods in Connecticut.” USES EOK CllEST^^UT TIMBER KILLED BV BAKK DISEASE. 19 thick. Barrel staves are neither chamfered nor crozed at tlie mill. Chestnut is also used for slack lieading. The manufacture of staves is one of the best means of utilizing wood, since material as small as 3 inches in diameter and 19 inches long will often he accepted. Slack cooperage mills sometimes purchase logs and bolts which may Ix' measured by the cord. Some of the bolts may be as small as 3 or 4 inches in diameter, but the greater portion must be from 6 to 10 inches. Bolts for keg staves are about 19 inches long, and those for barrel staves from 28J to 30 inches long. Stave bolts, on account of their small size, otfc'r an excellent opportunity for the utilization of trees too crooked, defective, or small for .poles, lumber, and ties. Cooperage mills pay up to $4.50 and $5 for chestnut cofdwood delivered. The average selling price at mill of chestnut barrel staves is from $5 to $6 per thousand. Fig. 7. — Interior of stave mill, showing, from left to right, circular saw, stave saw, stave equalizer, and stave jointer. Representative specifications for sawed keg and cement barrel staves are given below. Other kinds of barrel staves and heading are governed by the rules of the National Slack Cooperage Manufacturers’ Association. Specifications for sawed leg staves. All staves shall be bilge sawed, 18 inches long after trimming, and to be free from bark, large knots, loose knots, knot holes, and wormholes. By large knots is meant knots large enough to weaken staves. Staves shall be of such uniform thickness that when put together and closely clamped the combined thickness of six staves shall be 24 inches when dry, and under no circumstances shall they be less than this measurement. Both ends are to be properly chamfered and crozed. All staves to be of usual widths, ranging from 2 to 5 inches, without any large proportion of exceedingly wide or extremely narrow staves. They are to be carefully jointed, to be of the same width at both ends, and to have |-inch bilge, which is the difference in measurement between the width of staves measured on bilge line and measured at end of stave; all measurements to be made on the outside of stave. All staves to be thoroughly seasoned before shipment. 20 FARMERS^ lUTIJ.E'iMN H.S^. Specifications for sawed cement barrel staves. Staves -to be 2^ inches long, sawed inch thick, and to be of uniform thickness. Joints to be exact f-inch bilge, with 9-inch quarter. By 9-inch quarter we mean that if two staves be held together on the joints, end to end, they shall close tight 9 inches from end toward center. Staves must be of equal widths at each end. The joints must be smooth, no slivered nor broken joints to be included. No staves to be wider than 5^ inches nor narrower than 2^- inches across the bilge. There must be a bevel or undercut on the joint, suitable to work on a IC-inch head. There must be no bark on any jmrt of the stave. Joints must-be full and flush. There must be no holes, black knots, nor large breakable knots. Black knots will drop out, leaving holes. Staves with checks or 8i)lits must not be included. These should be re- jointed at mill; if shipped, will be culled. Staves must be made from sound live timber only. Staves made from old brash or doty timber will not answer. Staves to be put up in bundles of not over 52 nor under 50 staves i)er bundle of 200 inches. All staves must be thoroughly air-dried before bundled. Fig. 8.— le-inch chestnut bolts slabbed for shingle saw. SHINGLES. Chestnut shingles are manufactured and used locally in practically all the States where the bark disease exists. They do not compete in the general market with cedar shingles and should be manufac- tured only when they can be sold in the community or through a local lumber yard. Most chestnut shingles are sawed, although they may be split. The farmer who needs shingles and has dead chestnut in his woodlot should split enough for the purpose. This can be done by cutting blocks the length of a shingle, splitting them with a frow and shaving the shingle on both sides with a drawknife to secure the propc'r taper. Chestnut shingles are likely to warp, but this may USES FOR CHESTNUT TIMBER KILLED BY BARK DISEASE. 21 be overcome either by making the shingles in lengths of 16 inches, rather than longer, or else edge-grain shingles, which are said to warp but little. Leaking around the nails is likely to occur because the tannin in the wood corrodes iron, but it can be avoided by using galvanized nails. With these two disadvantages overcome, chestnut makes a durable shingle, having been known to last for 35 years. Chestnut shingles are from 16 to 24 inches long, and bring from $2.50 up per thousand. Since they are cut from short blocks, they may be made from trees too crooked and defective for poles, lumber, or ties. FENCE POSTS AND RAILS. Chestnut is used for fence posts and rails, for which it is one of the most durable woods. The cost of a wire fence and a rail fence of mortised posts and split rails is about the same. For this reason the woodlot owner who has dead chestnut should consider whether it would be advisable to build a wire fence when he has material which if cut now would answer the purpose. Specifications for fence posts used by two railroads follow: Fence posts must be round, sound, free from shakes, rotten knots, and bark; must be 7^ feet long and 6 inches in diameter at tip. Price 12 cents each. Rejected ties conforming to these specifications and 7^ to 84 feet long are accepted as fence posts. Fence posts to be 8 feet long, not less than 5 inches in diameter at small end, straight, sound, and sawed off at ends; price 10 cents each. TANNIN EXTRACT. Chestnut wood is used more than any other by tannin-extract plants. Northern timber contains less tannin, however, than southern timber, though there is no evidence that the bark disease decreases the tannin content. In the South old timber has a tannin content of 12 per cent, and second growth of 7 per cent; while in the North the tannin content of the former is 7 per cent and of the latter only 3 or 4 per cent. For this reason there are few tannin-extract plants north of the Potomac River, so that this market for chestnut timber in the region of the bark disease is very limited. Several tannin-extract plants, however, are in Pennsylvania, and sample specifications are given below, for the information of chestnut owners in that State: Wood must be cut 4 feet in length if sawed, and when chopped it must measure 4 feet in length counting only half the slope on each end, and not counting 4 feet from point to point. The wood must be left as coarse as it can be conveniently handled but no large sticks or knots over 12 inches in diameter should be shipped, and when the whole tree is cut for extract wood we will receive it down to, but in no case less than, 4 inches at the small end. All knots must be closely trimmed; all cars must be loaded to their full capacity; slab wood will not be received at any price; not over 10 per cent of small wood, say 4 inches, will be received in any one car. Prices f. o. b. cars in Pennsylvania range from about $2.50 to $3 for a standard cord of 128 cubic feet, and from $3 to $3.50 for a 22 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 582. long cord of 160 cubic feet. It costs about $1 a cord to cut the wood, while the cost of hauling necessarily depends on the distance. Table 5 shows the number of cubic feet of cordwood obtainable from trees of different sizes. Table 5. — Amount of cordwood obtainable from chestnut trees of different sizesA [Based on measurements, for the various diameters, of from 2 to 18 trees.] Diameter Height of tree— feet. hreasthigh. 40 50 60 70 SO 90 Cubic Cubic Cubic Cubic Cubic Cubic Inches. feet. feet. feet. feet. feet. feet. 4 1.6 2. 1 5 2.6 3.3 6 3. 7 4.6 5.6 7. . : 5.0 6. 2 7.3 8 6. 5 7.9 9.4 11.0 9 8.4 10. 1 11.8 13.6 10 10.5 12.5 14.5 16.6 17.8 19.0 11 12.8 15.3 17.9 20.7 22.5 24.3 12 15.4 18.4 21.5 25.0 27.4 30.0 13 18.2 21. 7 25.2 29. 1 32. 1 35.3 14 25.0 29.2 33. 8 37. 7 41.3 15 28.8 3.3.6 38.8 43.4 48. 0 16 32.6 38. 1 44. 0 49. 5 55. 0 17 36.5 42. 7 49.5 56.0 63.0 IS 40.5 47. 4 55.5 63.0 70.5 19 44.3 51.4 61. 5 70. 0 79. 0 20 49.0 5S. 5 68. 5 78. 0 88.0 21 65.0 75. 5 86.0 97.0 22 71.0 83.0 95.0 106.5 . 23 78.0 91.0 104. 0 117.0 24 85. 5 99.5 114. 0 128.0 25 93.0 108.5 124.0 140.0 1 From Forest Service Bui. 96, ‘^Second-Growth Hardwoods in Connecticut.” The approximate number of cords in a stand of trees may be obtained by dividing the total cubic content by 90. V^olumes include stem and top wood, with bark, up to a minimum diameter of 2 inches. Average stump heights vary from 6 inches for small trees to 21 inches for large ones. MINE TIMBERS. (.'hestnut is used for mine timbers, but can be profitably cut for this purpose only if it is within hauling distance of a mine or of a railroad giving a low freight rate on this commodity. In the form of round dimension or sawed pieces chestnut is used for practically every class of material demanded by mines. Mine props are usually round and in lengths from about 2 ^ feet up. Usually, however, they are purchased in lengths of from 10 to 30 feet, and of a diameter at the small end of from 2 to 8 inches. (Pillar timbers are larger than props and are sometimes sawed instead of round. They range from 10 to 30 feet ill length and from 10 to 14 inches in diameter. Representative prices paid for props and collar timbers delivered at mines, cars, or wharves are as follows: Diameter inside bark Price per Diameter inside bark Price per at .small end. linear foot. at small end. linear foot. 4 inclie.s $0.01 9 inches $0.05 6 inches 02 10 inches 06 7 inches 03 12 inches 10 8 inches 04 14 inches 14 USES FOR CHESTNUT TIMBER KILLED BY BARK DISEASE. 23 Mine timbers are also pui’chased by the ton, at prices from $2.85 to $4.25. Flat mine ties range from 4 feet long by 2^ inches thick by 34 inches face, purchased at 4^ cents each, to 6 feet long by 6 inches thick by 6 inches face, at 18 cents. The average size is probably about 5 feet long by 5 inches thick by 5 inches face, and the average price is about 9 cents. Round, notched mine ties made of chestnut are seldom accepted. Poles used for lagging are from 5 to 7 feet long, with a diameter at the small end of from 2 to 2J inches. Sprags are from 18 to 22 inches long, with a middle diameter of 24 to 3 t inches, and taper to a point at both ends. Woods harder than chestnut are usually preferred. Mines also purchase chestnut in lumber and dimension sizes. MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTS. In some sections of the East, brickyards, limekilns, and brass fac- tories use large quantities of wood for fuel. Most of these companies will accept cordwood that contains more or less chestnut, paying for the mixed wood from $3.50 to $4.50 per cord. Stumpage owners in the vicinity of such plants should ask for prices, with the idea of con- verting their dead timber into cordwood, provided there is no better market for it. It is better, of course, to make a little on the dead timber now than to lose everything by waiting several years. As a household fuel chestnut is not as good as hickory or white oak, and will throw sparks from an open fireplace. Owners of small amounts of dead chestnut, however, can use such material for summer fuel and, at the same time, improve their woodlots. Chestnut can be manufactured into charcoal, but the operation would have to be conducted with extreme skill, and the product would have to compete with charcoal made by wood distillation plants. These latter do not use chestnut, since the proportion of distillates obtained from it is too low. Charcoal burning in pits with chestnut as the material, how- ever, is being carried on in a few places at a profit, but this means of utilizing the timber should be considered only if no other means is open. If there is a veneer plant within shipping distance and disease- infected timber can be cut the same season the trees are killed, before commencing to dry out, there should be a market for large, sound logs. In grape-raising districts chestnut can be used for vineyard props. Along the coast it has been used for piles, ship timbers, and posts for foundations of cottages. Chestnut poles 8 to 12 feet long and from 4 inches up in diameter, hewed on one side, have been reported as sold for cribbing and rough construction. ' I ' . I ' 24 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 582. RECOMMENDATIONS. 1. Diseased cliestniit should be cut, if possible, during the first winter after infection. ^ The utilization of timber killed by the bark disease does not depend upon the development of markets, but on getting the timber on the present market before it deteriorates and becomes unmerchantable. 2. The owner should carefully consider the various ])roducts marketable in the locality which he can obtain from his chestnut trees, and should select the one most profitable. 3. It is best for the owner to do the cutting, manufacturing, and hauling himself in order to save operators’ profits. In the case of large tracts of timber, however, an experienced operator should be hired. 4. The owner of dead chestnut, who wishes to learn of markets for products which he can manufacture himself or of an operator who can handle his woodlot, should write to the forestry official in his State. These officials are: State Forester Concord, N. H. State Forester Boston, Mass, Commissioner of Forestry... Chepachet, R. I. State Forester New Haven, Conn. Conservation Commission Albany, N. Y. State Forester Trenton, N. J. Commissioner of Forestry Harrisburg, Pa. Secretary Board of Agriculture Dover, Del. State Forester Baltimore, Md. Commissioner of Agriculture Richmond. Va. Forester, State Crop Pest Commission Martinsburg,W.Va. These State officers can furnish the followmg lists : Sawmill operators experienced in cutting chestnut lumber and sawed ties. Telephone, electric light, power, and traction companies which buy chestnut poles. Steam and electric railroads which buy chestnut ties. Pole and tie operators and dealers. Slack cooperage mills, tannin extract plants, etc. 5. Any owner of chestnut stump age who wishes more detailed information on utilization or woodlot management than is given in this bulletin should apply to the Forest Service, Washington, D. C. 1 The following suggestions are made for woodlot management: If less than 50 per cent of the original stand is chestnut its removal will amount to only a thinning, thus increasing the growing space of the remaining trees. Nothing further would ordinarily be required to insure continued timber production over the entire area. When chestnut predominates in the stand it may be best to cut the area clean and plant with white or Norway pine or red oak. O dS.DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Contribution from the Bureau of Biological Survey, Henry W. Henshaw, Chief. May 14, 1914. THE COMMON MOLE OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. By Theo. H. Scheffer, Assistant Biologist. DISTRIBUTION. Within the boundaries of the United States are five recognized groups of true moles. Two of these are confined to the Pacific coast, and three are distributed over the section east of the one hundredth meridian extending from Canada to the Gulf. There are no moles in he Rocky Mountain region, and their range is very restricted in the Great Basin and on the Great Plains. The common mole ^ may be ound almost everywhere south of the New England States, New Pork, Michigan, and central Wisconsin, except in the mountain regions. In the latter districts and in the greater part of Pennsyl- vania, New York,' and New England the common mole is replaced oy the star-nosed mole ^ and Brewer’s mole.^ The general distribution of the mole seems to depend very largely on the condition of the soil and on the humidity of the climate. Moles are absent altogether from our arid regions, and where the prairies of the West merge gradually into the plains they are found only along water courses. In these regions of deficient rainfall the ground is so dry and hard the greater part of the year as to be wholly unsuited to the existence of earthworms and the various insect larvae upon which the mole depends for subsistence. The mole is most abun- dant in moist, rich soils along streams, particularly if these situations are somewhat shaded. DESCRIPTION. The mole is so seldom seen, even by those who are familiar with its work, that it is often confused with other small creatures, particu- larly the shrew, the vole or meadow mouse, and the pocket gopher. 1 Scalopus aquaticus. 2 Condylura cristata. 3 Parascalops hrexceri. Note.— T his bulletin treats of the mole found east of the one hundredth meridian. It contains an account of its habits, the nature of the damages committed by it, and the methods employed for its destruction. It also seeks to remove some popular misconceptions concerning this little animal. It is of interest to gardeners, lawn makers, caretakers of parks and cemeteries, etc. 34909°— Bull. 583—14 1 2 FAKMEKS' BULLETIN 583. It can, however, be readily distinguished from any of these by its short, stout, front limbs ending in broad, rounded hands with palms turned outward. It has a rather elongated body, close, plushlike fur, a pointed snout, and a short tail. Neither external eyes nor ears are in evidence. If not totally blind, the mole can at best merely distinguish between light and darkness, as the vestigial organs of sight lie whoUy beneath the skin. HABITS. The mole is a creature of strictly subterranean habits. Such ex- periences as fall to its lot must necessarily come through its sensitive Fig. 1.— Mole ridges in a sandy pasture. touch, acute hearing, or highly developed powers of smell. While the animal is seldom seen above ground, it sometimes ventures out of its tunnels, perhaps chiefly at night. RUNWAYS AND NESTS. The living quarters of the mole consist of a series of galleries and tunnels 12 to 15 inches beneath the surface of the ground — usually deep enough to escape the plow. This central part of the system of runways can ordinarily be located by little piles of earth thrust up from deeper tunnels. These elevations are easily distinguishable from the surface ridgings (figs. 1 and 2) caused by the mole’s burrowing just beneath the sod. They may be looked for on the higher spots of an open field or where natural objects offer concealment and shelter. THE COMMON MOLE OF THE EASTEKN UNITED STATES. 3 There are no ^hiiole hills’’ in this country, such as are referred to in discussions of the European mole. The nest of the mole is usually in a chamber 4 or 5 inches in diame- ter and about a foot beneath the surface. In all cases that have come under the writer’s observation the materials of the nest consist mainly of closely cropped pasture grasses with the fine fibrous roots attached. It is probable that this grass stubble was pulled down by the roots into the upper surface burrows and then carried to the nesting chambers. When located near trees the nests sometimes consist of leaves mixed with grass. Fig. 2.— Showing the mole’s method of repairing runways. Lower right-hand fork not repaired. Certain galleries or passages leading out from the deeper central system trend upward here and there to join the shallow subsurface runs that range over the mole’s hunting grounds. These hunting paths produce the ridges with which we are familiar in our lawns, gardens, and fields. Beneath these ridges the little animal hurries along at irregular intervals in search of food, and when occasion de- mands, it extends the Umits of its operations by pushing out into untouched soil. As it extends the subsurface runways its movement is almost literally one of swimming. With powerful action of the heavy shoulder muscles the hands are brought forward, palms out- ward, until they almost or quite touch in front of the snout. They are then thrust outward and backward to push the soil aside, while the body follows in the passageway thus created. 4 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 583. ACTIVE PERIODS. It is commonly believed that the mole works only at regular peri- ods each day, but direct- observations taken in late summer and in the fall fail to show that there is any one time of day when it is more active than at others. If a slight opening is made into a mole’s runway the little ani- mal will invariably repair the breach (fig. 2) when it next comes that way. By taking advantage of this habit one can gain much information by visiting, at short intervals through the day, each of a number of runs in which a small break has been made. In an ex- periment by the writer 50 runs were thus kept under observation for periods of several days at a time with results indicating that moles are as likely to be found at work one hour of the day or night as another. As to seasonal activity, it may be said that moles are probably never dormant, that they never hibernate. They may be trapped at any time of the year when the ground is not frozen too hard to pre- vent the working of the trap. It must be understood, however, that extension of surface runways occurs mainly at timgs when soil con- ditions are favorable — after rains in the summer or during periods of thawing in the winter. At other times the mole may secure his food by retraversing his old runs or by working at depths unaffected by frost or drought. Movements of soil-inhabiting worms, insects, and larvae tend to bring ever fresh supplies of food into the moles’ passageways. NATURAL ENEMIES AND CHECKS. By reason of its secluded life the mole is little subject to attacks by the many foes of other small mammals. Its burrow is so small that no formidable enemies except weasels or snakes can follow in the passageways, and as it seldom leaves these there is little chance of its being seen by predatory animals. However, the movement of the soil when a mole is working near the surface may readily be de- tected by a watchful foe, and it is probable that hungry foxes and co 3 mtes secure a tidbit now and then by springing suddenly upon a disturbed spot of earth and hurriedly digging out the furry little miner. On the other hand there is evidence that moles are distaste- ful to some animals, for they are seldom eaten by domestic cats and dogs which have learned to catch them. A peculiarly disagreeable odor attaching to the mole may account for its not being relished by the carnivora. It is quite likely, also, that the dense, soft fur is objectionable to some animals. Among the birds of prey hawks and owls take small toll from the mole tribe. An examination of the stomach contents of over 2,000 THE COMMON MOLE OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 5 of these birds disclosed the remains of hut 13 moles. ^ Five of these had been eaten by the red-tailed hawk, four by the red-shouldered hawk, and one each by the broad-winged hawk, the barred owl, the great gray owl, and the screech owl. Of 3,005 skulls of small mam- mals found in pellets disgorged by the barn owl, only twm were of the m.ole. Occasional or periodical floods w^hich spread over lowlands ad- joining streams constitute one of the greatest checks on the inordi- nate increase of moles. During these inundations numbers of moles may be found clinging to drift masses lodged against various obstruc- tions. Even though these individuals survive, their young have probably perished in the nests, for it is in the breeding season that the freshets commonly occur. BREEDING HABITS. Judging from the facts presented under the preceding heading, it would appear that the mole may be a comparatively slow breeder and still maintain its normal numbers from year to year. Such we find to be the case. From observations taken in the Middle West it was learned that the little animal breeds but once a year and that the number of young at a birth averages about four. These are produced in March or early April. Development after birth is comparatively rapid, for young found in the nest still hairless had already attained one-third the weight of the adults. Furthermore, yoimg moles trapped in the fall are almost fully grown. TRESPASSERS. It is interesting to note that the mole is not permitted to enjoy undisputed occupancy of the underground galleries w^hich his industry has constructed. Certain other small mammals, particularly shrews, voles or meadow mice, and sometimes ordinary house mice, find these tunnels convenient b 3 rways for marauding. As a result of this tres- passing the reputation of the mole suffers, for most of the injury to seed grains, tubers, and roots of cultivated plants is directly charge- able to these intruding rodents. A study of tooth marks on the^ damaged products will bear out this statement. NATURAL FOOD. The food habits of moles have been the subject of much discussion, but considering the multiphed evidence of digestive tract, dentition, stomach contents, and choice of food when in captivity, it must be 1 See “Hawks and Owls of the United States in their Relation to Agriculture,” by Dr. A. K. Fisher. U. S. Dept, of Agriculture, Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy, Bull. 3, 1893. 34909°— Bull. 583—14 2 6 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 583. admitted that the mole is a carnivorous animal. There is little to be gained by quibbling over the fact that a small quantity of vegetable matter is sometimes found in the mole’s stomach. The economic status of an animal ought not to be prejudiced by la^dng undue emphasis on its trifling digressions from the normal. From an examination of the stomach contents of 200 moles taken in all months of the year it was found that earthworms and white grubs constitute the brdk of the food. Beetles and their larvae and other insects that enter the ground, spiders, centipedes, cocoons, and puparia also form a part of the diet. In one stomach were found the remains of 171 small white grubs, in another 250 ant puparia, in another 10 cutworms, and in another 12 earthworms. The presence of starchy material in some of the stomachs is proof that the mole occasionally finds vegetable food, as certain seed grains softened b}^ contact with the moist soil, an acceptable addition to its worm and insect diet. Seed coats of corn, wheat, oats, and peanuts have been identified in a few stomachs. In captivity moles ravenously eat beefsteak, flesh of birds, fish, or almost any sort of fresh meat. Owing to their activity they sometimes consume each day a bulk of food equal to their own weight. In an experiment with over 30 captive moles the witer has known but one to touch field corn or tubers when placed vfithin easy access. A few ate green sweet corn from the cob, but numbers starved to death when supplied with white potatoes and sweet potatoes. INJURY AND DEPREDATIONS. Complaints of damage or depredations by moles are frequent and insistent. In most cases, perhaps, the charges if investigated would be sustained by the evidence presented; for in situations where the mole is not wanted it is considered an intolerable nuisance. In very many cases, on the other hand, a thorough investigation would show that the small rodents which follow in the mole’s runways are wholly responsible for the damage to seed grains and cultivated food products that grow underground. In lawns, parks, cemeteries, kitchen gardens, flower beds, and hke situations the mole may be regarded from our standpoint as a useful animal out of place. In pursuing its natural inclination to tunnel through the soil in search of food it injures roots of plants, displaces seeds, upridges the sod, and leaves passageways for plunderers to follow. Not only are grasses, plants, and flowers thus materially injured, but unsightly ridges are left. The presence of moles in these situations probably is evidence of a heavy infestation of -the soil by white grubs, but the case in point is only another illustration of the old saying that the remedy may be worse than the disease. THE COMMON MOLE OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 7 HOW TO DESTROY THE MOLE. ^Mien it is desirable to destro}^ moles, the trap will usually be found the most efficient mean.^. So far all experiments undertaken with the object of finding an acceptable poisoned bait have given negative results, as the very nature of the animars food makes it difficult to secure a satisfactory substitute for living grubs, worms, and insects. Then, too, the little animal seems shrewd and quick to sense the danger in poisoned substances. A number of excellent mole traps are on the market, and most of them will give good results if properly set. However, the mechanism of a trap is of secondary importance to the operator’s knowledge of the mole’s works and ways. All makes of traps that have come under the writer’s observation may be divided into three classes — the harpoon type, the scissor-jaw type, and the choker type. Harpoon- type traps (fig. 3, a) are designed to impale the mole in the soil by spring-driA^en spikes. Scissor-jaw traps (fig. 3, b) are intended to be set astride the runway to grasp the mole firmly when he attempts to pas^ from either direction. The choker type (fig. 3, c, and fig. 4) has a pair of wire loops that encircle the burrow when the trap is set. All three types are designed to be sprung by the same sort of mechanism — a trigger pan resting on a depressed portion of the mole ridge in such a way as to be lifted when the animal passes beneath. No part of an efficient mole trap may be in the runway itself, as any intrusion of this sort Avill ahnost iiwariably excite the natural suspicion of the animal to the extent of leading him to burrow around or beneath even a slight obstruction. Only general directions for setting mole traps can be given here. Specific instructions for handling any particular make of trap should be furnished by the manufacturer. A mole trap can be successfully operated only when set on that part of a runway that is near enough to the surface to upridge the sod or soil. A little observation Avill soon enable one to distinguish the newer and more frequently used runways from those that have peen partially or wholly abandoned. A httle cracldng of the soil where the sagging roof of the ridge has been raised again, a few particles of fresh earth thrust out to close a tiny opening or crevice, the wilting of grass or foliage along the course — these are indications of an occupied runway. When in doubt the question may always be settled by making a small breach in the ridge, and if that particular part of the burrow is in use the mole vdll invariably repair the break when he comes that way on his rounds. By following this plan all the centers of mole actiAuty on one’s premises may be definitely located. In placing the trap one of the stretches of the run that seems to be leading in some definite direction should be selected, rather than one of the turns of a labyrinth that may not be traversed eA^ery time the mole comes in the Aucinity. 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 583. Before setting the trap it is well to ascertain the course of the burrow by thrusting down a lead pencil, or stick of about that size. The trap selected should then be lined up with the course as nearly as Fig. 3.— Types of mole traps: a, harpoon type; h, scissor-jaw type; c, choker type. j)ossible; the jaws of the scissor-jaw type should straddle it, the loops of the choker type should encircle it, and the spikes of the har- })oon type should be directly above it. In the case of the harpoon type it is best to force the impaling spikes into the ground once or THE COMMON MOLE OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 9 twice to facilitate their penetrating into the burrow when the traj) is later sprung. It is also desirable, in setting any of the traps, to depress only that part of the mole ridge that is immediately beneath the trigger pan, using the hand instead of the foot for this purpose. A little earth may be built up snugly under the pan if necessary. Avoid treading upon other parts of the runways. It will pay to visit the traps at least twice a day. The persistence of the mole in repairing breaks in his runways (fig. 2) is equaled only by that of the spider in mending its torn web. One can take advantage of this known trait not only in selecting locations for trapping, but in planning the capture of the animal alive. Though requiring more time and attention than trapping, the method of catching moles by surprising them at work is fairly practicable. In following this plan one should open up 5 or 6 feet of ridge in each of the sev- eral distinct runway systems and make the rounds of subsequent inspection every few minutes. Wlien a mole is found repairing a break he can be tossed out with a shovel and dispatched. Repeated leveling of the mole ridges on a lawn by means of a roller, not only tends to discourage the animals from making further incursions, but prevents that injury to the grass roots which otherwise would result and restores to the lawn its more sightly appearance. ECONOMIC STATUS. As to the economic status of the mole it may be said that by its activities it commends itself to farmer and gardener for reasons other than that of its food habits. One of the most abundant of small mammals, for ages it has been working over the soil to the benefit of plant life. This tunneling by the shifting of earth particles permits better aeration of the soil and favors the entrance of water from the surface. It also mixes the soil and subsoil, carrying humus farther down and bringing the subsoil nearer the surface, whe^’o its elements of plant food may be made available. Fig. 4.— Mole trap of the choker type, devised and used by the Biological Survey. 10 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 583. The mole has also a commercial value, as in recent years, owing to the gradually decreasing number of wild fur-bearing animals, mole- skins have found a ready market. It is significant of our lack of attention to small business matters, however, that American mole- skins are not quoted or offered on the markets. All the skins used by our furriers are imported from Europe. Auction lists of fur dealers in London show that more than 3,000,000 moleskins were sold in 1911, 1912, and 1913. Recently a small lot of American mole- skins secured by the Biological Survey was prepared and made up by an expert furrier, who pronounced them in every respect equal or even superior to European skins. It seems likely, therefore, that a new industry amounting to many thousands of dollars annually might be developed in this country. As the price of labor in the United States is higher than in Europe, it is possible that for the present the farmer* boy may be the chief beneficiary of the new industry. o WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE ; 1914 A/y\ 3 ^ us. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Contribution from the Bureau of Statistics (Agricultural Forecasts) and the Bureau of Plant Industry. March 23, 1914. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. CONTENTS. Page. ocks of Grain on Farms March 1 1 cciiracy of Estimates of Stocks of Grain 2 lipments of Grain out of Counties where Grown 3 eparing Seed Corn for Planting (by C. P. Hartley) 4 le Preparation of Seed Grain for Spring Planting (by M. A. Carleton) 6 ages of Farm Labor. * 7 ours of Farm Hired Labor 9 ■end of Prices of Farm Products 10 due per Acre of Crop Production 11 >ecial Florida and California Crop Report 22 STOCKS OF GRAIN ON FARMS MARCH 1. / The Crop Reporting Board of the Bureau of Statistics (AgricuR ral Forecasts) estimates, from reports of correspondents and agents, lat the amount of wheat on farms March 1, 1914, was about >1,809,000 bushels or 19.9 per cent of the 1913 crop, against 16,483,000 bushels or 21.4 per cent of the 1912 crop on farms March 1913, and 122,025,000 bushels or 19.6 per cent of the 1911 crop on rms March 1, 1912. About 53.9 per cent of the crop will be shipped it of the counfies where grown, against 61.6 per cent of the 1912 *op, and 56.1 per cent of the 1911 crop so shipped. The amount of corn on farms March 1, 1914, was about 866,392,000 ishels or 35.4 per cent of the 1913 crop, against 1,289,655,000 jshels or 41.3 per cent of the 1912 crop on farms March 1, 1913, and TIME OF ISSUANCE AND SCOPE OF APRIL CROP REPORT. On Tuesday, April 7, at 12 noon (Washington time), the Bureau of Statistics 'Agricultural Forecasts) of the United States Department of Agriculture will issue a report upon the condition on April 1 of winter wheat and rye. Details by States, with comparisons, will appear in the April issue of the Agricultural Outlook. This umber (April) of the Agricultural Outlook will also give estimates of the condition - April 1 and losses during the year from diseases of horses, cattle, sheep, and swine; losses from exposure of cattle and sheep; and the number of breeding sows on April 1, 1914, as compared with April 1, 1913, in percentages. 3451G°— 14 1 2 FABMJEES^ BULLETIN 584. 884.069.000 bushels or 34.9 per cent of the 1911 crop on farms March 1, 1912. About 17.2 per cent of the crop will be shipped out of the counties where grown, against 21.8 per cent of the 1912 crop, and 20.5 per cent of the 1911 crop so shipped. The proportion of the 1913 crop which is merchantable is about 80.1 per cent, against 85 per cent of the 1912 crop, and 80.1 per cent of the 1911 crop. The amount of oats on farms March 1, 1914, was about 419,476,000 bushels or 37.4 per cent of the 1913 crop, against 604,216,000 bushels or 42.6 per cent of the 1912 crop on farms March 1, 1913, and 289.988.000 bushels or 31.4 per cent of the 1911 crop on farms March 1, 1912. About 26.5 per cent of the crop will be shipped out of the counties where grown, against 30.9 per cent of the 1912 crop, and 28.8 per cent of the 1911 crop so shipped. The amount of barley on farms March 1, 1914, was about 44,126,000 bushels or 24.8 per cent of the 1913 crop, against 62,283,000 bushels or 27.8 per cent of the 1912 crop on farms March 1, 1913, and 24.760.000 bushels or 15.5 per cent of the 1911 crop on farms March 1, 1912. About 48.4 per cent will be shipped out of the counties where grown, against 53.7 per cent of the 1912 crop, and 57.2 per cent of the 1911 crop so shipped. Details by States are shown in the tables on pages 12 to 15. ACCURACY OF ESTIMATES OF FARM SUPPLIES OF WHEAT. In years past there has been some disposition to question the esti- mates made on March 1 each year by the Department of Agriculture of the stocks of wheat held on farms as being too low, giving as a reason that the apparent supplies on July 1 plus the apparent con- sumption for one-third of a year (March 1 to July 1) and exports from March 1 to July 1 gave a figure larger than the estimate of the Depart- ment of Agriculture as to the stocks on farms. During the past four years these estimates have been checked against data, collected after the close of the season, of the marketings of wheat by farmers, sup- plies on July 1, and the amount used for seed. Table 1 shows the apparent stocks on March 1 of each of the past four years, based upon the stocks on farms July 1, the marketings between March 1 and July 1, and the amount used for spring seeding. Table 1. [In millions of bushels.] 1913 1912 1911 1910 On farms July 1.... 35 24 34 36 Spring seeding 24 25 27 25 Marlceted Mar. 1 to .Inly 1 by farmers . 95 80 109 94 Apparent farm stock Mar. 1 154 129 170 156 Equal, in per cent of crop 21.1 20.8 26.8 22.8 Stock on farms Mar. 1 as reported 156 122 163 160 Equal, in per cent of crop 21.4 19.6 25.6 23.4 THE AGKICULTUK4L OUTLOOK. 3 Considering the difhciilty involved in securing accurate data of supplies, there is reasonable consistency in the figures above. The total supplies of wheat in the country at any one time are made up of that held on farms, that held in interior mills and elcA^ators, and that held in primary markets. Stocks held at primary markets and a comparatively few interior points of large accumulation can be counted and are called ^Sdsible’’ stocks, and the amount so held is reported each week in trade journals as visible stocks of wheat. But no such data are collected concerning stocks held in the vast number of small mills and elevators scattered throughout the country. Soon after harvest farmers market their grain much faster than the receipts of grain at ‘^primary” or ‘Visible’’ supply points indicate, supplies then being accumulated in the uncounted interior mills and elevators; as the season advances, the movement from farms slackens, but the supplies at primary or “visible” points continue to be sup- plied largely by the interior “invisible” points. In other words, in the first part of the crop season the marketings of farmers are relatively greater than the receipts at primary or “visible” points, but in the latter part of the crop season, from March 1 to July 1, the marketings by farmers are relatively less than the receipts at primary or “visible” points, the interior “invisible” points being the intermediate reservoir. Those who have criticized the estimates of the Department of Agriculture have evidently overlooked this difference in the relative marketings by farmers and the movement to primary points. The 'unaccounted stocks on March 1 are held not so much on farms as in the interior mills and elevators. SHIPMENTS OF GRAIN OUT OF COUNTIES WHERE GROWN. In this issue of the Outlook (pp. 12 and 13) are published estimates of the percentage of the wheat and corn crops wliich moves out of counties where grown. Inquiries on this subject have been made yearly since 1883, about 30 years; the estimates indicate approxi- mately the portion of the crops which enters commercial channels; that is, which is shipped by railroads or boats. The figm*es indicate that there has been a gradual increase in the portion of both the corn crop and the wheat crop so handlecL For, by dividing the 30 years into three periods of 10 years each, it is observed that in the eighties 55.1 per cent of the wheat crop moved out of counties where grown; in the nineties, 55.7 per cent; and in the last decade, 58.1 per cent. So, in the case of corn, in the eighties 16.9 per cent of the crop moved out of counties where grovm; in the nineties, 19.2 per cent; and in the last decade, 21.9 per cent of the crop. 4 FARMERS \ BULLETIN 584. This tendency of an increasing part of the crop to he carried by railroads is undoubtedly a result of the area of production moving westward faster than the movement of the consuming area. The East and Southeast have become more and more dependent upon the West for their grain supplies, and thus more and more of the crop is represented in interstate commerce. PREPARING SEED CORN FOR PLANTING. By C. P. Hartley, Physiologist in Charge of Corn Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry. In general, better seed corn is now being used than was planted years ago. Experience is teaching the importance of good seed selection and proper care. Every spring there is a scarcity of good seed corn in some sections of the United States, and often the defi- ciency can not be supphed from other sections because the seed is not suitable. This scarcity of good seed corn can be prevented if farmers will properly save enough seed for several years’ planting. When the crop is good and the corn matures perfectly, sufficient seed for two or three years’ planting should be saved. The past year was unusually favorable in some States, and in those States seed should be retained for 1915. The exercise of such foresight from year to year is greatly improving the general quality of the seed corn planted. Farmers in several States which, because of severe drought last summer, averaged but very few bushels of corn per acre are now very much better supplied with acclimated seed corn than they would have been years ago under like circum- stances. SHOULD OLD OR NEW SEED BE PLANTED? Many inquiries have been received in regard to the comparative values of the seed corn of 1912 and 1913. Other things being equal, new seed should be planted. If, however, the season of 1913 was unfavorable to production or the proper maturing of the corn, while the season of 1912 was more favorable, the old seed will produce the better. When selected early, promptly dried, and properly cared for, seed corn retains its vitality and productivity for several years. SHOULD THE GERMINATING POWER OF EACH EAR BE TESTED’ If from corn that matured w^ell, seed is selected from standing stalks as soon as matured and is then promptly dried and kept dry, it will germinate aU right. Test 50 or 100 ears. Use the rag-doll method, a box of damp sawdust or sand, or any of the methods that have been so often THE AGEICULTUKAL OUTLOOK. 5 described. The testing can l)e done in the kitchen. It is merely necessary to keep the seed moist and warm for about six days. During the day the kernels should be fully as warm as a comforta- ble living room. It is not necessary to keep them at a uniform temperature, but they should not be allowed to become heated or to freeze. If the selected ears aU germinate well the remainder of the supply that has been equally well cared for need not be tested. No farmer can afford to plant an ear that is weak. It will pro- duce weak, unproductive, and unprofitable stalks. Corn smut can not be prevented by treating the seed corn. A PRACTICAL METHOD OF GRADING SEED CORN. Seed corn can not be successfully graded by the ordinary fanning mill or seed grader. It can, however, be successfully graded before the kernels are removed from the ears. All farmers realize the advantage of a uniform stand of stalks. No corn planter will drop the same number of kernels in every hill unless they are uniform in size and shape. Before shelling, the ears should be divided into two classes — those having medium-sized kernels and those having large- sized kernels. SHELL THE SEED CORN BY HAND. The members of the staff of the Office of Corn Investigations have used shellers of many makes, sizes, and patterns, and are agreed that it is advisable and profitable to shell seed corn by hand. The first operation consists in removing from the ears and discarding all kernels of poor size, shape, or appearance. The small, partially developed kernels from the tips of ears produce small, unproductive, and barren stalks. An ear is then shelled into a sieve, thus separating the chaff from the kernels. By this means the kernels from each ear can be inspected, and if in any way objectionable they can all be easily discarded. This opportunity is lost if ears are run through a sheller, and shellers usually break or crack some of the kernels, TESTING THE DROP OF THE COP.N PLANTER, Corn kernels are larger some seasons than others. The proper planter plates should be chosen, tested, and tied to the sack con- taining the kind of kernels which they drop satisfactorily. It is important to have these jmeliminaries well attended to early, so that delays vdll not occur when the soil is in good condition for planting. 6 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 584. THE PREPARATION OF SEED GRAIN FOR SPRING PLANTING. By M, A. Carleton, Cerealist, Bureau of Plant Industry. CLEANING AND GRADING. Seed grain should be carefully cleaned and graded before sowing. This work is ordinarily done with the fanning mill, the light kernels and some of the trash being blown out by a current of air, while the small kernels and most of the weed seeds are removed by means of screens. Many of the light or small kernels will not germinate at all, while others will produce only weak plants which mature little or no seed. The removal of the weed seeds helps to prevent the spread of weeds and favors the growth of the grain crop. The cleaning and grading process is also of assistance in preventing disease, as it removes many smut balls and diseased kernels. The proportion of the seed which should be removed depends very largely on its c(uality. If it is poor, light, or chaffy, a much larger propor- tion should be taken out than if it is plump and heavy. WHEAT. To prepare seed wheat for sowing two precautions are to be observed: First, run the grain through a fanning mill in order to obtain a uniformly good grade of seed. The wind will remove prac- tically all smut balls and light weed seed, while the heavier small seeds of weeds will pass through the sieves. Second, all seed wheat should be treated for the prevention of bunt or stinking smut and other preventable diseases. The following method of seed treatment, if carefully applied, will give satisfactory results: Prepare a solution of formalin by adding standard commercial formalin to water in the ratio of 1 pint to 40 gallons. Pour this solution into a tank of convenient capacity, say 24 cubic feet, until the tank is half full. Add grain to the amount of 10 bushels, and stir with a long-handled shovel or hoe. This will float smut balls to the surface for removal. Allow the solution to act 20 to 30 minutes. Then draw off the solution into another tank or barrel and shovel the grain into sacks if it is to be sown the same day. Otherwise wash the treated grain with pure water and spread out to dry. It has been found that those wheats most easily injured by the thrasher are most susceptible to injury by formalin or bluestone treatment. Therefore to reduce this seed injury to a minimum it is advisable to wash the treated grain as suggested. Loose smut of wheat can be prevented, but the method is not easily practicable. THE AGEICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 7 OATS. To prepare oats for planting, run seed through the fanning mill to remove bits of straw, weed stems, and foul seed. Then treat with a 1-40 solution of formalin in the following way: Put grain to be treated in coarse bags and immerse for 20 minutes in the formalin solution. Lift out of barrel and allow to drain. If it is not convenient to sow on day of treatment, the seed should be dipped in pure water to wash off the remaining formalin. This treatment, if properly carried out, will prevent oat smut. barley. In pre])armg barley seed for planting, the same methods should be employed as those recommended for oats. Barley, being somewhat more susceptible to formalin injury than other grains, should be treated 10 minutes with a 1-50 solution followed by washing in pure water. This treatment will prevent covered smut of barley and materially check the ravages of the leaf-stripe disease. FLAX. Thoroughly clean all seed before sowing. To prevent flax wilt and other preventable diseases, pile the seed to be treated on a clean, tight floor and apply a 1-40 solution of formalin at the rate of 2 quarts to the bushel. This will not cause the seed to mat, but is sufficient to moisten it thoroughly. GRAIN SORGHUAJS. The seeds of kafir, milo, feterita, etc., intended for planting this spring should be carefully examined for quality. Prolonged summer drought in 1913, aided by chinch bugs and grasshoppers in some sec- tions, injured these crops quite seriously in a considerable part of the sorghum belt. Much of the seed harvested from such fields was immature or shrunken and will give only poor stands if planted. Some seed which was of fairly good quality when harvested has doubtless been injured by being allowed to heat in the bin after thrashing. Careful germination tests will help to show the planting value of the seed in hand. It should be remembered, however, that poor seed usually does not germinate as well in the fields as in tests made in the house. WAGES OF FARM LABOR. The money wages of farm labor increased about 2.5 per cent during the past year and about 1 1 per cent during the past four years. Since 1902 the increase has been about 36 per cent. These estimates are based upon reports of correspondents of the Bureau of Statistics (Agricultural Forecasts) of the Department of Agriculture. 8 FAEMEES^ BULLETIN 584. Wages of farm labor tended upward during the decade of the seventies, _ they were almost stationary during the eighties, and declined from 1892 to 1894, since which time they have steadily tended upward. Farm wages now, compared with wages during the eighties, are about 55 per cent higher; compared with the low year of 1894, wages are now about 67 per cent higher. The current average rate of farm wages in the United States, when board is included, is, by the month, $21.38; by the day, other than harvest, $1.16; at harvest, $1 .57. When board is not included the rate is, by the month, $30.31; by the day, other than harvest, $1.50; by the day at harvest, $1.94. The premium of harvest wages over ordinary day wages on the farm is gradually lessening. Thirty years ago wages at harvest averaged nearly 60 per cent higher than wages at other than harvest time; 20 years ago the premium was about 42 per cent; 10 years ago, about 35 per cent: and last year, about 32 per cent. Perhaps this is duo in part to improved labor-saving harvest machinery and in part to an improved system of farming by which the labor demand is more evenly distributed through the year. The money wages, when board is furnished, is about 30 per cent loss than when board .is not included; that is, nearly one-third of what a man earns is charged to board. This ratio has not changed materially in the past 30 years. Wages in different sections of the United States vary widely, averag- ing highest in the far Western States and lowest in the South Atlantic States. For instance, the monthly rate, without board, is $56.50 in Nevada, $54 in Montana, and $51 in Utah; but $17.90 in South Caro- lina, $19.60 in Mississippi, and $20.20 in Georgia. The highest State average, $56.50, is thus seen to bo 3.2 times higher than the lowest rate, $17.90. This wide difference in the wage rates in different sections of the United States is gradually lessening. In seven investigations made between 1866 and 1881 the average of wages of farm day labor (with- out board) in the far Western States (where wages were highest) was about 160 per cent higher than in the South Atlantic States (where v^ages were lowest) ; whereas in seven investigations made since 1898 . the Western States averaged about 110 per cent higher than the South Atlantic, and in the past year they were only about 90 per cent liigher. The money wages of farm labor have increased relatively more than wages for labor in city manufactories during the past 20 to 30 years. A comparison of the average of wages per employee in manufacturing industries, as reported by the censuses of 1910, 1900, and 1890, indi- cates that the wages of such employees increased 22 per cent in 10 years (1900 to 1910) and increased only 23 per cent in the 20 years; THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 9 the increases in farm-labor wages were approximately 37 per cent in the 10 years and about 55 per cent in the 20 years. This relative gain of rural upon urban wages tends to check automatically the movement from country to cit}/. Wages of farm labor have been increasing rapidly, not only in the United States, but in most, if not all, other countries of the world. In the central agricultural region of Russia the wage per day paid to male labor for the years 1901-1905 averaged 34 kopecks (17.5 cents) at sowing time, 50 ko.pecks (25.7 cents) at hay harvest, and 54 kopecks (27.7 cents) at wheat harvest. By 1910 these wages had increased to 55 kopecks (27.8 cents), 73 kopecks (37.6 cents), and 87 kopecks (44.8 cents), respectively. In Hungary the wages of agri- cultural laborers increased about 60 per cent in the 10 years from 1897 to 1907. In Denmark, from 1892 to 1905, wages of farm labor, with board, increased about 30 per cent, and without board 22 per cent. In Sweden wages of agricultural laborers increased 38 per cent in the 10 years from 1898 to 1908. For Norway we have data show- ing the wages in country and in towns, wherein is shown that wages with board increased 19 per cent in country and 15 per cent in towns during the 10 years, 1895 to 1905, thus showing a greater gain in country than in town wages. In Japan, where economic conelitions have been changing rapidly, the yearly money wages of agricultural labor more than doubled in the 14 years from 1894 1o 1908 and increased 43 per cent from 1898 to 1908. Although farm wages in the United States increased about 37 per cent from 1900 to 1910, land values nearly doubled in the same time, indicating that in the distribution of the proceeds from farming operations a larger proportion' now goes to capital account and less to labor account than formerly; the interest rate of return on the cap- italized value of land, however, is probably less now than 25 or 30 years ago. The value per acre of crop production increased about 50 per cent from 1900 to 1910. A detailed statement by States of wages is shown on pages 16, 17, and 18. HOURS OF FARM HIRED LABOR. The average length of time per day required of hired labor on farms of the United States during the spring season is 9 hours 54 minutes; during the summer season, 10 hours 54 minutes; fall season, 9 hours 52 minutes; winter season, 8 hours 33 minutes. The average for the four seasons is 9 hours 48 minutes. These estimates are based upon reports of correspondents of the Bureau of Statistics (Agricultural Forecasts), Department of Agriculture, shown in detail on page 19. The State having the longest working time in the spring season is North Dakota, 10 hours 50 minutes; followed by Wisconsin, 10 hours 34516°— 14 -2 10 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 584. 40 minutes; and Minnesota, 10 hours 30 minutes. The shortest working day in the spring is in Utah, 9 hours; followed by Arizona and Nevada, each with 9 hours 30 minutes. In the summer season Maryland has the distinction of the longest working day, 11 hours 45 minutes; followed by Oklahoma, 11 hours 25 minutes; and Minnesota, 1 1 hours 20 minutes. Utah again has the shortest working day, 9 hours 30 minutes, followed by Nevada, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, each with 10 hours. The time required of farm labor in the fall is longest in North Dakota, 11 hours; followed by Minnesota, 10 hours 25 minutes; and South Dakota, 10 hours 15 minutes. The shortest period is in Utah, 9 hours; followed by Delaware, 9 hours 25 minutes; and Nevada, 9 hours 30 minutes. In the winter season a day’s work is longest in Florida, 9 hours 20 ' minutes; followed by Vermont, 9 hours 15 minutes; and New Hamp- shire, 9 hours 10 minutes. The shortest period in winter is in Utah, 7 houi’s 55 minutes; followed by North Dakota and Indiana, each with 8 hours 5 minutes; and Wyoming and Idaho, 8 hours 10 minutes. By combining the separate estimates of the four seasons, we find Wisconsin ranking first, 10 hours 16 minutes; Minnesota and North Dakota close behind, each with 10 hours 15 minutes; followed by Maryland, with 10 hours 7 minutes; and South Dakota, 9 hours 59 minutes. The shortest period is credited to Utah, 8 hours 51 minutes ; followed by Nevada, 9 hours 21 minutes ; Arizona, 9 hours 26 minutes; Ohio, 9 hours 30 minutes; and Wyoming, 9 hours 31 minutes. It thus appears that farm hired labor is required to work longest m the section including Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North and South Dakota ; and shortest in the Eocky Mountain States, including Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and Wyoming. TREND OF PRICES OF FARM PRODUCTS. The level of prices paid producers of the United States for the prin- cipal crops increased about 1.3 per cent during February; in the past six years the price level has increased during February 1.7 per cent; thus, the increase this year is less than usual. On March 1 the index figure of crop prices was about 18.1 per cent higher than a year ago, but 7.5 per cent lower than two years ago and 4.8 per cent higher than the average of the past six years on March 1. The level of prices paid to producers of the United States for meat animals increased 3.1 per cent during the month from January 15 to February 15, which compares with an increase of 4.7 per cent in the same period a year ago, an increase of 1.8 per cent two years ago, a THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 11 decrease of 3.4 per cent three years ago, and an increase of 0.6 per cent four years ago. It thus appears that the advance in prices in meat animals in the past month this year has been greater than usual. On February 15 the average (weighted) prices of meat animals, hogs, cattle, sheep, and chickens, was $7.27 per 100 pounds, which is 8.6 per cent higher than the prevailing price a year ago, 31.3 per cent higher than two years ago, 17.5 per cent higher than three years ago, and 8.4 per cent higher than four years ago on February 15. A tabulation of prices is shown on pages 20 and 21. VALUE PER ACRE OF CROP PRODUCTION. The value per acre of crop production in 1913 is estimated as approximately $16.31, which is the highest average that has been recorded in any year since such estimates have been made, viz, 1866, and compares with $15.96 similarly estimated for 1912 crops, $15.51 for 1911, $15.52 for 1910, and $16.02 for 1909. Crop yields in 1911 were very short and in 1913 below average, whereas 1912 crops were unusually large; but, by reason of high prices when production is short and low prices when production is large, the value per acre in these years has differed but slightly. In particular States, however, there have been considerable varia- tions. Value per acre was lowest this year in Kansas, $7, due to the severe drought last summer; the year before Kansas crops were worth $10.60 per acre. On the other hand, Iowa crops in 1913 ($17.01 per acre) were worth more than in 1912 ($14.30). A detailed statement by States for the past five years is given on page . These estimates are based upon data ob tamed for 12 crops — wheat, corn, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, flaxseed, potatoes, hay, cotton, rice, and tobacco — which comprise about 90 per cent of the total crop area of the United States and represeut approximately the average of all crops. The trend of value per acre of crop production in the United States since r866 is shown in Table 2. Table 2, — Value per acre of 12 important crops, combined, in the United States, 1866 - 1913 .^ 1913 .I16.31 1912 15. 96 1911 15.51 1903 $12. 62 1902 12. 07 1901 11. 43 1893 $9.50 1892 10. 10 1891 11.76 1883 $10.93 1882 12. 93 1881 13.10 1873 $14. 19 1872 14. 86 1871 15.74 1910 15. 52 1909 16.02 1900 10.31 1899 9. 13 1890 11.03 1889 8.99 1880 13. 01 1879 13. 26 1870 15. 40 1869 14. 67 1908 15. 32 1898 9.00 1888 10.30 1878 10. 37 1868 14. 17 1907 14. 74 1906 13. 46 1897 9. 07 1896 7. 94 1887 10.14 1886 9. 41 1877 12. 01 1876 10. 80 1867 15. 09 1866 14. 17 1905 13. 28 1904 13. 26 1895 8. 12 1894 9. 06 1885 9. 72 1884 9. 95 1 1 1875 12. 20 1 1874 13.25 1 For years previous to 1909 rice and flaxseed are not included; these omissions in 1911 made no dift'er- ence in the average for 1911 and only 1 cent in 1910; therefore their omission is practically negligible in the results. Values, 1866 to 1878, reduced to gold basis. 12 FAEMEKS BULLETIN 584. Table 3. — Wheat . — Estimated stocks on farms and in interior mills and ele.cators and price per bushel Mar. 1. percentage of crop which moves out of county where grown, by States, and for time indicated. State. Per cent of crop on farms Mar. 1. Quantity on farms Mar. 1 in thousands of bushels, i. e., 000 omitted. Per cent of crop shipped out of county where grown. Quantity in interior mills and elevators Mar. 1, in thousands of bushels. Price per bushel to producers Mar. 1. 1914 1913 1909 to 1913 av. 1914 1913 1909 to 1913 aver. 1914 ■ 1913 : i '>0- yr. av. 1914 1913 (revised esti- mates). 1912 1914 1913 1909 to 1913 av. P.ct P.ct P.ct Bu. Bu. Bu. P.ct P.ct P.ct Bu. Bu. Bu. Cts. as.' Cts. Me 35 25 34 35 25 38 0 0 0 0) ' (0 (Q N. H Vt 12 22 38 0 0 5 0 0 0 0) G) (') 100 95 104 Mass R. I Conn i i N. Y 25 27 1,700 1,404 1,908 31 30 23 612 536 871' 97| 101 102 N. J 21 20 25 294 300 398 30 33 25 0) G) G) 94. 103 104 Pa 30 27 33 6, 570 6,021 7,595 32 39 28 3,935 3,571 3,480: 95 100 103 Del 21 19 23 336 361 415 53 51 54 0) G) (^) 98 100 103 Md 16 18 22 1,296 1,620 2, 228 56 62 62 1,136 898 1,504 95 101 103 Va 22 20 28 2,332 1,720 2,428 32 31 32 1,591 1,.547 2, 160 100 106 107 W. Va : . 27 21 26 810 714 868 12 11 15 0) . G) (1) 101 102 106 N. C 28 25 30 1,988 1,325 1,688 4 4 5 0) (0 (') no 111 115 s. c 20 20 24 200 140 264 1 1 2 C) G) G) 124 115 122 Ga Fla 22 14 21 374 168 301 6 3 4 (0 G) (0 117 121 126 Ohio 28 17 28 9, 828 1,666 7,947 44 27 44 4, 212 1,464 6,154 92 102 103 Ind 20 13 22 7,960 1,313 6,970 52 40 50 4,773 1,210 5,848 91 98 101 Ill 17 11 19 7,123 1,078 5,921 53 52 53 3,770 982 7,140 87 94 98 Mich 26 22 27 3,328 1,540 4,024 40 36 41 1, 789 980 2, 590 92 101 100 Wis 36 34 32 1,332 1,224 1,052 24 21 17 476 463 651 83 82 93 Minn 29 34 28 19, 720 22, 780 16, 851 59 62 67 8,845 10, 726 5,707 83 79 94 Iowa 26 32 32 4,264 4,096 3,282 58 58 39 1,312 1,928 1,590 79 79 88 Mo 17 16 19 6,732 3, 808 5,108 43 53 48 5, 542 4, 275 6, 137 87 95 98 N. Dak 19 21 22 14,991 30, 198 19, 708 68 73 75 8,674 24,449 9, 516 80 74 90 S. Dak 27 25 25 9,180 13, 050 9, 799 65 70 72 6, 795 8,350 1,776 78 75 89 Nehr 22 25 26 13, 706 13, 775 11,838 62 69 66 6, 856 4,955 4,576 74 73 85 Kans 12 18 18 10,440 16, 614 12, 875 54 69 71 6,959 8,306 4,626 79 77 91 Ky 13 12 17 1,287 828 1,485 25 29 31 1,972 1,166 2, .574 97 101 103 Tenn 16 18 20 1,344 1,278 1,545 28 28 30 1,428 920 1,245 103 107 108 Ala 15 10 19 60 30 82 3 4 3 (0 (0 G) 122 118 114 Miss 12 22 12 13 1 0 La Tex 10 12 11 1,360 1,320 938 48 50 32 2,320 1, 764 1,056 90 93 104 Okla 8 13 13 1,400 2,613 2, 266 60 68 62 1,575 3,215 900 80 80 93 Ark 24 17 23 312 1 53 238 14 13 8 (0 G) (0 87 90 97 Mont 23 27 26 4,761 5, 211 ! 2, 5971 55 49 37 (1) G) G) 65 66 83 Wvo 31 35 31 682 770 486: 25 20 9 G) (0 (1) 73 91 97 Colo 24 19 24 2,328 2,090 1,987 55 48 49 (1) G) G) 75 73 86 N. Mex 15 15 18 ISO 180 178 15 13 8 (0 (0 G) 92 87 107 Ariz 12 10 12 108 70 1 69 10 5 7 0) G) G) 100 118 114 Utah 28 32 31 1,792 1,9.52 1 1,570 28 35 35 0) (0 G) 75 76 83 Nev 28 29 28 308 319 j 240' 20 20 14 G) G) (0 91 101 106 Idaho 19 25 22 2, 679 3, 650 2,783 54 58 63 ^ G) (1) (0 67 68 79 Wash 12 14 14 6,396 7, 518 5,927 75 79 77 9, 594 16,118 9,633 77 77 85 Or eg 11 13 14 1,727 2,730 2, 226 58 65 59 G) G) G) 80 80 88 Cal 13 13 10 546 819 883 48 61 61 G) G) i }) 96 90 99 U . S 19.9 21.4|22.3 151, 809 156, 483 149,024 53.9 61.6 58.1 98,505 118,400 95, 710 83.1 80.6 93.1 1 Not estimated separately, hut included in total. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK 13 Table 4. — Corn . — Estimated stocks on farms and price per bushel Mar. 1, percentage of crop tvhich moves out of county tehere grown, and percentage of crop which is of mer- chantable quality, by States, and for time indicated. state. . Per cent of crop on farms Mar. 1— Quantity on farms Mar. 1, in thousands of bushels, i. e., 000 omitted. Per cent of crop shipped out of county where grown. ! 1 Per cent of crop mer- chantable. Price t)cr bushel to producers Mar. 1— o3 CO 1 1909-1913 1 aver. cc o> 1909-1913 aver. 05 CO 05 : 10 - y e a r aver. ' 05 fO o; 10 - y e a r 1 aver. , ' j 05 ! CO 05 1 1909-1913 1 aver. P.c. p.c. P.c. Bu. Bu. Bu. P.c. P.c. P.c. P.c. P.C. P.c. Os. Cts. Maine 17 21 22 102 126 153 0 1 0 65 80 77 85 66 74 New Hampshire 21 30 30 168 330 304 1 0 0 64 76 76 80 65 73 Vermont 24 28 31 408 504 610 0 0 0 61 70 74 74 66 71 Massachusetts 28 34 33 532 714 667 1 0 1 72 82 77 79 68 73 Rhode Island 47 48 41 188 240 184 1 2! 1 1 71 86 83 85 72 Connecticut 30 32 32 690 960 899 0 1 1 1 73 84 81 77 66 75 New York 23 33 31 3,450 6,534 6,372 2 2i 2 59 73 71 80 63 70 New Jersey 44 40 40 4,796 4, 160 4,081 15 14| 15 88 90 86 77 64 ()9 Pennsylvania 38 39 36 21,698 24,024 20, 594 7 9 6 83 86 80 71 631 69 Delaware 43 41 41 2,666 2, 706 2,467 35 36 38 85, 88 87 70 54 62 Maryland 42 46 41 9,282 11,270 9,36^ 20 25 29 80' 86 84 68 56 65 Virginia 44 42 41 22,660 19,950 19,361 8 8i lOj 84: 82 83 83 70 75 West Virginia 33 34 31 7, 491 8,330 6, 380 4 5 5 81 84 77 86 68 76 North Carolina 48 45 46 26, 544 22,995 21,387 3 3! 4 87' 87 86 93 83 85 South Carolina 53 50 52 20, 405 17, 150 15, 327 2 2 3 91' 91 89 101 90 91 Georgia 53 42 44 33, 390 22,680 22, 915 6 2 3 90' ! 86 89 93 85 86 Florida 42 37 34 37 4,242 2, 890 2,925 4 2 88; ; 83 85 81 87 87 Ohio i 44 39 54, 131 76, 736 60, 145 23 23 24i 8l! 88 81 63 49 57 Indiana 37 ! 44 40 65, 268 87, 736 71,964 29 32 32 84' 89 83 61 46 54 Illinois 36 1 45 43 101, 592 191, 835 157, 795 35 45 45j i i 91 87 60 46 53 Michigan 32 38 34 17,952 20,976 18,931 5 5 78' ! 71 1 73 66 52 59 Wisconsui 37 1 35 32 24, 716 20, 405 17,054 5 2 3 78 ! 74 1 74 59 48 57 Minnesota 35 42 35 33,600 32, 844 23, 605 25 15 14 85 ; 74 70 50 38 48 Iowa 37 45 43 125,171 194,400 146,983 30 33 I 24 90 * 87 83 56 39 48 Missouri 22 1 '' 38 28,402 97,560 81, 105 5 14 12 56 87 82 72 48 57 North Dakota 20 20 20 2, 160 1,760 1,127 3 2 2 68 55 ()5 57 49 58 South Dakota 31 1 36 32 20,863 27, 468 18, 684 35 42 26 89 71 80 54 37 47 Nebraska 24 40 41 27, 408 73, 040 75,316 15 20 37 83 80 89 60 43 48 Kansas 6 36 34 1,404 62, 712 53, 899 1 22 22 45 87 8(i 71 47 54 Kentucky 34 42 39 25, 432 45,948 36, 998 5 8 11 75 ' 85 83 79 61 67 Tennessee 42 46 42 28, 854 40, 618 35, 464 9 15 16 81 ; 88 87 82 65 69 Alabama 47 45 43 26,038 24, 390 20, 436 2 2 3 87 1 85 87 93 79 83 Mississippi 48 ! 45 43 30,240 25, 560 20, 419 4 3 3 89 88 87 81 75 79 Louisiana 38 ! 37 38 15, 884 12,025 12,650 6 5 6 77 85 84 79 75 73 Texas 30 1 31 48,960 - 52, 122 39, 785 6 6 9 74 80 82 87 69 75 Oklahoma 18 i 31 28 9,396 31,589 24, 854 12 22 23 65 78 ' 81 75 ! 49 59 Arkansas 36 39 38 16,920 19,695 19,048 3 3 4 79 86 65 , 83 82 70 74 Montana 28 30 19 252 ISO 71 3 3 2 1 85 1 81 92 98 Wyoming •. Colorado 17 35 21 i 85 140 40 1 0 0 ; 78 j 50 ! 74 75 50 62 32 37 28 2,016 3,219 1,581: 15 1 12 9 86 1 i '' 68 46 j 64 New Mexico 18 ! 21 20 288 441 379 3 6 5 75 1 70 81 77 I 1 <7 93 Arizona 16 17 16 ! 80 85 71 ' 10 5 5 75 87 1 85 108 130 no Utah Nevada 16 20 20 t j 60 53 3 4 3 80 1 ! 74 72 77 Idaho 10 1 1 13 13 1 40 I" . 40' 3 2 2 87 78 87 73 76 80 W ashtngton 15 19 17 i 150 152 114 5 6 4 78 80 83 71 82 84 Oregon 13 13 13 1 78 ; 68 2 2 2 80 80 81 77 1 77 92 California 14 i 13 252 266 218, 17 18 19 85 90 89 86 83 85 United States.. 35.4 41.3 39.0 1 i -! 866,392 ! 1 1,289,655 1,072, 885 17.2 21.8 1 21.9 80. 1 85.0 !83.8 1 |(i9. 1 52. 2 59.7 14 FARMERS BULLETIN 584, Table 5. — Oats . — Estimated stocks on farms and price per bushel Mar. 1 and percentage of crop which moves out of county ivhere grovm, by States, and for time indicated. State. Per cent of crop on farms Mar. 1 — Quantity on farms Mar. 1, in thousands of bushels, i. e., 000 omitted. Per cent of cron shipped out of county where grown. Price per bushel to producers Mar. 1-^ 1914 1913 1909- 1913 aver- age. 1914 1913 1909- 1913 aver- age. 1914 1913 10-yr. aver- age. 1914 1913 1909- 1913 aver- age. Maine P.c. P. c. P. c. Bu. Bu. Bu. P.c. P.c. P. c. C/.U Cfs. Cfs. 36 32 31 2, 016 1,472 1.480 2 2 2 60 50 56 New Hampshire 28 35 32 112 175 140 3 0 0 57 49 55 Vermont 38 39 37 1,178 1,287 1,0.33 1 0 1 50 46 55 Massachusetts 24 35 32 72 105 88 1 0 1 52 46 55 Rhode Island 27 32 32 27 32 24 0 1 0 60 Connecticut 27 24 26 81 72 92 0 0 0 50 48 55 New York 43 43 41 18, 361 15, 781 15,863 7 4 7 47 41 49 New Jersey 35 31 38 700 589 735 13 13 12 47 41 49 Pennsylvania 42 42 40 15,036 15, 288 12,966 5 6 7 47 42 50 Delaware 25 25 26 25 25 29 10 9 10 45 40 45 Maryland 26 25 26 338 ,350 313 15 13 12 50 43 49 Virginia 30 29 29 1,260 1,131 1,C97 7 7 7 56 52 58 West Virginia 28 30 29 784 930 675 2 2 3 55 49 56 North Carolina 20 19 21 900 722 732 2 2 3 60 61 65 South Carolina 18 18 19 1.5.30 1,260 1,143 4 3 3 68 66 68 Georgia 19 15 16 1,748 1,140 1,123 6 3 3 67 64 69 Florida 15 11 17 135 77 104 2 2 3 65 63 74 Ohio 36 41 37 19,584 38,253 22, 759 31 34 31 39 33 43 Indiana 29 36 32 10. 556 28, 728 17, .302 43 43 44 37 31 41 Illinois 37 41 35 38,517 74,907 50,209 45 50 51 37 32 41 Michigan 39 42 38 17,550 21, 756 17.548 23 21 26 39 33 43 Wisconsin 45 49 ■ 44 37, 350 41,503 31,722 17 20 18 36 31 41 Minnesota 44 47 40 49,544 57, 763 34, 168 28 27 29 32 27 38 Iowa 40 47 41 67, 360 102, 366 63, 152 44 47 39 34 28 37 Missouri 28 37 36 7,420 13, 727 9, 677 10 20 16 44 35 44 North Dakota •. 47 58 48 27, 166 55,216 25,159 14 19 16 -^31 26 38 South Dakota 43 52 41 18, 103 27, 248 14,301 25 34 27 32 26 37 Nebraska 38 44 41 22, 648 24, 420 22, 089 17 17 34 37 31 38 Kansas 23 39 36 7, 889 21,450 13,485 2 15 14 ' 46 39 44 Kentucky 23 28 28 736 1,120 928 2 5 6 53 49 54 Tennessee 26 24 25 1,638 1,344 1,396 15 20 17 59 52 56 Alabama 14 13 15 938 676 684 2 2 2 67 64 68 Mississippi 16 14 17 448 280 340 2 1 1 60 63 65 Louisiana 15 14 17 150 98 109 3 4 1 62 54 62 Texas 22 22 18 7, 150 6, 842 3, 661 32 29 24 50 44 57 Oklahoma 25 32 27 4,625 7,520 4,627 18 22 22 49 40 51 Arkansas 27 21 26 1,728 735 1,042 5 3 3 52 58 60 Montana 46 50 39 10, 028 11,450 6,503 28 25. 34 35 35 46 Wyoming Colorado 35 45 36 2,940 3,870 1,936 25 30 13 40 43 52 35 35 31 3, 745 4,340 3,026 30 26 27 48 43 50 New Mexico 20 24 22 300 432 278 15 15 10 34 45 60 Arizona 23 13 15 69 39 35 10 10 12 78 79 71 Utah 32 40 34 1,312 1,680 1,215 31 24 26 40 45 51 Nevada 31 27 25 155 108 87 16 23 14 55 52 63 Idaho 32 38 31 4,832 6,460 3,817 41 43 44 33 29 44 Washington 33 30 26 4,686 4,110 3,228 45 49 41 40 39 48 Oregon 33 31 28 5,016 4,247 3,248 32 34 35 39 41 49 California 15 14 13 990 1,092 862 50 50 40 45 57 55 United States.. 37.4 42.6 37.1 419, 476 604, 216 396, 230 26.5 30.9 29.6 38.9 33.1 42.6 THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK 15 Table G. — Barley . — Estimated stocks on farms and price per bushel ^far. 1, percentage of crop which moves out of county ivhere grown, by States, and for time indicated. State. Per cent of crop on farms Mar. 1— Quantity on farms Mar. 1, in thousands of bushels, i. e., 000 omitted. Per cent of ero]> shipped out of county where grown. i Price per bushel to producers Mar. 1— 1914 1913 1912 1914 1913 1912 1914 1913 1912 1914 1913 1909- 1913 aver- age. P. c. P. c. P. c. Bu. Bu. Bu. P.c. P. e. P. c. Cts. Cts. Ct^. Maine 20 23 21 28 23 21 1 1 2 76 77 82 New Hampshire 20 25 27 6 0 0 0 0 0 80 90 82 Vermont 25 25 28 96 100 112 1 0 0 75 80 80 New Y ork 23 33 20 473 693 400 16 20 32 71 66 77 Pennsylvania 27 28 34 49 56 68 7 10 0 75 73 70 Maiyland 14 10 10 20 10 10 5 5 1 62 75 64 Virginia 17 18 10 49 36 20 6 7 1 70 68 67 North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Ohio 27 32 12 259 192 60 28 38 51 56 55 68 Indiana 22 30 17 44 90 34 45 40 25 50 58 63 Illinois 28 38 19 393 684 285 40 41 45 56 49 65 Miehigan 25 27 14 527 621 308 21 25 33 65 59 68 Wiseonsin 33 33 14 5,981 8, 184 2, 926 42 41 63 53 49 71 Minnesota 31 34 17 10, 788 14,280 4,760 53 60 65 47 43 64 Iowa 23 29 20 2, .300 4, 234 2,200 60 60 65 52 52 65 Missouri 20 35 25 22 35 25 0 19 15 66 70 North Dakota 27 31 18 6,885 10,912 3,690 50 65 55 40 37 57 South Dakota 23 25 15 3, 856 5, 775 825 61 64 50 45 39 62 Nebraska 21 31 14 370 775 182 21 16 50 48 43 54 Kansas 25 44 20 486 1,804 320 20 20 5 54 40 61 Kentucky 7 9 6 6 9 6 5 20 2 70 74 Tennessee 6 5 17 3 0 17 10 0 20 90 75 81 Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Texas 15 26 10 25 52 10 10 15 22 73 78 91 Oklahoma 12 15 10 8 30 10 5 16 15 77 ! 55 57 Arkansas Montana 30 44 35 558 616 385 40 38 47 55 1 56 66 Wyoming 25 45 25 99 180 100 5 25 10 64 i 68 73 Colorado 25 35 15 812 1,050 315 20 25 35 56 i ® 64 New Mexico 20 12 15 19 12 15 10 10 5 75 76 Arizona 19 24 15 282 336 195 40 20 62 60 78 78 Utah 25 29 15 289 319 150 35 30 45 55 60 65 Nevada 25 30 25 123 150 125 10 20 15 80 80 81 Idaho 23 25 15 1,739 1,725 900 45 31 60 50 46 57 Washington 23 20 16 1,677 1,580 1,040 68 50 65 51 51 64 Oregon 21 24 20 882 1,032 780 31 40 28 57 55 66 California 15 16 11 4,972 6,688 4,466 50 60 60 60 66 71 United States.. 24.8 27.8 15.5 44, 126 62,283 24, 760 48.4 53.7 57.2 51.1 ’ 49.0 61.5 IG FARMERS BULLETIN 584, Table 7 — Wages of male far in labor. state and division. Per month with ])oard. l^er month without board. 1913 1909 1899 1893 1 1913 ! 1909 1 1 1899 1 i 189.3 Maine $25. 50 $26. 71 $18. 00 $18. 20 $36.00 $37. 38 .$26. 58 $26. .39 New Hampshire 24. 70 25.18 18.48 18.96 38. 60 37. 92 28.22 28. 72 Vermont 26. 30 25.93 18. 74 18.20 37.00 36.51 27. 49 25.55 Massachusetts 25. 50 26. 52 18. 32 18. 55 42. 00 41.40 31.2.5 31.15 Rhode Island 25.00 24.62 18. 35 19.14 39. 40 43.11 30. 56 30. 58 Connecticut 23.90 24.61 17. 52 18. 21 .39. .30 36.92 ! .30. 28 32. 32 New York 25.50 24.78 17. 52 18. 91 .36. 20 33.64 24.88 26. 64 New Jersey 21.20 20. 50 15. 19 14.74 35.50 32. 01 25. .30 24.83 Pennsylvania 20. 60 19. 69 14.32 14. 19 32.00 29.45 22. 71 22.84 Delaware 17.20 17. 12 11.98 12.23 1 26.00 26.14 18. 55 19.54 Maryland 17. 30 15.96 11.53 11.77 26.50 23.82 17. 92 18. 30 Virginia 16. 10 15.00 10. 43 9.84 j 23. 50 21.11 14.82 14.40 West Virginia 21.20 20. 33 13.55 12. 82 30. 50 28.05 19.85 19.06 North Carolina 15.90 14.05 8. 56 8.62 1 22. 30 19. 55 12. 39 12.56 South Carolina 13. 40 11.96 7. 34 7.92 1 17. 90 15.71 10.06 10.96 Georgia 14.30 13.21 8.a5 8.99 20.20 18. 33 11.38 12. 54 Florida 17. 90 17.86 11.32 11.67 ! 26. 70 26.64 17.40 18. 24 Ohio 22.70 21.35 15.27 15.40 1 32. 20 28. 84 22.14 21.99 Indiana 22. 30 21.40 15.45 15.69 i 30. 20 27. 91 21.87 21.87 IllinoLs 25.30 24.52 17. 76 18. 08 ! .33. .30 31.31 24.34 24.79 Michigan 24.90 24.36 16.95 17. 54 35.00 32.96 24.12 25.13 W isconsin 28. 10 27. 52 19.20 18. 58 1 39.80 .36. 92 27.68 26.96 Mmnesota 28.90 28. 30 19.98 18.78 1 41.00 38.90 29. 46 27. 81 Iowa 30. 70 28.14 19. .32 19. 46 40. 20 .36. 19 27.09 27. 16 Missouri 21.60 20. 56 14.57 14.56 29. 40 27. 74 20. 44 20. 57 North Dakota 31.00 32. 33 21.82 22. 27 1 42. 50 45. 96 32. 84 33.28 South Dakota 30.00 30. 38 20.41 20. 24 i 43. 00 40. 75 30. 58 29.17 Nebraska 26.90 27. 50 18. 87 17. 96 38. 40 37. 98 27. 40 26. 27 Kansas 24.00 25.21 17.46 16. 27 1 33. 70 34.79 25.24 24.00 Kentuckj^ 17.40 17. 13 12. 24 11.98 24.00 22.38 16.64 16. 67 Tennessee 15.80 14.98 10. .33 10. 10 22. 30 20. 36 14.21 14.02 Alabama 14.40 13.19 8. 63 9.12 20. 30 18. 63 12. 56 13.05 Mississippi 13.60 14.21 9. 27 9. 78 19.60 19. 79 13.17 13.54 Louisiana 14.00 13.94 10. 30 11.44 20. 70 19. 54 14.88 i 15.96 Texas 19.20 18.47 12.-94 13.58 27. .50 25.14 17.98 18. 96 Oklahoma 20.00 20. 87 14.52 14.85 29.10 28.70 21.55 21.47 Arkansas 17.00 16.31 10. 54 11.56 24.50 22. 68 15.09 16.86 Montana 37.20 38.05 32.12 .32.09 54.00 53. 32 42. 78 , 45.17 Wyoming 34.70 34.53 29. 64 30.48 49.20 43.98 42. 54 43.03 Colorado 29. 10 31.53 23. 23 23.42 44.30 45.59 34.36 35.18 New Mexico 24.80 25.62 18. 45 18. 76 36.00 .34. 17 25.22 27.47 Arizona 35.00 35.28 28.23 26. 12 48. 50 48.24 38.26 38.88 Utah 38. 50 40. 77 25.72 24. 65 51.00 56.12 34.43 3.3. 29 Nevada 39. 70 40. 30 31.76 30. 58 56.50 54. 95 45.10 43.33 Idaho 36.00 39.38 28. 13 27. 28 50. 00 51.64 39.39 37.76 Washington 33.20 .35. 43 25.06 24.11 48. 40 48. .54 36. 77 35. 43 Oregon 31.00 33.11 22. 89 21.99 44.50 43. 98 31.23 30. 58 California 35.10 34.17 25.64 26.37 50.70 47. 30 36. 87 38.25 United States 21.38 20. 01 13.90 13.85 30.31 27. 43 19.97 19.97 North Atlantic 23.45 23.26 16.60 17.10 35.29 33. 68 25.44 26. 11 South Atlantic 15.88 14. 42 9.26 9.37 22. 62 20. 13 13.35 13.57 North Central 25. 56 24.66 17. 36 17. 16 .35. 23 32.90 24.75 24.40 South Central 16. 70 15.91 10. 97 11.01 ; 23.85 21.8.5 15. 47 15. 45 Western 33.52 34.44 25. 19 i 24. 48 48. 17 47.24. 35.64 35.32 THE AGEICULTUEAL OUTLOOK, 17 Table 8. — Wages of male farm labor. State and division. Maine New Hampshke Vermont Massachusetts Khode Island Connecticut New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Delaware Maryland Virginia West Virginia North Carolina South Carolma Georgia - Florida Ohio Indiana Illinois Michigan Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa Missouri North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Kansas Kentucky Tennessee Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Texas Oklahoma Arkansas Montana Wyoming Colorado New Mexico Arizona Utah Nevada Idaho Washington Oregon California United States North Atlantic South Atlantic North Central South Central Western Per day at harvest with board. Per day at 1 harvest without board. i Per day other 1 than harvest with board. Per day other than harvest without l)oard. 1913 1909 1893 1913 1909 1893 1913 1909 1893 1913 1 1909 1893 $1.71 ,$1. 03 551. 20 $2. 12 §2. 02 $1.46 81. 35 .$1. 28 81. 00 $1. 74 '$1.59 ■11.25 1.70 1.71 1.29 2. 15 2.12 1.64 1.39 1.31 1.02 1.79 1.70 1.31 1.71 1.73 1.60 2. 00 2.14 1.90 1 1.31 1.21 1.05 1. 65 1.54 1.26 l.Cl l.GO 1.31 2. 08 2.03 1.71 ! 1.39 1.04 1.08 1.87 1.09 1.41 1.53 1.50 1.07 2.00 1.94 1.49 1.25 1.12 .91 1.72 1.00 1.28 1.55 1.44 1.35 1.95 1.85 1. 75 1.25 1. 14 .99 1.75 1.54 1.34 l.SO 1.77 1. 45 2. .30 2. 07 1.74 1.41 1.20 .99 1.82 1.59 1.27 1. 78 1.71 1.58 2. 25 2. 08 1.98 1 1.23 1.09 .98 l.()7 1.47 1 1.30 1.53 1.42 1.19 1.94 1.82 1.49 i 1.17 1.04 .81 1.58 1.41 1.09 I.-IO 1.38 1.12 1.74 l.Cl 1.38 ! .94 .95 .71 1. 19 1.14 1 .92 1 30 1.31 1 15 1. G5 1. 54 1. 42 i .91 . 90 .64 1. 22 1. 17 .89 1. 12 .95 1.52 1.37 1.18 j .86 .74 .49 1. 11 .96 .08 1.31 1.21 .98 1.73 1.53 1. 20 1.04 .89 .62 1..36 1. IS .82 1.13 1.01 .80 1.40 1.20 .95 .83 .70 .46 1.06 .89 .58 1.03 .94 .09 1.29 1.00 .81 .73 .60 .44 .91 .71 .52 1.10 .90 .70 1.38 1.12 .90 .82 .71 .49 1.04 .91 .60 1.12 1.00 .75 1.40 1.40 .98 .98 .86 .71 1.30 1.21 .87 1.81 1.G7 1.21 2. 23 2. 02 1.44 1.33 1.18 .85 1.71 1.47 1.07 1.80 l.GO 1.29 2. 20 1.97 1.53 1.25 1. 13 .81 1.59 1.38 1.01 1.93 1.84 1.33 2. 33 2.11 1.00 1.39 1.33 .91 1.73 1. 50 1.14 1.91 1.75 1.33 2.37 2. 13 1.62 1.41 1.26 .93 1.82 i.’C2 1.19 I 1.90 1.79 1.27 2. 36 2.19 1.56 1.46 1.35 .96 1.93 1.70 1.24 2.43 2. 23 1.56 2. 83 2.59 1.87 1.67 1.53 1.02 2.14 1.88 1.20 2.25 2. 08 1.33 2.62 2.43 1.64 1.70 1..53 1.00 2. 13 1.82 1.29 1.57 1.50 1.10 1.95 1.81 1.33 1.08 1.00 .08 1.39 1.27 .89 2.70 2. 58 1.73 3. 35 3.17 2.11 1.85 1.66 1.13 2..^0 2.14 1.46 2.37 1 2.38 1.57 2. 90 2. 82 1.92 1. 69 1. 69 1. 11 2. 22 2. 19 1.42 2.19 i 2.22 1.13 2. 68 2.59 1.46 1.57 1.58 .93 2. 06 1.94 1.20 2.14 i 2.17 1.15 2.48 2.43 1.44 1. 35 1.44 .85 1.75 1.73 1.10 1.36 1 1.31 1.11 1.68 1.56 1.34 .87 .82 .59 1.13 1.00 .70 1.18 1.11 .93 1.47 1.34 1.08 .81 .74 .51 1.03 .92 .64 1.00 .89 .71 1.26 1.12 .86 .83 .68 .51 1.04 .87 .62 .93 .89 .62 1.10 1.13 .75 .85 . 75 .52 1.08 .96 . 64 1.00 .92 .79 1.28 1.10 .95 .85 .79 .62 1.10 1.00 .80 1.30 1.20 .93 1.63 1.44 1.11 1.08 .93 .72 1.34 1.10 .90 l.GO 1.61 .94 2.00 1.81 1.18 1.10 1.12 .71 1.47 1.37 .93 1.24 1.11 .84 1.53 1.37 1.04 .92 .83 .56 1.18 1. 05 .73 2. 21 2. 23 l.Gl 2. 90 2. 58 2. 04 1.76 1.68 1.29 2. 52 2.31 1.76 1.94 1.99 1. 57 2. 54 2. 33 1.93 1.59 1.54 1. 18 2. 22 2. 04 1.56 1.75 1.80 1.23 2. 27 2. 26 1.09 1. .36 1.44 1.00 1.95 1.87 1.39 1.37 1.28 1.01 1.74 1.62 1.33 1.13 1. 00 .85 1.53 1.39 1.11 1.88 1.73 1.54 2.31 2. 13 1.91 1.46 1..35 1.02 2. 00 1.74 1.37 1.90 2. 00 1.22 2.37 2. 38 1.48 1.75 1.61 1.06 2.15 2. 07 1.28 2. 05 2. 04 1.56 2. 75 2. 40 2.11 1.65 1.42 1.14 2. 38 1.60 2.31 2.17 1.55 2. 70 2. 72 1.75 1.72 1.70 1.14 2.32 2. 22 1..54 2.41 2. 34 1.50 2. 90 2. 58 1.87 1.67 1.60 1.08 2. 20 2. 25 1.51 2.09 2.00 1.42 2. GO 2. 29 1.79 1.48 1.42 .90 1. 98 1.79 1.29 1.97 2. 01 1.C9 2.48 2.31 2. 08 1.44 1.43 1.05 2.01 1.94 1.47 1.57 1.43 1.07 1.94 1.71 1.30 1.16 1.03 i .72 1.50 1.29 .92 1.07 1.G2 1.36 2.12 1.98 1.68 1.30 1.16 . 95 1 1.71 1. 53 1.24 1.16 J.03 .83 1.45 1.25 1.00 .85 .73 .50 1.09 .93 .04 2. 00 1.87 1.28 2.42 2.21 1.55 1.42 1.32 .89 1.83 1. 62 1. 13 1.21 1.10 .84 1.51 1.34 1.01 .93 .82 .57 i 1.18 1.02 .72 2. 02 2. 02 1.48 2. 53 2.51 1.86 1.52 1.48 1.02 i 2. 07 1.97 1.39 18 FARMEES^ BULLETIN 584. Table 9. — Percentages of increase (or decrease where indicated) in wages of male farm labor in 'periods indicated. State and di\dsion. Month, with board. Month, with- out board. Day, har- vest, with board. Day, har- vest, without board. Day, not harvest, with board. Day, not harvest, without board. 1909 to 1913 1899 to 1913 1893 to 1913 1909 to 1913 1899 to 1913 1893 to 1913 1909 to 1913 1893 to 1913 1909 to 1913 1893 to 1913 1909 to 1913 1893 to 1913 1909 to 1913 1893 to 1913 Maine 14 42 40 14 36 36 5 42 5 45 6 35 9 39 New Hampshire 12 34 30 2 37 34 11 32 1 31 6 36 5 37 \ errnont 1 40 44 1 35 45 11 7 14 8 8 25 31 Massachusetts 14 39 38 1 34 35 1 23 2 22 34 29 11 33 Rhode Island 2 36 31 1 9 29 29 2 43 3 34 12 37 8 34 Connecticut 13 36 31 6 30 22 8 15 5 11 10 26 14 31 New York 3 46 35 8 46 36 2 24 11 32 12 42 14 43 New Jersey 3 40 44 11 40 43 4 13 8 14 13 26 14 28 Pennsylvania 5 44 45 9 41 40 8 29 7 30 12 44 12 45 Delaware 0 44 41 0 40 33 1 25 8 26 11 32 4 29 Maryland 8 50 47 11 48 45 11 13 7 16 1 42 4 37 Virginia 7 54 64 11 59 63 12 32 11 29 16 76 16 63 West Virginia 4 56 65 9 54 60 8 34 13 44 17 68 15 66 North Carolina 13 86 84 14 80 78 12 41 17 47 19 80 19 83 South Carolina 12 83 69 14 78 63 10 49 22 59 22 66 28 75 Georgia 8 78 59 10 78 61 22 45 23 53 16 67 14 73 Florida 0 58 53 0 53 46 6 49 14 43 14 38 7 49 Ohio 6 49 47 12 45 46 8 50 10 55 13 56 16 60 Indiana 4 44 42 8 38 38 8 40 12 44 11 54 15 57 Illinois 3 42 40 6 37 34 5 45 10 46 4 53 11 52 Michigan 2 47 42 6 45 39 11 46 11 46 12 52 12 53 Wisconsin 2 46 51 8 44 48 6 50 8 51 8 52 14 56 Minnesota 2 45 54 5 39 47 9 56 9 51 9 64 14 70 Iowa 9 59 58 11 48 48 8 69 8 60 11 70 17 65 Missouri 0 48 48 6 44 43 ! 5 43 8 47 8 59 9 56 North Dakota 14 42 39 18 29 28 5 56 6 59 11 64 17 71 South Dakota 1 1 47 48 6 41 47 0 51 5 54 0 52 1 56 Nebraska 12 43 50 1 40 46 11 94 4 84 11 69 6 72 Kansas 15 38 48 13 34 40 11 86 2 72 1 6 59 1 59 Kentucky 2 42 45 7 44 44 4 22 8 25 6 48 13 49 Tennessee 6 53 56 10 57 59 6 27 10 36 10 59 12 61 Alabama 9 67 58 9 62 56 12 41 12 46 22 63 20 68 Mississippi 14 47 39 11 49 45 4 50 3 55 13 64 12 69 Louisiana 0 36 22 6 39 30 9 27 10 35 8 37 10 38 Texas 4 48 41 9 53 45 8 40 13 47 16 50 16 49 Oklahoma 14 38 35 1 35 36 11 70 10 70 12 55 7 58 Arkansas 4 61 47 8 62 45 12 48 12 47 11 64 12 62 Montana 12 16 16 1 26 20 11 37 12 42 5 36 9 43 V / yoming 0 17 14 12 16 14 12 24 9 32 3 35 9 42 Colorado 18 25 24 13 29 26 13 42 0 34 16 36 4 40 New Mexico 13 34 32 5 43 31 7 36 7 31 7 33 10 38 Arizona 11 24 34 0 27 25 9 22 8 21 8 43 15 46 Utah 16 50 56 19 48 53 12 61 0 60 9 65 4 68 Nevada 1 2 25 30 3 25 30 0 31 15 30 16 45 49 Idaho 19 28 32 13 27 32 6 49 2 58 1 51 4 51 Washington 16 32 38 0 32 37 3 61 12 55 1 55 12 46 Oregon 16 35 41 1 42 46 2 47 14 45 4 54 11 54 California 3 37 33 7 38 32 12 17 7 19 1 37 4 37 United States 6.8 53.8 54.4 10.5 51.8 51.8 9.8 46.7 13.5 49.2 12.6 61.1 16.3 63.0 North Atlantic 0.8 41.3 37.1 4.8 38.7 35.2 3.1 22.8 7.1 26.2 12.0 .36.8 11.8 37.9 South Atlantic 10.1 71.5 69.5 12.4 69.4 66.7 12.6 39.8 16.0 45.0 16.4 70.0 17.2 70.3 North Central 3.6 47.2 49.0 7.1 42.3 44.4 7.0 56.2 9.5 56.1 7.6 59.6 13.0 61.9 South Central 5.0 52.2 51.7 9.2 .54.2 54.4 10.0 44.0 12.7 49.5 13.4 63.2 15.7 63.9 Western 12.7 33.1 36.9 2.0 35.2 36.4 0 36. 5 0.8 36.0 2.7 49.0 5.1 48.9 Decrease, per cent. THE AGKICULTUKAL OUTLOOK, 19 Table 10. — Average length of time required of hired labor. (Estimates based upon reports of crop correspondents of the Bureau of Statistics (Agricultural Forecasts).] Stale and division. Spring. Summer. Fall. Winter. Average, four sea.sor.s. Relative rank of States. Hours. Minutes. Hours. Minutes. Hours. Minutes. Hours. Minutes. Hours. Minutes. Spring. Summer. Fall. i .a Average. Maine 9 50 10 20 9 35 8 40 9 39 22 38 41 14 37 New Hampshire. . . . 9 55 10 9 50 9 10 9 44 16 45 19 3 23 Vermont 10 15 10 40 10 5 9 15 9 45 4 24 6 2 19 9 45 10 9 40 8 55 9 35 29 45 35 5 41 9 40 10 10 10 8 50 9 40 40 44 7 8 35 Connecticut 9 50 10 30 9 40 8 55 9 44 22 30 35 5 23 New York 10 5 10 30 9 50 8 35 9 45 8 30 19 21 19 10 10 9 35 8 40 9 37 10 42 41 14 39 10 10 40 9 40 8 40 9 45 10 24 35 14 19 Delaware 9 50 1 10 9 25 8 30 1 9 [ 44 22 8 47 25 23 9 11 45 10 8 50 10 - 16 1 - 8 4 Virginia 9 45 1 10 55 9 50 8 35 i 9 46 29 17 19 21 16 West Virginia 9 45 10 25 9 55 8 50 ! 9 44 29 33 14 8 23 North Carolina 9 45 10 55 9 50 8 40 i 9 47 29 17 19 14 13 South Carolina 9 35 11 5 9 35 8 25 9 40 44 10 41 29 35 Georgia 9 45 11 10 9 45 8 35 1 9 49 29 8 30 21 12 Florida 9 45 10 35 9 50 9 20 9 52 29 27 19 1 9 Ohio 9 45 10 35 9 40 8 20 1 9 30 29 27 35 35 45 Indiana 9 40 I 10 50 9 40 8 5 1 9 34 40 21 35 46 42 Illinois 10 10 i 5 9 50 8 15 ! ^ 50 7 10 19 39 11 Michigan 9 55 10 20 9 35 8 25 i 9 34 16 38 41 29 42 \\ isconsin 10 40 11 15 10 10 . 9 10 16 2 4 5 4 1 Minnesota 10 30 11 20 10 25 8 45 10 15 3 3 2 12 2 Iowa 10 10 45 9 50 8 15 9 42 10 23 19 39 32 Missouri 10 11 15 9 55 8 25 1 9 54 10 4 14 29 6 North Dakota 10 50 11 5 11 8 5 ^ 10 15 1 10 1 46 2 South Dakota 10 15 10 55 10 15 8 30 9 59 4 17 3 25 5 Nebraska 10 5 10 50 9 55 8 15 9 46 8 21 14 39 16 Kansas 9 45 10 55 10 8 25 9 46 29 17 7 29 16 Kentucky 9 40 11 15 9 50 8 15 ! 9 45 40 4 19 39 19 Tennessee 9 40 11 5 9 45 8 15 9 41 40 10 30 39 34 Alabama 9 50 11 15 9 50 8 40 9 54 22 4 19 14 6 Mississippi 9 45 11 9 45 8 40 9 47 29 14 30 14 13 Louisiana 9 30 10 40 9 50 8 50 9 44 44 24 19 8 23 Texas 9 50 11 10 8 45 9 54 22 14 7 12 6 Oklahoma 10 11 25 10 15 8 30 9 47 10 2 3 25 13 Arkansas 9 50 11 10 8 35 9 51 22 14 21 10 Montana 10 15 10 25 9 55 8 20 9 44 4 33 14 35 23 Wyoming 10 10 20 9 35 8 10 9 31 10 38 41 44 44 Colorado 9 55 10 20 9 50 8 30 9 39 16 38 19 25 37 New Mexico 9 45 10 30 10 8 40 9 44 29 30 - 14 23 Arizona 9 30 10 15 9 40 8 20 9 26 45 42 35 35 46 Utah 9 9 30 9 "7 55 8 51 48 48 48 48 48 Nevada 9 30 10 9 30 8 25 9 21 45 45 46 29 47 Idaho 9 55 10 25 9 45 8 10 9 44 16 33 30 44 23 Washington 9 50 10 25 9 55 8 20 9 37 22 33 14 35 39 Oregon 9 55 10 35 10 8 25 9 44 16 27 7 29 23 California 9 45 10 25 1 ^ 45 8 55 9 42 29 33 30 5 32 United States 9 54 10 54 9 52 8 33 9 48 Di^dsions: N. Atlantic 10 10 30 9 43 8 43 9 43 S. Atlantic 9 43 10 58 9 49 8 40 9 47 N. Cent. Eastern.. 10 2 10 50 9 53 8 25 9 44 N. Cent. Western. 10 11 1 10 4 8 24 9 54 S. Central 9 47 11 4 9 53 8 35 9 49 Far West 9 47 10 21 9 4-1 8 32 9 37 1 20 FARMEES BULLETIN 584. Table 11. -Prices of agricultural products, Mar. 1, 1914 and 1913. [Prices of vyheat, corn, oats, and barley are given on pages 12 to 1.5. Butter, chickens, cotton, cents per pound; eggs, cents per dozen; hay, dollars per ton; others, cents per lju.shel.j State. Rye. Buck- wheat. Pota- toes. II ay. 1914'l913 1 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 Cts. i Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Dots. Dots. Me 63 80 52 45 13.30 14. 30 N. H 93 j 100 71 77 72 17.00 16. 00 Vt 73 87 94 76 68 13. 80 ' 12. 70 Mass 96 85 85 70 89 71 19.20 20. 70 R. I 90 74 20. 00 22. 70 Conn 95 87 97 76 84 84 20. 90 21. 60 N. Y 72 73 80 67 78 63 15.40 13.60 N. J 72 69 80 73 88 71 18.20 18. 90 Pa 73 77 70 63 81 62 14. 10 14.80 Del 70 74 75 75 100 78 15.60 14.50 Md 71 72 75 65 70 58 15. 10 12. 80 Va 81 82 84 81 82 75 15.50 14.50 W. Va 86 82 80 /3 98 68 16. 40 14.20 N. C 97 101 80 86 85 80 17.70 16.30 S.C 18C 125 130 145 18.30 18.90 Ga 115 140 117 100 18. 70 17. 10 Fla.:. 116 122 18. 30 17. 30 Ohio 67 66 87 73 83 58 12. 30 11.40 Ind 62 64 80 84, 54 13.00 10. SO Ill 61 70 ioo 87 62 14.00 12. 30 Mich 61 59 68 62 53 38 12.30 11.00 Wis 54 56 74 64 55 32 10.00 11.00 Minn 48 50 61 60 55 28 6. 80 5.90 Iowa 62 64 85 75 93 50 9. 50 8. 70 Mo 70 81 92 97 71 14. 40 9. 90 N. Dak 45 47 61 30 6. 00 5.30 S. Dak 55 54 69 43 6. 40 6. 30 Nebr 56 53 82 84 52 8. 40 8.00 Kans 69 69 98 76 12. 40 7. 80 Ky 100 87 104 67 16. 90 13.80 Tenn 97 91 75 70 109 82 17.80 15. 10 Ala 140 148 124 110 15. 90 14.20 Miss 115 113 13. 50 13.70 La 115 104 13.60 12. 70 Tex 102 111 123 11. 80 11.50 Okla 80 85 113 99 11.60 7. 70 Ark 84 91 110 107 14.90 12. 90 Mont 70 67 69 45 9. 70 8. 40 Wyo 55 63 75 62 11.00 7. 10 Coio 55 52 60 43 11.50 8. 30 N. Mex 115 86 14.50 9. 40 Ariz 152 105 15.50 11.00 Utah 06 66 43 10.00 8. 30 Nev 72 53 10. 70 9. 50 Idaho 75 52 28 8. 20 7. 40 Wash 50 58 60 31 11.00 10. 60 Or eg 90 70 50 35 9.20 8.30 Cal 95 90 54 11.50 14.80 U. S 1 61.9 63.2 75. 1 67.0 70.7 52.0 12. 37 11.34 Flax. 1914 1913 1914 1913 Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. 13.2 12.0 12.5 12.7 12.6 17.0 12.0 12.0 11.8 12.5 149 136 120 130 118 110 125 125 no 121 122 11.6 9.0 135 131 121 12.3 12.5 12.0 11.6 11.1 11.0 11.0 11.5 12.0 12.2 11.3 11.6 11.4 12. 1 127 115 12.0 132.5 119.0 12.6 11.8 Cotton. Butter. Eggs. Chick- ens. ! 1914 ^1913 1 1914 1913 1914 1913 Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts.__ Clsl 32 31 31 26 15. 5 14.2 33 34 32 26 15.8 14.0 33 34 31 25 13. 9 13.4 36 36 35 31 16.5 15.5 35 35 38 32 17.0 16.3 34 36 36 29 17.6 14.8 32 33 32 25 15.1 14.4 34 37 33 29 17.3 15.9 32 33 28 23 14.0 13.0 34 28 28 20 14. 5 13.0 29 28 25 21 15.3 14.0 t 27 25 24 18 14.5 12.6 28 26 26 20 13.1 12.2 ) 24 24 21 17 11.9 10.4 » 25 26 22 20 12.6 11.1 i 25 26 22 19 12.9 12.6 ; 34 32 25 24 15.7 14.4 27 28 25 20 13.2 11.7 24 25 23 18 11.9 11.0 26 27 25 19 11.5 11.0 28 28 28 22 12.5 11.3 29 32 26 20 11.4 11.0 27 30 25 19 10.4 9.6 25 28 22 17 10.7 10.0 23 23 23 17 11.5 10.4 25 25 26 22 10.6 9.1 24 25 22 18 9.0 8.9 22 23 22 17 9.9 9.4 23 24 21 16 10.6 9.2 22 21 22 16 11.6 10.5 21 20 20 16 11.8 10.3 22 22 20 17 12.4 11.7 24 23 19 18 12.3 11.5 28 28 21 19 14.7 12.5 22 23 18 17 9.7 9.3 22 22 20 17 10.4 9.1 25 24 20 17 11.0 9.5 35 35 33 33 12.6 13.4 33 31 30 31 12.0 12.5 29 30 25 23 13.0 13.1 34 33 27 26 13.0 13.9 38 41 32 32 19.5 22.0 30 29 27 23 12.3 12.7 35 40 32 37 22.5 19.5 30 32 27 28 10.1 11.0 33 34 26 25 14.5 12.5 33 32 25 23 13.5 12.2 29 35 25 20 14.9 13.6 26.0 27.5 24.2 19.4 1 12.1 11.1 THE AGPvICULTUKAL OUTLOOK. 21 Table 12. — Averages for the United States of 'prices paid to producers of farm products. February 15 — January 15— 1911 1913 1912 1911 1910 1914 1913 1912 1911 1910 Hogs per 100 lbs. . S7. 75 $7.17 $5.79 $7. 04 $7.87 $7. 45 $6. 77 $5. 74 $7. 44 $7.76 Beef cattle .per 100 lbs.. 6. 16 5. 55 4.61 4.57 4.64 6.04 5. 40 4. 46 4.58 4. 71 Veal calves per 100 lbs.. 7.90 7.23 6. 07 6. 38 6.28 7.89 7. 06 6.06 6. 50 6. 41 Sheep per 100 lbs. . 4. 67 4.63 4.01 4. 34 5.09 4.67 4. 35 3.89 4. 47 5.63 Lambs per 100 lbs. . 6.18 6.34 5. 15 5. 44 6. 62 6. 16 6.03 5. 22 5. 71 5.82 Milch cows . .per head. . 59.00 51.42 43.40 44. 48 40. 35 57. 99 49.51 42. 89 44. 70 41.18 Horses ..per head.. 139. 00 146. 00 137. 00 144. 00 147. 00 137»00 140. 00 134.00 143.00 140.00 Wool, unwashed. per lb. . .157 .187 .163 .173 .246 .157 .186 .162 .173 .245 Honey, comb per lb.. .137 .139 .140 .133 .136 .136 .1.39 .138 .136 .135 Apples ..per bush.. 1.23 .784 .988 1.19 1.11 1.11 .743 .927 1. 16 1.06 Peanuts per lb.. .047 .045 .047 .050 .054 .047 .046 .043 .044 .049 Beans, dry ..per bush.. 2.09 2. 19 2.38 2.23 2. 23 2.17 2. 26 2. 38 2.20 2.23 Soy beans . .per bush. . 1.80 1.96 Sweet potatoes. . . ..per bush.. .861 .870 .935 .816 .787 .825 .837 .869 .791 .748 Turnips . .per bush. . .600 .512 .568 .496 Cabbages .per 100 lbs.. 2. 07 1.17 2. 24 1.48 2. 05 1.87 1.26 1.89 1. 56 1.87 Onions ..per bush.. 1.41 . 775 1.40 1.04 1.00 1.21 .816 1.17 1.01 .944 Clover seed ..per bush.. 8. 79 10. 28 12.22 8. 37 8.26 8. 35 9. 41 10.89 8. 27 8.26 Timothy seed . .per bush. . 2. 45 1.78 7. 26 4. 51 2. 42 1.79 6. 99 4. 12 Alfalfa seed . .per bush. . 6. 84 8. 15 6. 88 7. 66 Broom corn per ton. . 95.00 56. 00 86. 00 80.00 197. 00 94.00 49.00 100.00 81.00 190.00 Pop corn ..per bush . 1. 73 1.54 1.72 1.47 rnt.tnn sftp.H . ner t nn 23.37 22. 00 16. 81 25. 61 22. 70 21.98 16. 57 26. 35 Prices paid by farmers: Bran per ton.. 28. 91 25.32 28. 62 25. 27 27.00 26.53 25. 24 27. 39 24.92 26.20 Clover seed per bush. . 9.59 11.62 9. 50 11.39 Timothy seed per bush 2. 92 2. 47 2. 87 2. 51 Alfalfa seed . . . .per bush. . 8. 19 9.60 8. 41 8. 25 Table 13. — Aggregate value per acre of crop production. [The tabulation below gives the average value per acre of 12 leading crops (corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, potatoes, hay, flaxseed, cotton, rice, and tobacco) which represent more than 90 per cent of the total area of all crops, and which closely approximate the value per acre of all crops. For compari- son the value of all crops which had acreage reports in the census of 1909 are also given.] State and division. Value per acre of 12 crops combined. Census, all crops, with acreage reports, 1909. 1913 1912 1911 1910 1909 Maine 23. 72 23. 43 26. 24 23.35 20.91 19.80 New Hampshire 20. 44 21.51 21.77 21.41 19.53 19.29 Vermont 20. 78 22. 61 20.47 18.39 17. 61 18. 17 Massachusetts 32.34 34.38 31.59 29. 94 30. 89 41.33 Rhode Island 32. 25 30. 62 32. 81 29. 04 29.01 40.50 Connecticut 37.63 43.04 40.69 37. 77 35.16 35.84 New York 19. 33 20. 04 20.80 19. 51 18.39 20.80 New Jersev 29.02 28.70 26. 67 26. 59 26.31 33. 19 Pennsylvania 21.34 22.41 21.11 20.60 18.16 18.90 Delaware 18.47 19. 00 19. 82 18.17 17.00 19.36 Maryland 18. 85 19. 55 18. 97 19. 52 18. 66 20. 54 Virginia 23.69 19. 58 18.31 19. 18 17.63 20.31 West Virginia 21.67 21.57 16. 79 18. 51 16.71 17. 67 North Carolina 24.84 22. 35 20. 82 21.46 18. 62 22.28 South Carolina 25. 18 21.35 22.55 24.59 22.48 26.45 Georgia 20. 80 16. 42 19. 52 19. 47 19.32 22.20 Florida 17.85 14.41 15.70 15. 58 15.06 21.54 Ohio 19. 29 17. 75 19. 45 16.89 19.07 18.83 Indiana 17.28 14.97 16.69 14.88 17.29 17.07 Illinois 14.87 15.37 15.99 14.30 17.56 17.88 Michigan 16.83 16.42 19.89 16.39 16.85 17.32 Wisconsin 19.41 17.63 20.64 15.10 ■16.54 15.77 Minnesota 14.26 11.80 13.16 12.96 13.72 12.61 Iowa 17.01 14.30 14.13 12. 22 14.40 14.94 Missouri 12. 29 13.98 13.24 13.84 14.16 14.25 22 FARMERS BULLETIN 584, Table 13. — Aggregate value per acre of crop production — Continued. State and division. Value per acre of 12 crops combined. Censas, all crops, with acreage reports, 1909. 1913 1912 1911 1910 1909 North Dakota 8.15 11.49 9.13 4. .55 12.36 11.35 South Dakota 9. 48 10. 21 6.29 10.12 12. 05 10. 17 Nebraska 10. 85 9. 80 10.59 9.95 12. 36 11.19 Kansas 7.00 10.60 8. 94 9. 95 11.25 10.63 Kentucky 1.912 20.14 18. 81 20. 25 20.68 20.f 2 Tennessee 18. 01 17.36 17. 40 17.61 15.81 17.C5 Alabama 20. 00 17. 45 17.32 18. 56 15.69 18.87 Mississippi 19. 62 17. 01 15.39 20.48 17. 59 22. .59 Louisiana 19. 05 17. 76 15. 86 16.08 15.60 20.36 Texas 18. 52 19.50 13. 97 17. 87 15.50 15. 62 Oklahoma 10.06 11.34 7.93 14.02 11.80 10.95 1 Arkansas 18. 56 17. 93 16.68 19. 40 16. 61 20.34 Montana 16. 07 16.24 20.41 18.78 20. 45 15.4) Wyoming 15.37 17. 74 21.11 25. 88 16. 52 12.45 Colorado 18. 88 17. 41 17. 02 19. 96 20. 50 17.52 New Mexico 22. 26 19. 45 28.78 •22. 81 19.05 12.76 Arizona 38. 85 38. 52 39. 62 29. 67 29. 77 25.97 Utah 21.66 23.14 22.37 24.58 23. 25 23.15 Nevada 32. 30 29.93 34.93 37.12 26.30 14. 73 Idaho 19.93 19.04 23.47 21.86 22.15 19.5) Washington 20.00 18.78 21.42 19. 65 21.11 20. f 3 Oregon 18. 67 18. 66 19.24 21.88 18. 59 18.54 California 20. 25 21.84 21.86 18.82 19. 51 20.39 United States 16.31 15. 96 15.51 15.52 16. 02 16. 30 Divisions: 1 1 North Atlantic 21.80 22.75 22.39 21.24 19. 61 21.55 South Atlantic 22. 54 19.31 19. 80 20.47 19. 10 22.23 North Central, East 17.07 16.22 17. 95 15.30 17. 57 17.53 North Central, West 11.52 11.91 11.08 10. 67 12. 96 12.2 1 South Central 17. 45 17.31 14.55 17.79 15.75 17.0) Far West 19. 59 19. 55 21.43 20.63 20. 39 18. 75 FLORIDA AND CALIFORNIA CROP REPORT. Table 14 shows the crop situation in Florida and California on March 1, 1914, with comparisons, based upon reports received from agents and correspondents of the Bureau of Statistics (Agricultural Forecasts): Table 14. Item. Florida. California. 1914 1913 1912 1914 1913 1912 Orange trees (condition) 94 93 92 90 68 88 Lemon trees (condition) 85 56 86 Lime trees (condition) 97 96 100 Grapefruit trees (condition) 96 92 98 Pineapple plants fcondition) . 90 92 82 Tomatoes fcondition).. 85 84 72 Cabbages (condition) . 88 91 71 Cciery (condition) 94 82 85 Cauliflower (condition) 94 85 88 White potatoes 1 fconrlitinn) 88 93 85 Spring pasture fcondition) . 87 86 76 Spring plowing (per cent done) 68 75 64 Spring planting fper cent df)ne) . 52 56 51 M ead ows ( con d i t i on ) 90 93 75 1 The acreage planted to white potatoes is about 10 per cent larger than last year’s acreage. O WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1914 US. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EWERS’ BULLET! 585 Contribution from the Bureau of Animal Industry, A. D. Melvin, Chief, May 5, 1914. NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION OF HENS’ EGGS. lij' Harry IjAMon, IScnior Animal II unhand man in Poult nj InvestUjatiom, Animal Ilushandnj Di vision. STUDY OF AN EGG. In taking up the problems of incubation, a brief study of an egg will help us to understand the reasons for some of the rules for han- dling eggs during incubation. The shell of an egg is porous, con- sisting of an outer and an inner layer, under which are tAvo mem- branes, separated at the large end of the egg, Avhicli form an air cell. This air space, AAdiich is about as large as a 10-cent piece in a fresh egg, increases in size directly in proportion to the eAUiporation in the egg. lender these membranes and surrounding the yolk is the Avhite, or albumen, Avhich contains 78.4 per cent of water, 20 per cent of protein, and l.G per cent of mineral matter. Two coiled mem- branous layers of dense albumen, called chalaza', connect the oppo- site sides of the yolk with each end of the shell and tend to lessen its movement and regulate its position in the egg. The germ spot, or blastoderm, a seniiopaipie spot from one-eighth to one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter, is located on the upper surface of the yolk and always remains uppermost in the egg. CARE OF EGGS FOR HATCHING. Strong, fertile eggs are the prime essential in good hatching; these are obtained only from stock properly mated and kept under the best possible conditions to secure health and vigor. Eggs from over- fat breeding stock do not usually produce a large percentage of strong chicks. If breeders are confined, they should be fed a varied supply of grains, meat, and green feed. The green feed assists in keeping fowls in good breeding condition. Free range is usually an Note — D escribes incubation, natural and artificial. Of interest to poultry raisers everywhere. 2 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 585. important factor in the production of liatchable eggs, as it is much easiei: to keep up the vitality of stock handled in this manner than in birds that are yarded. From 8 to 12 females of the American or general-puriDOse class and 12 to 15 of the Mediterranean class can be mated with one male, depending on his age and vitality and where the fowls are yarded, but this proportion may be increased Avhere the birds have free range. Abundant ventilation in the house is also a great help in keeping the stock in good breeding condition. Abnormal, small, and poorly shaped eggs should be discarded. Do not set eggs which have thin or very porous appearing shells. Eggs should be set when fresh, if possible, and it is not advisable to use eggs for hatching which are over two weeks old, although stale eggs will frequently hatch. Selecting uniformly large eggs for hatching, Avhich are of the same color, is one of the quickest ways to secure uniformity in the offspring and increase the size of the eggs. Dirty eggs should be cleaned by rubbing lightly with a damp cloth, but care should be taken not to rub off any more of the natural bloom of the egg than is absolutely necessary. Duck eggs usually require Avashing, Avhich does not appear to injure their hatching qualities. Eggs for hatching should be collected tAvo or three times a day in freezing Aveather to prevent chilling. Broody hens alloAved to sit on eggs in* the laying nests all day may hurt the hatching qualities of the eggs. Eggs in large numbers are generally kept in a cabinet or turning rack, for conA^enience in handling, in a room Avhere the temperature is betAveen 50° and 00° F., if possible, although they Avill stand con- siderable variation. It is not necessary to turn eggs kept only for a feAv days, but it is advisable to turn eggs daily Avhich are over a week old. Various commercial turning devices are sold by poultry supply companies, or the eggs may be kept in cabinet draAvers and shuffled about Avith the hands by remoAung a few eggs from the trays. Com- mercial egg cases are sometimes used for holding the eggs for hatching. Eggs from different varieties of the same class of poultry may be incubated together, but it is not advisable to mix eggs from the Mediterranean or egg breeds, such as Leghorns and Minorcas, Avith Plymouth Pocks or Orpingtons, as the eggs from the smaller breeds often hatch a little earlier than those from the larger breeds. Neither the hen nor the incubator Avill hatch strong chickens from Aveak germs or from eggs Avhich have not receiA^ed proper care. METHODS OF PACKING HATCHING EGGS. Eggs for hatching are shipped extensively OA^er long distances suc- cessfully, but in many cases the shipment appears to affect the hatch. Setting eggs for shipment are packed in seA^eral different Avays. One of the best methods is to use a common market basket Avell lined on INCUBATION OF HENS^ EGGS. 3 the bottom and sides with excelsior. After wrapping the eggs in a thin layer of paper and enough excelsior to make a ball of about 3 inches in diameter, pack them tightly in the basket, then put on a covering of excelsior, and over all sew a piece of strong cotton cloth, or the cloth can be pushed up under the outside rim of the basket with a case knife. The latter method of fastening the cloth is much quicker than the former and just as effective. Eggs are also shipped safely almost any distance by packing them in a stiff pasteboard carton or box made for this purpose, the si)ace around the egg being filled with either chaff or bran. This package Ts then placed in a basket, the bottom and sides of which are lined with excelsior, and the spaces at either end of the box are packed with the same material. On top of this package is placed more excelsior and all is covered with cloth, as previously mentioned. Extra stiff cardboard cartons made to hold from one to several settings are used in wdiich to ship eggs. These cartons or egg boxes are fitted with a handle for carry- ing, similar to that on a market basket. Bushel baskets are common!}^ used to ship orders of from 10 to 12 sittings of eggs, the manner of packing and covering being the same as mentioned in the first method. It is customary to rest eggs for hatching for about 12 hours after they are received to allow the germ to regain its normal position be- fore the eggs are placed in the incubator. PERIOD OF INCUBATION. The period of incubation varies with different .species of poultry, as shown in the accompanying table : Period of incubation. Kind of poultry. Days. Kind of poultry. Days. Hen 21 Peafowl 28 Pheasant 22-24 Guinea 26-28 Duck 28 Ostrich . 42 Duck (Muscovy) 33-35 Goose 30-34 Turkey 28 The period of incubation varies somewhat with conditions, so that a hatch may run one or two days over in some cases, due to an acci- dent during incubation or to a low temperature throughout that period, while, on the other hand, it may come off earlier. If through any accident the eggs are chilled or overheated, it is advisable to continue the hatch, testing the eggs after a few days to determine the extent of the damage. Chickens have been hatched from eggs left out of the incubator all night, as well as from eggs which have been subjected to a temperature of over 110° F. for a short time. 4 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 585. TIME OF THE YEAR TO HATCH CHICKENS. February, March, and April are the best months to hatch chickens, depending somewhat upon the individual, as well as the climatic conditions. Chickens are hard to raise either in cold, wet, or hot weather, and should not be hatched later than May 15 in the latitude of Washington if the pullets are desired for fall egg production, while an earlier date should complete the time of hatching farther south. The smaller breeds can be hatched later than those which are larger and slower to develop, as they mature about a month earlier. NATURAL INCUBATION. System and care in the management of sitting hens will produce a large number of chickens at a comparatively small expense. Even with the best of care, some hens prove to be fickle mothers and cause trouble and loss in hatching by breaking their eggs, leaving their nests, or trampling on the chickens when first hatched. Most hens of the general-purpose breeds, such as the Plymouth Kochs, Wyan- dottes, Khode Island Keds, and Orpingtons, make very good mothers. The heavier class, or meat breeds, including the Brahmas and Cochins, make good sitters, but are inclined to be clumsy on the nest. The Leghorns and other Mediterranean breeds are very nervous, and usually do not make good mothers. Where only a few hens are set, special quarters are not necessary (see fig. 1), but Avhere many are used a separate room should be pro- vided for the sitters. Portable nests are frequently furnished for the laying hens, so that broody hens can be moved in them to new quar- ters. Of the various styles of nests used for sitting hens, the following has given good satisfaction: 15 inches square, 15 inches high, with a board 6 inches high in front to prevent nesting material from falling out. The nests may be arranged in tiers, with a hinged front, which makes a platform for each tier when open. A large number of hens may be set in this way in a moderate-sized room. When using a bank of nests, such as that which has just been described, it would be well to place 3 or 4 inches of damp earth in the bottom of each nest. The nesting material is next put in, and may consist of hay, chaff, or straw. Pack this material down firmly, and shape a circular nest out of it, which should be slightly deeper in the center than at the edges, as a nest so shaped will prevent the eggs from rolling out from under the hen and becoming chilled. HOW TO SET A HEN. As the time approaches for the hen to become broody or sit, if care is taken to look into the nest, it will be seen that there are a INCUBATION OF llENS^ ECUiS. 5 feAv soft, downy feathers being left there by the hen; also the hen stays longer on the nest Avlien laying at this time, and on being approached will quite likel}" remain on the nest, making a clucking noise, milling her feathers, and pecking at the intruder. When it is noted that a hen sits on the nest from two to three nights in suc- cession, and that most of the feathers are gone from h^- breast, which should feel hot to the hand, she is ready to be transferred to a nest which has been prepared for her beforehand. The normal tem- perature of a hen is from 100° to 107° F., which varies slightly during incubation. Dust the hen thoroughly with insect poAvder, and in applying the poAvder hold the hen by the feet, the head doAvn, Avorking the poAvder Avell into the feathers, giving special attention to regions around the A^ent and under the wings. The powder should Fig. 1. — Outside nests for sitting hens. The hens are fastened to stakes by strings tied around their legs. also be sprinkled in the nest. The nest should be in some quiet, out- of-the-Avay place, where the sitting hen Avill not be disturbed. Move her from the regular laying nest at night and handle her carefully in doing so. Put a china egg or tAvo in the nest where she is to sit, and place a board over the opening so that she can not get off. ToAvard the evening of the second day quietly go in Avhere she is sitting, leaA^e some feed and Avater, remoA^e the board from the front or top of the nest, and let the hen come off Avhen she is ready. Should she return to the nest after feeding, remove the china egg or eggs and put under those that are to be incubated. If the nests are slightly darkened the hens are less likely to become restless. At hatching time they should be confined and not be disturbed until the hatch is completed, unless they become restless, Avhen it may be best 6 FARMERS^ BULLETIN oSo. to remove the chicks that are hatched first. In cool weather it is best not to put more than 10 eggs under a hen, while later in the spring one can put 12 to 15, according to the size of the hen. CARE OF THE SITTING HEN. If several hens are sitting in the same room, see that they are kept on the nests, only allowing them to come off once a day to receive feed and water, the feed to consist of corn, wheat, or both. If there are any that do not desire to come off themselves, they should be taken off. Hens usually return to their nests before there is any danger of the eggs chilling, but if they do not go back in half an hour in ordinary weather, they should be put on the nest. Where a large number of sitters are kept in one room it is advisable to let them off in groups of from 4 to 6 at a time. The eggs and nests should be examined and cleaned, removing all broken eggs and washing those that are soiled ; in the latter case the soiled nesting material should be removed and clean straw added. Nests containing broken eggs that the hen is allowed to sit on soon become infested with mites and lice, which cause the hens to become uneasy and leave the nest, often causing the loss of valuable sittings of eggs. In mite-infested nests, the hen, if fastened in, will often be found stand- ing over rather than sitting on the eggs. Many eggs that are laid in the late winter and early spring are infertile. For this reason it is advisable to set several hens at the same time. After the eggs have been under the hens from 5 to 7 days, the time depending some- what on the color and thickness of the shells — white-shelled eggs being easier to test than those having brown shells — they, should be tested,^ the infertile eggs and dead germs removed, and the fertile eggs put back under the hen. In this way it is often possible to put all the eggs that several hens originally started to sit on under fewer hens and reset the others. For example, 30 eggs are set under 3 hens at the same time, 10 under each. At the end of 7 days we find on testing the eggs from all the hens that 10 are infertile, which leaves us 20 eggs to reset, which we do by putting them under 2 hens, and have the remaining hen sit over again after she has sat only 7 days. In this way considerable time can be saved in one’s hatching operations. TYPES OF INCUBATORS. There are many different types of incubators on the market, all of which are of one of the following types: Hot air, hot water, or mammoth machines. Both “ moisture ” and “ nonmoisture ” incu- bators are made in the different styles of hot-air and hot-water ma- 1 See p. 14 for directions for making tests. INCUBATION OF HENS^ EGOS. 1 chines. The small machines are heated either by burning kerosene oil or gas, Avhile the heat for most of the mammoth machines is sup- plied by a coal stove, although gas is also used to some extent. Gas burners require much less attention than oil heaters, but a supply of gas is not available in many localities Avhere oil may be purchased. Electricity is also used for heating, both in small incubators and in mammoth machines. HOT-AIR AND HOT-WATER MACHINES. Hot-air and hot-water incubators are used successfully throughout the countiy. The water in the tanks of the hot-water machines should be emptied after the last hatch, which also prevents freezing when stored in a cold climate. The hot- water incubator will hold its heat longer than the hot-air machine, in case the lamp should go out ; but the possibility of such an accident is too slight to be worth considering Avhere the incubator receives proper attention. MAMMOTH INCUBATORS. The mammoth machines are used extensively both in the day-old chick business and in custom hatching. Their capacity runs from 1,500 to 10,000 or more eggs, as the machines are built in sections of about 2,000 eggs each, the size varying in different makes. When an incubating capacity of less than 3,000 to 4,000 eggs is desired, individual incubators of 50 to 400 egg capacity are generally used. THERMOSTAT. The part of the equipment of the incubator which controls the reg- ulation of the heat is called the thermostat. Thermostats depend on the principle of expansion and contraction caused by changes in tem- perature. They are fastened in the egg chamber and connected by a free rod to a bar, on the end of which hangs the damper. Some thermostats regulate the size of the flame as Avell as the position of the damper. Regulation of the temperature of the incubator de- pends directly on the efficiency of this instrument, so that it is neces- sary to have one of a reliable make. Bar thermostats are made of a combination of metals, such as steel, zinc, and aluminum. The wafer or disk thermostats, which contain some fluid used for expanding and contracting the disk, are also used, their efficiency depending entirely upon the material used in their construction. THE THERMOMETER. There are two styles of incubator thermometers, with various modifications; one is placed on the egg tray, while the other is hung directly above the eggs. The thermometer should be used according 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 585. to the manufacturer’s rules, unless there is a very ^ood reason for making a change. Where the thermometer is ])laced on the tray, or is laid on the eggs, some operators prefer to have the bulb come in contact with two eggs, so that it may record the temperature of at least one fertile egg. It is advisable to test the thermometers once a year with a clinical thermometer, Avhich may be secured from a physician or at a drug store. This can be done by putting both thermometers in warm water, heated at about 103° Ik, which should be kept stirred, taking care to keep the bulbs near each other and at the same leA^el in the water; if correct, the incubator thermometer will register the same as the clinical thermometer. The position of the thermometer in the egg chamber affects the proper temperature at Avhich to operate the machine, as a difference of an inch in height in some egg chambers will* mean at least a degree of difference in temperature. The thermometer is usually placed in the front of the egg tray, so that it can be easily read. SELECTION OF AN INCUBATOR. There are a large number of reliable makes of incubators manu- factured in this country, so that we can not recommend any particu- lar machine. Some- machines have become popular in certain sections of the country, because they Avere advertised exteiisively in that sec- tion rather than on account of special adaptability to the climatic conditions. Cheap machines are less reliable, require more attention, and Avear out much quicker than higher-priced incubators. As the value of the machines is small compared Avith the value of the eggs used during the normal life of an incubator, it is poor economy to purchase a machine Avhich is not reliable. Whenever possible it is Avell to select an incubator Avhich is giving good satisfaction in your vicinity, so that you may get the benefit of the experience of other operators in your section. The details of construction and equipment of most incubators are so subject to change that it is impossible to state definitely the best kind of lamps, brackets, regulators, and other equipment for the different incubators. The lamp should have a -boAvl large enough to hold suffi- cient oil to burn at least 36 hours under average Aveather conditions; it should be easy to remove and replace, and set absolutely tight in position. The incubator should be set so that the lamp is at a convenient height and the egg tray convenient to handle. NUMBER OF INCUBATORS. The best size of an incubator to buy depends upon circumstances. It takes about as much time to care for a 60 as it does for a 360 egg machine, so that it is generally advisable to get one of at least 150- INCUBATION OF HENs' EGGS. 9 egg capacity, although special conditions often exist which make smaller machines valuable. A small machine is often used in con- nection with a larger one, placing all the eggs in the large machine after the first or second test. Incubators of from 300 to 400 egg capacity are generally used on those large farms which use individual lamp incubators. Many poultrymen believe that it pays to have an incubator capacity large enough to hatch the bulk of their stock in two or three batches, so that much time is saved in tending to the in- cubators and brooders, while the chickens are more even in size than those that are hatched when the incubating period extends over a longer time. A fair estimate for a poultry farm is an incubator space of one-egg capacity per hen, provided that about one-half of the dock is to be reneAved yearly and no outside hatching is carried on. The larger machines cost less in proportion to their capacity than the smaller ones. ; . : INCUBATOR CELLAR OR HOUSE. Incubators are operated in a great variety of places with success. AVhere only a feAv small machines are used they are generally run in a room or the cellar.^of the house. A special cellar or incubator house should be provided where the incubator equipment is extensive or where mammoth machines are used. The main essentials are to have a room which is not subject to great variations in temperature and which is AA^ell ventilated so That the air is fresh and sAA^eet. If built above ground the Avails should be double and the entire building Avell insulated. Good results in hatching are secured in incubator cellars and in incubator rooms Avhich are entirely above the ground level, but the former place is more commonly used. Incubators may be op- erated in buildings with single Avails, especially in sections which have a mild climate, but a Avell-insulated room is preferable. The incubator room or cellar should be large enough to allow the attendant to Avork around the machines conA^eniently. Many incu- bator cellars are provided Avith some system of ventilation in addi- tion to the windoAvs, Avhile in others the A^entilation is controlled entirely by the latter method. The essential features are to keep the air in the room fresh and sAveet. Muslin screens on the AvindoAvs pro- vide good ventilation Avithout draft and at the same time keep the sun from shining on the machines. Many incubator cellars have cement floors, Avhich are easier to keep clean and neat than dirt floors. (See fig. 2.) SETTING UP AND OPERATING THE INCUBATOR. Set up the incubator according to the manufacturer’s directions, and see that the machine is perfectly level. If a spirit level is not available, a long shallow pan of Avater set on top of the incubator 10 FARMEKS^ BULLETIN 585. can be used as a level to assist in setting up the machine. Be sure that all parts of the incubator are in their proper positions and that the regulator works freely. Do not plane off the door of the incu- bator, if it sticks, until the machine has been heated up and thor- oughly dried. Run the machine at about 102° F. for a day before putting in the eggs. It takes several hours for the machine to come back to its correct temperature after the eggs are first put in ; there- fore the regulator should not be touched during that time. See to the regulation of the temperature of the incubator before opening the door of the machine to attend to the eggs. Look to the care of the incubator carefully and regularly, but do not change the regu- lator any more than is absolutely necessary. Tlie eggs tend to throw Fig. 2. — Incubator cellar at experimental farm of the Bureau of Animal Industry at Bcltsville, Md., showing arrangement of incubators, man testing eggs, and thermo- graph for reading temperature of room. off more heat as the embryo develops, so that it may be necessary occasionally to change the regulator slightly. The temperature of the egg chamber may be regulated by lowering the flame of the lamp in the middle of the day where the room is subject to a con- siderable rise in temperature. The machine should receive care enough so that the temperature remains nearly even. Most operators tend to their incubators two or three times daily, and occasionally make extra trips as conditions require them. Incubators require care- ful and regular attention, which, though simple, is very exacting. If attended to regularly incubators do not take much time, while neglect will generally show its effects on the hatch. TNCUBATTON OF HENS^ EGOS. n THE CORRECT TEMPERATURE. The correct temperature depends upon the position of the ther- mometer in the egg chamber. The manufacturer’s directions should be followed and changed only after considerable experience indicates that they can be improved. The need of this change may be due to the fact that a manufacurer can not make a machine and rules which will be adapted to all conditions. When the bulb of the thermometer rests directly on the eggs the temperature is usually held at 101^° to 102° F. the first week, 102° to 103° F. the second week, and 103° F. the third week ; while a hanging thermometer is operated at about 102° to 102 J° F. the first tAvo Aveeks and 103° F. the last week. xVt hatching time the machine Avill frequently run up to 10d° or 105° F. Avithout any injury to the chickens. If the temperature has been right up to hatching time, it is usually better not to change the regulator at that time, provided the temperature does not run up above 105° F. While the eggs Avill hatch just as Avell if the temperature is run slightly higher than noted above throughout the hatch, the chickens are apt to be Aveak and hard to raise. In a good hatch the eggs Avill start to pip on the evening of the nineteenth day, and most of the chickens Avill be out of the shell on the morning of the tAventy-first day. If the hatch is much earlier or later than this it indicates that the con- ditions during incubation have not been right. A high tempera- ture may hatch eggs too quickly and produce Aveak chickens, Avhile a continuous Ioav temperature throughout the hatch will delay it for several hours. CARE OF THE LAMP. Use good oil. Clean and fill the lamp once daily, trimming the Avick by scraping the charred portion off Avith a knife or square- edged nail, or by cutting the Avick Avith scissors. The burners should be kept free from dirt and thoroughly cleaned by boiling after each hatch. A ncAv Avick is a good investment for each hatch, thus elimi- nating any danger of the Avick giving out. Turn the eggs before caring for the lamp, so that there Avill be no chance to get oil on the eggs. The flame is apt to increase in size after lighting, so that it is advisable to return about one-half an hour after tending to the lamp to see that the flame is all right. CARE OF MACHINE AT HATCHING TIME. After the eggs begin to hatch, leave the machine alone until the hatch is Avell over. Do not open the door to see hoAV the eggs are hatching, as it alloAvs the moisture to escape, Avhich is very essential at this time. Keep the incubator dark at hatching time by covering the glass in the door with a cloth or burlap sack, so that the chicks 12 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 585. will not be attracted to the front of the machine by the light and become restless. When the chicks are all hatched, remove the egg tray and open the ventilators, according to the manufacturer’s direc- tions, and keep them in the incubator from 24 to 30 hours after the hatch is over before removing them to the brooders. If they are to be shipped a long distance away, so that they will be on the road two or three days, it is better to ship them as soon as the hatch is over and the chicks are thoroughly dry. Chicks which pip, but are unable to get out of the shell by their own efforts, rarely amount to much if helped out, although, if desired, when most of the eggs are hatched and the chicks dried off, so that they will not be injured by opening the incubator door, an}^ which have pipped may be helped out by cracking the shell and placing them back on the egg tray. TURNING AND COOLING THE EGGS. Eggs should be turned and cooled according to the directions fur- nished with the incubator. The eggs are usually turned for the first time at the end of the second day of incubation and twice daily through the eighteenth or nineteenth day, or until the chicks com- mence to pip. After turning the eggs, reverse the egg trays end for end, and from one side of the machine to the other in two-tray incubators. Keep the incubator door closed while turning the eggs, unless the directions state that it should be left open. Various mechanical devices have been invented for turning the eggs in the incubator, but most poultrymen prefer to shuffle them with their hands, removing a few from the center of the tray and working the others toward that point, placing those which were taken out on the sides of the tray. Cracked eggs may be saved by putting court- plaster over the crack, but this is advisable only in instances where the eggs are very valuable. The length of time to cool eggs depends upon the temperature of the incubator room. A good general rule is to leave the eggs out of the incubator until they feel slightly cool to the hand, face, or eyelid. Cool once daily after the seventh and up to the nineteenth day. Place the trays of eggs on the top of the machine or on a table in such a position that they are not in a draft, and so that the tray does not project over the edge of its support, thereby allowing part of the eggs to cool much quicker than the rest. MOISTURE AND VENTILATION. Moisture and ventilation are closely related factors in incubation, the amount of each depending upon the other. The former is one of the uncertain factors, for as yet no very satisfactory rules have been evolved Avhich will cover all conditions. Good hatches are secured both with and without using moisture, under apparently INCUBATION OF HENS^ EGGS. 13 similar conditions, while each operator generally works out by experience the best amount of moisture to use under his conditions. The moisture and ventilation should, Avith correct heat, produce a normal chick at the end of the incubation period. Too much mois- ture may prevent the normal eva])oration necessary to allow enough space for the chicken to turn in the e^g and break the shell, Avhile too little moisture may cause the chicken to become dried and stick to the shell. Moisture is used extensively in hatching in the South, in high altitudes, and in places Avhere the incubator is run in a dry room. ^lany methods are used to supply moisture in incubators, such as sprinkling the eggs with Avarm Avater at about 100° F., or placing a pan of water, a receptacle containing moist sand, or a Avet sponge beloAV the egg tray. Another com- mon method of supphung moisture is to sprinkle or soak the floor of the incubator room or to place a pail of Avater under the lamp. There is less danger of getting too much moisture in the incubator by this method than by putting moisture directly into the egg chamber. If a moisture tray or sponge haA^e been added to a non- moisture machine, they should gen- erally be taken out before the chicks pip. The question of moisture de- pends largely on the place Avhere the incubator is located. If run in a room in a dAvelling house, it is fre- quently necessary to add moisture even to nonmoisture machines, Avhile such machines run in an ordinary cellar in the same building might not need extra moisture. When a large number of machines are operated in one room extra moisture is more necessary than if only a feAv are kept together, Avhile more moisture must be supplied in a A^ery dry than in a humid climate. Figure 3 shoAvs the comparative size of the air cell on the seventh, fourteenth, and nineteenth days of incubation. This air cell Agarics in size Avith the size of the egg, Avhile the shape A’^aries greatly in dif- ferent eggs. Moisture on the glass door of the incubator during hatching time is the best indication of correct moisture conditions during incubation. A good way to learn the proper amount of eA^aporation during incubation is to set one or tAvo hens Avhen start- ing the incubator, and compare the size of the air cell in the eggs Pig. 3. — Diagram showing' the air cell on the seventh, fourteenth, and nine- teenth day of incubation. 14 FARMERS^ riUl>LETIN 585. Tinder these two conditions when testing on the seventh and fonr- teenth days. As the weather becomes warmer more moisture is generally used than earlier in the season. Many operators add moisture only during the latter part of the hatch, generally on the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth days. TESTING EGGS. An egg, whether impregnated or not, has a small grayish spot on the surface of the yolk known as the “ germinal spot.'’ As soon as a fertile egg is placed under a hen, or in an incubator, development begins. All eggs should be tested at least twice during the period of incubation, preferably on the seventh and fourteenth days, and the infertile eggs and dead germs removed. IVhite eggs can be tested on the fourth or fifth day, Avhile the development in eggs having brown shells often can not be seen by the use of an ordinary egg tester until the seventh day. Dead germs soon decay and give off a bad odor if alloAved to remain in an incubator. Infertile eggs make good feed for young chickens, and are often used in the home for culinary purposes. Most incubator companies furnish testing chim- neys with their machines Avhich will fit the incubator lamps. Elec- tric or gas lamps may be used in a box with a hole slightly smaller than an egg cut in the side of the box and at the same level as the light. They may also be tested by sunlight, or daylight, using a shutter or curtain with a small hole in it for the light to shine through. A good homemade egg tester, or candler, can be made with a large shoe box, or any box that is large enough to go over a lamp, by re- moving the end and cutting a hole a little larger than the size of a quarter in the bottom of the box, so that when it is set over a kero- sene lamp the hole in the bottom will be opposite the blaze. A hole the size of a silver dollar should be cut in the top of the box to allow the heat to escape. The eggs are tested with the large end up, so that the size of the air cell may be seen as well as the condition of the embryo. The testing should take place in a dark room. The infertile egg when held before the small hole with the lamp lighted inside the box will look perfectly clear, the same as a fresh one, while a fertile egg will show a small dark spot, known as the embryo, with a mass of little blood veins extending in all directions, if the embryo is living; if dead, and the egg has been incubated for at least 4G’ hours, the blood settles away from the embryo toward the edges of the yolk, forming in some cases an irregular circle of blood, known as a blood ring. Eggs vary in this respect, some showing only a streak of blood. All INCUBATION OF HENS^ EGGS. 15 infertile eggs should be removed at the first test. The eggs con- taining strong, living embryos are dark and well filled up on the fourteenth day, and sIioav a clear, sharp, distinct line of demarcation between the air cell and the growing embryo, while dead germs show only partial development, and lack this clear, distinct outline. CAUSES OF POOR HATCHES. The cause of poor hatches is a much-discussed question, which depends on a great variety of circumstances. A poor hatch is more apt to be due to the condition of the eggs previous to hatching than to incubation, although improper handling of either factor will pro- duce the same results. When eggs fail to hatch, see whether the breeding stock is kept under conditions which tend to produce strong, fertile germs in the eggs, if the eggs have been handled prop- erly before incubation, and whether the conditions were right dur- ing incubation, as judged by the time of the hatch. A daily temperature record should be kept of each machine. The operator can thus compare the temperature at which the machines have been kept, which may prove of value in the future work, espe- cially if the brooder records can be checked back against those of the incubator. DISINFECTING AND STORING INCUBATORS. After the hatching season is over, clean and disinfect the incu- bators, empty the lamps, and carefully store the parts in the machine. Lamps containing oil which are left in their proper place on the incubator for some time after the hatching season is over will cause trouble when it is started again, as the oil tends to work up into the hood. The incubator should be disinfected once a year, or oftener if any disease is present in the hens or chickens. Some operators prefer to disinfect their incubators before or after each hatch. A strong solution of a reliable coal-tar disinfectant may be used to wash out the machine and to disinfect the egg trays and nursery drawer. If the burlap on the bottom of the incubator is very dirty it may be cheaper to renew than to clean it. For an incubator of about 3 cubic feet capacity one may pour one-half ounce of formalin, which contains 10 per cent formaldehyde, on one-half ounce of per- manganate of potash, in a pan in the incubator, which produces a very penetrating gas and thoroughly disinfects the machine. The door of the incubator should be closed just as soon as the liquid is poured into the pan, and left closed for 12 hours or longer. Incu- bators should be well aired before they are used after disinfecting, especially when formaldehyde or any disinfectant which produces a gas has been used. 16 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 585. SUMMARY. FolloAY the nianufacturer’s directions in setting up and operating an incubator. See that the incubator is running steadily at the desired tempera- ture before filling with eggs. Do not add fresh eggs to a tray con- taining eggs which are undergoing incubation. Turn the eggs twice daily after the second and until the nineteenth day. Cool the eggs once daily, according to the weather, from the seventh to the nineteenth day. Turn the eggs before caring for the lamps. Attend to the machine carefully at regular hours. Keep the lamp and wick clean. Test the eggs on the seventh and fourteenth days. Do not open the machine after the eighteenth day until the chickens are hatched. o WASHINGTON ; GOVTORNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1914 W. 77 3-|, US. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry, W. A. Taylor, Chief, and the Office of Experiment Stations, A. C. True, Director. June 3, 1914. COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF PLANT MATERIAL FOR USE IN THE STUDY OF AGRICULTURE. By H. B. Derr, Agent and Agronomist, Bureau of Plant Industry, and 0. 11. Lane, Chief Specialist in Agricultural Education, Ojjice of Experiment Stations. INTRODUCTION. The purpose of this [)ulletin is to suggest methods of collecting, )reparing, mounting, and preserving plant specimens of various .orts which can be used by teachers of agriculture. To instructors n agriculture who have had special training along these lines, doubt- ess many of the suggestions here given will seem superfluous; but here are many teachers who are called upon to teach agriculture \^ho have not had such training, and who will doubtless welcome pecific information as to how to prepare the materials needed for llustration and demonstration purposes in the classroom. WHAT MATERIALS SHOULD BE COLLECTED. The nature of the materials which the teacher should collect will lepend, of course, upon the character of the school and the class of A^ork which is taken up by the pupils, as well as upon the locality, .he funds available, and the time which the pupils and teacher can levote to the work. In general, the illustrative materials with which every school ihould be provided may be grouped into two classes, according to the ases to which they are to be put: (1) Museum specimens and samples, vhich are to be kept permanently for reference, display, and strictly llustrative purposes only; and (2) working collections, which may )G used for display and illustration but the chief purpose of which s to supply the pupils with materials for class study and experi- nental use. For instructional purposes, the latter group is by fai- lle more valuable, but a permanent collection of specimens and samples of various seeds, plants, and other materials may be very useful to any school, provided, of course, the specimens are accu- rately labeled and so preserved and mounted that they are readily available for examination. Note. — T his bulletin is designed for the use of rural teachers in all parts of the United States. 38787°— 14— 1 2 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 586. Materials for class use should, as far as possible, be fresh and in the natural state, rather than dried or preserved, and should, there- fore, generally be collected just prior to the time they are wanted and put away only temporarily. No great degree of care or skill will, in general, be necessary to do this. But for a permanent collection in a school museum considerable technical knowledge and ingenuity are often required in preparing and preserving the specimens and pre- paring convenient receptacles in which to keep them. This is par- ticularly true where the means at hand are limited and the resource- fulness of the teacher must be relied upon to produce inexpensive methods and devices of home manufacture. No directions are included in this bulletin for the collection of birds’ eggs or bird specimens, since it is believed not to be wise to do this in the ordinary school because of the destruction of bird life which would be likely to result and the wrong impressions the pupils might gain. SOURCES OF MATERIALS. In recent years, many commercial houses, educational institutions, and Government bureaus have made a practice of distributing col- lections of specimens and samples of various sorts to schools. Such collections are of great value, undoubtedly, and there is no objection whatsoever to schools securing materials from such sources whenever possible, so long as they do not rely upon these sources for all their illustrative material. But it is a much better practice to have the pupils collect and prepare their own materials as far as possible from original local sources, because of the educational possibilities involved in the process of gathering the various specimens. Almost any locality affords supplies of seed, plant, and wood speci- mens, and other materials of vital importance in the study of agricul- ture; and the work of gathering these specimens will afford definite tasks upon which to center the interest of numerous field trips, so that the danger of aimless wandering which so frequently makes this method of instruction devoid of practical results may be minimized. The instructor who takes his class out into the field with the definite purpose of collecting specimens of weed seeds, for example, has the very best possible opportunity at the same time to teach not only identification of the local weed species but also useful facts as to their relations to soil and climate. GENERAL SUGGESTIONS FOR FIELD WORK. It is important that complete and accurate records should be kept for each specimen collected in order to supply the data necessary for the proper labeling of the mounted specimen. Sometimes, as m the case of wood specimens, it will be necessary to mark each sample in COLLECTION OF PLANT MATERIAL FOR STUDY. 3 the field, as soon as it is obtained, with the name of the tree from which it is taken, in order to prevent mistakes in naming the mounted specimens. It should be the aim of the instructor to make the fieldwork teach something besides mere methods of col- lecting, and, with this in view, the pupils should also be provided with notebooks and pencils for making memoranda of things learned on the trip. All work of this sort should be constructive and never destructive. Indiscriminate picking or digging of wild flowers or unnecessary cut- tmg of branches of trees should not be permitted. Whenever it is necessary to obtain a specimen of a desirable plant or wood, that plant should be taken which can be best spared, if there is any choice. If a branch must be cut from a tree, see that when it is done the tree will be the better olf for the pruning. SUGGESTIONS CONCERNING THE ARRANGEMENT OF MATERIALS. When plants or other materials are collected for ordinary purposes of study and reference, it will generally suffice to arrange the speci- mens in their logical order, according to their scientific classifications. When, however, it is intended to prepare a set of specimens for an educational display, very interesting and attractive groups can be arranged to show strikingly the agricultural relationships of the particular plants in question. For example, a display centered about some particular agricultural crop plant might show the different types or varieties of the plant itself; the commercial products manu- factured from it; the enemies, such as insects and plant diseases, from whose attacks it needs protection; and pictures showing meth- ods of cultivating and harvesting the crop. A display might be cen- tered about some farm insect pest so as to show the insect in the various stages of its development ; specimens of the plant upon which it feeds, showing the injury it does to these plants; specimens of other insects which are hostile to it; and pictures of birds which prey upon it. Exhibits such as these take time to prepare, but they will prove enough more attractive than an ordinary collection to warrant the extra labor and thought involved in their preparation. COLLECTION OF PLANT SPECIMENS. WHAT PLANTS TO COLLECT. In the collection of plant specimens for use in the agriculture class it will be obvious that plants of purely botanical interest need not be included. In general, the plants which should be collected may be divided into two groups: (1) Plants of value to the farmer, both cultivated and wild; and (2) noxious plants or weeds. As a subclass of the noxious plants, special attention should be given to poisonous plants, with a view to making the pupils familiar with them so as to 4 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 586 . prevent personal injury from poisoning as well as to euahle them to take proper steps for the eradication of these particularly undesirable members of the weed class. HOW TO COLLECT. When starting out to collect specimens it will be necessary for the pupil to be provided with some sort of receptacle in which to carry the specimens. The best thing for this purpose is undoubtedly a tin botanical specimen case, such as may be purchased from any school-supply house. But where such a case is not available almost any sort of covered box, such as a pasteboard shoe box, for example, may be used as a substitute, provided it is large enough to allow the j)lants to be placed in it without crushing. A cover to the box is essential, for the specimens must be kept moist until they can be carried home and prepared for pressing. In collecting s[)ecimens of the smaller plants it will generally be desirable to secure them roots and all, since many of the grasses and sedges can be best identified when the root systems are available for examination. With many of the flowering plants, however, it will be neither necessary nor desirable that the roots be taken up, since to do so would increase the possibility of exterminating desirable species, and the roots, in many cases, will not be essential to the study of the plant. Unlike the collection of specimens for botanical use, the collection of plants for study in connection with agricultural work generally necessitates the identification of the plant in the field; otherwise the pupils can not know whether or not the species in question is of any importance agriculturally. Assuming, then, that the identity of the plant is known, it will be obvious that later possibility of confusion of identities should be guarded against by properly label- ing each specimen as it is collected. For this reason before going into the field it will be well to provide a quantity of labels with strings attached to them, so that one of these may be readily tied to each plant as it is gathered. This label should remain constantly attached to the specimen while it is being pressed and until it is finally mounted in permanent form. HOW TO PREPARE PLANT SPECIMENS FOR MOUNTING. Most of the specimens of plants obtained for agricultural study will have to be pressed in order to prepare them for final mounting. Various devices may be adapted for use in pressing plants, some of which will be familiar to all teachers of botany or agriculture. Per- haps the simplest method is to place the plant, carefully arranged so as to avoid folding or crushing, between two layers of blotting paper, and place on these a flat board on which is placed a heavy weight. COLLECTION OF PLANT MATERIAL FOR STUDY. 5 It is suggested, however, that instead of blotting paper, driers be used, made of sheets cut from felt paper such as is placed beneath carpets. This paper will readily absorb the moisture from the plant. Fig. 1.— Home-made plant press, showing method of arranging rope to get greatest pressure. but the driers should be changed twice each day for the first two days, and once each day for a week thereafter to give the best re- sults. Instead of the old method of using weights, a very good plan 6 farmers' bulletin 58G. is to use a set of pressing frames such as those shown in figure ] . These frames may be made of strips ^ inch thick, IJ inches wide, and 8 inches long. Each frame is 12 inches wide, the crosspieces being 14 inches long, so that they project 1 inch beyond the edge on each side, in order that the two sections may be easily bound to- gether by passing cords about these projecting ends. Ordinary cot- ton clotheslines may be used for this purpose. By adjusting tlie cord as shown in the illustration (fig. 1), a considerable pressure can be secured with little effort. A frame of this size is necessary in order to contain pressing papers of the standard size used by botanists (12 by 17 inches) but a smaller size may be used if desired. If a plant is too long to go into the press, it may be bent in the shape of a “ V’ or an N or a portion of the stem at the base may be discarded, showing only the roots and basal leaves and the upper two-thirds of the plant. MOUNTING. Ordinarily, dried plant specimens are best kept in herbarium books such as may be obtained, in various sizes, from school-supply houses. The herbarium sheet used by botanists is 11 J by IGJ inches in size, and the plant, after being properly pressed and dried, is either glued to the sheet or fastened to it with slips of gummed cloth or paper. The mounted specimens are then grouped according to genera, each genus being inclosed in a separate cover of strong manila paper. For convenient filing of the specimens a suitable herbarium case can be easily made out of a cracker box by putting partitions about 4 inches apart in it for shelves. The box should be fitted with a tight door and should be lined with heavy building paper to keep out insects and dust. Wliere it is desired to arrange the plant specimens so that each specimen may be constantly displayed, or where specimens such as heads of grain, which can not be pressed, are to be mounted, another plan must be followed. For use in such cases a device has been patented which affords the advantage of an attractive arrangement for display purposes and of the ready examination of the specimen without the necessity of its coming into contact with the hands of the observer. The plan followed is to mount the specimen on cotton in a box having a glass cover and a loose back which may be fastened down tightly upon the cotton so as to hold the specimen embedded in the cotton against the glass, through which it may be examined. The object to be mounted is placed in the mount upon the glass face down; upon it are placed layers of cotton batting so as to fill the box completely (fig. 2), the back is then put on and fastened down COT.LECTIOX OF PLANT MATERIAL FOR STUDY. 7 tightly upon the cotton, thus holding the object securely in phic(' against the glass front (fig. 3). Glass-covered mounting boxes, like that described, generally made of heavy cardboard, can be purchased in various sizes from supply houses. A few plant specimens, such as some of the fleshy fruits or roots of leguminous plants showing nodules, can not be satisfactorily pre- served by drying. Such specimens maybe preserved in glass jars in preservative fluids. A large-mouthed receptacle of some sort is required for this purpose. The best Idnd is, of course, the square Fig. 2.— Met hod of mounting heads of grain under glass. museum jar, but lacking this the next best thing is an ordinary fruit jar. Delicate specimens of this sort must be carefully protected in the field, when being collected, from excessive drying or bruising. This can be done by wrapping each specimen separately in pieces of moist newspaper. Specimens of roots and similar articles should ])e carefully washed before mounting. An old toothbrush will be found to be an excellent thing for this purpose, since by its use particles of dh*t which would otherwise be hard to get at can be easily removed. After being washed the specimen may be placed in a 2 or 3 per cent solution of formalin (using formalin with a strength of 40 per cent 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 586. Fig. 3. -Heads of grain mounted under glass. COLLECTION OF PLANT MATERIAL FOR STUDY. 9 formaldehyde) for several days, after which it should be placed in a jar containing a 5 per cent solution of formalin. A simple method of arranging a delicate plant so that it shows well in the jar is to attach a fine thread to the specimen and suspend it thus in the fluid. By holding the end of the thread in the left hand while the cover of the jar is put on, the thread may be fastened so as to hold the speci- men in any position desired. PRESERVING MOUNTED SPECIMENS. Specimens mounted in fluids, as last described, will, of course, need no protection from insects or mice. But herbarium specimens and those mounted in frames under glass will be subject to such attack and should be protected. A good plan is to place in the herbarium case or mounting frames a few ordinary moth balls or a few naphtha- lin flakes. These will generally suffice to keep out injurious insects. COLLECTION OF SEEDS AND GRAINS. WHAT SEEDS TO COLLECT. This collection should include seeds of plants similar in character to those suggested for collection as plant specimens. One of the first collections to be made should be samples of the seeds of local weeds, especially those weed seeds likely to be found mixed with farm seeds such as clover or small grains and difficult to distinguish from them. Careful study of such weed seeds will help the pupils to detect adulterations and impurities of commercial seeds. Another collection should be made of the seeds of various crop-producing plants, showing different species and types. Care of course must be taken to see that these samples are pure and true to type if they are to be of any help. HOW TO COLLECT SEEDS. A good plan for collecting seeds in the field is to place the seeds, as gathered, in ordinary paper envelopes, writing upon each envelope the name of the plant from which the sample is taken, with such other data as may be desired, such as the date, locality, etc. Small cloth bags, such as those in which salt is sold, may be used instead of envelopes, if desired, and they are less likely to become torn. If the cloth bags are used, a slip of paper on which is written the neces- sary data concerning each specimen should go into each bag with the the seeds. It will also be found convenient to take along a botanical collecting case, hand satchel, or a box of some sort in which to carry the envelopes or bags containing the samples of seed. 38787°— 14 2 10 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 58 ( 5 . Fig. 4.— Permanent collection of farm seeds for school use. COLLECTION OF PLANT MATERIAL FOR STUDY. 11 HOW TO PREPARE SEEDS FOR MOUNTING. All seed specimens should be carefully cleaned of chaff and impuri- ties before they are put into the receptacles in which they are to be finally kept. After being cleaned they should be treatecl with carbon bisulphid or with formaldehyde, in order to kill any injurious insects or larvie which may be concealed in or upon them. This can be done by placing the seed in a receptacle and pouring upon a Fig. 5.— Students’ collection of farm seeds. piece of cotton placed on a saucer in this receptacle enough of the carbon bisulphid or formaldehyde to thoroughly wet the cotton, then closing the cover of the receptacle tightly so as to keep in the fumes. Great care should be taken not to use the carbon bisulphid near a fire, or to strike a match while it is being used, since it is very inflammable and may explode if not properly handled. The fumes of both carbon bisulphid and formaldehyde are very disagreeable and inhaling them should be avoided. 12 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 586 . MOUNTING AND STORING SEED SAMPLES. There are numerous methods by which seeds may be stored for use. The best method will depend upon the purpose for which the samples are to be used and the quantity of seed. One of the simplest and most convenient methods of mounting samples of small seeds for study and display is to place the samples in small glass vials of 2 or 3 dram size, these vials being then placed in a strong cardboard box arranged with a separate compartment for each vial (fig. 4). Vials with screw tops are better for this pur- pose than those with ordinary corks, since they protect the seeds Fig. 6.— Cloth case for carrying samples of farm seeds in vials. more securely from insects. The vials should be labeled, each with the name of the kind of seed it contains, the place and date of col- lection, and any other data desired. If the cardboard box with compartments as suggested can not be obtained, simple holders or cases of various kinds can easily be made which will serve the purpose very well. One such holder isnndicated in figure 5. In this the vials are held in place by means of shoe laces passed alternately over, then under, the vials and through the back of the box. Another holder which is especially convenient for use in carrying vials of this sort from place to place, but not so satisfac- COLLECTION OF PLANT MATERIAL FOR STUDY. 13 Fig. 7.— Rack for displaying samples of farm seeds. 14 FARMERS BULLETIN 586, Fig. 8.— Sample of wheat displayed in glass-covered box. COLLECTION OF PLANT MATERIAL FOR STUDY. 15 tory for displaying them, can be made of cloth, as shown in figure 6. In this holder strips are sewed upon a rectangular piece of cloth so as to form rows of pockets, each pocket being just large enough to receive one of the vials containing the seed samples. When it is desired to preserve larger quantities of seeds for future study or grains for experimental planting, larger glass bottles or jars Fig. 9.- -Simple method of making a seed-identification chart. with screw tops or ordinary fruit jars may be used. Of the different kinds of fruit jars those with glass tops which seal with wires will probably be best. But the square glass bottles take up less space (fig. 7). The rack shown in figure 7 is convenient for holding these jars, but they may be placed upon tables or shelves if desired. 16 farmers' bulletin 586. Another good scheme for making attractive displays of seeds and grains is to place the samples under glass in boxes like that shown in figure 8. Such a plan has also the advantage of affording good opportunity for the close examination of the sample wdthout the necessity of handling it. The boxes for this purpose may be made in the manner described below. When only small quantities of seeds are available for mounting, and it is desired to display the samples to better advantage than by the use of vials, a convenient mounting rack is easily made as fol- lows: Get a pane of clear glass about 10 by 12 inches in size (or any Fig. 10. — Seed samples mounted between panes of glass. other size that may be desired) and two pieces of ^-inch board of some soft light wood, such as poplar or basswood, of the same dimensions as the pane of glass or slightly larger. On one of these boards rule lines both ways, spacing them about IJ inches apart. At each of the intersections of these lines bore 1-inch holes through the board. Now nail or glue this board to the other one. Each of the holes in the upper board will then form a pocket, in which a sample of seed or grain may be placed. A label with the name of the kind of seed and the place and date of collection should be pasted beneath each pocket. By arranging them in a form and color series. COLLECTION OF PT.ANT MATERIAl. FOR STUDY. 17 as shown in figure 9, comparison and identification are facilitate!]. The pane of glass should now be put on to form a cover for all the pockets, thus holding the seeds securely in place. The glass may be held tightly over the pockets by placing the whole mount in an ordi- nary picture frame and fastening it in with small nails. In the case of small seeds, sheets of heavy cardboard maybe substituted for the pieces of board, and the cardboard and glass may be held together by binding the edges with gummed paper, such as the ordinary passe- partout binding, instead of putting the mount into a frame (fig. 10). By using smaller jianes of glass, such as discarded photographic Fig. 11.— Using the microscope to study seed samples. plates, numerous small mounts may be made which may be easily handed about in the class. This method of mounting has another great advantage in that when mounted in this way the seeds may be easily examined under a microscope (fig. 11). PRESERVING SEED SPECIMENS. Seeds treated as previously directed and mounted in tightly closed vials, jars, or in the tight frames described will not be very likely to suffer damage from insects or other sources. As a further precau- tion, however, in the case of jars that are opened frequently, it may be well to drop into each receptacle a few moth balls. This will prevent insect attack for some time. 18 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 58G. COLLECTION OF WOOD SPECIMENS. HOW TO COLLECT. The best time to collect wood specimens is in the autumn, when the fruit is more or less mature and the leaves have not yet fallen, for the leaves and fruit are often important aids in determining the identity of the trees, and the wood at this season contains less moisture than earlier in the season. The specimen should, as far as possible, display features of bark and wood that will be characteristic of the tree from which it is taken. It is important to note that there is much difference in the appearance of the bark between the young tree and the old one of the same species; likewise, between the base of the trunk and the upper part and the branches. The aim should be, therefore, to get specimens which will not be misleading, such as would be the case if one took the sample from the smooth-barked young branch of a rough-barked tree. It will generally be impossible, however, to pro- cure specimens from the base of the tree trunk. Probably the best plan will be to cut a section 8 or 10 inches long from a branch not less than 3 or 4 inches in diameter, on which the bark is as nearly characteristic as possible. Young trees should never be cut down to get sections from the trunk, for to do so entails the destruction of a whole tree, which is avoided by taking a section of a large branch of an old tree. The name of the tree from which the specimen is taken should be plainly written on the wood with a pencil before leaving the spot where it is obtained. The rough blocks of wood thus labeled should then be put away and allowed to become thor- oughly seasoned before anything further is done with them. Heavy paper glued over the ends of the block will lessen the checking which is likely to occur while the wood is drying. PREPARING AND MOUNTING WOOD SPECIMENS. When the blocks of wood have become thoroughly seasoned they may be finished off in any shape or manner that may be desired. Perhaps the best way is to split off one side of the block to a depth equal to about one-third of its diameter, making a flat surface at right angles to the radius, thus showing the grain of the wood. One end of the block may then be cut squarely across and the other may be sloped at an angle of about 45° from the bark-covered sur- face out to the flat face (fig. 12). In the square-cut end a small screw eye may be inserted and the block may then be hung, with the others similarly prepared, on nails or hooks in a strip of molding on the wall or in a cabinet. Wood specimens prepared in this way can be taken down for examination, and may be conveniently packed when it is desired to move them from place to place. A label bear- COLLECTION^ OP PLANT MATERIAL FOR STUDY, 19 ing the scientific name and the common name of the species, the date and place of collection, and other data should be attached to each specimen. Another method of mounting wood specimens is shown in figure 13. In this case, both ends of the blocks are cut squarely across and a piece is split off one side so as to show the grain of the wood. The Fig. 12.— Wood specimens prepared for study. blocks are then placed in racks, as shown in the illustration, and are fastened in place by small nails driven into the tops and bottoms through the boards of the rack. These mounting racks are made of one-half inch materials, as wide as the specimen blocks are thick. The end uprights are cut so that one rack may be placed upon another, leaving spaces between in 20 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 58G. which may he placed specimens of the fruit of each species of tree represented by the wood specimens, if so desired (fig. 13 ). In preparing the wood specimens it is a good plan to smooth off the split or sawed surfaces by scraping them with the sharp edge of Fig. 13.— Method of mounting wood specimens in racks. a piece of glass, then sandpapering them well. An application of linseed oil will help to prevent possible cracking of the wood, and will also bring out the colors and grain of the wood more clearly. A coat of varnish may be applied if desired to give the specimens a still more “finished’’ appearance. COLLECTION OF PLANT MATERIAL FOR STUDV. 21 COLLECTION OF FUNGI, LICHENS, AND MOSSES. WHAT FUNGI TO COLLECT. There are two important groups of fungi of which specimens should be collected for study in connection with the subject of agriculture. The first of these are what are known as parastite^^f . Tlieso fungi secure their sustenance from a living “host/' and are therefore injurious to the plants upon which they draw for a livelihood. Ex- amples of these fungus parasites are the rusts, smuts, and mildews. The second form of fungus growth which should be studied is the sapro'phyte. These fungi live u])on dead or decaying organic matter Fig. 14.— How a bracket fungus should be cut from the tree. and may be beneficial to the growth of other plants. Examples of the saprophytes are the mushrooms, toadstools, and the woody “brackets" found growing on the sides of decaying logs. METHODS OF COLLECTING AND PRESERVING FUNGI. Specimens of the large woody fungi, such as the “brackets" wliich grow on the decaying wood of diseased trees, may be safely kept for a considerable time without any special protective measures, simply by drying them thoroughly and placing them in cardboard boxes properly labeled and filed. In collecting fungi such as these, it is best to secure with the specimen a section of the wood or other ma- terial to which the fungus is attached, in order to show the relation- ship which it sustains to the fungus (fig. 14). T« |o V » c. w 22 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 58G. Fig, 15.— Diseased heads of oats mounted under glass on cotton. COLLECTION OF PLANT MATERIAL FOR STUDY. 23 The dillieultics in the way of collecting the moist and lleshy fnnjjji are much greater. Some of these species are gelatinous, while others break down into jelly-like substances in a tew hours, and it will be found, in many cases, impossible to preserve good herbarium speci- mens. A few of the more leathery forms may bo preserved in fairly good, though shrunken state, by drying them rapidly, either by ex- posure to the sun or by artificial heat. Some of the parasitic fungi, such as those found upon the loaves of plants, may be preserved by pressing and drying the leaves which form the ‘4iosts’’ in the manner described for the preservation of Fig. 16.— Method of mounting lichens under glass. plant specimens. (See p. 4.) The collector should be careful, in such cases, to identify properly not only the parasitic fungus but also the host. If the fungus appears on the twigs as well as the leaves, specimens of both should be obtained. These forms can then be mounted and labeled on ordinary herbarium sheets, just as in the case of flowering plants. The grain rusts and smuts are among the forms of fungi which it is most important that the student of agriculture should study. A good plan for mounting these specimens is to collect samples of the plant, showing the diseased condition, and mount them in a glass- covered box on cotton in the manner described on page 6 (fig. 15). 24 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 586. All of the soft, fleshy fungi, such as the mushrooms, may Ix^ pre- served in liquids and kept in closed jars or bottles. A good formula for a preservative solution is as follows: Alcohol, 1 part; formalin, 1 part; distilled water, 15 to 20 parts. COLLECTING AND PRESERVING LICHENS AND MOSSES. The mosses and lichens are among the forms of plant life least known to children, as a rule, but some of the more common forms can be easily collected and mounted. The pads of mosses may be taken up with a sharp spade or knife, and should be dried thoroughly before mounting. The lichens, which will be found growing on tree trunks and exposed rocks, generally may be removed readily with a knife, and should also be dried. A good way to mount specimens of this sort is as follows: Secun two small plates of glass of any size desired, such as discarded pho- tographic plates which have been thoroughly cleaned. Fasten the specimen, face up, to one of these glass plates by means of a little glue. Upon this glass plate, around the edges, run a strip of wood or heavy cardboard, so as to make a sort of box deep enough to hole the specimen, gluing the lower edge of this strip to the glass on whicl the specimen is fastened. Then cover the upper edge of the strij with glue and lay the other glass upon it, thus forming a closed boA or case, its two sides being of glass. Now, bind the edges of this box with passe-partout binding paper (fig. 16). When specimens arc mounted in this way it is possible to examine both their upper and lower surfaces, and the mount will last for 3 mars if carefully handled. o WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1914 CONOMIC VALUE OF NORTH AMERICAN SKUNKS. By 1). p]. Lantz, Assistant Biologist. INTRODUCTION. Jore than a dozen States have laws protecting skunks by a close invson. These laws were passed in response to the wishes of farmers ^,,•60 recognize the usefulness of these animals in destroying noxious jjf) ects and to the demands of persons interested in conserving the resources of the country. A fuller understanding of the eco- nic value of these creatures would no doubt result in protective asures in all the States. Several causes have contributed to the ])resent scarcity of fur 3n I mals. The increased demand for furs and their consequent high ^r.fces have led to close trapping; but the extension of farming, reclamation of swamps, and the thinning out of forests have, by tricting the range of the fur bearers, effected what hunting and Trapping alone could not have accomplished. The time is near at /land when the supply of pelts will be so far short of the demand that urther marked advance in prices will follow. Its effect on the tv/'d life of forests and streams can readily be foreseen, and the i' y iblem of conserving the remnant of the fur supply and supple- /T^enting it from other sources becomes one of vital importance. The three fur animals still fairly abundant in the United States vr the muskrat, the mink, and the skunk. Of these the muskrat is ^^st likely to retain its numbers, since it multiplies rapidly and, ^'operly protected, is in no danger of extinction except where swamps drained for agriculture. The mink breeds but once a year, and 5e trapping has already made it scarce over wide areas. Its cnoice of banks of streams and marsh lands as a habitat aids in its Cch^servation, but unless given more adequate protection it can not Ic rg sur\dve the high premium on its pelt. The skunk, although not > in danger of extinction, is likely soon to be even more closely pped, as its pelt has great intrinsic value and the demand for it lias )TE.— This bulletin discusses the value of skunks to agriculture, as destroyers of rodents and injurious as, their value as fur bearers, and the possibilities of raising them for their fur. 38780 °— 14 — 1 2 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 587. not yet fully developed. Within a few years the prices of tliis fur will probably be more than doubled. The three fur animals named are economically the most important ones, because each is widely distributed and adapted to a variety of climatic conditions. If, as is believed, they can be domesticated or successfully reared in captivity, their breeding may become a means Fig. 1.— Range of common skunk ( Mephitis). of profit in most parts of the United States. The skunk, especially, presents possibilities of widely extended usefulness in domestication. KINDS OF SKUNKS. The common large skunks^ are restricted wholly to North America. Tliey range northward to Nova Scotia, the Hudson Bay country, and British Columbia; and southward through the greater part of Mexico, including part of Lower California, to Guatemala (fig. 1). Tire num- ber of species recognized is 9, with 8 subspecies, or geographic races. 1 Genus Mephitis. ECONOMIC VALUE OF NORTH AMERICAN SKUNKS. 3 Fifteen of the forms occur within the United States. As these species and races are not separately recognized in the fur trade, they will not be so considered here. In general, the more northern forms have the finer fur; but in the fur trade the pelts are graded according to the amount of white in the pelage. In the best grade. No. 1, are placed those in which there is no white or in which the white areas do not extend much beyond the head and neck of the animal. No. 2 Fig. 2.— The fom- grades of skimk fui’. skins, or ‘^short stri})e,” are those in which the white area does not extend beyond the middle of the body. No. 3 skins have long nar- row stripes, while No. 4 are broad-striped (fig. 2). The skins are further graded in price according to the locality from which they were obtained. Northern skins are more valuable because the pelage is finer, and the black color more intense than those from southern localities. 4 farmers' bulletin 587. The four grades of skunk fur are due to individual variation in markings, and none of them is entirely characteristic of any particu- lar species. An apparent exception may be found in the plains skunk ^ and its races. Most of these are characterized by long nar- row stripes, but because of their extra size they are more valuable than ordinary No. 3 skins. A‘ skunk belonging mainly to Central and South America ^ differs from the common skunks of the United States in having a relatively shorter tail and the back broadly marked with white from the crown of the head to the end of the tail. Three forms are found within the Fig. 3.— Range of spotted skunks (Spilogale) north of Mexico. United States as far north as Texas and Arizona. Their skins grade as broad-striped (No. 4), and as the pelts are heavy and much less densely furred than those of the more northern skunks, they command very low prices. The distribution of little spotted skunks ^ is more restricted than that of the others. Wliile found somewhat farther south in Central America than the common large skunks, they do not range so far northward on the Pacific coast. Near the Atlantic coast they are unknown north of Georgia, but in the Alleghenies their northern limit is apparently in northern Virginia. In the interior they reach southern Minnesota, central Wyoming, southern Idaho, and south- 1 MephUis tnesomelas. 2 Cenus Conepatus, 3 Genus Spilogale. ECONOMIC VALUE OP NORTH AMERICAN SKUNKS. 5 eastern Washington. On the coast they are foniul from southern British Columi)ia to Lower California (lig. 3). Fourteen species and six races of little spotted skunks are known, 13 of the 20 forms occurring within the United States. These ani- mals are considerably smaller than the other skunks. The total lengths of species in the United States vary in average from 320 to 560 millimeters (12.6 to 22.4 inches). The pygmy spotted skunk of Mexico is the smallest skunk known, the only specimen in the col- lection of the Biological Survey measuring but 9.4 inches in total length. Spotted skunks, like the common large skunks, vary much in the amount of white in the fur as well as in the pattern of the spots or short stripes. The skin is strong and the pelage good in the more northern forms, but because of the small size and many white spots the fur is not very valuable. In the fur trade the skins are known as civet,” and, dressed in the natural color, they are now much in vogue for garments. GENERAL HABITS OF SKUNKS. Skunks are mainly terrestnal. The little spotted skunks occa- sionally voluntarily climb trees in search of food, but the larger forms apparently do not climb unless driven to do so. None of the skunks swim unless forced into deep water, but all are fond of bathing in shallow ponds or streams. They have plantigrade feet and well- developed claws, especially in front. The white-backed skunks of Central and South America are more given to digging than the others, and in general outline, shape of nose, and strong development of claws, they much resemble badgers, the only other group of the musteline family that have the feet better adapted for digging. While skunks often dig dens in ordinary soils, they much prefer to use natural cavities in rocks or burrows dug by other animals, as the fox, badger, and woodchuck. They are said some- times to attack and kill the woodchuck before taking its burrow. Fallen logs, recesses under stone walls or fences, and cavities under tree roots furnish the skunk convenient retreats. If the floor of a building is near the ground, the space below is often used by the animals. Also, they nest under well covers, board walks, hay scales, and stacks, as well as in culverts, covered drains, abandoned cellars, and caves for storing vegetables. ^ In winter the warmth of the floors of occupied dwellings or country schoolhouses seems to be especially attractive to them; and the animals often take up their abode in carelessly filled trenches conveying steam pipes from boilers to distant buildings, no doubt attracted by the warmth.jJ When skunks dig their own dens the burrows are seldom very long or deep. They go down below the ordinary frost line, and after a 6 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 587. short lateral gallery, end in a rounded chamber containing the nest, a bed of leaves or dried grasses. Occasionally there are two entrances to a den. In northern latitudes skunks lie housed in their dens during the coldest part of winter, but in mild weather they move about freely in search of food. Usually a considerable number occupy the same den, possibly members of a single family of the preceding summer; but sometimes the number seems too great to be only one family. As many as 20 have been captured at one time from a single den in winter.^ When thus disturbed skunks are found lively enough to prove that hibernation is not complete. As spring approaches the animals mate, and the pairs betake themselves to separate establish- ments. In the South this gregarious habit is not so marked, although the young usually remain with the mother until mating time in late winter. Skunks are mainly nocturnal, but when not harassed by enemies they often hunt in broad daylight. They usually come out about sunset and spend the summer twilight in catching grasshoppers and beetles by springing upon them with the fore feet as the insects rise from the ground in flight. After dark the skunk depends upon its senses of smell and hearing to locate its prey. It digs many beetles and their larvae from the ground, leaving the surface thickly pitted with small conical holes where the insects were obtained. SCENT GLANDS. Skunks, in common with other members of the musteline family, have glands which secrete an extremely nauseous fluid. These con- sist of two oval sacs, located just beneath the skin below the base of the tail, one on each side; they are covered by muscular envelopes and open to the surface through ducts, one leading from each sac. When the animal is on the defensive it elevates its tail and by con- tracting the muscles about the glands ejects the fluid through the ducts in two tiny streams of spray A large, vigorous animal has been known to throw the fluid nearly a rod, but the ordinary distance is from 6 to 10 feet^ The liquid is sufficiently acrid to cause nausea, and, if it strikes the eyes, to produce temporary blindness. Skunks use this peculiar and effective means of defense only when attacked or badly frightened. The persistence of skunk odor in anything touched by the fluid is remarkable. Clothing after contact with it is sometimes entirely ruined. Washing in chloride of lime or gasoline will remove the odor from one’s hands, but chloride of lime will spoil the colors of most fabrics. Probably the best plan for removing the odor from garments is to wash them in gasoline or benzine and then to expose Forest and Stream, XII, 1879, p. 365. ECONOMIC VALUE OF NORTH AMERICAN SKUNKS. 1 them to the action of sun and wind; another is to bury the garment for several days in moist soil; still another, to immerse it for a time in flowing water. BREEDING HABITS. Skunks breed usually but once a year. Tlie larger skunks mate early in spring (February and March) and the young, numbering from 6 to 12 in a litter, are born in May. They are blind and nearly haudess at birth and do not open their eyes until about three or four weeks old. Soon after this they begin to follow the mother about and continue with her until almost fully grown. They are mature when about six months old and breed the following spring. The breeding habits of little spotted skunks differ but little from those of the larger animals. They mate a little later in the spring and the litters seldom exceed six in number. On July 10, 1905, at Apache, Okla., the writer found a litter of six young with eyes not yet open. They were well covered with soft hairs and had the char- acteristic markings of adult animals. FOOD OF SKUNKS. The belief that skunks feed mainly upon birds and birds' eggs is so general that statements to the contrary are often challenged. While the animals occasionally eat wild birds and poultry, the evidence furnished by stomach examinations is overwhelmingly favorable to skunks, and proves that on the whole they are beneficial. Scien- tific observers since the days of Audubon have nearly ail testified to the usefulness of these animals, but popular prejudices are hard to overcome. The Biological Survey has records of the contents of 62 skunk stomachs examined by its field men. Of these stomachs, 37 were of common skunks, 9 of white-backed skunks, and 16 of little spotted skunks. As the food of these differs but slightly, they may be treated together. Grasshoppers and crickets formed a large percentage of the food of nearly half the skunks examined. Beetles and their larvse formed the most important item of food, being found in nearly two-thirds of the stomachs and in many instances being the sole diet. Fifteen animals had eaten injurious rodents, such as mice, rats, ground squirrels, and pocket gophers, while 3 had eaten carrion; 3 had taken lizards or salamanders; 3, crawfish; 2, fungi; 2, earthworms; and 6, berries or other fruit. In one stomach the feathers of a bird were found, and in another, that of an animal trapped in a henhouse, parts of a domestic fowl. Two stomachs contained centipedes; 1, sawflies; 1, cicadas only, and another the pulpy stems of a succulent plant. 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 587. The 62 stomachs were of animals captured in every month of the year. While the number for some months is very small, analysis of results proves that skunks ordinarily eat food that is abundant and easily obtained. When insects are plentiful, these constitute the whole diet; when they are scarce, the food is of greater variety. Thus skunks taken from January to March had eaten small mammals, liz- ards,' crawfish, earthworms, fungi, and a few beetles. The diet in April and May was mainly beetles, a small mammal being the only exception. In June, in every instance, there was an unmixed diet either of beetles, grasshoppers, or cicadas. Eight of 14 skunks taken in July had eaten insects exclusively. In August and September grasshoppers formed the chief diet, but a few beetles also were found. For the last three months of the year the insect diet was varied with other animal food, while berries were prominent in a few cases. Insects eaten by the skunk seem to be mostly of injurious kinds, • and the usefulness of this animal is more apparent when there is an invasion of large numbers of some insect pest, as grasshoppers, crickets, cicadas, army worms, or the like. An instance of this was observed in 1913 by E. R. Kalmbach, of this bureau, in northern New Mexico during an invasion of the range caterpillar. Skunks were abundant, and investigation showed that from 60 to 95 per cent of their food was made up of the pupal cases of these insects. On large areas skunks had taken the majority of the pupae. SKUNKS AND POULTRY. The chief indictment against the skunk is that it destroys poultry, and a few cases of serious losses due to the animal are reported. In many instances of alleged depredations by skunks, it is probable that minks or weasels were the actual culprits, and that skunks merely shared in the plunder by eating the dead poultry. When a farmer loses fowls and does not see the animal killing them he is often likely to mistake its identity. The common skunk can not climb to a roost, and would kill only birds found on the ground. Minks and weasels are expert climbers and are far more bloodthirsty. It is characteristic of the weasel to kiU many victims when they are within reach. It makes a small but deep incision in the neck or under the wing of a fowl and takes the blood as long as it flows freely. It then attacks and kills another and another victim, until satisfied. Minks also kill a number of chickens at one visit to the coop, eating only the heads. A skunk, on the contrary, usually takes only one fowl at a time and eats of it until satisfied. Having once, however, acquired a taste for chicken, a skunk will return to the poultry yard night after night for a fresh victim. A skunk making its home under sheds and other buddings roams about them at night in search of food, chiefly rats, mice, and insects. That it should occasionally learn to take chickens and eggs is not ECONOMIC VALUE OF NOETH AMERICAN SKUNKS. 9 surprising, but this haj)pens far less frequently than might be expected. It is a habit learned by very few mdividuals and not a characteristic of skunks as a family. The writer visited a skunk yard in Ohio where chicks about the size of quail were eating from the same pans with the skunks. The owner stated that this occurred daily and that the skunks had never molested the chicks. Much testimony could be cited showmg that skunks frequently feed with poultry in hen- houses without molesting the fowls. Of course, the individual skunk that learns to kill and eat chickens should be destroyed. SKUNKS AND GAME. Persons interested in the preservation .of game often denounce the skunk, asserting that it destroys pheasants, quail, grouse, and other game; and sportsmen’s clubs usually encourage the destruction of skunks, classing them with foxes, minks, and weasels as enemies of game. Sometimes side hunts are arranged for the destruction of vermin,” and in some places bounties are paid for killing these animals. So far as skunks are concerned, there is little evidence that they often disturb game. The late Byron Andrews, of Erwin, S. Dak., informed the writer that he once found a pinnated-grouse nest containing eggs about to hatch less than 4 rods from a den which had long been in use by skunks. Mr. Andrews argued that the skunks surely would have destroyed this nest had they been fond of eggs. The writer has repeatedly known quails to nest and hatch out broods within a few rods of a skunk den. A few eggs from one nest were eaten by crows, but a large clutch was left to hatch. The truth is that at the season when the native game birds are nesting skunks have abundant insect food, and by the time this food fails the birds are strong of wing and seldom fall a prey to this mammal. SKUNKS AND BEES. The destruction of yellow jackets and bumblebees by skunks has often been noted. It is generally supposed that the juicy larvae of these insects are most appreciated, but the adults also are eaten, and probably the honey stored by the bumblebees. Complaints of the destruction of bees in their hives by skunks have been recorded. The skunk approaches the apiary cautiously and scratches on the outside of a hive until the bees rush from the entrance to repel the intruder. The skunk shows much skill in capturing the insects and in dislodging them from his long hair, where many cling. He pays little attention to their stings. One or two visits to a hive are said to suffice nearly to destroy the colony. The possibility of skunks attacking an apiary may be entirely avoided by placing the hives upon a high bench. 38780°— 14 2 10 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 587. BENEFICIAL HABITS OF SKUNKS. The skunk feeds mainly upon insects, but its economic status can not be fixed by this habit alone. This must rest on the character of the insects eaten. Not all insects are injurious, as certain kinds themselves feed upon injurious species and are therefore highly bene- ficial. The skunk is one of the most important mammals in its choice of harmful insects for its diet. SKUNKS AND ARMY WORMS. The skunk is the best-known mammal enemy of army worms. The common army worm, the wheat-head army worm, and the fall army worm are all very destuctive to small grains, corn, and grasses, and their invasions entail heavy losses among farmers. The good work of skunks in destroying army worms has frequently been noticed. In a report on this insect in Pennsylvania, published in 1896, Dr. B. H. Warren brought forward much testimony of farmers as to the usefulness of skunks in the work of extermination.^ Also, he had examined three skunk stomachs which contained chiefly beetles and army worms. Prof. Lugger of Minnesota ^ also mentioned the skunk as one of the principal enemies of the army worm in that State. SKUNKS AND TOBACCO WORMS. Skunks are fond of the insects known as tobacco worms. Two species of these larvae very destructive to tobacco and tomato plants are the southern tobacco worm and the northern tobacco worm. Both species occur over wide areas in the United States, and in sec- tions where no tobacco is grown they feed upon tomato and potato plants. While the worms are active skunks gather them from the plants, and when the worms go into the ground in the latter part of summer, the animals dig out pupae in great numbers. The evidence of this is found in numerous small pits bearing marks of the skunks' claws. The mature moths, as well as the larvae and pupae, are eaten by skunks. SKUNKS AND WHITE GRUBS. The larvae of scarabaeid beetles are known generally as white grubs, and among them number some very destructive insects. The larvae of ^‘June bugs," or ^^May beetles," infest grasslands and feed upon the roots of grasses and other plants. They are among the chief enemies of the strawberry, and also seriously affect the potato, gnawing the tubers and often making large portions of the crop unfit for sale. Skunks are very fond of these wliite grubs and spend much time digging for them. Strawberry growers recognize the usefulness of 1 Annual Report of Pennsylvania State College, 1896, pp. 164-220. 2 Bull. 48, Minn. Agr. Exp. Sta., 1896, p. 46. ECONOMIC VALUE OF NORTH AMERICAN SKUNKS. 11 this animal and generally regard it with favor, although occasionally in its eager search for grubs it may uproot a plant, or do slight damage by eating a few berries. As white grubs commonly remain in the ground three years before emerging as mature beetles, each in tliis time can destroy much vegetation. They are quite secure from ordinary enemies. Except the crow, robin, and a few other species, birds find only those turned up in cultivation; the skunk, locating them by its sense of smell, digs them out of the ground. Besides the larvae, skunks eat also many mature ^^May beetles,” or ^'June bugs.” SKUNKS AND THE HOP GRUB. Hop growers in New York, Michigan, and elsewhere have serious losses from the depredations of the hop-plant borer, or hop grub. That the skunk is the only efficient natural enemy of this moth has been attested by nearly all entomologists who have written about the insect. The skunk is said to listen at the base of the hop vine, thus locating the larvae at work. All hop growers value the skunk’s services, and it was mainly through their efforts that legislation protecting this animal was first enacted in New York. SKUNKS AND GRASSHOPPERS. In July, August, and September, when grasshoppers are most abundant, they constitute the chief food of skunks, which consume enormous quantities. During the disastrous invasions of the Kocky Mountain locust in the plains country in 1873 and 1874 the skunk was reported as the principal mammal that destroyed these insects. As other species of grasshoppers are always abundant and sometimes extremely destructive to crops, the constant services of skunks in checking their increase should not be forgotten. OTHER INSECTS EATEN BY SKUNKS. Except a few H 5 unenoptera and predatory beetles, nearly all the insect food of skunks consists of kinds injurious to plant life. Among them are cutworms, cicadas, crickets, sphinx moths, and a beetle injurious to sweet potatoes in the South. Skunks are among the few animals that prey on the Colorado potato beetle. Conway McMillan stated that ^Mhey consider the beetle a delicate morsel and spend many a busy evening in potato patches catching and eating the larvae and the mature beetles.”^ SKUNKS AND SMALL RODENTS. Although other mammals, including coyotes, badgers, foxes, minks, and weasels, do far more good by destroying noxious rodents than is generally realized, the skunk surpasses them all. It is sufficiently J Report Nebraska State Board of Agriculture, 1887, p. 280. 12 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 587. numerous in many localities to keep field mice in check, and reports from various parts of the country show that close trapping of skunks and other fur animals is often followed by an increase in depreda- tions by mice. C. W. Douglas, nurseryman, of Waukegan, Ilk, wilting to the Biological Survey in 1906, attributed the abundance of meadow mice in that vicinity directly to the scarcity of skunks, weasels, and other natural enemies. Besides meadow mice, skunks destroy also many other injurious native rodents, including white-footed mice, pocket mice, jumping mice, cotton rats, kangaroo rats, wood rats, chipmunks, and rabbits. The skunk is especially useful in destroying the rats and mice that commonly infest farm buildings. It makes itself familiar about the premises when these rodents are abundant and preys upon them per- sistently. If not disturbed it will remain until all are destroyed. The little spotted skunks are remarkably efficient as destroyers of rats and mice. They are small and nearly like a weasel in shape; they are quick in their movements, and can follow rats and mice into smaller crannies than the ordinary skunk can enter. In Kansas the writer once lived in a house with cellar openings on the outside. The dwelling had been unoccupied for a year and during this time the cellar had been used for storing com, with the result that the entire house had become infested with rats and mice. A short time after the writer occupied the house it was noticed that a prairie spotted skimk had taken up its quarters in the cellar and night combats with rats were often heard. The skunk was frequently seen, but it was carefully left unmolested. After a few weeks the rats and mice had all been killed or driven away, and the skunk then left the premises. There is much similar testimony to the usefulness of skunks as rat catchers. C. J. Maynard ^ says that the Florida spotted skunks are easily domesticated, and they are frequently used in houses for catch- ing mice. Sometimes the animals are captured and the scent glands removed, but they are often simply decoyed about the premises by exposing food, when frequently they take up their abode beneath buildings and become so tame as to enter them in search of their prey. UNDESERVED PREJUDICE AGAINST SKUNKS. Tlie early settlers of America were acquainted with the European fitchet weasel, and promptly apphed its common name ‘^polecat” to the skunk on account of its odor. The polecat of Europe is far more destructive to poultry and game than are skunks. Its bad reputation was transferred with the name, and circumstances have been unfavor- able for a reversal of opinion. They feed mostly at night when their habits can not be observed, and few persons have undertaken to dis- sect their stomachs. The public are extremely slow to give up preju- 1 Bull. Essex Inst., IV, 1872, p. 140. ECONOMIC VALUE OF NORTH AMERICAN SKUNKS. 13 dices of long standing, as those against hawks, owls, snakes, and skunks ; consequently the usefulness of these animals has to be proved over and over before their needless and indiscriminate slaughter can be checked or adequate laws for their protection enacted. Change of opinion about the value of skunks to agriculture has been very slow. Naturalists have generally given testimony favorable to the animals, but until recently their views were not reflected in legis- lation. Indeed, most of the laws for the protection of skunks have been passed because of a scarcity of furs and with the purpose of con- serving a commercial resource. PROTECTION OF SKUNKS. The earliest legislation for the protection of skunks grew out of ap- peals from hop growers in New York. The legislature in 1893 having delegated to county boards of supervisors the right to enact local game laws, four counties in 1894 provided protection to skunks: Broome and Chenango Counties made a close season from March 1 to Novem- ber 1 ; Onondaga County, from May 1 to November 1 ; Oswego County at first entirely prohibited the taking of skunks, except in a few towns and Oswego city, but in the following year it made an open season for skunks from November 1 to January 1. The State legislature began providing close seasons for skunks in various counties in 1896 and added others in succeeding years, until in 1906 the skunk law applied to 22 counties. Later the close season for skunks and other fur ani- mals was made uniform for the entire State. The open season is now (1913) from November 1 to January 31, inclusive. Ohio enacted a law in 1902 prohibiting the taking of skunks from February 1 to November 1, except when kept in inclosures for their fur or when doing injury on the premises of farmers. In 1913 the season for taking skunks was shortened and digging or smoking them from dens or destroying the dens was prohibited. In West Virginia a general law passed in 1903 protects skunks throughout the year, pro\dded that the law be first approved by a vote of the citizens in any county wishing to adopt it. Apparently this law is entirely inoperative, none of the counties having voted on its adoption. In response to a general request from dealers in raw furs, the Michi- gan Legislature of 1899 passed a law forbidding the taking of all furs in September and October. It was not until 1909, however, that the skunk was specifically named as a protected fur animal in that State. Skunks are now protected by close seasons in 13 States. The open seasons are as follows: Maine, November 1 to March 1; New Hampshire, October 15 to April 1 ; Vermont, November 1 to May 1 ; New Yorlc, November 1 to February 1 ; New Jersey, November 15 to April 1 ; Delaware, Decern- 14 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 587. ber 1 to March 10, inclusive; Ohio, November 15 to February 1, inclu- sive; Indiana, November 1 to April 1 ; Illinois, November 1 to April 1 ; Michigan, November 1 to April 1 ; Missouri, November 1 to February 1 ; Kansas, November 15 to March 15. North Carolina has local laws protecting skunks in several counties. A close season of about nine months is well adapted to conditions existing in most parts of the country, where a reasonable period for fur taking is desired without encroaching on the season of breeding and growth of the animals. In parts of the country where skunks have been trapped to excess, a close season for a few years would probably restore their numbers. COMMERCIAL VALUE OF SKUNKS. The skunk stands second in importance among the fur animals of the United States, the total value of the annual catch being exceeded only in the case of the muskrat. The mink is third in value. Most of the skunk skins are marketed in London, but their use is increasing in the United States and a small percentage is now dressed and made up here. No complete statistics of the London sales of skunk skins prior to 1858 are available. The total annual sales since that date are given in the following table. The statement includes skins of civet (the little spotted skunk), although in recent years these have been cata- logued and sold separately. Table I. — Sale of skunk furs in London^ 1858 to 1913. Year. Number of skins. Year. Number of skins. 1858 . 18, 255 84, 886 148,346 116,609 30, 969 94, 187 136,361 103, 755 76,602 137,407 94, 480 111,001 114,665 45, 670 206,320 263, 704 191,980 243,493 331,914 1877 283, 141 285, 103 444, 224 517, 191 350, 594 443,911 424, 645 596, 243 560, 388 489,473 625, 802 526, 263 536, 864 688, 946 567, 398 635, 800 575,472 739, 228 542, 885 1859 1878 1860 1879 1861 1880 1862 1881 1863 1882 1864... 1883 1865 .. 1884 ■ 1866.. 1885 1867 1886 1868 1887 1869 1888 1870 1889 1871 1890 1872 1891 1873 1892 1874 1893 1875. . 1894 1876 1895 1896. 1897. 1898. 1899. 1900. 1901. 1902. 1903. 1904. 1905. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1910. 1911. 1912. 1913. Year. Number of skins. 796, 750 872,326 482, 130 426,610 695,686 696,961 973,695 987, 550 911,923 952, 549 1,225,582 1,368,475 1,037,641 1,115,910 1,282,001 2,009,465 1,821,485 1,659, 773 The present value of skunk skins in the raw-fur market (prices cur- rent in New York for December, 1913) are about as foUows-: No. 1, $2 to $3.50; No. 2, $1.25 to $2.50; No. 3, $0.75 to $1.75; No. 4, $0.25 to $0.75. These quotations are much lower than they have been for several years, owing to the very large offerings in London in October, 1913. 1 1 is no t likely that such low prices will long continue . Skunk ECONOMIC VALUE OF NORTH AMERICAN SKUNKS. 15 skins are intrinsically of high value, as they wear weU and have a luster which makes them rival Russian sable in appearance. Skunk fur has never been very popular in America, but is now grow- ing in favor. For many years almost all the product was taken for European manufacture. True, a good many of the skins came back as “black marten,’’ and, when plucked, as “Alaska sable,” but when the pubhc learned the true nature of these articles the demand for them was not very great. The processes of dressing and deodorizing the skins are now much improved, so that this fur is gaining in popularity. The present extreme scarcity of Russian sable, resulting from a law forbidding the taking of that fur, favors the market for skunk. The oil of the skunk is used in some parts of the country for medi- cinal purposes. It is popularly believed to reheve rheumatism and various affections of the throat when apphed externally. There is, however, no great demand for it. The flesh of the skunk is sometimes used as food. It was formerly a common article of diet among North American Indians and trappers. TRAPPING SKUNKS. Trapping is the best method of taking skunks for their fur. Shoot- ing spoils the pelt and generally results in its defilement by the animal. A moderate amount of trapping may be done each winter in many locahties without seriously affecting the supply of this fur, and some- times without greatly interfering with the beneficial work of the ani- mals against farm pests. If no trapping were done skunks in some places might become noxious because of their abundance. Skunks, being neither suspicious nor cunning, are easily trapped. They are often caught in unbaited traps placed in the paths they travel; yet the head of a fowl, a sparrow, or a dead mouse makes an excellent bait. Trappers use a medium-sized trap (No. 1) and try to take advantage of the pecuhar habits and haunts of the animals, plac- ing the trap in such places as the paths they travel to obtain water or near the openings to their dens. The trap should be set lightly (the trigger filed down to fit the notch loosely), and a little fight trash (leaves or grass) may be scattered over it with advantage. The bait may be placed on the pan, or a little beyond the trap, or between two traps. The path may be narrowed artificially by setting upright sticks in two converging rows along it and the trap set in the narrow place. Skunks when trapped do not often discharge their scent so as to defile the fur, but care is needed to remove them from the traps. With caution one may approach near enough to strike the animal a quick blow across the back, paralyzing the hind parts and preventing the dis- charge. Some trappers use a wire noose attached to a pole. The noose is cautiously lowered over the head of the skunk, and by a quick jerk the animal is lifted and strangled. 16 FAKMERS^ BULLETIN 587. Many trappers use a tight box trap for taking skunks. When one is caught the box is carefully lifted and carried to water deep enough to cover it. If no water is available to drown the animal, it may be killed in the box by carbon bisulphid or chloroform. RAISING SKUNKS FOR THEIR FUR. T' J a Although skunks were often tamed and kept as pets or for destroy- ing rats and mice, no attempt to raise them for their fur seems to have been made until within the past 30 years. About 1885-86 there was a large foreign demand for the pelts and close trapping had led to a scarcity of black skunks. The feasibility of de- veloping a strain of black animals by selective breeding came under consideration and many experiments in skunk farming were undertaken. Falling prices and other hindrances soon caused breeders to abandon their attempts. One firm in Pennsylvania claimed to have spent $25,000 in lands and equipment in an unsuccessful ven- ture in skunk raising. The high prices that have prevailed in the past few years have led to renewed discussion of the subject of skunk raising, and at present not a few persons are endeavoring to produce this fur in captivity. While some breeders have encountered difiiculties, others have been quite successful. On the whole, there are excellent reasons for believing that a profitable industry may be developed. Skunks are less wild than most of the musteline family, and their miscel- laneous diet permits a good deal of latitude in feeding, whereas the marten and the mink re- feetiong; 6,surfaceof^ound; ^ almost exclusively of meat. The problem of providing pens is also less comph- cated in the case of the skunk. The odor of the skunk may be entirely disregarded; but if the breeder prefers to do so, he may remove the scent glands and have his animals as harmless as cats. The popular belief that hydrophobia will result from a skunk bite is an error. There is no more danger from this source than there is in handling cats or dogs. Fig. 4. — Section of fence for skurtk enclosure, o, Post 7 c, extension of post (2 x 4) to support netting or barbed wire strands; d, bottom of trench. INCLOSURES AND DENS. The skunk inclosure should occupy a well-drained, sandy hillside, partly shaded by trees, and partly open land, with grasses. An acre will afford room for about 50 adult skunks. It is desirable, but ECONOMIC VALUE OF NORTH AMERICAN SKUNKS. 17 not necessary, to Jiave running water inside the inclosure. A 3-foot fence made of poultry iietting and having an overhanging barrier at the top is sufFicient to confine the annuals. The barrier is needed, since the netting might serve as a ladder over which the skunks could climb. The netting should be of 1-inch mesh, as young skunks have been known to escape through meshes of IJ inches. The wire should be of No. 16 gauge. This low fence, however, is not sufficient to keep out dogs or other intruders, unless the overhang is very wide and extends on both sides. Many breeders prefer a tight fence of boards or sheet iron or even a stone wall. A 4-foot fence of stout planks supplemented by a 3-foot netting or several strands of barbed wire above is recom- mended, as it may be made proof against the entrance of rats, and no overhang will be needed (fig. 4). To prevent the skunks from digging out under the fence it should penetrate the ground to a depth of 2 or 3 feet. A layer of flat stones along the bottom of the trench on the inside is an additional precau- tion (flg. 5). Turn- ing the netting in at the bottom is still another method of preventing escape. Unless the soil is loose skunks do httle digging, but they have been known to dig under 3-foot walls. Strong posts of good lumber are needed for outside fencing. They should be set at intervals of about 10 feet and should be well braced at corners. The overhang may be a wide horizontal board nailed to crosspieces at the tops of the posts, or it may be a strip of wire net- ting, sheet iron, or sheet tin a foot wide attached to wooden brackets or crossbars on the posts. The skunk inclosure should be divided into smaller yards, the division fences being 3 or 4 feet high and made of netting (l^-inch mesh) or of sheet iron. The compartments are convenient to separate different classes of animals, as males or skunks just weaned. Besides the general inclosure and its main divisions a separate breeding pen for each female should be provided. As these are to be used for only Fig. 5. — Detail of fence with board overhang, height 6 feet, showing stones in inside trench to prevent skunks from digging out. 18 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 587 . two or three months at a time, cheap boxes with wooden floors will serve every purpose, but they must be dry inside. It will be advan- tageous to have each breeding den placed within a small run where the young skunks can exercise after they are large enough to leave the nest. This arrangement should entirely remove the danger of cannibaUsm in the skunk yard. The general skunk inclosure and its main subdivisions should be provided with a sufficient number of dens to prevent overcrowding the animals. While in winter a number of skunks will den up to- gether, they should not be compelled to do so at other times. The dens may consist of hollow logs, trenches covered with boards and earth, or artificial burrows bored in a sloping bank by means of a post auger. The skunks will enlarge these burrows to suit their needs. The chief requirement for all dens is that they shall be dry ijiside. Contact with the soil, unless it is wet, improves the fur. FOODS AND FEEDING. Skunks in captivity eat a great variety of foods, including meat, fish, insects, bread, cooked and even raw vegetables, and ripe fruits. Table scraps will keep the animals in good condition, but occasional meals wholly of raw meat are desirable. The meat should not be putrid nor very salty. More of it should be fed in the spring, for it is lack of meat diet that causes old skunks to eat the young. Food for a large skunk ranch may often be procured from hotels or restaurants, when usually it will cost nothing but the labor of re- moving it. Arrangements may also be made with butchers for ob- taining waste meat at low cost. If the ranch is favorably located, a supplemental diet of insects wifi be naturally available within the inclosure. Cakes and mush made from cornmeal and bits of meat are excellent foods for skunks. If fresh milk is available, it may be made an im- portant item in the diet. Cooked green corn and hominy also are recommended. No more food should be given than will be eaten clean during the night. It is a mistake to place a dead animal inside the inclosure to provide food for a long time, or to give the animals occasionally a large supply of offal from a slaughterhouse and expect them to thrive and produce fine fur. But little more than the amount of food re- quired for a cat will supply the wants of a skunk. The animals should be fed once or twice a day; if fed but once, it should be in the evening. Females with young should always be fed twice a day. Good fresh drinking water should be regularly provided, and vessels used for food or water should be kept clean. BREEDING. Wliile skunks usually breed but once a year in captivity, occa- sionally a second litter is produced. One male should be kept for ECONOMIC VALUE OF NORTH AMERICAN SKUNKS. 19 five to eight females. The mating season is in February or early March. At this time it is best to keep the females and a single male in one run together. If two males are in the same small run they are likely to fight. The period of gestation is about nine weeks, the young coming in ^lay. Before the young are born the females should be placed in separate breeding pens, which, as previously explained, may be a small run containing a den or nest box provided with nesting materials. Tire young at first are blind and almost naked, but they grow rapidly and are weaned when about two months old. They should then be placed in a run set aside for young skunks. They are mature and have prime fur in December. About the end of this month breeding stock should be selected for the next season. Only good-sized dark skunks should be kept, the broad-striped and rusty-colored ones being killed for their fur or set at liberty. As far as possible the males kept for breeding should be black or ^^star’’ skunks. Careful selection year by year will result in a better grade of fur. According to the experience of several, it is possible in three or four generations to secure a strain of skunks the furs of which will all grade No. 1. REMOVAL OF SCENT SACS. Kept in pens secure from the intrusion of dogs and strangers, skunks will not be a source of annoyance to the neighborhood. The writer has visited a number of skunk ranches where no odor could be detected except inside the yards, and it was scarcely perceptible there. The animals soon become very tame and the keeper may handle them with impunity. To transfer them from one run or pen to another, he lifts them by the tail, grasping this appendage by the heavy part rather than near the tip. However, as the animals are easily driven from place to place, they may be transferred without being handled. While it is not necessary to remove the scent sacs of skunks kept for fur, this is preferable if they are to be kept as household pets or as rat destroyers. Without the scent sacs they are far superior to cats as mousers. The operation of removing the glands is attended with considerable danger to mature skunks, but it may safely be performed on the young. The best time is when they are from four to five weeks old, as they should not be disturbed in the nests earlier. To remove the glands a short incision on each side through the skin and envelop- ing muscle is necessary (fig. 6). This exposes the round hard gland Fig. 6. — Diagram showing scent sacs of skunks (dotted lines), a, Anus and sphincter muscle; m, lines of incision to expose sacs and ducts. 20 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 587. and the duct. Care should be tak(ui not to cut the duct or other organs. When exposed, a clamping forceps should be placcnl ov(u* the duct close up to the gland (fig. 7). Tlie gland is then cut out and the duct severed just beyond the clamp. The gland with clamp attached is then lifted out. No anesthetic need be used for this oper- ation on a young skunk, but the older the animal the more difficult it will be because of the larger glands. In mature animals thc^ sacs are nearly three-fourths inch in diameter. During the operation the skunk is held between the knees of the operator by means of a gunny sack wrapped about its body and feet. Of course, an assistant is needed. The wounds should be brushed with a weak solution of carbolic acid and need no other dressing. In his Mammals of the Adirondacks, Dr^ C. Hart Merriam describes a less severe operation. It consists of cutting so as to expose a section of the duct leading from the gland and snipping out a short piece of it. In healing, the duct is permanently closed and the animal is powerless to use its musk. OBTAINING SKUNKS FOR BREEDING. As skunks inhabit most parts of the United States, they may usually be ob- tained in the neighbor- hood in which it is desired to breed them. The best method is to dig the young out of dens in summer. In States providing a close season for skunks this could not be done without a permit from the authorities. If such permits are not granted, it would be necessary to capture adult animals in the open season. The assistance of local trappers might be helpful in obtaining stock. A box trap is best for capturing skunks alive. It is made like an ordinary rabbit trap and baited with a freshly killed mouse, a piece of meat, or a chicken head. When a skunk is caught, it may be carried to the inclosure before removal from the trap. Skunks for breeding may be bought from trappers, dealers in wild animals, or other breeders. In some places express companies refuse to accept live skunks for shipment. However, there is no danger that the animals will use their scent if the box is dark inside and not subjected to rough handling. HANDLING THE FUR. In order that the breeder may realize the best prices for his product he must be acquainted with proper methods of handling and Fig. 7. — Section through scent glands, a, Anus; b, sphincter muscle; c, position for clamps; d, muscle about scent sacs; s, scent sacs; /, rectum; m, depth (shaded area) of incision to be made. Care must be taken not to injure the sphincter nor to cut into the sac or duct. Length of ducts exaggerated. ECONOMIC VALUE OF NORTH AMERICAN SKUNKS. 21 marketing the pelts. For a time his surplus stock will command higher prices for breeding purposes than he could obtain for the skins, especially if the skunks are ‘ 'deodorized,’’ so that there is no difficulty. in shipping them. The best method of killing domesticated skunks for their fur is by suffocation. A tight wooden box large enough to hold several skunks and having a close- fitting door (padded if necessary) should be used. The animals may be driven into the box singly or several at a time. After the door is closed, a small quantity of carbon bisulphide or chloroform should be poured on a bunch of cotton and this introduced into the box through a hole in the top. The hole should be immediately corked or otherwise tightly closed. The amount of liquid needed will depend on the size of the box and the number of skunks. Two spoonfuls of either liquid is enough for one skunk in a small box, and not much more is required for several animals unless there is much extra space in the box. The animals die quickly and without struggle. If illuminating gas is available it may be used in- stead of a volatile liquid. A rubber hose carrying the gas may be inserted through the hole in the box. The space about the tube may be plugged with cotton. Skunk skins should be "cased” for market. The following directions for skinning should be observed : Begin with the middle of the hind foot and with a sharp knife sht Up the rear edge of the leg to the under side of the tail, being careful not to cut into the scent glands. Then cut the opposite leg in the same manner. No other cuts in the body of the animal are necessary. Cut around the heel of the feet and turn the skin back over the body. Strip the skin from the tail bone with the help of a split stick grasped in the hand while the thumb presses ffrmly against the back of the animal just above the tail. Continue to turn the skin back over the body, using the knife only when necessary to cut ligaments. Care should always be taken to cut around the nose, mouth, and eyes to avoid tearing the skin. Some trappers sht the tail to remove the bone. If the bojie has been puUed out, the tip of the tail should be sht for about an inch to admit air, or a httle salt or alum may be pushed dowii into the extreme tip. Fig. 8. — Diagram of stretcher made of thin board for drying skunk skins. (Dimen- sions in inches.) Fig. 9.— Diagram of stretcher similar to that shown in figure 8, but made of heavy galvan- ized wire. 22 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 587. The skin is left with the fur side turned in and dried on a stretcher made of a thin board sharpened to a point and of the shape and dimensions shown in figure 8. If the tail has beeji split open, the board should be long enough to permit the tail to be spread out and tacked fast. Several tacks are also needed to hold the rear end of the skin in good shape while dr 3 ring. Stretchers made of heavy galvanized vdre (fig. 9) have many advantages over wooden ones and are now extensively used by trappers. After the skin is on the stretcher all fat and flesh adhering to the pelt should be scraped off, and the drying should be done in the shade of a shed or tent where the air circulates freely — never by a fire nor in the sun. When thoroughly dry, it should be re- moved from the stretcher, when it is ready for market (fig. 10). SUMMARY. Skunks are among the most Useful of the native mammals and are most efficient helps to the farmer and orchardist in their warfare against insect ana rodent pests. Occasionally an individual skunk learns to prey upon poultry, and if the evidences of its depreda- tions are unmistakable the animal should be de- stroyed. This may easily be done either by trap or poison. As a source of fur, skunks are an important asset to the country. They bring to the trappers of the United States about $3,000,000 annually. In view of their usefulness and fur value these animals should be protected everywhere by a close season of at least nine months, but the right of farmers to destroy predatory skunks should be reserved. The propagation of skunks for their fur promises to develop into an important industry. It is at least a matter of sufficient impor- tance to warrant the most careful investigation, and experiments in breeding the animals should be generally encouraged. o Fig. 10. — Skunk skin stretched and ready for market. WASHIN(;T().\ : (iOVERNMENT I'llINTlNG OFFICE : 1914 U.S.DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE June 24, 1914. ECONOMICAL CATTLE FEEDING IN THE CORN BELT. By J. S. Cotton, Agriculturist, Bureau of Plant Industry, and W. F. Ward, Senior Animal Husbandman in Beef Cattle Investigations, Bureau of Animal Industry. INTRODUCTION. The cattle-feeding business has changed greatly during recent years. 'I'merly steers from 4 to 6 years of age were fed in large numbers -on commercial feeds at yards near granaries or mills, or on large :ms where only the roughage was grown, and the cattle were kept full feed for six months or longer. This method became too ex- nsive, so feeding is now conducted upon farms as a means of mark- ng farm products by averting them into beef, lile the manure produced utilized as a by-product • maintaining fertility, the present time in the m belt cattle are usually [ in small herds of one to ir carloads, and are mar- ked at 18 months to 3 irs of age. There have been a num- :* of factors which have ited in causing these changes. For instance there has been a gradual rease in the value of farm products and the cost of farming opera- ns. In the seven leading cattle-feeding States the prices of various ds on December 1 of the years 1899 to 1901 and 1909 to 1911 have m taken, and during this 10-year period it was found that the price corn had advanced 29 per cent and hay 45 per cent, while such sup- mental concentrates as linseed-oil meal and cottonseed meal had _reased in about the same proportion. The price of labor has Vanced 31 per cent, and feeder steers have advanced 36 per cent ■ce 1904. Lastly, the value of land has increased 103 per cent OTE.— This bulletin is intended to promote cattle feeding on moderate-sized farms; it is suitable for dis- ation throughout the corn belt. 40360°— Bull. 588—14 1 2 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 588. during the decade 1900 to 1910. This increase in land value makes a much larger capitalization upon which interest must be charged. All of these items taken together make a heavy increase in the cost of feeding, and although the prices of finished cattle have in- creased greatly, they have not kept pace with the increased expenses. Thus, comparing the three-year period from 1899 to 1901 with that of 1909 to 1911, native steers on the Chicago market have advanced about 24 per cent. Again, as the price of feeders has advanced faster than that of fat cattle, the margin of profit is smaller than formerly. These conditions have caused many feeders either to curtail their feeding operations greatly or else stop feeding entirely. Another important factor is the rapid increase in tenant farming in many of the cattle-feeding sections, and tenant farmers are seldom financially able to practice cattle feeding. Short-term leases dis- courage cattle feeding by a tenant and encourage soil robbing. The short-term tenant usually will not feed even if financially able to do so. These changes are especially noticeable in the eastern part of the corn belt. In the western portion there has been a tendency to increase the number of cattle fed. DECLINE IN THE SUPPLY OF FEEDER CATTLE. There have been two main sources of supply ior feeder cattle — those grown in the corn belt, commonly called natives, and those coming from the western ranges. The native cattle were usually grown on the rougher farms of the corn belt, or on small farms, where dual-purpose cows were kept. They w^ere usually sold to local feed- ers as yearlings or 2-year-olds . Some feeders desiring animals of extra good quality raised their own feeders. The rapid advance in the prices of land and farm products made it unprofitable to compete with the western ranges in the production of stocker and feeder cattle. Therefore, in nearly all portions of the corn belt except on the very rough lands, the breeding herds were greatly reduced or were changed for dairy cows, and as a result few feeders are now produced. The exploitation of dry-land farming has resulted in the best lands of the open range being taken up for grain-growing purposes, and the number of cattle over the entire western range country decreased rapidly, due to excessive liquidation, which culminated with the drought of 1911-12. Such conditions could but result in a shortage of feeder cattle. Securing feeders is now a serious problem which must be solved by many of the farmers raising their own cattle. On the high-priced lands that are capable of intensive cultivation it is questionable if this can be done economically, but there are numerous farms within this region where a considerable proportion of the land is too rough for economical tillage, and on which, with prevailing prices, stock cattle can be raised advantageously. There are splendid ECONOMICAL CATTLE FEEDING IN THE CORN BELT. 3 opportunities for raising cattle in the southern States, and on some of the cut-over lands to the north of the corn belt. While the western country may eventually be restocked, it will be some years before it will carry as many cattle as formerly, and the demand for feeders will probably increase for several years to come. COST OF PRODUCING CATTLE. It is dilficult to estimate accurately the cost of raising cattle, as it varies greatly on different farms. Considerable data at hand show that for a calf 6 months old, weighing 450 pounds, the cost of raising varies from $17 to $23 in the West and from $20 to $28 in the East. The freight rates and other shipping charges from the West will practically offset this difference, so that the calves will cost about the Pig. 2. — Cattle ranch in western South Dakota that was abandoned because settlers homesteaded all the range. Observe not only the abandoned cattle ranch bu t the settlers’ homesteads in the distance. same in eastern feed-lots whether raised locally or shipped from the corn-belt States. At 6 cents a pound these calves would ordinarily bring about $27 and would usually insure the producer a fair profit. The following figures show the cost of raising calves on a ranch in the limestone belt of Kansas, where land is worth $50 an acre. The cows were valued at $70 each, this being the approximate price they would bring as beef. Interest on investment of 1.17 cows at 6 per cent (estimating 85 per cent calf crop) 14.91 Cost of feed for 1.17 cows for one year. Winter feed for 6 months at $10 per cow 11. 70 Summer pasture at $4 per cow per season 4. 68 Bull service 1.64 Total 22.93 4 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 588. Bull service is reckoned as follows: The bulls cost $225; they will sell at the end of three years for about $100, a depreciation of $125, or $41.67 a year. Estimating that a bull will serve 50 cows and get an 85 per cent calf crop, he will produce 42 calves yearly. Interest on investment of bull per calf $ 0. 32 Depreciation of bull per calf 99 Cost per calf of feed for bull for one year on the same basis as for cow 33 Total 1. 04 While the calf crop is estimated at 85 per cent, that being the num- ber that would be raised to the age of 6 months, as a matter of fact this figure is seldom attained. The cost of winter feed consumed by cows in Kansas does not always reach the figure of $10 per head, as it Fig. 3. — An inexpensive but well arranged feed yard for central Kansas. did on this ranch. The cost of wintering cattle varies so greatly, depending upon the methods used and upon local conditions, that this item will have to be accounted for by each individual farmer. Taxes, insurance (or loss of cows and bulls), depreciation of cows, and interest, taxes, and depreciation on the winter feeding equipment have not been considered. These have been allowed to offset the manure. The cost of raising an animal to 2J years old, figuring interest, taxes, insurance, feed, and overhead charges, was approxi- mately $55. This figure is about the maximum cost of such a steer in the corn belt, and many of the western ranches raise similar steers for less money. Figures have been compiled to show the cost of growing calves when they are weaned and the cows used for production of milk. While the figures are not complete they show that the cost will be a economical cattle feeding in the corn belt. 5 little less than where the calf is allowed to run with its mother. Under such conditions all expenses of the cow and the bull arc charged to the milk. There are, however, other expenses which must be included. Skimmed milk and a considerable quantity of expensive concentrates to supplement the milk are required; and as such a calf requires considerable attention the labor costs are greatly increased. Then, too, the chances of loss are much greater than when the calf runs with its mother. While the figures show a fair chance for profit in tliis method, nevertheless the prevailing prices for calves when only a few weeks old are such that few farmers mil care to take the extra risk and work, but will prefer to sell them for veal. ADDITIONAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE COST OF STOCKER AND FEEDER CATTLE. There are two additional factors that greatly influence the price of Stocker and feeder cattle; first, the increased demand for veal, and second, the increased competition in securing feeders. Demand for veal . — The demand for veal has increased rapidly, and not only are the surplus dairy calves slaughtered, but thousands of beef calves as well. Census figures show that in 1899, 883,857 calves, having an average value of $8.20, were slaughtered in wholesale slaughtering houses, while in 1909, 2,504,728 calves, with an average value of $10, were slaughtered, an increase of 183 per cent in 10 years, whereas the corresponding increase in cattle for the same period was but 47 per cent. This does not include the number of calves that are killed on farms and in small slaughter houses. This growing demand for veal has raised the price of that com- modity until a calf will sell for $8 to $12 when only 2 or 3 months old. This means that unless the farmer has unhmited cheap feeds, it is usually more profitable to market the dairy or dual-purpose calves than to attempt to raise them, even though some of them might make good steers. While many deplore this heavy slaughter of calves, and legislation against it has been urged, the consumers^ demands must be met. Competition : — While the number of cattle has decreased, the demand for meat has naturally grown until not only have the exports nearly ceased, but the packers, that they may provide cheaper meat, are now buying many cattle that were formerly fed. The farmers who formerly bought nearly finished cattle as feeders have been com- pelled to pay higher prices for such cattle or to take thinner animals, thus in turn increasing the demand for this class. BUYING AND SELLING CATTLE. Much importance should be attached to the buying and selling of cattle, for the success of a feeder will depend as much on his ability to purchase and to market his cattle advantageously as it will on his 6 FAKMERS^ BULLETIN 588. skill in finishing them. Successful feeders should study the market papers in order to be in position to buy cattle to advantage. Further- more^ they should study the general trend of the market for fat cattle that they may sell their cattle when the market is strong, for at different times of the year certain grades of cattle sell better than others. Before purchasing his feeders the farmer should estimate the quan- tity of feeds on hand and their market price, the number and class and size of cattle desired, and the time required to consume the feed. Then he can estimate from market reports the approximate cost of his feeders, and with these various items at hand can figure what they must sell for if he is to break even. He is then in position to select steers which will suit the given conditions. If the outlook is not good, it is usually advisable not to purchase at that time. It is an old adage among stockmen that cattle bought right are more than half sold.’’ A man may be a skillful feeder and lose money year after year because of poor judgment in buying. The beginner should hire some experienced cattleman to purchase animals that will best suit his needs, or deal with a rehable commission firm that is acquainted with his conditions. By following the various market reports the feeder can tell approximately when his cattle can be marketed to greatest advantage. The steers should be fed so as to be finished at that time. When the steers are ready for market, it is usually not advisable to hold for better prices unless they continue to gain in weight and condition. The extra feed consumed by finished cattle will soon more than offset any ordinary increase in price that may be obtained. When they are almost finished the owner should watch the market reports and communicate with his commission man to determine the date of shipment. There is at times a strong demand for cattle that are not quite finished but winch would class as ^‘good killers,” and the price of these cattle frequently approaches very near that for prime steers. Such conditions justify a feeder in sending his steers to market at that stage, as it is sometimes more profitable than finisliing them, for the gains made during the latter part of the feeding period are very expen- sive. It is always wise to ship the cattle when the markets insure a reasonable profit. Too many feeders in looking for a better price overstay the market and get caught on the decline. It is the uniform opinion of commission men that the farmers’ losses would be less if they knew more about market conditions and also knew more about the actual cost of the feeding operations on their farms. This simply emphasizes the importance of keeping farm records of the cost of feeding and studying the market papers and reports. ECONOMICAL CATTLE FEEDING IN THE CORN BELT. 7 COST OF FEEDING CATTLE. To determine as accurately as possible the cost of feeding farm animals cost-accounting records were kept for two years on 24 Iowa farms. The men selected were leading farmers in their communi- ties, known to be careful and experienced feeders. During the feed- ing year beginning with the fall of 1909 the average profit on 961 cattle fed in 22 bunches was $2.05 per head, in addition to the profits on the hogs following them. The prices received were very satis- factory. The 1,504 hogs following these steers were given extra grain. Market prices in the spring of 1910 were such that a profit of $6.67 per hog was secured, thus giving a profit of $12.49 per steer when the pork was credited to the steers. The following feeding year, 1910-11, proved unsatisfactory, due to prices which caused a loss of 78 cents per head on 1,138 cattle that were fed on 28 farms. The 1,646 hogs following these steers returned an average profit of $3.33, or, when the profit on the hogs was credited to the steers, the net profit was $4.04 per steer. Few feeders in the past have kept records of exact expenses of the feeding operation, although many of them knew approximately what it cost. It is essential that such records be kept, for the fast increas- ing prices of feeders seem to indicate that the margin on cattle may be closer than formerly. Until systems of cost accounting wliich took into account all the overhead charges as well as the main cost were used the expense of feeding was underestimated. The follow- ing table shows the proportionate cost of different items, based on the cost-accounting records kept on the 24 Iowa farms. These figures will vary somewhat from year to year as the relative prices of cattle and feeds change. The greatest variation will occur in the original cost of the cattle and in the cost of the feeds. Percentage of the various expenses incurred in cattle feeding on 24 Iowa farms. Year. Pur- chase price.i Feed. Interest at 6 per cent. Labor. Shipping and selling. 2 Total. 190&-10 Per cent. 55.8 59.9 Per cent. 36.9 31.8 Per cent. 1.3 1.8 Per cent. 1.6 1.8 Per cent. 4.4 4.7 Per cent. 100 100 1910-11 1 Delivered at farm (including freight and incidental charges). 2 Exclucive of shrinkage. It wiU be seen that the purchase price of the catcle was rather more than one-half of the total cost for the two years, while the cost of the feed averaged about one- third of the total expense. In this table no account is made of the occasional loss of a steer, which ordinarily averages one-half of 1 per cent of the total number per year. Neither have interest, taxes, and depreciation charges on the feeding plant 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 588. been considered, as it is impossible to make any definite charges for these items. A careful study indicates that these and other inci- dental charges would about offset the value of the manure, which is also difficult to estimate. Interest . — Many feeding statements are made which do not include interest. This item must be considered, for the farmer financing such an operation must either borrow or set aside a certain amount of money that might be permanently invested elsewhere. In the foregoing table interest has been charged at 6 per cent on the cost ot the cattle laid down at the farm, that being the amount that the farmer will ordinarily borrow or withhold. Labor .' — The cost of labor is seldom included in cattle-feeding trans- actions, as it is customary to allow this item to offset the value of the manure. For reasons previously stated this should be made a sepa- rate charge. In the above records, figuring man labor at 16 cents and horse labor at 8 cents an hour, the labor cost on 49 bunches of cattle totaling 2,100 head for an average feeding period of 146 days was a little over 9-| mills per head per day. The cost varied from 4 mills to as high as 2 or 3 cents, depending on the manner in which the cattle were fed. A large feeder in Kansas who formerly fed 1 ,000 steers each winter for commission men, in making up his charges, figured on 1 cent a day per steer for labor. On 500 head this gave him a small profit, which increased with the number fed. A large feeding plant that operated for 1 1 years in Nebraska and during that time fed about 50,000 steers, figured its labor cost at 1 .2 cents per head per day. While this firm had expensive labor and equipment, it nevertheless had every convenience for the economic handling of the feeds. Selling costs . — The selling cost, including freight, yardage, com- mission, and other incidentals, wiU vary with the distance shipped. The total cost on 676 cattle shipped from central Iowa to Chicago amounted to $3.98 per head, or 31 cents per hundredweight. This does not include shrinkage in transit, which would have to be added to these costs. As the average shrinkage in transit of all classes of cattle is about 4 per cent of their live weight, the value of this loss in weight may be added to the above costs and the amount calculated on the hundredweight basis. These figures give a fair working estimate, as ordinarily the freight rate will not run much higher, because persons living farther east will either be a shorter distance from Chicago or will choose some market still farther east. Those livuig farther west will, to a great extent, patronize the river’’ stockyards. A prominent Kansas feeder estimates, figuring all charges, that it costs 50 cents per hundredweight to ship from the central part of that State to Chicago, this charge varying somewhat with the weight of the cattle. ECONOMICAL CATTLE FEEDINCx IN THE CORN BELT. 9 FEEDING MARGIN. The (lifTerence between the purchase ])rice and the selling price of an animal is called the margin of ])rofit. This is usually estimated on the basis of 100 pounds live weight. Thus a margin of $1.50 means that the feeder received $1.50 per hundredweight more for the animals than he paid for them. The amount of margin is a very important factor in the profit from feeding steers. The margin re- quired to break even in feeding operations depends upon a number of factors, the principal ones being (1) the purchase price, (2) the weight of the cattle when purchased, (3) the value of the feeds used, (4) the gain in weight made by the animals, and (5) the length of the feeding period. The higher the purchase price, the heavier the steer when purchased, the cheaper the feeds, the greater the daily gains, and the shorter the feeding period, the smaller the margin may be between the purchase price and the selling price of the cattle, without loss to the feeder. With a steer of poor quality and with high-priced feeds, the margin must of necessity be great, but with the best quality of steers and with cheap feeds the necessary margin may be very small. EQUIPMENT. The necessary equipment depends on the locality and the time of year the cattle are fed. When cattle are fed on pasture the feed bunks for the concentrates are usually all that is needed. If dry-lot feeding is practiced, during those seasons other than winter a lot of sufficient size containing the necessary feed bunks, hay racks, and water troughs is sufficient. If winter feeding is practiced, some form of shelter is necessary, the amount varying with the region. In Kansas and Nebraska, where there are comparatively few stormy days in early winter, yards having a southern exposure and a slope that will drain readily will usually be sufficient. That portion of the yards where the cattle lie down should be protected by windbreaks. In localities where stormy weather is more prevalent barns or sheds are usually neces- sary. If barns are used they should be well ventilated, and in such manner that the cattle whl not be in a direct draft. Sheds that are open on one side, preferably to the south, usually prove more satis- factory, not only because they are cheaper, but because the cattle do better except in very severe weather. The modern feeder should have that part of the feed lot paved where the cattle lie down. If these areas are well bedded the cattle can always keep comfortable and will consequently make better gains. It is not infrequent that a period of warm weather occurs during the winter and the lots become very muddy, making it neces- sary to ship the cattle before they are ready. This sometimes causes 40360°— BuU. 588—14 2 10 FAEMEKS^ BULLETIN 588. a congestion of the market, with a consequent drop in prices. The feeder who is forced to ship because of muddy lots may lose more in one year than the cost of the pavement. Not only will the cattle make better gains, but animals that are covered with manure and mud are usually discriminated against to the extent of 10 to 15 and sometimes 25 cents per hundredweight. It has also been definitely shown that hogs following steers on paved lots make nearly 1 pound more of pork per bushel of corn fed the steers than do those in ordinary mud lots.^ With pork at 6 cents a pound this item will amount to about $1.50 per steer. Fig. 4.— a feed yard in Nebraska where cattle can not make proper gains because of muddy condition of the yard. The feed lot is more than a quarter of a mile long. Feed is at one end and water at the other. In wet weather cattle consumed 30 minutes of time tramping through the mud from feed to water or vice versa. CARE OF THE MANURE. As cattle will be fed more as a means of maintaining fertility than as a direct source of profit, the manure must be properly cared for. Paved fioors should be provided for the buildings or for that part of the yard which the cattle frequent most, and sufficient bedding should be used to absorb the urine. ^ Two-thirds of the nitrogen and from three-fifths to three-fourths of the potash are passed off in the urine. On a three-months^ feed from 2 to 2^ tons of manure, including the bedding, will be produced by a 1,000-pound steer. That the greatest value may be obtained from this manure it should either be hauled to the field as soon as produced or be allowed to accumulate in sheds 1 Beef Production, H. W. Mumford, Urbana, 111., 1907, pp. 145-146. 2 See Farmers’ Bulletin 481, ‘^Concrete Construction on the Live Stock Farm.” ECONOMICAL CATTLE FEEDING IN THE CORN BELT. 11 where the cattle will keep it tramped, sufficient bedding being used to absorb the liquid portion and to keep the animals clean and dry. As soon as possible after the cattle are sold the manure should be hauled to the field. Even with the best of care there will be some loss. When feeders bought concentrates, as they formerly did, this loss was more than offset by the fertilizing value of the purchased grain, and the farms were rapidly built up to a liigh state of fertility. As the purchasing of large quantities of extra grain is now impracticable, this loss will have to be made up in some other way. The nitrogen can bo sup- plied by groving legumes or by using linseed-oil cake or cottonseed Fig. 5.— a conveniently arranged feeding system that would be ideal if that part of the yard shown were paved. Note some of the steers in mud almost to the hocks. These cattle had to be held after they were finished to get them free of some of the mud and manure with which they were covered. cake as a supplementary feed, and it will only be necessary to provide for the equivalent amount of phosphorus that is taken away, which is comparatively inexpensive, except on soils deficient in potash, in which case the latter element also will have to be supplied. The value of the manure depends on its care, the feeds used, the cost of getting it on the land, and the elements that the soil needs. If the manure is dropped in open yards and exposed to the weather much plant food is lost. If, on the other hand, it is voided on paved floors in sheds the losses will not be so great. On badly run-down soils manure can be valued at the market price of the elements that it contains, and in some cases it is worth even more than the commercial value of the fertilizing elements because of its effect on the mechanical 12 FAEMERS^ BULLETIN 588. condition of the soil. On soils naturally rich in humus and plant food and where clover is grown, the value of the manure will be much less. The ordinary farm price of $1 to $1.50 per ton seems about right if the haul is not too great. SYSTEMS OF FARMING TO MAINTAIN SOIL FERTILITY. While it is possible to maintain the fertility of the soil without any live stock on the farm, it is doubtful whether such systems are advisable under present conditions for the corn-belt farms. This is partly because they require careful farming on an intensive scale, and also for the reason that without live stock the country would not be in a position to utilize the corn crop. These systems are based on the utilization of green manure crops and commercial fertilizers. Types of successful farming in this region should, for some time to come, include sufficient live stock to help maintain fertility, to utilize the waste products on the farm, and to consume part of the immense quantities of corn produced. The system to be followed will depend somewhat upon the climate, the conditions of the farm, and the preferences of the farmer. In their efforts to adjust themselves to present conditions, progressive feeders have worked out a number of systems which wiQ probably prove successful for some time to come. CATTLE FEEDING ON HIGH-PRICED LAND. As most of the tillable land is capable of producing large yields of corn, the usual rotation will be corn one or two years, small grain, and clover. On such a farm cattle should be fed, and if all the land is m rotation they can be fed in dry lots. Calves or young steers make a larger gain per pound of feed than mature steers, but hogs following them do not fatten as rapidly. Then, too, calves or yearlings must be higher in quality and better bred than mature steers to seU well. Heavy steers may be rougher and have less quality than younger cattle, but still sell well if they are fat. The feeding should be con- ducted during those months when other work is at a minimum, that the labor may be better distributed. This is especially desirable on farms where the labor is employed the year round in order to have competent help during the busy season. If a portion of the land is too rough for cultivation, or if the farm is of such a size that there is too much land for the help employed and not enough to demand another hand, it is often advisable to keep this extra land in permanent pasture. On many large farms it is better, because of the scarcity of labor, to farm less intensively and keep a considerable area in pasture. Under such circumstances feeding on pasture should prove remunerative. ECONOMICAL CATTLE FEEDING IN THE CORN BELT. 13 Many experienced feeders have in the past preferred summer feed- ing, as they considered it more profitable. Experimental evidence secured by the Missouri Experiment Station ^ sliows that a bushel of corn will produce 6.9 pounds of gain when the cattle are fed on pasture in summer, as against 5.6 pounds in winter feedmg. While summer feeding on pasture has in the past proved more profitable, it is a question in the minds of many if it would not he more remunerative to put these pastures mto rotation where corn can he grown, when good help can be secured. The advantages of winter feeding consist in the opportunities to make better use of the by-prod ucds, such as corn fodder, damaged hay, etc., and the better distribution of labor. In the western part of the corn belt the majority of the cattle are fed during the late fall and early winter months, so that they may be out of the way before bad weather sets in, thus avoiding expensive shelter. A little farther east, where the disagreeable weather begins earlier, it is customary to rough the cattle on pasture and stalk fields until December or January, when they are put into the yards and fattened. In the eastern part of the corn belt cattle are frequently fattened in sheds or barns. The number of steers to be fattened depends on the quantity of roughage available. If there is a surplus of corn it should be sold or fed to hogs. On the other hand, if there is a slight deficiency, it may prove more economical to buy a little com or other concentrate than to dispose of the rough feed. LENGTH OF THE FATTENING PERIOD. The time required to fatten cattle depends largely on the animals themselves. Thin cattle require more time than those in good condi- tion, while cattle of mferior quality can not be profitably carried to as high a degree of finish as animals of a better grade. The length of the fattenmg period will also depend upon the prices of the feeds used. Wlien corn is high the various roughages or other cheap feeds should largely be used, and the grain ration limited, especially during the first half of the feeding period. This will necessitate the steers being fed for a longer period before the real fattening process begins. When corn is cheap, steers can be kept on full feed longer and more corn can be utilized in finishing. Formerly from six to eight months were required for making prime beef. Because of the great expense in fattening such cattle and because the demand is becoming somewhat limited, few feeders follow this practice at the present time. The average feeder of to-day can not afford to keep cattle on full feed to exceed five months. 1 See Bulletin 75, Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, p. 37. 14 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 588. QUALITY OF CATTLE TO USE. Generally speaking, the feeder should handle only the beef breeds. Any of these are good, and crosses such as the Hereford-Sh or thorn are often preferred. Usually only animals of fairly good quality should be used, as they sell for a Ingher price and dress a higher percentage of beef. If there is an abundance of rough feed, it is better to buy rather thin steers; but if the quantity of roughage is limited, it will be better to get fleshy steers that can be finished in a short time and get them on full feed as soon as possible. The inexperienced feeder should always handle cattle of good quality that are as uniform in size and condition as possible. On the other hand, the experienced feeder who is in touch with market con- ditions should handle those animals which he thinks will make him the most money, regardless of quality. WINTER FATTENING. There are a number of combinations of feeds that can be used for fattening cattle during the winter. These rations should be so com- pounded as to utilize a large quantity of available corn fodder which is chiefly handled as corn stover or silage. SILAGE FOR WINTER FEEDING. Silage is being more extensively used in fattening cattle each year. Its addition to any ration for fattening cattle results in larger and cheaper daily gains. The quantity of corn consumed by silage-fed cattle is practically the same as that consumed by cattle receiving dry roughage and corn, when the quantity of corn in the silage is taken into consideration. Silage should be considered only as a roughage and should not be expected to replace more corn than is contained in it, but slightly larger daily gains may be expected from its use. While silage can usually be produced cheaply and may be considered a cheap feed, it is not necessarily so. Unless the feeder has enough stock to consume at least 100 tons of silage the silo is anything but economical, considering the amount of capital required for a silo and machinery in proportion to the quantity of feed produced.^ Then^ too, the economy of silage will depend upon its relative cost as com- pared with other forms of roughage. In years of cheap hay, when alfalfa or clover is worth less than $8 per ton, it is doubtful if silage costing $3 a ton will prove economical. However, when hay sells at more than the above price, silage will prove cheaper unless the cost of producing it also increases. Those desiring a fuller dis- 1 See Bulletin 73, Bureau of Statistics, U. S. Department of Agriculture, p. 73. economical cattle feeding in the corn belt. 15 cussion concerning the value and use of silage for winter feeding should read Farmers’ Bulletin 578, of the United States Department of Agriculture. DRY FEEDING. Those persons to whom silage feeding is impracticable will find that cattle may still be economically fattened when shocked corn and a good quality of straw are utilized as part of the rough feed. While there is more waste in feeding shocked corn, nevertheless, a ton and a half of stover has approximately the same feeding value as a ton of timothy hay. The waste stalks that are too coarse to be readily eaten will serve as bedding and can be worked into manure. Cattle may be turned out into the cornfields to consume the stover in years when there is plenty of cheap roughage. Although there is considerable waste of forage, the stalks, providing they are plowed under and not burned, will furnish considerable humus, and the expense of hauling to the barn in the form of fodder and returning to the field in the form of manure will be avoided. During years of high-priced roughage, however, this practice will not be economical. FEEDING ON PASTURE. In regions of high-priced land there is a tendency to plow up the pastures that are suitable for cultivation and grow more corn. How- ever, to make better use of the rough portion of their farms and to make a better adjustment of their farming operations, some farmers will prefer summer feeding on pasture. This can be done on a per- manent blue-grass pasture or on a field of timothy and clover. The permanent pasture sod should be at least 5 years old. If the pasture is temporary it will usually be necessary to feed some supple- mentary concentrate, such as cottonseed meal, in addition to corn. In fattening on pasture the aim should be to utilize as much grass as possible. Therefore, cattle carried through the winter with the expectation of finishing on pasture should seldom be fed heavily during the winter. It is considered better economy to carry them on cheap feeds, keeping them thrifty without endeavoring to put on any increase in flesh. Such cattle will make rapid gains when turned on pasture and can be finished late in the season with a minimum amount of corn. METHODS ADAPTED TO MODERATE-PRICED LAND. On farms where the land is moderately high priced and a con- siderable area must be kept in pasture, or on farms where there is considerable rough feed that must be utilized, there are two principal methods that can be used. The first is to buy calves or yearlings and either raise them to maturity or, if of extra good quality, feed as baby beef. The second is to maintain breeding herds and raise baby beef. 16 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 588. GROWING AND FINISHING CATTLE. An excellent plan for utilizing the rough feeds and also avoiding competition in buying feeders is to buy calves and yearlings and raise them. These cattle can he roughed through the first winter at a moderate cost and run on pasture during the summer. They can be fed out the following winter or carried through on cheap feeds until the next summer and fattened on pasture. A good example of the utilization of rough feeds is shown in the methods used on a 900-acre farm in northwestern Missouri. The owner is primarily a corn grower and hog raiser, usually raising from 150 to 200 hogs annually, which are sold when they weigh from 200 to 300 pounds each. This farmer considers it necessary to handle cattle to use the rough feeds and a considerable area of pasture land to the best advantage. He usually buys a carload of good Texas calves each faU. The calves are run on pasture for a few days and then turned into the corn fields, where they graze on stalks until the bad weather begins. In winter they are fed on straw, damaged hay, and soy-bean meal, and are given the run of a timbered pasture for exercise and shelter. He raises the soy beans and feeds each calf a ration of 2 pounds of soy-bean meal a day. It would probably have been more profitable, however, to cut the soy beans for hay than to permit the beans to mature enough for thrashing and grinding, as most of the leaves are lost by the latter method, and soy-bean leaves have as great a feeding value as wheat bran. After May 1 the grain is discontinued and the cattle are turned on blue-grass pasture, where they remain until fall. In the fall he has the option of selling them as feeders, fattening them at once, or carrying them over another year. The plan adopted is determined by the available supply of roughage and corn, the price of these commodities, the quality and condition of the animals themselves, and the market outlook. BABY BEEF. The raising of baby beef can be most safely practiced on those farms where there is a large amount of pasture and an abundance of roughage. It is not as well adapted to intensive farming as the feeding of heavier cattle, and should not be attempted on a large scale except by experienced feeders. The number of animals that can be handled will usually depend on the area of available grazing land, and the size of the breeding herd should be based on this factor. Ordinarily some other form of live stock should be kept in conjunction with the cattle. If there is a considerable area of tilled land hogs can be raised or older cattle can be handled in addition. When the land is chiefly adapted for grazing, a few sheep can be advantageously run to utilize those feeds that the ECONOMICAL CATTLE FEEDING IN THE CORN BELT. 17 cattle do not relish, care being taken not to overstock the pastures or to run the sheep with the fattening animals. Only well-bred cattle can be prohtably fattened as baby beef; it is therefore essential that the cows be high-grade animals, and that pure-bred sires be used. This is because young animals have a tendency to grow, and unless they have been carefully bred for beef purposes it is impossible to get them to fatten properly. Although heavy cattle can be marketed before they are finished, baby beef must be prime in order to hnd a ready sale. Calves intended for baby beef should be kept growing continuously and should never be allowed to lose their calf fat. They should be accustomed to eat grain before they are weaned, and during the winter should be fed plenty of grain, clover hay, and silage, if it is available. The latter is an excellent appetizer, and calves do exceedingly well when this succulence makes up a part of their ration. There is danger of losing good calves from blackleg, as this disease seems to affect calves which are in good flesh. This risk may be eliminated by vaccinating the calves at an early age. Vaccinating material may be secured free of charge from the Pathological Division of the United States Department of Agriculture by anyone who will agree to submit a report of the results secured by vaccinating. As the vaccine is easily administered and remarkable results have been obtained from its use, no farmer should fail to vaccinate his calves if blackleg is prevalent in his community or if there have been deaths from blackleg on his premises within recent years. HOGS FOLLOWING CATTLE. All of the above systems of feeding presuppose that hogs follow the fattening cattle. It is more profitable to follow cattle with hogs, except possibly when young cattle are fed on ground corn in large numbers and the cost of grinding is very low. In fact, the best authorities beheve that with the present narrow margin for fat cattle it is inadvisable to feed without hogs. The cost accounting records kept in Iowa, previously referred to on page 7, tend to bear out this belief. When the steers sell for enough to break even, or if they show a slight loss, the hogs that follow will ordinarily make sufficient gains from the wasted corn to make the feeding operations profit- able. Not only is steer feeding more profitable when hogs are used, but the hogs usually prove more remunerative than if fed alone, because of the large amount of feed they secure from the droppings. The best type of hog to run behind cattle is a thrifty shoat weighing about 100 pounds, somewhat thin, and consequently in good condi- tion to utilize the corn. Heavy, nearly finished hogs are not profit- able behind steers and should be placed by themselves. Young pigs 18 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 588. are objectionable, because of the danger of being injured by tbe steers and because the feed obtained from the dro])pings is not adapted for them, as they reciuire more protein. The number of hogs to follow a steer will depend on the metliod of feeding. Some farmers feed the steers more corn than they will eat and run extra hogs, figuring on the hogs getting the waste. Wliile this may be a good policy when corn is cheap, it is doubtful if it should be practiced with high-priced grain. It is usually best to figure on about one shoat per steer when shelled corn is fed and two when ear corn is fed. In case the corn is ground or soaked, or silage is used, the number of hogs would be less. The aim should be to run enough hogs to clean up all the waste corn. The daily gains that the hogs make will depend materially on the condition of the feed yard. They will also be affected by the quan- Fig. 6. — Typical feeding plant in Central Illinois. The hogs ai’e fed extra corn in a separate yard. tity of grain given and the form in which it is fed. In general, it is probable that when a steer is fed one-third of a bushel of shelled corn a day, approximately three-fourths of a pound of pork will be ob- tained. When ear corn is fed the gains will be greater. On the other hand, if corn meal or corn-and-cob meal is fed the amount of pork produced is very small, as the grain is much better utilized by cattle. In fact, experience and experimental evidence show that when corn is most efTicient for steers it is least so for hogs, and vice versa. The gain will be greater if the steers are fed some leguminous hay or some concentrate high in protein, such as oil cake. Nearly all farmers give the hogs corn in addition to that secured from the drop])ings. Corn for the hogs should always be fed away from the cattle and shoidd usually be given first, so that the steers may not ECONOMICAL CATTLE FEEDIN(i IN THE CORN BELT. 19 be annoyed. The hogs should also be provided with separate water- ing places and separate places to lie down. SHRINKAGE IN SHIPPING TO MARKET.^ The shrinkage in weight varies according to distance shipped, the preparation of the cattle, size of the cattle, and numerous other factors, and is therefore hard to estimate accurately. The shrinkage in shipping cattle from Iowa to Chicago, or from points in Kansas to Kansas City, would be from to 5 per cent of their live weight, with an average of about 4 per cent. When cattle are sold at home they are usually held for 12 hours without feed or water before weighing or are weighed direct from the feed lot and a 4 per cent shrinkage deducted. The shrinkage in shipping is usually very little in excess of this amount. The feeder should therefore count on about 4 per cent shrinkage on the finished animal when considering the cost of feeding. 1 For a full discussion of this subject see Bulletin 25 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, entitled "The Shrinkage in Weight of Beef Cattle in Transit.” O WASHINGTON ; GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1914 U.S.DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 689 Contribution from the Bureau of Animal Industry, A, D. Melvin, Chief. July 21, 1914. HOMEMADE SILOS. I^y Helmer Rabili), A. K. Risser, and K. E. Parks, of the Dairy Division. INTRODUCTION. Green corn was first jireserved for winter feeding in the United States by Prof. Manly Miles, of Lansing, Mich., in 1875.^ He used shallow pits 8 inches deep into which he heaped the cut corn and then covered it with earth. Francis Morris, of Maryland, is said to have built a silo in 187G, and J. M. Bailey, of Massachusetts, one in 1879. Sdo construction has undergone a great change since the first ones were built. All the early silos were built in the ground, while the modern silos are constructed almost entirely above the ground. Besides this, the first silos were comparatively shallow structures, which resulted in a large amount of spoiled silage on account of lack of suflicient pressure. Since about the year 1880 silos have increased rapidly in number in the United States, until now they are extensively used, especially in those regions devoted to the dairy industry. So useful have silos become that many farmers consider them indispensable. The demand for literature on silos has likewise increased. This bulletin has been prepared for the purpose of partly meeting this demand by furnishing such information as will enable the farmer to con- struct his own silo at a reasonable cost. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. ADAPTABILITY OF THE SILO. The silo is adapted to all parts of the United States where corn or the sorghums can be successfully grown. Its use at present is confined principally to farms where cattle are kept, although silage is a good and cheap feed for both sheep and horses.^ Dairy farmers especially 1 Country Gentleman, October 5, 1876, page 628. 2 See Farmers’ Bulletin 578, “The Making and Feeding of Silage.” Note. — This bulletin gives detailed instructions for building three types of silos, namely, concrete, stave, and the modified Wisconsin silo. The part relating to the stave silo is a revision of Bureau of Animai Industry Circular 136, by B. H. Rawl and J. A. Conover. 40084°— Bull. 589—14 1 2 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 589. have appreciated the value of silage as a milk producer. To make the silo a profitable investment, however, a man should have at least 10 cows or the equivalent of this number in other stock. With a num- ber fewer than this the relative cost of the silo and the silo-filling machinery becomes excessive; besides it is not usually feasible to build a silo small enough to accomodate fewer than 10 head. KIND OF SILO TO BUILD. After a person has decided to put up a silo, the next ({uestion is. What kind of a sdo shall it be ? Several factors will enter into this consideration, chief among which are cost and durability. On account of lack of space only three of the most common and approved types of silos wih be discussed in detail here, namely, the concrete, the stave, and the modified Wisconsin silos. The concrete silo, as the name implies, is built entirely of concrete; the stave silo is built of long 2 by 4 or 2 by 6 material, set vertically like the staves of a wooden tank; the modified Wisconsin silo is built of three-eighths or one-half inch boards nailed laterally on the inside of studding placed in the form of a circle. All these will preserve silage equally well. THE THREE COMMON TYPES. Concrete silos . — The concrete silo has the advantage of the other two in permanency and stability. A well-constructed concrete silo will last indefinitely ; there is no danger of its blowing or burning down, rotting out, or being attacked by vermin. For the man who wants a silo for a considerable number of years and who can obtain materials for concrete at a reasonable cost the concrete silo is advisable. The necessary repairs are reduced to a minimum, the first expense being practically the only expense. Little attention is required to keep the structure in good condition. The chief objection to the concrete silo is its cost. It is more expensive, as a rule, than either of the other two types. The stave silo . — The stave or tub silos have become very popular in late years because of the cheapness, ease, and quickness with which they are constructed. Generally speaking, the stave silo excels in these three particulars, although there may be sections of the country where sand and gravel may be obtained at a nominal cost and where the price of lumber is excessive. Under such conditions the concrete type may be the cheaper. Manufacturing firms have made a specialty of stave silos and have pushed their sale; as a consequence such silos are more numerous in the United States to-day than any other type. Stave silos, however, are temporary structures, since they last only from 5 to 15 years, depending upon the kind and quality of lumber used, the care and the construction of the silo, and the climate. Tliey are more liable to blow down, fall down, or otherwise get out of repair than either of the other types of silos. HOMEMADE SILOS. 3 The modified Wisconsin silo . — It sometimes happens in certain sections that it is inconvenient to secure hoops or lugs for a stave silo. Under such conditions the modified Wisconsin type is to be recommended. The modified Wisconsin silo is more substantial than the stave silo; that is, it is not so liable to be blown down or to get out of repair through drying. It does not need so much atten- tion. In case some parts of the walls rot out they can be more easily repaired than those of a stave silo. Another advantage of this type over the stave silo is that carpenters as a rule take hold of the work of construction more readily. They seem to have a better idea as to just how to go about putting up this kind of a structure. There are two serious objections to the modified Wisconsin silo. One is that a silo less than 14 feet in diameter is very hard to build, owing to the difficulty in bending the sheathing. Another is the unfinished appearance of the structure. Cost of construction . — The cost of the above-mentioned silos will depend so much upon their size and on the price of material and labor that no definite amounts can be assigned which would be applicable to all conditions. Recent data on the cost of homemade silos collected by the Dairy Division from all parts of the country show the following relative cost of the three types: Cost of silos. Type of silo. Number of silos. Average capacity. Average cost. Average cost per con ca- pacity. Concrete: 100 tons or less 71 Tons. 71 $220. 47 $3. 10 101 to 200 tons 50 135 348. 68 446*. 42 2.59 More than 200 tons 23 219 2. 04 Total concrete 144 117 301. 08 2.58 Modified Wisconsin 8 116 186. 52 1.61 Stave: 100 tons or less 25 63 118. 40 1.87 Over 100 tons 16 129 187. 46 1.45 Total stave 41 89 145.35 1. 63 Plans for the above silos were furnished by the Dairy Division, and frequently a representative of the division assisted in laying out the foundation and getting the building underway. The figures given will serve to show in a general way the cost of the three types of silos. OTHER TYPES OP SILOS. Other less common kinds of silos are the Gurler, the Iowa, and brick and stone silos. The Gurler . — The construction of this silo is similar to that of the Wisconsin, the main difference being that the inner lining of wood 4 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 589. in the Wisconsin type is replaced by a coating of lath and cement plaster. Its principal fault is that owing to lack of rigidity the concrete lining may crack and admit air. The Iowa . — This silo is constructed of hollow tile blocks reinforced with steel. The air space provides some protection against the freez- ing of the silage. It is apparently a durable and substantial struc- ture. This silo has been in use only a few years, so it would be difficult to say at this time just how it compares with the other types. It is probable that if good tiles adapted for the purpose can be secured at a reasonable price this silo will come into more general use. Brick and stone silos . — These silos have been used to some extent, and with much satisfaction when properly constructed. They are, however, expensive and have nothing to recommend them as com- pared with concrete. The tendency seems to be away from rather than toward brick and stone silos. ESSENTIAL FEATURES IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SILOS. There are some features which are essential to the construction of all silos and without which silage will not be kept in perfect condition. 1 . The walls should be air-tight. Since the keeping of silage depends upon the exclusion of air it is imperative that the walls of the silo be built in such a way as to keep out the air. The lumber should be well matched, and that containing large knots should be rejected. In concrete silos a wash on the inside with cement or with raw coal tar thinned with gasoline is effective in making the walls impervious to air. Care should be taken that the doors fit closely into their frames. 2. The walls should be smooth and plumb so that the silage will not adhere to them in settling and thus cause air spaces in the outer edge of the silage. Furthermore, the walls should be capable of standing considerable lateral strain without cracking or bulging. This is one reason why rectangular silos are unsuccessful. 3. The silo must be deep enough so that the pressure from above will thoroughly pack the silage and force out the air. The greater the pressure the less air is left in the silo and the less will be the loss of food materials by fermentation. 4. The only form of silo to be recommended is one which is round. This form is the cheapest, capacity considered, and the walls are more rigid than those of the rectangular or octagonal forms. This results in more perfect preservation of the silage. THE LOCATION OF THE SILO. The silo should be placed outside rather than inside the barn. As a silo ordinarily does not need the protection of a barn, it is not eco- nomical to use barn space for this purpose. An exception to this rule HOMEMADE SILOS. 5 may bo mado in the case of the round barn. A silo in the middle of a round harn serves to support the superstructure as well as to ])lace the silage in a position for convenient feeding. A silo so ])laced, how- ever, is liable to be very inconvenient to fill. The most popular loca- tion is not more than a few feet from the harn and opening into a sepa- rate feeding room. The door of the barn can then be closed and the silage odors kept out of the stable at milking time. The silo should not be built in the ground so deeply as to make it necessary to lift the silage more than 5 feet in getting it out from the bottom. In other words, the bottom should not be more than 5 feet below the lowest door. THE SIZE AND CAPACITY OF THE SILO. J)ia7neter . — The diameter of the silo will depend upon the amount of silage to be fed daily. The silage should be removed from the top at the rate of 1^ to 8 inches per day, depending upon climatic condi- tions. The warmer the weather the more silage must be removed from the surface daily in order to ])revent spoiling. For the winter- feeding season it is safer to figure upon removing 2 inches daily rather than a smaller amount. A common error in building is to make the diameter too large for the size of the herd. The weight of a cubic foot of silage varies according to the pressure to which it is subjected, but in a silo 30 feet deep it will average about 40 pounds. So, by knowing the amount of silage to be fed daily, it is possible to estimate what the diameter of the silo should be to permit the removal of a certain number of inches in depth each day. The following table will show the proper diameter of the silo for herds of different sizes to be fed different amounts for winter feeding, when 2 inches of silage are removed daily: Relation of size of herd to diameter of silo for winter feeding (on basis of 40 pounds of silage per cubic foot). Inside diameter of silo. Quantity of silage Number of animals that may be fed allowing— in depth of 2 inches 40 pounds per head. 30 pounds per head. 20 pounds per head. 15 pounds per head. Feet. 10 Pounds. 524 i t 13 17 26 35 11 634 16 21 31 42 12 754 ; 19 25 37 50 13 885 22 29 44 59 14 1,026 25 34 51 68 15 1,178 29 39 59 78 16 1,340 33 44 67 89 17 1,513 38 50 75 101 18 1,696 42 56 85 113 20 2,094 52 70 i 104 1 139 6 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 589. A 900-pound cow will ordinarily consume 30 pounds of silage a day; a 1,200-pound cow about 40 pounds. Yearlings will eat about one-half as much as mature animals; fattening cattle, 25 to 35 pounds for each 1,000 pounds live weight. Asheepwill take about one-eighth as much as a cow. Horses should be limited to 15 or 20 pounds daily. The practice of using silage to supplement pastures during the sum^- mer droughts and in the early fall, instead of soiling crops, is becom- ing more general and it should be encouraged. For such feeding the daily ration per cow may be as low as 10 pounds, depending upon the amount and quality of pasture or other succulent feeds available. For the same herd the silo for summer feeding should be of smaller diameter than the one used for winter feeding, since 3 inches instead of 2 are to be removed daily. In order to provide for this summer feeding an additional silo of smaller diameter should be constructed. The following table shows the relation between the size of the herd and the diameter of the silo when 3 inches of silage are removed daily: Relation of size of herd to diameter of silo for summer feeding {on basis of 40 -pounds of silage per cubic foot). Inside diameter of silo. Quantity of silage in Number of animals that may be fed allowing— depth of 3 inches. 40 pounds per head. 30 pounds per head. 20 pounds per head. 15 pounds per head. Feet. 10 Pounds. 785 19 26 39 52 11 950 23 31 47 63 12 1,131 28 37 56 75 13 1,327 33 44 66 88 14 1,539 38 51 77 102 15 1,767 44 59 88 118 16 2,011 50 67 100 134 DeRtli . — After the diameter of the silo has been decided upon, the next consideration is the number of tons of silage that will be required, and this is governed by the length of the silage-feeding season. When the number of tons and the diameter have been fixed upon, a reference to the table below indicates what the depth of the silage should be. For example, if the diameter is 14 feet and the capacity 100 tons, the depth of silage after settling for two days should be 32 feet. An allowance of 4 to 6 feet must be made for settling in a silo 30 or more feet deep, so that the height of the silo in this instance from the floor to the plate should be 36 to 38 feet. HOMEMADE SILOS. 7 Depth of silage {after settling) for a given capacity of silo with a given diameter} Depth of silage (after settling). Capacity of silo having an inside diameter of— 10 feet. 11 feet. 12 feet. 13 feet. 14 feet. 15 feet. 16 feet. 17 feet. 18 feet. 20 feet. Feet. 24 Tons. 34 Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. 26 38 46 55 28 42 51 61 71 83 30 47 56 67 79 91 105 32 62 74 86 100 115 131 34 80 94 109 126 143 161 36 87 102 119 136 155 175 196 38 no 128 147 167 189 212 261 40 138 158 180 203 228 281 42 1 170 193 218 245 302 44 207 234 262 323 46 250 280 345 48 1 368 1 1 These figures were taken in part from King’s Physics of Agriculture, page 424. In general, the depth of the silo should not be less than twice nor more than three times the diameter. The greater the depth the better the silage, on account of the pressure from above. If less than 24 feet in height the quality of silage will not be the best. A very great height, however, is to be avoided on account of the excessive amount of power required to elevate the cut corn into the silo. FOUNDATION. The foundation of the silo should receive special consideration, since a large proportion of the silage as well as the weight of the walls must be supported by the foundation. It has always been assumed that the foundation supports only the walls of the silo, but recent investigations have shown this idea to be erroneous. The founda- tion should have its base on firm soil, and it should extend below frost line. In the North this will require that it be placed 4 feet or more below the surface of the ground; in the South 2 feet will ordi- narily be sufficient. The dimensions of the foundation wall will depend primarily upon the character of the soil in which it is located and the size of the silo. The base of the foundation must be wider in loose soils than in clay soils, so as to prevent the walls from crack- ing and setthng out of shape. The width of the base will vary from 10 to 30 inches, depending upon the conditions mentioned. FLOOR. If the earth in the bottom of the silo is firm and comparatively dry, no provision need be made for drainage, and a floor is unnecessary. Still a concrete floor will make the silo easier to clean and make it impossible for rats to burrow underneath the foundation wall and gain access to the silage. If, however, the earth in the bottom of 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 580. the silo is inclined to be seepy, a tile drain should b(‘. laid in it and a concrete floor laid above the tile. The tiling should open into the floor in the center, and the floor should be made to drain to it. The tiling should extend beyond the silo wall and have its outlet lower than the floor. The entrance of the tile drain should be stopped with a loose wooden plug when the silo is about to be filled and should bo opened when the silo is empty. The drain will carry off the water which tends to seep in, as well as any rain water that may collect on the floor in case the silo has no roof. DOORS. The doorways have always been a source of weakness in silo con- struction. When poorly made they have sometimes let the silo crack open and spread. Ample provision should therefore be made for reinforcing the structure in the region of the doors. The door should form an air-tight joint with its frame; tar paper is oftentimes useful in this connection. The door should be flush with the inner wall of the silo so that air pockets will not form as the silage settles. Doors should be of such size as to permit the ready entrance of a man, and they should be close enough together so that the silage will not have to be lifted any considerable height when it is being removed. The usual size is about 20 inches wide and 30 inches high, and the space between the doors to 3 feet. The lowest door should not be more than 5 feet above the bottom of the silo, and less than this is desirable. The table below will assist the builder in determining the number and spacing of the doors: Nu mber and spacing of doors in silos of different heights. Height of silo above founda- tion. Num,ber of doors. i Height of door. Space be- tween doors. Space be- low first door, to foundation or surface of ground. Space above last door. Feet. 24 i 4 Feel. 2\ Feel. 31- Feet. 1 Feet. 31 21 26 5 2i 2i 1 28 5 2| 3 1 21 30 6 2\ 21 1 11 32 6 2i 2f 1 21 34 6 2i 3 1 3^ 36 7 2? 2i 1 21 38 7 2^ 2| 2f 1 3 40 8 2^ 1 11 42 8 2i 21 1 31 44 8 3 1 2 46 9 n 21 1 21 48 9 2i 21 1 21 The continuous door . — Many silos are now built with continuous doors, obstructed only by the hoops or bars extending from side to side which are necessary to prevent the door frames from spreading. HOMEMADE SILOS. 9 This kind of door is more convenient for tlie removal of silage, but it is harder to construct properly. ROOF. While a roof is not essential to the keeping of silage, it is advisable for several reasons to equip the silo with a roof. A roof adds to the appearance, life, and stability of the silo; it retards freezing; it keeps out rain and snow, making the work of removing the silage more agreeable; it will also prevent the silo from becoming a neighborhood feeding ground for pigeons. There should be a door in the roof large enough to admit the carrier or blower from the cutter. A simple trapdoor will answer the purpose, but a dormer window with glass is preferable, as this will admit light and so make the use of a lantern unnecessary when the silage is being removed. CHUTE AND LADDER. A chute should be built over the doors to prevent scattering of the silage when thrown down. This will make it possible to catch all the silage in a truck. A ladder should be attached to the sdo at one side of the doors or on the chute. Sometimes the reinforcing rods of the continuous door can be used for a ladder. THE CONCRETE SILO. Concrete silos are of three kinds — those built of concrete blocks, those made with concrete staves, and those with a solid waU, or the monolithic type. The only advantage of the concrete block silo over the monolithic is the fact that the walls can be more easily built with an air space, which would tend to prevent freezing. It is probable, however, that the difference between the two walls in this respect is of no considerable importance. It has the disadvantage of being more difficult to construct and requiring more expert labor, and as a consequence it generally costs more to build. On account of the limited amount of space in this bulletin which can be devoted to silo construction, the solid-wall or monolithic type is the only one which will be described in detail. FOUNDATION. To lay off the foundation, drive a stake in the ground at the center of the proposed silo. One end of a straight 2 by 4 inch scantling, a little longer than is necessary to reach from the center of the silo to the outside of the foundation wall, should be nailed on top of the stake with a 40-penny spike. This spike then marks the exact center of the silo. From it measure off on the scantling the distance to the 40084°— Bull. 589—14 2 10 FAKMEKS" BULLETIN 589. outside of tlie foundation wall, and liavin^ nailed on a marker, as shown in figure 1 , lay off the foundation. Where the ground on which the silo is to be located is not level, the marker can be lengthened by holding a longer hoard against it (see fig. 2), and moving it up or down to keep it touching the ground while the scantling is held level. If the ground is very uneven it may be difficult to make the line continuous, in which case points can be marked every few inches and these joined afterwards. The earth inside the circle must he excavated to firm ground l)elow the frost line. A plumb line should he used in digging the pit so that the walls can he dug true to the mark. Generally the earth is firm enough to stand without danger of caving, and may serve as an outside form in building the foundation. (See fig. 3.) S'pecial footing .- -Ti, however, the dirt caves in, the foundation can he built as shown in figure 4, in which case the pit must he dug large to give ample room for placing and removing the outside form. Aside from the matter of reinforcing, most of the failures of concrete structures have been due to insufficient and poor foundations, and special care should be taken to make this part of the silo secure. If the location is unfavorable for a good foundation and the silo is of very large capacity, it is well to put in a special footing in order to distribute the weight over a larger area of ground. (See fig 4.) HOMEMADE SILOS. 11 MAIN WALL OF SILO. The main wall of the silo is built 0 inches thick throughout, although for diameters of 12 feet and under a wall 5 inches thick has been found sufficient. No modification is made in the thickness of the wall for top and bottom, because the expense of adjusting the forms for such a variation more than equals the saving in cost of materials. For building the wall two circular forms are needed, one inside tlie other, with a 6-inch space between them, into which the concrete is poured. The forms are built 3 feet high, and approximately 33 inches of wall can be built with each setting of the fo rms. The forms are so con- structed that after each 33 inches of the wall has been placed the forms can be loosened, raised, and placed in position for another 33 inches of wall. In resetting, the forms are allowed to lap over the old wall about 3 inches, which greatly assists in getting them into proper position. (See fig. 5a). FORMS. Either wood or sheet metal may be used for fonns, but where the metal can be secured it is much to be preferred. It does not make so heavy a form as the wood, and the finished wall is smoother. Either 18, 20, or 22 gauge black or galvanized sheet iron 36 inches wide may be used. If, however, the diameter of the silo is to be 16 feet or more, it has been found more practical to have the sheets 30 inches wide, because in such cases one course around the silo at the reduced height of wall would be sufficient for an average day’s work. The advantage of galvanized over black iron is that the form will last for a consider- able time, and can be used for a number of silos of the same diameter during several seasons if properly cared for. 12 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 589. For each form it is necessary to build two supporting circles (See fig. 5a) to which the sheet iron or wood, as the case may })e, is nailed. These circles are built out of 1 by 6 inch material, rough or dressed, of a length depending upon the diameter of the silo so that 16 pieces will exactly make the circumference. It is not an easy matter to compute these lengths of chords for the various diameters, so they are given below. In figure 6 the chord is the distance from A to B. Table of chords. Diameter of silo. Chord measure- ment. Diameter of silo. Chord measure- ment. 10 feet.... 11 feet 12 feet 13 feet 14 feet Ft. In. 1 Ilf 2 1| 2 4 2 6f 2 15 feet.... 16 feet.... 17 feet.... 18 feet.... Ft. In. 2 11 3 11 3 31 3 6J t LAYINC OUT THE TEMPLETS EOR SHEET-IRON FORMS. Figure 6 shows how to proceed to lay out the pieces to be used as templets, or patterns, by which to cut the pieces which when laid end HOMEMADE SILOS. 13 to end are to form the supporting circles for the inside and the outside forms when sheet iron is used. For this part of the work use the barn d — -r — ■^=r ^ — — - — c. ~ . — - — — ■ ■ ' ^ 1 1 O G) O oQ|=h o o gH )■ . • . . , / Fig. 5. — Silo form in position, and details of form. floor or any clear space available. If there is no convenient place available, it will be advisable to build the concrete mixing board described later, and use that. 14 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 589. Select a straight piece of 1 by 3 inch board about a foot longer than half the diameter of the proposed silo, and with a 10-penny nail tack one end to the floor so that the slat will be free to swing about. From this nail as the center of the silo, measure off on the slat one-half the length of the inside diameter. Here drive a nail, and G inches beyond drive another nail until the points extend through far enough to scratch clear marks on the floor as the slat is swung around on the center O, as shown in figure G. These circles represent the inside and outside faces of the wall. An arc equal to one-quarter of the circum- ference will be suffi- cient. From any point which has been determined to be A on the inside arc, measure off the length of the chord in figure G as given in the table of chords for the diameter of ^ the proposed silo, \ and find point B. With a straightedge \ laid through the points A and O, and \ also through B and O, draw short lines \ on the floor from D to E and from C to F, respectively. On these lines measure inward 4 inches from points A and B, and fig. 6.-Method of laying out templets. Q j D. wSimilarly measure outward from points H and G G inches to find the exact location of points E and F. Next take two pieces of the 1 by G inch board and lay one of them on the arc with the inside edge flush with points C and D, as shown in figure G. Lay the other on the outside arc with the outside edge flush with points E and F. With several small nails tack them to the floor. Next lay off the arcs again on these pieces, and with the straightedge re-mark lines DE and CF. The pieces are now ready to be taken up and sawed. The resulting patterns, or templets, will serve to mark out the G4 pieces necessary to build the two inside circles and the G4 pieces to build the two outside circles. HOMEMADE SILOS. 15 Tlie curved pieces can be sawed by hand, but if there is a mill or shop convenient that is equipped vdth a band saw, it will hasten and generally cheapen the job to have it done there. liAYrN(J OTTT THE TEMPEETS FOR WOODEN FORMS. ' If the sheet iron for metal forms can not be obtained, or if for any other reason it becomes necessary to build wooden forms, then 1-inch flooring 3 inches wide and 3 feet long nailed on these supporting cir- cles may take the place of the sheet iron. In working out the tem- plets for wooden forms the nail used for marking off the inside circum- ference is driven 1 inch nearer the center to allow for the thickness of the flooring which is nailed on the circles instead of the sheet iron. Fig. 7. — A wooden form for a concrete silo. In other words, the inner circle is described 1 inch nearer the center and the outer circle 1 inch farther away from the center in order to allow for the thickness of the flooring. As shown in figure 7, the cir- cles are raised one above the other, 26 inches apart, and the flooring is nailed on vertically with 8-penny nails. Before the flooring is. nailed on it should be thoroughly soaked in water to prevent buckling later. Lugs are used similar to those used for sheet-iron forms. (wSee fig. 7.) Instead of riveting these lugs on the side, they are fas- tened on top of the circles with screws. When these wooden forms are used, it must be remembered that they are heavy when soaked with water, and the scaffold must be built stronger accordingly. 16 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 589. BUILDINf} THE CIRCLES. As shown in figure 7, each of the supporting circles is built two-ply, that is, the pieces are lapped so as to break joints. After cutting four or five pieces, lay them out on the circle, so as to make sure they fit the curve. Before starting to nail the pieces together, mark out the whole circumference on the floor or on a level piece of ground with the slat as shown in figure 6, and build the circles accurately by laying the pieces flush with the mark. It is important that the circles be well nailed with 8-penny nails driven through and clinched. While the circles are being built, approximate points of division into quarter circles can be marked, and those pieces nailed sparingly until after the circle is completed. It is generally safer to build the circles complete and then divide into quarter sections rather than to build each quarter separately. This division into parts is for the purpose of loosening and resetting the forms. DIVIDING THE CIRCLE INTO QUARTER SECTIONS. Remove the nails in one half of every fourth piece in the top layer of each circle. This will divide each circle into four equal parts, with lapped joints. BUILDING THE INSIDE FORM. A hole 1 inch wide and 3 inches long should now be cut through both layers in the center of each joint. (See fig. 56.) These holes are provided for wedges which are used in fitting or releasing the forms from the wall. The ends of the quarter sections should then be cut off at the outer edges of the wedge holes. This will allow the sections to slide together when they are to be removed from the wall. When aU the wedge holes have been cut and the work of dividing into quarter sections is complete, temporarily nail the quarter sec- tions together at points of division and brace the top circle directly over and 32 inches above the lower one. See that both circles are perfectly level and that the joints in the upper circle are directly above the joints in the lower circle, and then proceed to nail in securely, between the top and bottom circles, 1 by 3 inch studding, 32 inches long, placing the studs carefuUy plumbed from 12 to 18 inches apart, as shown in figure 5a, to keep the iron from bulging. In nailing on the sheet iron use 6-penny nails, and nail securely. Before starting to nail on the iron, however, see that it is cut to the proper length. The sheet for each quarter section should be just 3 inches longer than one-quarter of the circumference. If several sheets are required to make a single quarter section, they should be carefully riveted together with a double row of flat-headed rivets. Since the (piarter sections lap 3 inches, and in removing need to slide HOMEMADE SILOS. 17 together several inches farther, it is necessary to leave one end of the sheets loose 8 to 10 inches from the end, while at the other end it should be nailed aU the way. edges for inside form . — The wedges should be of hardwood, 8 to 10 inches long, 2 inches wide at the narrow end and 4 to 5 inches at the other. In order to make the wedges drive true and hold, it is necessary to put in loose blocks, as shown in figure ba and bh. BUILDING THE OUTSIDE EORM. The outside circles are built up and divided into ipiarter sections just as arc the inside circles, but no provision is made for wedges. The sheet iron is made up into quarter sections, 3 niches longer than one-quarter of the outside circumference, to provide for the lap. Lugs and holts for outside form . — The quarter sections are joined and drawn together by means of bolts and lugs, the latter made from f-incli tire steel and riveted on the forms as shown in figure be. Note that on one end of the section the lugs are riveted on flush with the edge of the iron, while at the other end they are set in 5 inches from the edge to permit the lap. If preferred, the lugs may be put on the top of the supporting circles instead of on the sheet iron. The lugs should be made about 24 inches long to provide for several rivets. For drawing the sections together use f-inch bolts, b inches long, with hexagonal heads and nuts and extra long thread. (See fig. 5c.) The forms are now ready for use. The experienced silo builder may leave off the supporting circles from the outside form. For the inexperienced man it is generally safer to provide these supporting circles, as they prevent the sheet iron from drawing at the top when the concrete is being placed. SETTING THE FORMS. Ill buildmg the wall the inside form is used from the footing up. Generally for the first 3 feet of wall the outside form is not needed, the earth wall of the pit serving in place of the outside form. As soon as the wall reaches the top of the ground the outside form must be placed in position. In order to space the outside form exactly 6 inches from the inner it may be necessary to saw a number of blocks 6 inches long and place them at intervals along the bottom to tem- porarily hold the form in jilace. As the concrete is filled in these blocks must be removed. Leaving them in the wall might permit air to enter the silo at those points. For spacing the forms at the top a number of pieces of the shape shown in figure bd wiU be found useful. 40084°— Bull. 589—14 3 18 farmers' bulletin 589. The greatest of care must be taken to have both forms level across the toj) and the sides plumb. If on one side of the silo the forms arc higher than on the other they are out of round, and consexpiently the wall at some ])laces will be thicker than at others, thus making it im})ossible to build the wall jdurnb. The diligent use of a plumb bob and a good level to see that the forms are plumb and level at each rais- ing will save much annoyance later. SCAFFOLDING. As soon as the forms are in })lace for the first time, it is well to start the scaffolding shown in figure 8, which supports the forms and from which the work is done. It is less expensive and also more convenient to have the working platform on the inside of the silo rather than on the outside. For this scaffold 2 by 4 inch scantling doubled is the most conven- ient material, but long straight poles can be used equally well, and frequently at much less expense. It is well to set the poles or scantlings in the ground 4 to 6 inches in order to make them more secure. They should also be securely braced. Figure 8 shows how they are distributed for both inside and outside scaffolds. The number of uprights needed will vary with the diameter: silos of small diameter may require only 9 for the inside, while for large silos 17 or more may be found necessary. The number needed for the out- side scaffold will vary in j)roportion. The uprights on the inside are set in from the waU 12 inches to permit the removing of the form. If the u])rights are set too close to the wall it will cause trouble, as in raising it becomes necessary for one form to ])ass Fig. S.— Scaffold used in constructing concrete silo. HOMEMADE SILOS. 19 by the other. The uprights should he set ])lumb and with a straight side toward the wall. REINFORCING. Concrete, like all masonry work, must he reinforced when subjected to a i)ulhng or bending stress. Concrete of itself has a low tensile strength. Silage is a heavy material and exerts considerable pressure upon the walls. In addition to this pressure of the silage there is also wind pressure, which on occasions is considerable; but the circu- lar walls, together with the numerous strands of wire in the kind of reinforcement recommended, are more than sufficient to guard against failure. The material used for reinforcement may be steel rods, bars, or ordinary wire, provided the amount used is sufficient to withstand the pressure The most convenient material to use and one that is readily obtained anywhere at a reasonable cost is the common woven or welded steel hog fencing, 32 or 34 inches wide, with horizontal strands of No. 9 wire. This wire is easily jilaced in position, and is not easily displaced while filling the form. Reinforcing to be most effective must be placed near the surface wiiere the pull will come. In a silo wall this is on the outside, so the reinforcing should be })laced from 1 to 2 inches inside the outer sur- face. Since the strength of the wall depends largely upon the rein- forcing used, it is never advisable to use old or damaged wire, and in handling the wire care should be taken to avoid kinks and sharp bends. If the silo wall is over 30 feet in height, the first two or three courses should have the fencing doubled to meet the increased pressure. In the table below is given the length to which to cut the fencing. The lengths given allow 6 inches for use in fastening ends together securely so that there is no chance of slipping. Each course of reinforcement should be securely laced to the pre- ceding course with No. 16 soft wire. Length to which to cut fencing for reinforcing concrete wall. Diameter of silo, j Length of fencing re- quired to make cir- cumfer- ence. i Diameter of silo. Length of fencing re- quired to make cir- cumfer- ence. i Feet. Ft. In. Feet. Ft. In. 10 34 3 15 50 0 11 37 5 16 53 1 12 40 7 17 56 3 13 ; 43 8 IS 59 5 11 46 10 1 Includes 6 inches for fastening. 20 farmers' bulletin 589. ■ Special care must be taken to have the reinforcing around the doors as strong as in any other part of the wall. P^igure 9 shows how a five-eighths inch rod, or its equivalent, should be placed on either side of the opening about 2 inches from the door form. The hori- zontal strands of the fencing are cut to admit the door form, and the ends are securely wound around the iron rods. The rods should extend 6 to S inches above and below the door openings and should be tied with several strands of No. 9 wire. PREPARATION OF THE CONCRETE. CEMENT. Only the best Portland cement on the market is suitable for building thin reinforced walls such as are used in silo building. Portland cement comes packed in either barrels or sacks, four sacks equaling a barrel. In buying cement care should be taken to see that the stock is fresh. When cement is stored where it can absorb moisture it HOMEMADE SILOS. 21 becomes liim])y and hard and unfit for use. Hardness, however, is not always an indication that the cement is unfit for use, as it may become hard if stored under considerable ])ressure, and if such ])res- sure is not combined with a moist condition the cement may a^ain be pulverized and used. ITidess there is a good dry ])lace in which to store the cement it should not be purchased until it is to be used. If circumstances recpiire storing temporarily, select a dry j)lacG ])rotected from the weather and pile the cement on a board floor. SAND. Sand for building a silo should be coarse, and above all it should be clean — that is, free from clay or vegetable matter. A fine sand is objectionable because it does not make as strong a wall as coarse sand and also because it requires more cement. A mixture of coarse and fine sand, however, will make good strong concrete. A common method of testing sand for vegetable loam is to take handfuls of the moist sand from the bank and rub between the hands. If the ])alm and fingers are covered with a film of pasty slime, the sand contains vegetable matter and should be washed before using. CRUSHED STONE OR GRAVEL. The bulk of concrete consists of gravel or crushed stone that is added to the sand and cement. Other materials, such as pieces of hard brick, oyster shells, and cinders, can be used instead of the crushed rock. Crushed stone is the best because it is more sure of being clean and of the right size. Gravel taken from a creek is often coated with clay loam, which prev^ents the cement from making a good union, and very often it contains particles that are too large or of a crumbly character. Such gravel should be run over a screen and washed before using. Soft granite, shale slate rock, or dusty cinders are not desirable. Whatever material is used should be free from dust and dirt; it should not easily crush and disintegrate, and shouh] be suita()le to give a good strong union with the cement. In some localities there are natural deposits of gravel containing varying proportions of sand. If clean and not too coarse, such gravel is well suited for silo building; but in using this material it is never safe to assume that the proportion of sand to gravel is correct until a quantity has been run over a screen (I-inch mesh) and the exact proportions determined. Usually the gravel contains too much sand. For the foundation the stone may be as large as will pass through a 2f-inch ring, while for the main wall of 6-inch thickness the size should not exceed H inches. A mixture of particles of various sizes from ^ up to inches makes the strongest wall. 22 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 5S9. WATER. The water used for mixing concrete should be clean and free from alkalies and acids. The drainage water from the barnyafd or water from a muddy stream is unfit for use. PROPORTIONS. For the foundation use a 1:3 : 6 mixture; that is, a mixture of 1 part cement, 3 parts sand, and 6 parts crushed rock. For the main wall use a 1:3:5 mixture, or 1 part cement to 3 parts sand and 5 parts rock. These proportions apply when all the material is first class. If the sand is fine, the proportion of cement must be increased 10 to 15 per cent to insure a strong mixture. The mixed concrete should be placed promptly, after mixing. ""4 b Fig. 10. — Measuring box for concrete materials. before it begins to set; therefore in silo building it is not advisable to mix up very large batches at a time. After the silo wall is above a man’s reach as large a batch as ought to be attempted is what is known as a two-bag batch, or the quantity of concrete that requires two bags of cement. MEASURING. The measuring of the different ingredients for concrete is an impor- tant part of the work and requires care and attention. The most accurate way to measure sand and gravel for such a batch is to use a frame or measuring box, as shown in figure 10a. For a 1:3*5 mixture this frame should measure, inside, 4 feet 7 inches long, 2 feet wide, and 12 inches deep. On the inside of the frame, 21 1 inches from one end, a partition is placed crosswise of the box. When measuring the rock this whole frame is filled level full, and for meas- uring the sand use only the largest division of the frame level full. HOMEMADE SILOS. 23 MIXING HOARD. The first requirement for mixing is a level, water-tight platform. The smallest size found convenient in silo building is 9 by 10 feet. With a board of this size one batch can be put into the forms while another is being prepared; the process of filling is made continuous, and all the working force is constantly employed. The platform or mixing board should be built of dressed 1-inch lumber nailed to a sufficient number of 2 by 4 inch cleats to prevent sagging. If 2 by 4 inch pieces are nailed around the edge of the board, they will help prevent loss of material in the process of mixing. The platform should be placed with one end not over 2 feet from the silo wall, so that the mixture can be shoveled from the board into the buckets used in hoisting, thus avoiding all carrying. The position of the mixing board should be determined before any of the sand and gravel are delivered, so that these materials can be piled in the most convenient place. A water-tight barrel, filled with water before each batch, should be placed conveniently at one side of the mixing platform. Also an ordinary 2-gallon water pail is needed. For the mixing and handling of the concrete square-pointed, short-handled shovels are best. An ordinary garden rake and two field hoes should also be provided. For bringing the sand and gravel to the concrete board two wheel- barrows should be supplied. With this preparation the work of mixing should proceed without interruption. MIXING. Place the measuring box at the end of the board farthest removed from the silo, and with the wheelbarrows bring up the sand and fill the largest division of the frame level full. (,See fig. 10«,) Then lift the frame off and set it to one side, leaving the required amount of sand on the board. Spread the sand out evenly to the depth of not over 4 inches and over this distribute the two bags of cement. Two men with the square-pointed shovels then turn the mixture over until it is a uniform color, showing that the mixing is done well. In turning the mixture over the men should shovel from the same side of the pile. As each shovelful is turned the shovel should be so held that the material is scattered instead of falling in a body. If a third man is available, he can assist in the mixing by raking over the pile as it is being turned. Turning the pile over in this way three times should be sufficient to mix thoroughly the sand and cement, but if it is streaky and of uneven color it must be turned again. At the last turning the mass should be rounded up into a low crater- like pit, and the water added by pouring it into the crater. With the field hoes the sides and bottom of the era, ter are pulled in gradually, water being added until the whole mass is uniformly wet and about the consistency of thin mortar. Spread the jiile out so that it will 24 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 580. not be more than 3 or 4 inches deep, set tlie measuring frame over it, and fill the latter level full with the crushed rock or its equivalent. Each barrowful of rock should be thoroughly wet to wash off the dust before dumping into the measuring frame. Wlien filled, lift off tlie measuring frame and shovel on top of the pile the mortar that is not covered. Turn this mass over at least tliree times and in such a way that the last turning will place it next to the silo convenient to the hoisting buckets. During this mixing, water may be added if required to bring the mass to the proper consistency. The most convenient device for carrying and pouring the concrete into the forms is an ordinary coal scuttle, and if care is taken not to overload them, three will last for the whole job. For elevating the buckets set up a rope and single pulley, such as is used over open wells. FILLING THE FORMS. In filling the forms, only a few inches in depth should be filled in at one place at a time. Depositing a great quantity of concrete at one place puts a heavy strain on the forms and has a tendency to force them out of plumb. As the concrete is put into the form it should be spaded with a piece of 1 by 3 inch board, sharpened to a bevel edge as shown in figure lOh. The purpose of the spading is to remove all air bubbles and avoid the formation of cavities. On the other hand, in a wet mixture as used in silo building the spading must not be overdone^ or the heavier rock will sink to the bottom and the cement and water will rise to the top. The exterior surface can be kept smooth by greasing the outside form with soap or some cheap oil or grease. To be effective this grease coat must be renewed at each raising of the forms. No grease should be used on the inside form, as this surface is to receive a brush coat of pure cement wash. Small particles of cement will adhere to this form each time it is raised, and before it is used again these should be removed with a broom or a wooden trowel. If these are not removed an undue amount of concrete will adhere, and this will result in an unnecessarily rough wall. As the forms are raised the fresh wall is constantly exposed to the drying air and sun, and there is danger of the surface drying and cur- ing too rapidly for the interior of the wall, causing cracks. To prevent this the wall should be soaked with water several times a day for several days, and when possible the wall should be protected with canvas or burlap thoroughly wet. When the forms have been filled for the day do not smooth the top with a trowel, but leave it as rough as possible. A good plan is to roughen the top surface just as the concrete starts to set. Before ])utting fresh concrete on this wall the next day, the top surface should be soaked with water and then sprinkled with raw cement, HOMEMADE SILOS. 25 which will help in making a good union between courses. Tlie forms must not be removed for at least 5 hours after filling. At the end of eacli day’s work the mixing board and all tools sliould be washed free from cement; otlierwise the next day’s work will be tiresome. INSIDE SURFACE FINISH. A brush coat of cement wasli should be applied as soon as the form is raised and before the wall has had a chance to dry. This coat of cement helps to make the wall less porous and therefore more nearly air and water tight. The wasli is prepared by mixing togetlier Cement and water to the consistency of thick lime whitewasli, and is apphed wdth a whitewash brush in tlie ordinary way. If the wall lias had time to dry it should first be drenched with water. After this coat of cement wash has been applied the whole interior should be painted with coal tar thinned with gasoline. The coal tar makes the wall impervious and also protects it from the action of acids which develop in the silage. It should be renewed from year to year as may be required. The application of the coal tar may be left until the wall is conqilete, but should be done before removing the interior scaffold. RAISING THE FORMS. Before loosening the forms for raising, a straight edge should be laid across their top and leveled, and marks made on the uprights to show the position of the next set of supports, which will be just 3 inches below the top of the forms. If this is done carefully there will be little trouble experienced in resetting the forms. Tlie outside form can then be loosened and lifted to the top of the wall and rested there while the supports are nailed in place on the outside scaffold. The form is then let down on the supports and the bolts on the lower edge are drawn up until the form is tight against the wall. The remaining bolts are drawn up carefully while a plumb line is used to determine where and how much to tighten. Wlien the outside form is in place, and before raising the inside form, is a con- venient time to place the reinforcing. Next, the wedges are drawn on the inside form, the sections lifted and rested on the top of the wall, while the cross supports are nailed in place and the working platforms relaid. This done, the sections are lowered into place and the wedges set, care being taken to have the form tight against the wall and perfectly plumb. This order of procedure, raising the outside form first, has been found the more convenient in actual practice. If for any reason it is preferable to raise the inside form first, care must be taken not to drive the wedges tight enough to injure the green wall. If the outside form is raised into position first, it helps to support the freshly built wall while the wedges are being driven. In raising the forms and in 26 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 589. the process of building, care sliould he taken to avoid jarring tli(^ wall by heavy pounding, which is likely to injure', the concu'h^ in tlu', proc(‘ss of setting. Time and labor may he saved by raising all the four sections of the form at one time by the use of four sets of double pulleys, such as are used for stretching barb wire, and a rope fastened around the center of each section. Under the most favorable conditions at least five hours should elapse between the time of filling and loosening the forms. A good Fig. 11.— Door and form for door opening. working plan is to raise and fill the forms in the morning and then leave them undisturbed until the next morning. DOORS. For making the door openings, a form should be made which can be set in between the large wall forms. This form is built of such size and shape (see fig. 11a) that when the concrete is molded about it a 2-inch rabbet is formed around the inside of the opening into which a wooden door can be set, this door being held in place by the pressure of the silage on the inside In order that the form may be easily removed without injury to the wall, the top and sides are built vuth a slight taper, which permits the form to slip inward HOMEMADE SILOS. 27 when lightly tapped on the outside. The bottom ])iee,es or sill of the form should ho left flat. All the surfaces should bo dressed with a plane and greased before using. In placing the concrete about the form, considerable care must he taken to have it well worked in under the sill, or a lough job will be the result. The sills of the doors, especially of the bottom door, receive much wear, and should be protected by a piece of angle or strap iron, which is inserted at the time the bottom 2 by 2 inch piece is placed. 28 FARMERS BULLETIN 589. Unless it happens that the ])osition of the doors exactly coincides with the alternate raising of the wall forms, two forms will be required . The top and bottom pieces of the forms are cuiwed to the circumference of the silo, and should be marked off with the slat shown in figure 6 in the same manner as the templet. Figure 115 shows the design of the silo door. It is made by nailing together two thick- nesses of flooring mth tar or building paper between. The doors are held in place by the pressure of the silage. CONTINUOUS DOOR. Many prefer a continuous door opening on account of the ease with which the silage can be removed through such an opening. A continuous door- way can be made by setting 1-inch pipes vertically, one on each side of the opening, 28 inches apart. These pipes should extend into the founda- tion about 1 foot. The rein- forcing wire is fastened securely to them, and three-fourths or seven-eighths inch rods extend- ing horizontally across the doorway are hooked around the pipes every 20 inches. These rods serve the purpose of preventing the door jambs from spreading and also carry the strain of the reinforcement across the door opening. (See fig . 1 2 .) When the silo is com- pleted, the rods form the rungs of a ladder for the silo. The door itself may consist of 2-inch select planking 10 or 12 inches wide, cut in 2-foot lengths; or a door may be made by nailing together two thicknesses of 1-inch boards with building paper between them. (See fig. Il5.) These Fig. 13.- -Detail of form for construction of continuous door opening. HOMEMADE SILOS. 29 planks, or those doors if such are used, fit into a rabbet on the inside edge of the doorway. This rabbet is formed in the concrete by the use of a form to which are attached 2 by 2 inch strips, as shown in figure 13. FLOOR. For the floor, use the same mixture suggested for t h e foundation wall, and lay it about 4 inches deep. Tamp this down well, and over it put a J-inch sur- face coat of mortal- made by mixing 3 parts sand and 1 part cement. The outlet for the tile drain must be pro- vided for at the time the foundation is put in, but it is sug- gested that the lay- ing of the concrete floor be left until all the other work of building has been completed. ROOF AND CHUTE. For attaching the roof to the silo, a number of J-inch bolts should be set in the top of the wall for bolting down the plate. (See fig. 14.) These bolts are best made from J-inch rod iron cut into 18-inch lengths, one end to be threaded and the other bent at right angles 2 1 inches from the end to prevent the bolt from turning or pulling out. If the silo is roofed, provision must be made for a door opening for filling the silo. Figure 30 shows a good type of roof with a door in the gable. To prevent loss in removing the silage, the doors should be inclosed in a chute. For entering the silo, a ladder should be built on the inside of the chute. For attaching this ladder and chute to the silo, 30 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 589. bolt lu)les may be drilled into the concrete wall after it is built; or at the time of building square-taper wooden wedges may be set in the wall as the concrete is being filled in. If these wedges are well peased before putting into the wall, less trouble will be experienced in punching them out. THE STAVE SILO. FOUNDATION. rile materials to be used for the foundation are limited to three in number— brick, stone, and concrete. Where hard-burned brick can be secured cheaply, as is often the case near brickyards, it can fre- quently be used to advantage for a foundation. It should be laid in cement rather than in lime mortar. If the foundation extends more than 1 foot above the surface of the ground it should be reinforced with heavy wire. Stone makes a good foundation, but concrete is preferable under most conditions; it is not only stronger, but also generally cheaper than brick or stone. The practice of setting stave silos directly on the ground without any foundation is indefensible when the structure is wanted for several years. The bottoms of the staves will soon rot, while the remainder of the silo may remain in good condition. , LAYING -OFP THE FOUNDATION. Kemove any grass or rubbish wliich may be found at the site of the silo wall and smooth the surface of the ground. Drive a stake firmly in the ground at the center of the proposed silo. Saw off this stake at the height desired for the foundation wall, which should be at least 1 foot above the surface of the ground. One end of a straight 2 by 4 inch scantling, a little longer than is necessary to reach from the center of the silo to the outside of the foundation wall, should be nailed on top of the stake with a 40-penny spike. This spike then marks the exact center of the silo. From it measure on the scantling the dis- tance to the inside and outside of the foundation wall and, having nailed markers on as shown in figure 15, lay off the foundation. The inside of the foundation wall should be 6 inches nearer the center of the silo than the inside of the staves. HOMEMADE SILOS. 31 Where the ground on which the silo is to be located is not level, the markers can be lengthened by holding a longer board against either marker, as indicated in figure 16, moving it up or down to keep it touching the ground, but care must be taken that the scantling is held level. CONSTRUCTION OP THE FOUNDATION. Where stone or brick is to be used, the earth in the bottom of the silo, except where the center stake stands, may be dug out before the wall is built, thus allowing greater conveniencefin building the wall. The earth should not be dug out deeper than 4 inches above the bot- tom of the wall. Where concrete is to be used, this excavation should not be made until the wall has been finished and the position of the staves marked on the top of the foundation wall. Concrete foundation . — For a concrete foundation, a circular trench must be dug before any of the earth is removed from the center (see fig. 17). The earth between the two lines that mark the inside and outside of the foundation should be taken out until firm ground below frost line is reached, care being taken to cut the sides of the trench plumb and to leave the bottom level. Frefaring the concrete. — The concrete is prepared in just the same way as for the construction of a concrete silo. Directions will be found on page 20. Filling the trencF with concrete. — Put in the fh'st layer about 6 inches deep and thoroughly tamp the concrete until water appears on the surfacCc A good tool for tamping may be made of a piece of 4 by 6 inch lumber, 2 feet long, with a hole bored in the center of one end to receive a round handle 4 feet long. When the second layer is put on, the surface of the first layer should be per- 32 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 589. fectly dean and rough, and if dry it should be sprinkled with watc^r. Particular care should be taken to keep all dust and loose soil from the surface of each layer, as these prevent perfect adhesion. Building forms . — After the trench is filled to the surface of the ground, drive 2 by 4 inch stakes half an inch from the foundation on the inside and 2 feet apart all the way round. (See fig. 18.) With a straightedge ])laced level — one end on toj) of tlie center stake and the other against the side of the form stake — mark on the foi*m stake the desired height of the wall. Mark thus on every second Fig. 18. — Form for foundation above ground partly boarded up. stake. Take jiieces of lumber one-half inch thick by 6 inches wide, preferably green, vdth straight edges, and bend around outside of these stakes, nailing the boards to the stakes, vdth the top edge at the marks. Then saw off the tops of the stakes above the boards. (The necessity for this sawing may be avoided by driving down the stakes beforehand to the exact height.) After the space from the top board to the ground has been boarded in, drive stakes in a similar manner for the outside form half an inch from the concrete. Drive these stakes so that the scantling resting on the center stake Fig. 19. — Form filled with concrete showing eyebolts and slats in place and circle to mark position of staves. and the inside form, as shown in figure 18, will just clear the tops. Board up these stakes on the inside, making the top of the outer form level with that of the inner. At several jilaces nail slats across the top of the form to keep the inner and outer circles the proper distance apart. After all the boards are on, the form is ready to be filled with concrete. (See fig. 19.) Filling the /orm.— Eyebolts half an inch in diameter, from 20 to 24 inches long, and about 5 feet apart, with a hook or elbow on the lower end, should be placed 8 inches from the inside of the foundation HOMEMADE SILOS. 38 and held in a vertical })()siti()n by boards fastened across the to}) of the form. The bolts may be ])ut through pieces of board, as shown in figure 19, and the boards afterwards spht away with an ax. These bolts should extend 8 or 10 inches above the top of the wall, and the concrete filled in around them. They are to be used, after the silo s completed, for securing the wooden part of the structure to the foundation, the staves adjoining the eyebolts being securely fastened to them. If the wall extends more than 1 foot above the surface of the ground, it should be reinforced by embedding in the concrete, every 8 inches above the surface and near the outer edge, two or three strands of wire mth ends tied together. After tamping each 6-inch layer of concrete, work a spade between the concrete and the form to force the coarser materials away from the boards, thus leaving smooth-surfaced walls. When the concrete is within 1 inch of the top, finish with mortar made by mixing 1 part of cement to 3 parts of sand, and strike off level with the top edges of the form. After the concrete has set and before removing the center stake, mark a line with a nail, pencil, or crayon entirely around on top of the foundation wall 6 inches from the inner edge to show where the inside edge of the staves wiU come. (See fig. 19.) The dirt inside the foundation may next be dug out to 4 inches above the bottom of the wall. It should be borne in mind, however, that the bottom of the silo should not be more than 5 feet below the lowest door and that the bottom of this door will be 1 foot above the foundation. FLOOR. The floor should be constructed in the same way as for a concrete silo. Directions are to be found on page 29. THE STAVES. LUMBER. Cypress, long-leaf pine, white pine, cedar, and California redwood are good materials for stave silos. It is important that the staves be straight and free from sap wood, loose knots, and waney edges. PREPARING THE STAVES. wStaves should be made of 2 by 4 or 2 by 6 inch scantling, the latter being preferable, jiarticularly for the larger silos. They should be of the same width and thickness and should be dressed on all sides, the edges being left square. It is considered necessary by some that the edges of the staves be tongued and grooved, but satisfactory results can be obtained by using square-edged staves, and at less expense. After the staves are squared at the ends, holes should be bored in the edges from 4 to 6 feet apart with a ^-inch bit. These holes are 34 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 589. Fig. 20.— Cross section showing how two adjoining staves are spiked together. mudo on one edge only of each stave, and must not be in line in adjoining staves. They should be about 1 inch dee}) in staves 4 inches wide, and a})out 3 inches deej) in staves 6 inches wide. One of these holes should come within a foot of each end of the stave. Bore the holes jier- ])endicular to the edge of the stave, to avoid having the silo thrown out of i^lumb. The }>ur])ose of these holes is to allow s} 3 iking the staves together when set up. The s})ike is driven to the bottom of the hole, and ]3asses through the rest of that stave and into the adj oining stave, as shown in figure 20. Care should be taken not to })ut any s})ikes in those ])ortions of staves which are to be cut out for doors. It is preferable that each stave be in one j^iece, but where this is impossible the staves should be of two }iieces of different lengths, s}:)lined together by makmg in the ends to be joined a saw cut 1 uich deep and }:)arallel to the sides of the stave and inserting a sheet iron splme (preferably gal- vanized), as shown in fig- ure 21 . CUTTING THE DOOR STAVE. Before the staves are put F.G.2i.-Methodot splicing ends \ of staves. up it is necessary to decide how many doors the silo should have, that a door stave may be ]3repared. The table on i:>age 8 will assist the builder in determining the number of doors and the distance between them. AVIien this has been done, the location of the doors is laid off on a stave and saw cuts are made halfway through for the entrance of the saw in cutting out the doors after the staves are set up. The cuts should be made at a slant of 45° on the edge of the stave but horizontal on the front, as shown in figure 22. (See Fig. 22.— Stave partly cut through for doors. HOMEMADE SILOS. 35 also fig. 28 .) The object of the slanting cut is to make tlie doors re- movable only toward the inside of the silo, and so that when it is full the pressure of the silage will hold the doors in ]>lace. The cut for the bottom of each door should slant downward from the outside of the stave, and the cut for the top of the door should slant upward. Fig. 23. — The first stave (a) in position. To prevent this stave from breaking while it is being handled, a slat should be nailed on one side of it. Tliis slat should he removed after the stave has been put in position. AVhen the staves are being put up, the door stave should he located at one side of the place where the doors are to be cut. After the hoops are put on the silo, a handsaw can he inserted in the saw cuts of the door stave for the purpose of sawing out the doors. 36 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 589. SETTING UP THE STAVES. In order to nail the staves together at the top when they are being pnt up, it will be necessary to provide a scaffold. Where the silo is not to be over 25 feet high, a stepladder, as shown in figures 23 and 24, may be used. As the staves are put up the ladder can be moved along and kept m the right place from which to work. Fig. 24.— Several staves in position. Tlie first stave (fig. 23) should be placed with its inner face on the line (fig. 19) 6 inches from the inner edge of the foundation. It should be plumbed in both directions and securely fastened at top and bottom. For this purpose use braces nailed to stakes driven firmly in the ground or to some adjacent building, as shown in figure 23. If this is not done the silo will be out of plumb. The next stave is then set up and nailed to the first with 30 or 40 ])enny spikes. These spikes are started in the holes previously HOMEMADE SILOS. 37 bored (fig. 20) and driven home with a drift])in. The spikes must not he driven at an angle up or down, for either of these will throw the silo out of plumb. Other staves should be put up as above described and as shown in figure 24 until the place is reached where the doors should be. Tlie door stave, cut as previously described, shoidd then he nailed in position and the remaining staves set up. In setting up spliced staves the longer and the shorter staves should alternate. (See fig. 25.) Ordinarily it will only be necessary to have staves of two lengths, as, for instance, 16 feet and 12 feet for a 28-foot silo. Figure 25 shows all the staves in position ready for the hoops. The junction pouits of top and bottom pieces are shown; also the door stave with saw cuts part way through it. 38 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 589. THE HOOPS. The hoops should be made of f , f , and i inch rods, in sections from 10 to 16 feet in length. The ends of these rods should be threaded 6 inches so that they may be joined together by ineans of lugs. For silos smaller than 14 by 30 feet the lower hoops should be of f-inch rods and the upper of J-inch. For silos larger than 14 by 30 feet the lower hoops should be of f-inch and the upper hoops of |-inch, oi if three sizes of hoops are used, the lower ones should be of f-inch the middle hoops of f-inch, and the upper of J-inch rods. HOMEMADE SILOS. 39 PUTTING ON TIIK HOOPS. Two hoops should ho phioed ])olow the first door, two Ixdwooii doors jdl tho way up, and two ahovo the top door if this spaco is more than 2 foot; if loss than 2 foot, one will ho sufliciout. Throe or four hoops shouhl at first be out on at the bottom and tightened up. Planks can then be thrown across the top of the silo to serve as a scaffold, so that the top hoop may be put on and tightened. The other hoops should then be put around the silo loosely, within reach of the ground, after which they are pushed up to the proper position with slats and from a ladder they are made fast by stapling them to the silo. When all the hoops are in position they should be tightened 40 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 589. until the staves are pressed close together. Staples should then he driven over each hoop 2 or 3 feet apart so as to hold the hoops in the proper position in case they get loose. JOINING HOOPS WITHOUT LUGS. It is sometimes very difficult to get lugs for the hoops. In such cases 4 by 6 inch timbers may be put in instead of ordinary staves Fig. 28. — The finished door: a, Door showing outer face and cleats; 5, section of side wall showing how door fits. at the three or four points where the hoops will join. These timbers should be placed with the 4-inch face flush with the staves on the inside and they will extend 4 inches beyond the wall on the outside. Through these outside projections holes should be bored to receive the hoops, and the ends may be fastened with nuts. Large iron washers should be used under the nuts. Such a method of con- necting the hoops is shown in figure 26, but its use is advised only when the lugs can not be obtained. HOMEMADE SILOS. 41 THE DOORS. hAl jg- SAWIN(} OUT AND MAKING. After all the hoops are tightened, saw out the doors, beginning with the stave previously cut. The illustration (fig. 27) shows the lower door completely cut and the second one partly cut. The doors should be about 20 inches wide and 30 inches high. The exact width will of course be determined by the width of the staves. Two cleats, 2 by 4 inches, with one edge cut to the circle of the silo, should be nailed and bolted on the outside of each door (fig. 28) with the nuts on the outside and the bolt- heads sunk flush with the inner surface. The bolts should be f inch by 5 inches. Four bolts in each cleat (two at each end) will be sufficient; the cleats may be nailed to the other strips. After the doors are cut, bolt the silo to the eyebolts shown in figure 19. -[vr 13- -m Fig. 29. — A continuous door: a, A section of the door; b, doorframe with door in position; c, cross section show- ing door and frame. A CONTINUOUS DOOR. To construct a continuous door for a stave silo, a door- frame should be made of 4 by 6 inch timbers which are kept 20 inches apart by means of pieces of pipe and are fastened together by means of bolts passing through the posts and pipes, as shown in figure 29. Iron washers should be placed between the ends of the pipe and the timbers to prevent the pipe from sinking into the timber. Washers should also be used under the bolt-heads and nuts. When the door frame is complete, it should be put in position, plumbed, and securely braced, after which the staves should be put up, as previously described. The doorposts should be flush with the staves on the inside. On the outside they will project beyond the staves, and holes should be bored in these projections to permit the hoops to pass through. 42 farmers' bulletin 589. Doors for this frame are made of two thicknesses of touguiRl-and- grooved flooring with acid-proof building paper between the insichi flooring running vertically and the outside horizontally. The doors are held in position by means of iron straps, one on each side, which project over a slat nailed to the doorpost. When the silage is being Fig. 30. — Roof with door in gable. where they meet and thus make a tight joint, suitable frames can also be purchased. used, instead of the doors being removed from the frames, they are slid up out of the way and held by a pin in the doorpost. The topmost door will have to be taken out, and this will make room for the other doors to be raised, one at a time, enough to give an opening. As shown in figure 29, the doors are so made as to overlap Patented doors with ROOF, LADDER, AND CHUTE. Figure 30 shows the framing and boarding for a good type of roof, with the door for filling the silo in a gable. Figure 31 shows the same roof as figure 30, but with a trapdoor for filling, in place of the door in the gable. A ladder should be attached to the silo at one side of the doors, and a chute, through which to remove the silage, should be built so as to inclose the ladder and the doors, as shown in figure 32. This should be large enough to permit a man to climb the ladder conveniently. In case the con- tinuous door is adopted, the ladder may be dispensed with, as the hoops will serve for steps. (See fig. 29.) Fig. 31. — Roof with trapdoor for filling silo. HOMEMADE SILOS. 43 PAINTING. Before the silo is filled, it should he painted on the inside with raw coal tar thinned with gasoline. Every two or three years a fresh coat of this ])aint should be ])ut on. When the timber in the silo is thoroughly dry, the outside of it should be painted to harmonize with the surrounding buildings. THE MODIFIED WISCONSIN SILO. FOUNDATION. The foundation for the modified Wisconsin silo is constructed the same as for a stave silo. Instead of eyebolts, use anchor bolts 16 44 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 589. inches long. These should be embedded in the foumhition wall G feet aj)art and d inches from the inside edge, extending 5 inches above the top of the wall. (See fig. 87.) SILLS AND PLATES. The sills and plates are formed of two thicknesses of 2 by 4 incli pieces, 2 feet long, with the ends beveled to form a circle. The proper bevel may be determined in the following manner: From the center stake used in laying out the foundation wall draw a circle on top of the foundation wall 1 inch from the inside edge. At any point on this line lay a 2 by 4 inch piece, 2 feet long, with both ends at equal distances from the center; then use a slat with one edge on the center ])oint of the stake and let the same edge on the other end of the slat Fig. 33. — Method of •obtaining bevel ends for sill and plate. strike the outer corner of the 2 by 4 piece. A line drawn along the slat across the 2 by 4 piece will give the proper angle, or the bevel. The same process will give the bevel for the other end of the 2 by 4 piece. (See fig. 33.) Use this piece as a pattern in cutting pieces enough to form the double circle for both sill and plate. The number needed will depend on the diameter of the intended silo. After cutting several pieces, lay them along the wall and note how they fit and make any neces- sary changes. When all of the pieces are cut lay them out on the wall along the line 1 inch from the inside edge of the wall, boring the necessary holes for the anchor bolts. On this layer place the second course, breaking the joints, then nail the two rings together and tighten up the nuts on the anchor bolts. HOMEMADE SILOS. 45 SCAFFOLDING. As it will be necessary to have a scaffold inside the- silo to jnit on the sheathing, it is preferable to pnt it np before the stnds are in position. It can easily he made by standing up a pole in the center of the silo, with about six others around it, placed about 18 inches inside the foun- dation wall. Then brace these poles together, and wherever a stage is desired, nail pieces from the center pole to each of the outer poles, on which boards may he laid. STUDDING. The size of the studding used in the modified Wis- consin silo is 2 by 4 mches, and if not long enough to reach the desired height, they can he spliced with 1 hy 4 inch pieces, 4 feet hmg, nailed on each side over the joint. (See fig. 34.) Whenever it is necessary to splice the studs the pieces should he of two differ- ent lengths, such as 12 feet and 16 feet for a 28-foot silo, and in setting up the studding the long and short pieces should alternate, so that all the splices will not come at the same height from the foundation. It is preferable to do this splicing before the studs eig. 34.— Method for are placed in position. Wlien all are spliced and studding, cut to equal length they should he placed 1 foot apart from center to center, with the edge 1 inch from the inner edge of the foundation wall, or in line with the circle ])reviously marked out in laying the siU, and then toenailed to the sill. Great care should he exercised to have the studs plumb on all sides and well braced to the inside scaffold so that the top of the silo will form a perfect circle. The plate can he nailed on as the studs are set. These should he laid in the same way as the sill, being careful to nail them firmly to the top of the studs. At least two hoops formed from the thin sheatii- ing should be nailed around the outside of the stud- ding to keep them from bulging while the sheath- ing is being nailed on. These hoops can he removed after the sheathing has been placed on the inside. zzzi STUDDING FOR DOORS. It is preferable to set the door studs before the others are placed, so as to avoid trouble in getting the Fig. 35.— Method for Jqqj. right 'place. The doorposts should splicing doorposts. i i i i i p i i i be 4 by 4 mches and long enough for the height of the silo. If not, they may be spliced by halving and bolting. (See fig. 35.) Set them up to the line 1 inch from the inside edge of the 46 FARMERS BULLETIN 589. foundation wall, leaving a 24-incli sjiaco between. Toenail securely to the sill. The openings for the doors are made by nailing in Fig. 36. — Del ails of construction of modified Wisconsin silo; a and b, detail of door opening; c, sectional view of foundation and wall. headers and sills at the places where the doors are desired, leaving tlie spaces open when the inside sheathing is put on. For the size of the openings see figure 36a. HOMEMADE SILOS. 47 SHEATHING. The sheathing will consist of ^ by 6 inch material. Start at the bottom and work upward. To prevent uneven bending, tlie joints of the sheathing should come on different studs. At the door open- ings the sheathing should be cut back 1 inch from inside edge of door- posts to form a rabbet into which the doors should fit. (See fig. 366.) Two courses of the sheathing are })ut on the inside with a course of acid-proof building paper between. (See fig. 36c, which is a sec- tional view of the foundation and wall through the door opening.) In placing the sheathing see that all seams and joints are broken, that is, so that the cracks and joints in the first course will not come opposite to those of the second. It will be more convenient if these two courses are carried up to the top simulta- neously. DOORS. Tlie doors are made of two thicknesses of 1 by 6 inch tongued-and-grooved flooring, with building paper between, the inside course to fit neatly in the opening. The inside course should be vertical and the outside course horizontal. (Soe fig. 37.) A 1 by 3 inch strip is then nailed around the door openings 1 inch from the inside to form the outside door jambs. ROOF, FLOOR, LADDER, AND CHUTE. These are constructed just tlie same as for a stave silo. BILLS OF MATERIALS. Fig. 3.7. — Door for modified Wisconsin silo (outside view). One of the main questions which will confront the farmer who undertakes to build his own silo is, ^^What materials shall I need and how much of each kindf’ Owing to the variation in size of silos, it is impracticable to give such information in detail here. If any farmer who desires such information will address a request to the Dairy Division, Bureau of Animal Indnstry, United States Depart- ment of Agriculture, stating the size and kind of silo he intends to build, a complete list of the materials needed will be forwarded to him free of cost. o WASHINGTON: GOVEHNMKNT FUINTING OFFICE: 1914 -n 3 U.S.DEPARTMENT .OF AGRICULTURE April 23. 1914. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. CONTENTS. Losses of live stock Losses of hogs How to use anti-hog-cholera serum Losses of cattle, sheep, and horses '-.lonthly A’ariation in numbers of farm animals 'Vinter wheat forecast Florida and California crop report ' /Oiiisiana sugar crop of 1913 'rend of prices of farm products Page. 1 1 3 10 10 11 12 LOSSES OF LIVE STOCK. The Bureau of Statistics of the Department of Agriculture lias re- ciyed estimates from its correspondents and agents concerning losses r live stock from diseases and from exposure during the past year, id their relative condition on April 1, from which the following •mmary is made: LOSSES OF HOGS. The losses of swine from disease are estimated at 119 to every 1,000 -gs in the country, which exceeds last year’s heavy loss of 110 per 000, and the average yearly loss in the preceding 10 years of 54.9 r 1,000. Probably more than 90 per cent of the loss was from olera. The percentage of loss applied to the estimated number of TIME OF ISSUANCE AND SCOPE OF MAY CROP REPORT. 1 . summary of the May crop report of the Bui’eau of Statistics will be issued on Thurs- V, May 7, at 2.15 p. m. (eastern time). The report will give an estimate of the •„ijage of winter wheat remaining on May 1 to be harvested; the condition on May 1 > winter wheat, rye, meadow mowing lands, and pastures; farm supplies of hay on ' W 1; the per cent done on May 1 of the total spring plowing contemplated, and the " cent of spring planting done on May 1, 1914, with comparisons. 39357°— 14 1 2 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 590. hogs on January 1 indicates a total loss of 7;0{)5,000 head, which, at $10.40, the value per head on January 1, indicates a loss of $73,000,000. The average weight of a hog on the farm is about 150 pounds, there- ^ fore more than one billion pounds of hog meat were destroyed by dis- ease, mostly cholera. A billion pounds live weight produce nearly 800,000,000 pounds of dressed meat and lard. This amount would be sufficient to furnish every family of the United States (average, 4J persons) about 40 pounds. If there had been no such loss, prob- ably increasing scarcity of meat would have been largely prevented. THIRD EPIDEMIC OF HOG CHOLERA. The country is passing through the third serious epidemic of hog cholera of the past 30 years. The first period reached its climax in 1886 to 1887, when the loss amounted to about 134 per 1,000 head in one year. The second outbreak developed in 1894, and reached its climax in 1896 to 1897, when losses amounted to 144 per 1,000 head. The present extensive epidemic of hog cholera began to be serious in 1911; during the 10 prior years the loss of swine ranged from 45 to 58 per 1,000 per year; in 1911 it jumped to 89, then to 110 in 1912, and to 119 last year. It has thoroughly ravaged the heart of the hog- producing belt during the year just past. In the State of Iowa alone, losses amounted to nearly 1,800,000 swme, over a fourth of the entire number in the State. In many counties over half were lost, and in some townships over nine- tenths. LOSSES OF SWINE USUALLY HEAVIEST IN SOUTHERN STATES. The losses of swine from disease are \isually heaviest in southern States and lightest in northern States. Estimates of losses have been kept for 30 years. The States showing the heaviest average yearly loss in these 30 years are, m their order, Arkansas, 119 per 1,000; Louisiana, 110; Florida, 109; the States showing the lightest losses are, Maine 19, Wyoming 19, New Hampshire 22. In Georgia the average is 94, in Alabama and Mississippi each 92; in Texas 66; whereas in New York the average is 26, m Michigan 34, in Minnesota 46, in North Dakota 31, and in Washington and Oregon 26. HOG CHOLERA LOSSES HEAVIEST IN NORTHERN STATES IN 1913. The epidemic has abated somewhat in the past year, as compared vdth the preceding year, in most southern States, but has increased greatly in the northern States. Thus, in Florida the loss has de- creased from 170 per 1,000 in 1912 to 150 in 1913; in Georgia from 165 to 90; in iUabama from 110 to 100; in Mississippi from 154 to 104; in Kentucky from 95 to 90; in Missouri from 175 to 90; whereas in Iowa the loss has increased from 160 per thousand in 1912 to 255 per thousand in 1913, in Minnesota from 55 to 214, in Nebraska from 110 to 175, in Soutli Dakota from 38 to 230, and in North Dakota from THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 3 20 to 75. The tendency of the three epidemics mentioned appears to have been, in a general way, to move as a wave from south and east to north and west. CONDITION OF SWINE, APRIL, 1914. The condition as to healthfulness of hogs on April 1, 1914, was given as 91.6 per cent of normal, which compares with 91.4 per cent given a year ago and 94.4, the average of the past ten years. The number of breeding sows in the United States on April 1 is estimated to be about 101 per cent of the number held a year ago, and about the same number as were held two years ago. HOW TO USE ANTUHOG=CHOLERA SERUM. At a recent conference of Federal and State officials in charge of hog-cholera work the methods of applying the serum in practice were considered. There are two methods. In one the serum alone is used, producing immunity lasting from 30 to 90 days; in the other the virus of hog cholera and the serum are injected simultaneously — that is, virus at one point and serum at another. This latter is known as the ‘^simultaneous method^’ and will produce active or lasting immunity. If the serum used in this simultaneous treat- ment is not good, or if the mode of application is faulty, disease may be set up in the treated herd. For this reason it was the gen- eral consensus of opinion at the conference that the simultaneous method should be used only by those who have had special train- ing, and it was agreed that the ideal arrangement would be to allow its use only by Federal and State veterinary officers. The serum-alone treatment, on the other hand, may be given by anyone without danger of causing hog cholera. If the serum is good the farmer may give it to his hogs without fear, provided it is administered in the proper way. I^ffiile it would no doubt be best to have even the serum alone always administered by a skilled agent, farmers may obtain good results if proper care is used. The farmer should remember that the serum-alone treatment is very dif- ferent from the simultaneous treatment. The following advice re- garding the use of serum is offered for farmers who can not obtain the services of a skilled agent: USE OF RELIABLE SERUM IMPORTANT. All serum can not be depended upon and farmers are cautioned against putting implicit confidence in a serum merely because it is labeled “Anti-Hog-Cholera.’’ The serum must be prepared right in order to protect hogs. Farmers should use every effort to get a good reliable serum from the State college or from a reliable dealer. 4 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 590. Aiiti-hog-cholera serum is most efTectivc when used as a preven- tive. It wnll also cure a large number of hogs in the early stages of the disease. It is of much less value, however, for hogs that are visibly sick. The farmer should make careful preparations before beginning the inoculation. Hogs that are sick should be separated from the well and marked so as to distinguish them. The pen or inclosure where the injections are made should be clean and free from dust. HOW TO ADMINISTER SERUM. The serum is administered by injecting it deep under the skin with a hypodermic syringe. Before beginning the injection of a herd, care must be taken to see that the syringes and needles are not only absolutely clean but that they have been previously boiled in water for 10 or 15 minutes. The purpose of the boiling is to kill the germs that may be on the instruments. Therefore, both needle and syringe should be kept clean and not allowed to become soiled during use, as by being laid on a dirty plank, dropped on the ground, or touched with dirty hands. It is a good idea to spread a clean towel on the plank or table where the work is being done. Before using, the serum should be poured into some receptacle with a cover (as a jelly glass with a tin to])), both the receptacle and cover having been sterilized by boiling in water before use. The glass should be allowed to cool before the serum is poured into it, and should be always covered except when serum is being taken from it. The serum is injected directly into the tissues on the inner side of the thigh or, better, into the loose tissues between the foreleg and the body. Tlie needle is inserted into the skin perpendicularly to a depth of from one-half to 1 inch, depending upon the size of the hog. Before the injection is made the skin of the hog over the point selected for injection should be thoroughly cleansed by washing with soap and water, and the surface then scrubbed with some reliable disinfectant, such as compound solution of cresol (U. S. P.). This disinfectant can be procured at drug stores, and should be diluted before use by adding 1 part of it to 30 parts of soft water. CARE AS TO THE DOSE. Care should be used in estimating the weight of hogs, because the amount of serum required depends upon the size of the hog injected. The usual dose is commonly given on the package in which the serum comes. Be careful not to underestimate. Overestimate rather than underestimate, and thereby be sure of giving an ample dose of serum. After the injections are made, the hogs should be turned into a clean yard, free from mu dholes and excessive dust. The hogs should be kept in this inclosure for several da^^s at least after the injection, to THE AGRICULTUEAL OUTLOOK. 5 ejiable the puncture wounds to heal thoroughly. They should be given soft; easily digested food. Every farmer shoidd keep an accurate record of the ijijections he makeS; so that he wall know what success has attended the treatment. He should make a record of the number of hogs that died from hog cholera before treatment; the number sick and the number apparently well at the time of treatment; and he should later keep a record of the number of sick and well ones that died following treatment. Keep- ing these records may enable him to determine whether or not the serum he used was good; and it may also show whether or not the work was properly done. If an}^ hogs develop abscesses at the point of injection; a note should be made of the fact; keeping account of the number. Abscesses indicate that the serum was not right or that the work was not properly done. SANITARY PRINCIPLES MUST BE OBSERVED. The proverb that ‘^An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure ’’ is especially applicable to hog cholera; and cooperation among farmers in combating the disease is very important. Wlien hog cholera breaks out on a farm the farmers in the neighborhood should join in a strong effort to confine the disease to the one farm where it already existS; by instituting a strict quarantine; and alsO; when possible; by the administration of the protective serum to the droves on adjoining farms. It is a mistake to neglect timely sanitary precautions and to rely wholly on the use of serum. The serum is useful not so much for curing hogs sick with the disease as for pre- venting other hogs from taking it. Every farmer should make absolutely certain that no dirt or implement is brought from an infected hog lot into another hog lot. Hog cholera can be carried in dirt on shoeS; on wagon wheels; or on the feet of dogs. It has been proved that a pen of hogs infected with hog cholera can be kept within 10 feet of a well herd without communicating the disease; provided no dirt or implement or other object is moved from the former to the latter pen. If, however; the pen with the uninfected hogs should be cleaned with a hoe or shovel that has been used in the infected peii; the well herd would be almost certain to get the disease. HogS; crow’S; and buzzards can transport particles of flesh from dead hogs and thus carry the disease. The following precautions are recommended for keeping the contagion from an uninfected drove: (1) Do not locate hog lots near a public high W' ay; a railroad; or a stream. The germ of hog cholera may be carried along any one of these avenues. (2) Do not allow strangers or neighbors to enter your hog lotS; and do not go into your neighbors' lots. If it is absolutely necessary 6 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 590. to pass from one liog lot into another, first clean your shoes carefully and then wash them with a 3 per cent solution of the compound solution of cresol (U. S. P.). (3) Do not put new stock, either hogs or cattle, in lots with a herd already on the farm. JN’ewly purchased hogs should be put in separate inclosures well separated from the herd on the farm and kept under observation for three weeks, because practically all stock cars, unloading chutes, and pens are infected with hog cholera, and hogs shipped by rail are therefore apt to contract hog cholera. Freight cars and other conveyances which have carried infected stock should be properly disinfected after unloading. (4) Hogs sent to fairs should be quarantined for at least three weeks after they return to the farm. (5) If hog cholera breaks out on a farm, separate the sick from the apparently healthy animals, and burn all carcasses of dead animals on the day of death. Do not leave them unburned, for this will endanger all other farmers in the neighborhood. The prevailing practice of rushing sick herds to market should be discouraged. Treatment with the serum should be tried instead. (6) If, after the observance of all possible precautions, hog cholera appears on your farm, notify the State veterinarian or State agri- cultural college and secure serum for the treatment of those not affected. The early application of this serum is essential. The United States Department of Agriculture does not distrihute serum direct to farmers. Some of these precautions may seem unnecessary and troublesome, but they do not cost much, and they are very valuable preventive measures. At this time it is impracticable to treat every hog in the United States with the antihog-cholera serum. In many States the authori- ties can not supply enough serum to treat the infected and exposed herds, to say nothing of making immune all herds that are not affected. When an outbreak is located, the most effective plan is to treat immediately all the well hogs in the infected herd, as well as the hogs in herds located immediately adjoining the seat of the outbreak, so as to prevent the wider spread of the disease. At the same time, neighboring farmers should keep away from the infected farm, and the owner of the diseased hogs should be careful not to go into other farmers’ lots. When the cholera has abated, the yards in which the sick hogs were kept should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Where serum is not available, the simple precautions above given will, in many cases, prevent the spread of the contagion. These pre- cautionary measures should be used even where serum can be ob- tained, because it is far better to keep hog cholera out of the drove than to rely on the use of the serum after the disease has appeared. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 7 Ilog cholera, in the epidemic of 1913, caused an estimated loss for the year of about $65,000,000. No other animal disease produces such a loss. It is estimated that in 1913 there were 107 hogs lost per 1,000 from cholera, and indications point to a further increase in this dis- ease unless preventive measures are used. Such enormous loss of a valuable food animal is nothing short of a calamity. To combat this there must be honest and earnest cooperation between all the interests involved, including the scientists and vet- erinarians, farmers, common carriers, and packing interests. State and Federal authorities must work in absolute harmony, and all concerned must endeavor to suppress personal opinions on relatively unimportant matters and aid in the adoption of uniform methods throughout the entire country. The control and final eradication of hog cholera will depend largely on the education of farmers to the importance of obser^dng sanitary principles. LOSSES OF CATTLE. Losses of cattle from disease during the past year are estimated to be 19.8 per thousand head, which compares with 20.5 similarly esti- mated last year and 20.5, the 10-year average of such losses. Losses from exposure are estimated to be 10.9 per thousand, which com- pares with 14.1 similarly estimated last year and 16.5, the 10-year average of such losses. The total losses per thousand, from both disease and exposure, if applied to the estimated number and value of cattle on January 1, would indicate a loss of about 1,737,000, at $39.50 per head, a total of $68,611,000. The condition as to healthfulness of cattle on April 1, 1914, was given as 96.5 per cent of normal, which compares with 96 similarly estimated a year ago and 94, the average for 10 years. LOSSES AND CONDITION OF SHEEP. Losses of sheep from disease during the past year are estimated to be about 21.7 per thousand, which compares with 24.6 similarly esti- mated a year ago and 25.2, the 10-year average of such losses. Losses from exposure are estimated to be 21 per thousand, wdiich compares v/ith 25.1 similarly estimated a year ago and 32.8, the 10-year average. The year is thus seen to have been favorable. The total losses per thousand from both disease and exposure, if applied to the approxi- mate numbers and values on January 1, would indicate a loss of about 2,124,000 head, at $4.04, a total of $8,581,000. The condition as to healthfulness of sheep on April 1, 1914, was given as 96.6 per cent of normal, which compares with 96 similarly estimated a year ago and 94.8, the lO-year average. 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIX 590. LOSSES OF MEAT ANIMALS. It may be observed from the figures given above that the losses of cattle and sheep, both from disease and from exposure, were less than normal. However, the total losses of meat animals, cattle, hogs, and sheep combined, from disease and exposure, are enormous. On the basis of farm values January 1 the losses from disease of cattle, hogs, and sheep aggregated in value about $122,000,000, and losses from exposure of cattle and sheep about $28,000,000 — a total loss in meat animals from disease and exposure in one year of about $150,000,000 — an amount which would have been more than sufficient to furnish a normal year’s supply of meat to the entire population of the New England States. LOSSES AND CONDITION OF HORSES. The losses of farm horses and mules from disease durmg the past 3 mar are estimated to be about 20.6 per thousand, which compares with 22.6 similarly estimated a year ago. If the estimated loss of 20.6 per tliousand be applied to the numbers and values of horses and mules on farms January 1, it would indicate a total loss of approximately 523,000 head, at $113 per head, or a total of $59,100,000. The condition as to hcalthfulness of horses and mules on April 1, 1914, is estimated as 96.4 per cent of normal, which compares with 96.7 similarly estimated a year ago and about 96, the lO-year average. Detailed estimates by States of losses and condition of live stock are given on pages 14-17. MONTHLY VARIATION IN NUMBERS OF FARM ANIMALS. The number of animals on the farms of the country is by no means uniform throughout the year, but varies from month to month. The bulk of the animals are born in the spring months; but their sale or slaughter is more general in the fall and winter months. Therefore there is a normal seasonal variation in the total stocks on hand, just as there is of crops which are gathered in the fall (when supplies are large) and marketed through the year. The extent of this variation lias recently been investigated in the Bureau of Statistics (Crop Estimates) . This seasonal variation in numbers is greatest among swine. The number of swine in the country is usually smallest in the latter part of February or early March. During March, April, May, and June more hogs are born than are slaughtered, and consequently the number steadily increases, the increase from March 1 to July 1 being about 45 per cent. During July and August more hogs are slaugh- tered than are born, and consequently there is a slight decline in numbers. Autumn litters cause an increase in numbers in Sep- THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 9 tember and October. The maximum number of the year is reached about October 1 , when there are about 47 per cent more hogs in the country than on March 1. In consequence of the seasonal variation in the sup])Iy of live stock the results of a census of live stock would be affected considerably by the particular time of year when the enumeration is made. The census of 1910 related to numbers on April 15; the census of 1900 related to numbers on June 1. There are normally about 18 per cent more hogs in the country on June 1 than on April 15. If an enumer- ation were taken in the autumn, the numbers as compared vdth April 15 would a])petir to be about 21 per cent more. The seasonal variation in the supply of sheep is almost as great as of swine. The low ebb of supplies is about February 1 ; spring lamb- Diagram showing the approximate number of cattle, hogs, and sheep on farms of the United States on the first of each month, expressed in millions of head. ing, beginning in February, causes a steady increase in numbers during February, March, April, and May. About June 1 the number is at the maximum of the year; the lambing period is over, and the slaughter of spring lambs as well as of sheep results in a steady decline each month until the following February. The maximum number, about June 1, is nearly 41 per cent greater than the minimum on February 1. The numbers on June 1 are estimated to be nearly 20 per cent more than on April 15. There is less variation among cattle than among swine and sheep. The minimum number is about February 1; from then the increase is constant until about July 1, and then the decrease is constant until the following February. The maximum number (July 1) is about 14 per cent more than the minimum (Feb. 1). The number on June 1 is estimated to be about 5 per cent more than on April 15. 39357°— 14 2 10 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 500. WINTER-WHEAT FORECAST. The condition of winter wheat on April 1 — viz, 95.6 per cent of nor- mal — is 11.6 per cent higher than the average of the past 10 years. The yield per acre in the same 10 years averaged 15 bushels; an in- crease of 11.5 per cent to this average would be 16.7 bushels. The acreage planted last fall was estimated at 36,506,000 acres. Sixteen and seven-tenths bushels applied to this acreage gives 609,- 650.000. But there is always some of the planted area abandoned before harvest; the average of such abandonment in the past 10 years has been about 9.7 per cent of the area planted. If this aver- age of abandonment be deducted from the estimated planted area and 16.7 be applied to the remaining amount, a production of about 551.000. 000 would be indicated. The wheat plant wintered unusually well and it is not to be ex- pected that the 10-year average of abandonment has occurred this year. On the other hand, a crop that is in very high condition on April 1, as is the case this year, is more susceptible to depreciation later in the season than a crop having a lower condition on April 1. The final estimate of production of winter wheat in 1913 was 623.561.000 bushels (the largest ever recorded), and in 1912 was 399.919.000 bushels. Details by States of condition on April 1 of winter wheat and rye are given on page 14. FLORIDA AND CALIFORNIA CROPS. The condition on April 1, with comparisons, of the principal crops in Florida and California, on the basis of 100 representing a normal, is shown in Table 1 . Table 1. — Florida and California crop reports. Item. Florida. California. Apr. 1. Mar. 1, Apr. 1. Mar. 1, 1914. 1914 1913 1912 1914. 1914 1913 1912 Orange trees 102 95 103 94 98 90 Lemon trees 92 94 1 85 Lime trees 100 100 95 97 Crrapefniit trees 101 97 100 90 1 1 Pineapples SO 92 90 90 j Peachas 85 88 95 1 1 i I’ears 82 79 95 1 Strawberries 90 90 88 Pasture 87 95 95 87 Cabbages 82 92 87 88 1 Tomatoes _ 80 87 90 85 1 White potatoes . 92 95 91 88 j 1 Celery 190 1 92 1 1 90 94 Cauliflower 94 94 95 94 J 1 1 1 1 Troduction compared with a full crop. THE AGKICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 11 LOUISIANA SUGAR CROP OF 1913. The sugar made in Louisiana from the croj) of cane harvested in 1913, according to an enumeration just completed by tlie Bureau of Statistics (Crop Estimates), amounted to 292,698 short tons of 2.000 pounds eacli. The average yield of sugar was 139 pounds per ton of cane crushed, or about 3 pounds less than in 1912. The total sugar made was somewhat less than double the amount in 1912, but about 60,000 tons less than in 1911. The low production in 1913 was due largely to shortage in the yield of cane, which became appar- ent towards the middle or end of the harvest season. About the middle of November, 1913, indications pointed to a total of over 5,000,000 tons of cane being ground for sugar. This amount proved to be too higli, the actual amount crushed for sugar being about 4.214.000 tons. The average yield of cane per acre in 1913 was about 1 7 tons. The average in 1911 was 19 tons, and in 1912, owing to floods, the average reached the abnormally lov/ figure of 11 tons per acre. The length of the 1913 campaign was, on an average, 45 working days, or 50 per cent longer than in 1912. A few factories, however, extended their operations considerably longer; a number of them worked for more than 60 days each. The number of factories which made sugar in 1913 was 153. At the beginnmg of the campaign 10 more were reported to be engaged in sugar making, but of this number several made sirup only, and others were not in operation. Details concerning the production of sugar and the quantity of cane used are given in Table 2, which shows results for principal parishes. Table 2. — Cane-sugar production of Louisiana, 1911, 1912, and 1913. Sugar made. Parish. Factories in operation. Quantity. Average per short ton of cane. Cane used for sugar. 1911 1912 1913 1911 1912 1913 1911 1 ! 1912 1913 1911 1912 1 1913 No. No. No. Short tons. Short tons. Short tons. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Short tons. Short tons. Short tons. Ascension 7 7 4 14,496 8, 342 10, 808 124 134 133 234, 719 124, 934 163, 000 Assumption 23 16 17 35, 950 14,457 28, 664 107 119 124 673, 263 243, 864 462, 000 Iberia 13 9 10 29, 949 10, 999 15, 925 129 156 156 464, 491 140, 932 294, 000 Iberville 18 11 14 23, 759 7,942 19, 187 99 112 122 481, 545 141,581 315,000 Lafourche 16 9 13 42, 001 11, 728 35, 021 119 122 131 707, 764 191, 714 535,000 St. James 20 10 17 20, 760 9, 368 19, 970 115 97 122 361,537 192, 537 327,000 St. John 8 5 8 14,935 11, 289 13, 596 108 140 115 275, 536 161, 790 236, 000 St. Martin 4 3 3 13, 719 5,382 8, 114 139 173 157 197,614 62, 165 103, 000 St. Mary 26 15 22 57, 602 25, 597 54, 689 133 176 165 866, 744 291,387 663, 000 Terrebonne 14 14 13 27, 462 14,463 24, 631 124 150 140 442, 218 191, 984 352,000 West Baton Rouge... 10 10 10 17, 235 9,328 15,305 no 147 136 314,472 127, 196 225, QOO Lafayette and Ver- milion 5 6 6 23, 480 14,547 23, 104 140 177 168 336, 427 164, 580 276,000 Other 1 24 11 16 31, 526 10, 131 23, 684 119 158 134 530, 962 127, 910 353, 000 Total, Louisi- 1 1 ana 188 126 153^352, 874 153, 573 292, 698 120 142 139 5, 887, 2921 ! 12,162, 574 i 4,214,000 1 1 Avoyelles, Rapides, St. Landry, East Baton Rouge, Pointe Coupee, West Feliciana, Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Charles. 12 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 500. The average results per acre and per factory are shown in Table 3. It will be seen that the average amount of sugar made per acre of cane was higher in 1913 than in either of the two preceding years. This sugar represents mostly raw sugar, averaging roughly 96 de- grees polarization, of which grade 100 pounds are regarded as equiva- lent to about 90 pounds of refined sugar. The approximate average yield of refined sugar per acre of cane crushed would be equivalent to about 2,000 pounds in 1911 and 1913 and 1,300 pounds in 1912. The average yield of refined beet sugar in the United States in 1911 and 1912 was 2,400 pounds per acre of beets, or about 400 pounds more sugar per acre than cane sugar in Louisiana in 1911 and 1913. The average sugar made per factory in Louisiana was larger in 1913 than in either of the two preceding years, while the cane crushed for sugar averaged less per factory in 1913 than in 1911. Louisiana cane-sugar factories in 1911 and 1913 produced each an average of about 1,900 short tons of raw sugar, which is equivalent to about 1,700 tons of refined. The average output per factory in the beet- sugar industry in the United States was 9,100 tons of refined sugar in 1911 and 9,500 in 1912. Complete official returns of the Texas sugar output have not been secured for 1913, but the total production is probably less than 9,000 short tons, and possibly as low as 5,000. Some of the Texas sugar factories are located in the region extend- ing from Houston on the east to Victoria on the west, and reaching southward to the Gulf; most of the other factories are in the lower part of tlie Rio Grande Valley. Table 3. — Average results per acre and per factory, and average length of campaign in the sugar industry of Louisiana, 1911-1913. Number Average yield of cane per acre.i Average sugar made per acre of cane.i Average per factory. ! Average length of cam- paign. Years. of fac- tories. Sugar made. Cane used for sugar. 1911 188 Short tons. 19 Pounds. 2,200 1,500 Short tons. 1,877 1,219 Short tons. 31,315 Bays. 1912 12G 11 17,163 30 1913 153 17 2,300 1,913 27,542 45 ' Includes only cane used for making sugar. TREND OF PRICES OF FARM PRODUCTS. The level of prices paid producers of the United States for the principal crops increased about 0.3 per cent during March; in the })ast six years the price level has increased during March 1.8 per cent; thus, the increase this 3 ^ear is less than usual. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 13 On April 1 the index figure of crop prices was about 18.1 per cent higher than a year ago, but 12.5 per cent lower than two years ago and 3.2 per cent higher than the average of the past six years on April 1. The level of prices paid to producers of the United vStates for meat animals increased 1.3 per cent during the month from February 15 to March 15, which compares with an increase of 5.7 per cent in the same period a year ago, an increase of 2.7 per cent two years ago, a decrease of 1.7 per cent tlu*ee years ago, and an increase of 10.1 per cent four years ago. It thus appears that tlie advance in prices in meat animals in the past month this year has been less than usual; from January 15 to February 15, however, the advance was somewliat greater than usual. On March 15 the average (weighted) prices of meat animals — hogs, cattle, sheep, and chickens— was $7.37 per 100 jiounds, which is 4.1 per cent higher than the prevailing price a year ago, 29.5 per cent higher than two years ago, 21.1 per cent higher than three years ago, and 0.3 per cent lower than four years ago on March 15. A tabulation of prices is shown on pages 19-20. 14 FARMERS BULLETIN 590. Table 4. — Winter wheat and rye — Condition on Apr. 1, 1914, with corn.parisons. State and division. Winter wheat. Itye. Condition. Condition. Apr. 1. Dec. 1, 1913. Apr. 1. Dec. 1, 1913. 1914. 1913. 10-year aver- age. 1914. j 1913. 10-year aver- age. Per ct. Per ct. Per ct. Per ct. i Per ct. 1 Per ct. Per ct. Per ct. 98 93 94 92 96 94 92 98 94 96 96 98 New Y ork 95 91 88 98 94 ! 91 90 97 New Jersey 91 97 90 95 91 96 92 96 Pennsylvania 93 96 88 97 94 1 95 90 97 North Atlantic 93.3 95.4 88.1 97.1 93.6 94.1 90.0 j 96.9 Delaware 91 98 90 95 90 96 91 96 Maryland 93 96 89 95 91 97 91 95 \ irginia 95 97 89 95 95 94 89 97 West Virginia 94 91 86 95 93 91 88 94 North Carolina 92 95 91 95 92 92 90 97 South Carolina 89 89 88 95 89 90 88 97 Georgia 91 91 88 92 92 92 90 93 South Atlantic 93.2 95. 7 88.8 94.8 93.0 93.3 90.4 96.3 Ohio 9G 91 80 99 96 92 84 97 Indiana 97 91 81 98 96 92 87 97 lUiiiois 98 93 84 99 97 94 90 97 Michigan 92 83 84 95 91 86 87 96 Wisconsin 85 86 90 94 87 88 92 96 North Central East 96.4 90.6 82.0 98.2 90.6 88 2 88.6 96.2 Minnesota 83 92 88 82 89 93 Iowa 95 90 89 96 93 92 94 97 Missoui’i 98 93 85 98 96 93 89 99 North Dakota 87 83 91 South Dakota 87 80 88 83 91 87 Nebraska 93 92 89 86 92 90 90 86 Kansas 96 90 85 100 95 92 86 99 North Central West 95.6 91.1 85.9 96.3 89.6 ! 84.7 88.0 1 91.9 Kentucky 96 92 85 98 94 89 85 99 Tennessee 97 93 88 96 93 89 88 97 Alabama 93 94 89 92 91 91 89 95 Mississippi ■95 89 87 91 Texas 92 88 81 102 81 1 86 79 101 Oklahoma 97 94 82 103 97 93 85 105 Arkansas 95 90 87 99 93 87 87 100 South Central 95.7 92.3 83.7 101.0 93.6 90.3 86.1 98.6 Montana, 93 93 91 94 95 96 95 Wyoming 94 93 97 97 96 94 98 Colorado 94 94 91 92 93 88 89 New Mexinn 94 80 98 Arizona. 95 96 96 IJ tah 99 95 96 96 93 98 97 Nevada. 95 95 99 Idaho 98 94 97 97 94 98 96 Washington 97 94 92 93 100 96 94 97 Oregon 102 90 93 100 98 94 97 100 California 95 72 88 100 100 85 92 100 Far Western 97.0 90.4 92.3 95.3 96.3 92.7 94.2 j 97.8 United States 95.6 91.6 85.7 97.2 91.3 89.3 89.2 95.3 THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK, 15 Table 5. — Condition of horses and mules and of cattle Apr. 1, and estimated losses during the year ending Mar. SI, 1914, with comparisons. State. 1 lorses and mules. Cattle. Losses from disease. Condition Apr. 1. Losses from } disease. Losses from exposure. Losses from disease and exposure. Condition Apr. 1. Oi CO 05 10-year 1 average. 1914. 05 1913. 10-year average. \ a> CO 10-year average. | cn> CO O) 1 0 - y e a r average. 1 1913. 10-year 1 average. (a) C) {“) No. P.c. P.c. P.C. (a) C) (“) (a) (a) (a) Number. | P.c. P.c. P.c. Maine 20 25 17 2,200 98 97 98 15 19 15 3 2 2 4, 700 98 97 98 New Hampshire 20 17 16 900 99 98 98 18 18 17 3 2 4 3, 400 97 98 98 Vermont 16 17 16 1,400 99 100 99 20 18 18 2 2 3 9, 500 98 99 98 Massachusetts 25 21 17 1,600 97 98 98 24 21 18 1 1 2 6,100 98 98 97 Rhode Island 17 18 18 200 99 99 98 22, 25 19 1 1 1 800 97 97 97 Connecticut 19 21 22 900 97 97 99 18 19 18 1 4 1 3, 600 97 97 98 New York 23 24 20 14,200 98 98 98 22; 23 22 3 4 58, 500 97 97 96 New Jersey 16 23 20 1,500 98 97 97 17| 22 22 4 4 4,500 97 96 95 Pennsylvania 22 23 18 13,800 97 97 97 211 23 19 4 5 4 39, 400 97 97 96 Delaware 21 25 22 900 97 96 96 20 30 24 4 5 11 1,400 97 96 93 Maryland 17 25 18 3,200 95 96 95 20 22 16 6 8 8 7, 500 94 96 91 Virginia 20 25 19 8,200 97 96 95 20 25 20 11 11 13 24, 600] 95 94 93 West Virginia 17 17 17 3,400 96 96 95 19 17 18 11 8 11 16,900 95 96 94 North Carolina 20 21 19 7,400 96 96 95 20 21 21 12 12 16 21,600 95 95 92 South Carolina 24 30 24 6,100 95 95 94 25: 26 25 16 18 22 16, 200 92 93 91 Georgia 25 30 24 11,200 96 94 96 30 33 26 20 23 28 53, 100 ' 96' 92 91 Florida 30 35 31 2,500 97 96 95 28! 45 36 50 36 36 67,300 ; 94 91 90 Ohio 23 22 17 21,300 97 97 96 16! 16 16 5 5 6 36, 200 97 97 95 Indiana 26 22 18 24, 400 95 96 96 19 18 17 7 8 7 35, 000 1 97 96 i 95 Illinois 28 21 18 46,100 96 98 98 25 19 17 8 6 6 73, 700 97 98 i '' Michigan 19 20 18 12, 500 97 96 96 16 17 16 5 8 8 31,000 i 9” 97 1 9.5 Wisconsin 18 17 16 12, 300 97 97 97 16 15 17 3 5 6 51,400 1 98 96 i 96 Minnesota 17 15 19 14,. 500 98 98 97 17 16 18 6 5 10 53, 700 I 98 98 : 96 Iowa 19 18 17 31,200 98 98 98 17 20 18 5 5 7 85,900 : 98 98 97 Missouri 24 21 18 34,100 95 95 95 18 18 19 10 12 54,400 1 96 i North Dakota 17 20 19 12, 900 97 97 96 16 12 18 7 8 18 17, 800 98 98 94 South Dakota 15 12 16 11,200 97 98 97 18 12 19 5 12 18 30, 600 1 98 98 1 96 Nebraska 19 31 20 21,500 97 97 97 18 15 22 11 30 16 72, 400 97 97 95 Kansas 13 35 17 17,300 95 97 95 16 18 16 6 15 12 49, 800 ! 94 97 1 94 Kentucky 22 20 21 14,800 94 96 94 22 ! 20 22 12 11 14 30, 900 94 96 92 Tennessee 24 25 20 14,800 95 96 95 23 25 24 11 15 17 28, 800 94 93 92 Alabama 25 26 23 10, 700 96 95 95 27 27 27 22 24 24 44, 200 94 93 90 Mississippi 27 31 26 14, 200 95 94 94 28 35 30 24 30 30 47, 400 95 92 90 Louisiana 30 24 29 9, 700 94 96 94 29 33 33 26 35 44 39, 100 94 89 90 Texas 21 23 23 41,300 95 96 94 24 22 23 14 21 28 237, 000 97 94 91 Oklahoma 16 ' 20 23 16, 600 96 95 93 15 19 23 10 14 20 39, 500 96 96 92 Arkansas 22 i 26 24 11,200 95 95 92 23 32 32 17 18 28 , 34,000 94 94 90 Montana 15 ! 20 18 5,600 99 97 96 17 21 20 11 15 35 1 24, 000 98 97 93 W voming 14 i 24 2,400 100 98 98 17 10 18 17 24 30 20, 000 100 99 96 Colorado 16 1 21 20 5,700 98 98 97 19 21 19 25 30 29 49,900 97 98 95 New Mexico 20 1 16 24 4,200 96 97 94 20 25 22 30 20 35 49, 000 92 95 92 Arizona 25 20 33 3,000 96 95 92 20 16 25 25 37 36 34,900 96 92 90 Utah 20 1 22 22 2,800 97 98 97 16 17 19 18 20 22 15,100 98 98 96 Nevada 21 30 24 1,700 99 97 95 20 22 24 20 18 27 18, 400 98 98 96 Idaho 20 1 24 18 4,800 99 97 96 16 19 17 15 15 22 14,400 99 98 96 Washington 15 1 20 1 22 4,800 99 98 97 13 19 16 4 12 17 7, 400 98 98 96 Oregon 17 22 : 17 5, 300 99 98 97 12 14 15 10 13 20 14,700 99 99 96 California 18 1 24 21 10,300 98 99 98 19 21 25 11 17 27 57, 700 98 96 95 United States 20.6 i22.6 >19.4 522, 800 96.4 96.7 96.0 19.8 20.5 20.5 1 V 9 14.1 16. 5 1,737,400 !96.5 j96.0 94.0 a Losses per 1,000 head. 16 FARMERS BULLETIN 590. Table G. — Condition of sheep Apr. 1 and estimated losses of sheep and lambs during year ending Mar. 31, 1914, uith comparisons. Stale. Sheep. Lambs. Losses from dis- ease. I.osses from ex- posure. Losses from dis- ease and exposure. Condition Apr. 1. Losses from dis- ease and expo- sure. 1914 1913 10- year aver- age. 1914 1913 10- year aver- age. 1914 1913 10- year aver- age. 1914 1913 1912 (a) (a) («) (a) («,) (a) Number. P.o. r. c. P. c. (a) («) (°) Maine 25 25 26 8 6 6 5,800 98 96 98 44 47 44 New Kampsbire. . 20 19 24 6 6 11 1,000 99 98 98 36 36 40 Vermont 20 20 22 3 4 7 2, 600 99 98 98 38 30 50 Massachusetts 17 24 19 2 4 5 600 99 95 97 25 40 35 Rhode Island 25 23 16 2 2 2 200 99 97 98 29 28 33 Connecticut 10 20 23 5 7 3 300 98 98 98 30 38 35 New York 24 24 24 8 7 7 28,000 97 97 97 45 38 53 New Jersey 15 21 23 4 5 7 600 96 97 95 27 28 35 Pennsylvania 30 27 26 12 10 13 35, 2(X) 95 97 95 50 41 53 Delaware 30 30 26 10 12 13 300 97 95 94 39 32 40 Maryland 21 26 26 10 11 17 6,900 95 96 94 44 44 50 Ahrginia 35 37 35 20 17 21 40, 400 93 94 92 60 62 72 AVest Virginia 35 37 32 21 15 19 44, 100 91 93 92 65 55 65 North Carolina 24 26 24 19 18 21 7,600 94 95 91 46 45 40 South Carolina . . . 21 23 26 15 18 26 1,200 92 94 91 38 38 40 C. eorgia 25 38 34 20 28 35 7,500 93 91 91 40 55 72 Florida 25 40 35 15 30 37 4,700 97 95 92 50 80 86 Ohio 29 30 28 11 15 14 130, 500 95 95 94 50 63 65 Indiana 32 34 32 12 16 15 54, 500 94 94 94 60 65 83 Illinois 28 28 26 12 12 10 39, 400 95 96 96 47 60 80 Michigan 26 28 29 8 13 12 72,000 96 95 95 40 61 68 AVisconsin 16 22 22 5 9 9 16, 600 97 96 96 35 45 50 Minnesota 20 20 21 8 7 12 16, 000 97 97 96 34 33 40 Iowa 25 25 24 8 9 11 41,200 97 97 97 47 51 60 Missouri 24 26 28 12 15 17 56, 400 93 93 93 47 59 94 North Dakota 19 20 20 15 20 35 9,400 98 98 95 37 45 28 South Dakota 17 20 22 10 19 24 16, 700 98 97 96 30 40 47 Nebraska 16 16 22 20 41 27 13, 500 96 96 96 35 45 68 Kansas 15 19 16 9 35 16 7, 600 94 95 95 30 50 50 Kentucky 33 39 36 19 19 25 65, 900 93 93 91 75 65 100 Tennessee 28 34 32 20 25 25 33, 000 94 93 91 55 62 75 Alabama 35 35 34 44 29 31 9,800 93 93 92 55 48 65 Mississippi 37 41 41 35 44 47 14, 500 95 90 88 60 75 78 Louisiana 25 35 33 30 40 38 9,900 93 92 92 60 50 75 Texas 20 21 25 16 21 28 73, 900 96 94 94 43 37 68 Oklahoma 12 14 23 8 0 20 1,500 97 95 92 22 25 55 Arkansas 22 23 26 15 22 25 4,600 92 94 91 36 50 44 Montana 16 20 23 15 35 49 133, 100 99 96 94 40 65 70 Wyoming 15 16 25 32 37 61 210, 200 100 99 96 39 30 175 Colorado 21 27 24 50 32 45 118, 400 97 97 95 55 60 218 New Mexico 25 30 24 55 50 45 242,900 92 95 93 74 72 60 Arizona 25 15 27 35 21 40 96, 100 97 98 92 55 35 150 Utah 18 23 20 30 33 38 41,400 98 97 97 51 60 45 Nevada 23 20 30 50 42 41 110, 700 98 95 97 65 80 60 Idaho 18 22 21 20 25 35 113,300 98 98 96 63 65 65 AVashington 15 21 19 10 20 26 12, 600 100 97 97 25 49 50 Oregon 13 25 19 16 20 27 77,400 99 96 96 35 60 45 California 17 23 26 20 22 39 94, 400 98 98 96 55 67 65 United Slates. 21.7 24.6 25.2 21.0 25.1 32.8 j2, 124, 400 96.6 96.0 94.8 49.0 56.5 81.0 a Losses per 1,000 head. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK 17 Table 7. — Condition of swine and number of breeding sows Apr. 1, and estimated losses of swine during year ending Mar. 31, with comparisons. Swine. State. Losses from disease. 1914 1913 1912 1911 10- year aver- age. 30- year aver- age. 1914 1913 1914 1913 10- year aver- age. sows.® C) A) (&) C) (&) C) Number. Number. P. c. P. c. P. c. P. c. Maine 60 15 20 15 19 5,800 2, 800 97 97 98 98 New Hampshire. . 35 25 20 20 18 22 1,800 1,300 93 95 98 98 Vermont 30 19 39 19 19 23 3,200 2,000 97 99 99 100 Massachusetts 45 40 35 21 24 23 4,800 4,600 97 95 97 105 Rhode Island . 25 25 18 22 21 22 400 400 96 97 98 102 Connecticut 35 30 48 28 26 27 2,000 1,800 96 97 99 103 New York 32 30 29 25 23 26 24,100 22,800 96 98 98 105 N e’W J ersey 50 40 40 30 29 33 7,900 6,400 96 97 97 104 Pennsylvania 42 43 37 36 30 33 47,500 48,600 95 96 96 103 Delaware 60 50 80 33 46 51 3,500 2,900 90 92 96 102 Maryland 78 90 75 32 43 54 25,900 30,200 93 94 94 107 Vuginia 46 48 40 35 43 66 40,000 40, 100 94 95 94 102 West Vii'gmia 47 73 41 25 36 49 17,200 26,000 96 94 95 105 North Carolma 50 58 44 40 60 79 68,100 77,400 93 94 94 102 South Carolina 65 75 60 47 61 78 50, 700 57,400 91 90 93 100 Georgia . 90 165 90 57 71 94 175,000 311,500 95 92 94 105 Florida 150 170 100 75 85 109 135,600 149, 300 93 92 92 103 Ohio 85 86 70 51 49 54 294, 700 292,300 91 94 94 105 Indiana 135 150 125 62 75 82 535,800 556,400 91 89 93 109 Illinois 140 140 215 60 77 91 610, 100 604, 100 92 91 95 106 Michigan 62 40 40 35 32 34 81,400 52,500 93 94 96 104 Wisconsin 50 28 28 23 24 38 102,500» 56,800 97 96 97 103 Minnesota 214 55 30 29 32 46 306,000 93, 600 88 96 97 84 Iowa 255 160 80 43 65 91 1,778,900 1,395,200 89 89 96 93 Missouri 90 175 160 48 84 93 382,500 715,200 89 84 91 104 North Dakota 75 20 15 17 17 31 32, 100 7,300 94 98 98 120 South Dakota 230 38 38 42 51 65 239,000 44,900 90 95 96 86 Nebraska 175 no 60 36 66 88 564,900 417,800 89 93 96 90 Kansas 58 120 132 40 58 68 136,300 313,300 91 91 94 92 Kentucky 90 95 70 50 63 79 135,600 155, 600 90 90 92 100 Tennessee no 99 70 47 62 89 152,900 148,000 89 89 93 99 Alabama 100 no 65 41 64 92 148,500 160, 200 92 92 94 103 Mississippi 104 154 75 52 74 92 152, 600 228, 200 95 91 93 no Louisiana 125 no 100 68 90 no 174,800 155,300 88 88 91 99 Texas 75 45 34 30 38 66 196,400 112, 200 94 94 95 105 Oklahoma 70 81 145 32 65 57 94,600 107,300 91 88 91 102 Arkansas 125 160 140 68 101 119 187, 200 244,600 89 87 89 105 Montana 30 20 19 15 20 28 5,500 3, 100 97 97 98 135 Wyoming 20 15 12 10 18 19 1,000 600 101 100 99 120 Colorado 25 100 20 15 29 29 5,100 20,500 98 94 98 109 New Mexico 21 27 16 25 20 31 1,200 1,400 97 97 95 no Arizona 55 13 12 19 27 30 1,300 300 96 98 96 no Utah 32 24 16 17 21 26 2, 700 2,000 97 99 98 no Nevada 35 21 24 22 22 29 1,200 700 99 98 98 105 Idaho 50 37 14 19 18 28 12, 600 8,600 95 96 98 120 W ashington 20 22 22 17 18 26 5,700 5,700 99 98 98 113 Oregon California 20 30 16 18 17 26 6,000 8,000 100 98 98 108 53 50 25 32 36 45 42,200 41,100 97 97 97 99 United States. 118.9 jllO. 1 89.2 44.8 60.1 76.4 7,004,800 |6, 738, 300 91.6 91.4 1 94.4 100. 8 Condition Apr. 1. Breed- ing a Number compared with Apr. 1, 1913. & Losses per 1,000 head. 18 FARMERS BULLETIN 590. Table 8. — Prices to producers of agricultural products April 1, 1914 and 1913. [Cotton in cents per pound; hay, dollars per ton; other products, cents per bushel.] State. Com. Wheat. Oats. Barley. Rye. Buck- wheat. 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 !i913 1 Cts. Cts. as. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. ! Cts. Me 84 68 100 116 58 49 80 72 65 70 N. H 76 67 120 104 53 48 95 115 75 1 75 Vt 75 67 101 100 53 46 '*87 85 70 89 i 95 Mass 79 69 56 46 93 97 86 i 72 R, I 93 89 107 80 79 69 50 41 80 91 90 100 N. Y 77 64 97 101 48 43 70 69 72 73 81 67 N. J 77 64 97 100 47 42 75 70 75 82 Pa 74 61 95 101 48 42 65 68 76 74 73 66 Del 70 55 97 99 40 40 75 76 1 Md 74 58 95 100 50 45 65 65 74 78 80 Va 85 73 101 106 55 54 72 75 84 82 86 “82 W. Va 85 71 101 104 56 51 87 84 83 73 N. C 94 83 112 118 62 62 98 103 1 85 90 s. c 98 89 116 124 67 64 175 150 Ga 94 90 122 122 65 64 134 115 150 I Fla 86 92 64 68 |.... Ohio 64 51 93 99 39 33 57 50 68 72 80 68 Ind 61 48 91 97 39 32 50 65 63 67 85 Ill 64 47 88 90 38 31 55 54 62 71 100 "93 Mich 64 51 92 99 40 32 64 63 60 57 68 64 Wis 59 49 82 82 37 32 52 50 55 56 72 64 Minn 52 41 83 76 32 26 45 43 51 49 1 62 62 Iowa 59 41 79 79 34 29 52 51 62 60 84 81 Mo 74 50 86 95 46 37 60 74 78 96 98 N. Dak 51 47 81 72 32 23 39 34 48 47 S. Dak 57 39 79 73 33 26 44 41 51 57 Nebr 63 44 75 74 37 31 52 40 57 56 75 Kans 73 48 80 78 46 40 57 42 65 67 Ky 81 64 98 103 54 49 72 82 84 88 Tenn 82 67 101 107 56 54 82 75 102 100 73 75 Ala 93 79 119 106 67 58 95 150 150 Miss 82 75 89 62 61 La 77 79 58 55 i Tex 88 69 95 93 50 44 63 68 104 no Okla 74 50 81 77 48 39 68 50 93 87 Ark 82 72 88 94 54 55 65 95 Mont 81 59 71 65 33 39 52 48 61 68 Wy 0 88 62 86 94 46 46 70 80 64 70 1 Colo 71 53 78 77 46 37 60 44 56 49 N.Mex 72 81 79 72 40 39 79 48 Ariz 112 95 109 101 67 80 79 77 Utah 73 70 73 72 41 42 50 53 55 67 Nev 112 90 101 50 52 77 88 Idaho 76 80 68 73 34 35 48 49 90 69 Wash 71 89 80 80 41 41 50 50 60 57 Or eg 70 78 86 79 40 41 62 58 85 73 Cal 83 77 97 95 52 51 66 64 no 86 U.S... 70.7 53.7 84.2 79.1 39.5 33.1 51.7 48.5 63.0 62.9 76.9 68.3 Pota- toes. 125 53 53 115 91 41 45 50.3 j Flaxseed. 1914 1913 1 Cts. Cts. \ I”;:: i 140 136 120 145 137 132 130 113 no 112 106 114 133 130 123 129 132.8 113.6 Hay. Cotton. 1914 i 1913 1914 1913 Cts. Cts. 12,6 12.6 .2017.60 .3047.30 .20il0. 30 .7040.80 . 90 12. 00 12.8 15.6 12.0010.70 14.20 5. 7.00 8. 50 12.10 17. 20 11.50 15.20 8. 00 11.6 9.5 12.0 12.6 12.2 11.7 11.0 8. 30. 11. 30 . 15.00 . 9.001. 11.00 . 7. 50. 1 10. 50 . 8. 30 . 14.00 . 12. 20 11. 15 11. 12.2 12.0 12.0 11.9 12,4 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.8 THE AGKICULTUEAL OUTLOOK, 19 Table 9. — Prices to producers of agricultural products on dates indicated, by States. [Butter, chickens, and wool in cents per pound; eggs, cents per dozen; live stock, dollars per 100 pounds.] State. Maine New Hampshire . Vermont Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New York New Jei-sey Pennsj'lvania Delaware Marjdand. Virgmia W est V ii-ginia — North Carolina. . . South Carolina, . . Georgia Florida Ohio Indiana Illinois Michigan Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa Missouri North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Kansas Kentucky Tennessee Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Texas Oklahoma Ai’kansas Montana Wyoming Colorado New Mexico Arizona Utah Nevada Idaho Washington Oregon California Apr. 1. ]\Iar. 15. Butter. Eggs. Chickens. Hogs. Beef cat- tle. Veal calves. Sheep. Wool. 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. 31 31 22 21 14.5 13.4 ».20 $7.90 $7. 50 .$7. 50 $8. 70 $8.00 $4.80 $3. 90 20 23 32 33 22 22 13.6 15.0 8.20 7. 80 7.00 6. 10 8. 80 7.80 6.60 5.00 17 20 31 35 22 22 1.3.2 13.6 8. 10 7.90 5. 70 5. 10 7. 60 7. 10 4. 10 4. 30 18 21 34 36 27 27 17.2 15.7 9.00 9.00 6. 20 7.00 9. 00 8.80 23 33 34 26 24 18.0 16.5 9.60 8. 70 7.00 7. 30 9.50 8.30 ’4.’ 50 ’5.' 50 **'i7 22 34 37 26 22 16.6 16.0 9.80 8.20 8. 80 6.50 10.20 8.50 6.00 6. 60 22 18 29 34 22 20 15.8 14.9 8.40 8.00 6.20 5.40 9. 60 9.00 4.50 4.60 18 22 33 37 26 21 17.9 17.0 9. 80 8. 70 7.50 7.00 10. 30 8.60 4. 50 20 30 33 22 18 14.6 14.0 8. 70 8. 00 7. 40 6.60 9.60 8. 40 *5." 70 5. 10 20 23 32 25 18 17 14.5 14.3 8. 60 8.50 6. 20 6.40 10. 60 9. 70 5.10 6.20 21 21 29 29 18 17 16.2 15.3 8.10 7. 80 7.00 6.30 9. 70 9.00 5.00 5.50 26 26 18 15 14.5 13.6 8. 10 7. 50 6.40 5.50 8.30 7.90 4.40 4.50 *“26 *“23 28 27 21 17 13.4 11.9 8. 10 7.90 6. 90 5.90 8.60 7. 90 4. 70 5.00 20 24 25 28 17 15 11.7 10.8 7. 80 7.10 5.00 4. 20 6. 10 5.00 4. 30 4. 60 19 20 27 26 21 19 13.5 11.9 7.80 7.30 4. 40 4. 30 5. 20 5. 10 5. 10 5.00 16 14 25 25 20 17 13.2 12.7 7.80 6. 70 4.50 3.80 5. 30 5.00 4.50 4.20 20 21 33 35 22 23 15.2 15.0 7. 10 6.20 5. 20 4.50 6. 60 6. 00 7.20 6.20 18 23 26 27 17 16 13.1 12.3 8. 30 8. 40 7. 10 6. 70 9. 20 8.80 4. 60 4.90 19 22 23 24 16 16 12.0 11.8 8.30 8.40 6. 80 6.50 8. 10 8.20 4.30 4. 60 19 22 25 27 16 16 12.1 11.4 8. 10 8. 10 7.00 6. 80 8.30 8.00 4. 50 5. 10 17 21 26 29 19 19 13.0 12.3 8. 00 8.00 6.50 6.00 8.80 8.20 4.70 5.00 19 20 27 31 17 17 11.3 11.8 8.00 8. 00 5.70 5.60 8. 10 8. 40 4. 20 5. 10 18 20 25 30 16 16 10.8 10.3 7. 70 7. 80 5.80 5.80 7. 30 7.30 4. 30 4.90 15 19 24 29 16 15 10 9 10.3 8. 10 8. 10 7. 40 7. 10 8.20 7. 60 4. 50 5.30 17 20 23 23 16 15 11.8 11.1 7. 80 7. 70 6. 80 6.50 7.60 7. 30 4. 70 5. 10 18 21 20 23 16 17 10.2 9.8 7. 10 7.20 5.60 5.20 7. 30 6. 80 4. 80 4. 80 15 16 21 24 15 15 8.8 8.9 7.60 7.60 6. 60 6. 30 7.50 6. 90 4. 80 4.90 15 17 21 23 16 15 10.7 9.7 7.80 7. 80 7. 10 6. 90 8. 40 7. 80 5. 40 5.90 15 19 22 24 16 14 10.5 9.5 7. 90 7. 80 7. 10 6. 70 8.20 7. 90 5.60 6. 10 16 22 22 16 14 1L7 11.4 7.80 7.50 6.20 5.80 7.60 7. 10 3.90 3.60 19 23 21 20 16 14 11.7 11.1 7. 50 6. 90 5.80 4.90 6.90 5.50 3. 80 3.60 18 20 21 21 16 15 12.2 11.7 7. 10 6.80 4.20 3.50 4.90 4.20 4. 30 3.20 15 18 24 22 17 15 12.5 11.8 6. 40 6. 10 4.20 3. 60 5.80 4. 40 4.00 3.80 16 19 29 27 20 18 13.5 12.7 6. 30 5.80 5. 10 4. 30 5.90 4. 80 3.60 3. 00 14 13 22 23, 15 14 9.9 9.3 7.30 7. 20 5.50 4. 90 6.30 6.80 4.70 4.70 14 14 21 21 15 13 10.1 9.4 7.50 7.50 6. 10 5.60 7.40 6. 90 5.40 4. 90 15 19 23 23 16 15 10.6 10.0 6.30 6.00 4. 80 4. 20 6.50 5.20 3.80 3.80 16 17 32 34 21 25 13.3 13.7 7.50 7.40 6.90 6.80 8. 80 9. 10 5. 50 5. 10 18 19 31 35 21 27 12.7 13.5 7. 9Q 7. 30 6. 80 6. 10 9.00 8. 50 5.20 5.50 15 16 28 30 21 20 12.6 13.2 7.60 7.50 6.70 6.30 8. 60 8.30 5. 10 5.40 17 15 36 33 25 27 13.2 12.1 7.50 7. 30 6. 30 6.00 8. 10 8.00 4. 50 4.70 13 15 35 39 23 25 15.8 20. 0 7. 70 7.30 6.50 5.50 7.80 6.50 3. 80 4. 10 17 16 29 28 17 17 13.0 12.3 7.20 6. 70 6. 10 6. 10 9. 60 8. 30 5.20 5. 10 15 14 38 38 30 28 22.8 19.8 9.40 8. 60 6. 60 7. 50 7.80 8.10 5.40 5.40 14 28 30 17 21 11.0 10.9 7.50 6. 90 6. 30 5.90 8.50 7.80 4. 70 5.30 16 17 29 34 19 18 14.5 13.9 7. 70 7.70 6. 50 6. 90 8.20 8.60 5.20 5.60 15 31 33 20 17 13.8 12.5 7.50 7.50 6. 70 6. 60 7.90 8.00 4. 30 5. 10 15 18 28 34 19 18 15.2 13.5 8.00 6.90 6.80 6. 70 7.60 7.00 4. 90 5. 10 12 24.9 27. 6 ^^1 16.4 12.3 11.6 1 7.80 7. 62 6.28 5.88 7.92 7.49 .7t| 4. 97 16.4 18.4 United States.. 20 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 500 . Table 10. — Averages for the United States of prices paid to producers of farm products. Mar. 15— Apr. 1.5 — Feb. 15 — 1914 1913 1912 1911 1910 1913 1912 1914 1913 1912 Lambs per 100 lbs.. $6. 31 $6. 56 $0. 38 $5. 49 $7. 37 $6. 59 $5. 98 $6. 18 $6.34 $5. 15 Milch cows 59. 23 54.00 44.00 45. 42 41. 75 55. 34 45. 14 59.00 51.42 43. 40 Horses do.... 138. 00 146. 00 140. 00 145. 00 150. 00 148. 00 142. 00 139.00 146.00 137.00 Honey, comb .per pound.. .137 .1.39 .1,39 .135 .136 .141 .i;38 ,1.37 .139 .14 Ajiples per bushel.. 1.29 .824 1.035 1.247 1. 14 .85 1. 149 1. 23 .784 .988 Peanuts per pound.. .047 .047 .05 .048 .05 .048 .049 .047 .045 .047 Beans, dry .per bushel.. 2.05 2. 10 2. 42 2.17 2.17 2.11 2.37 2.09 2. 19 2.38 Soy beans do 1. 80 Sweet potatoes. . . do .873 .908 1.024 .873 .80 .943 1.174 .861 .87 . 93 / Cabbages per 100 pounds. . 2.03 1.03 2.88 1.26 2. 14 1. 15 3.17 2.07 1.17 2.24 Onions .per bushel.. 1.55 .77 1.67 1.05 .925 .79 1.75 1.41 .775 1.40 Clover seed do 8.61 10. 42 12. 89 8.56 8.15 11.00 12.91 8. 79 10.28 12.22 Timothy seed do 2.51 1.72 7.33 4.93 1.74 7. 27 2. 45 1.78 7.26 Alfalfa seed do 6.81 8.19 8. 36 6. 84 8. 15 Broom corn per ton. . 91.00 57.00 '99.’ 66 ' '78.' 66 ' 266.' 66' 58.00 101.00 9 . 5.00 56.00 86.00 Cotton seed do 23.60 21. .55 18.21 25.49 21. 89 18. 62 2 . 3 . 37 22.00 16.81 Maple sugar per pound . . . 124 .126 .111 . 13 . 125 . 122 Maple sirup . .per gallon. 1.099 1.065 1. 051 1. 098 1.082 1.059 Hops .205 .401 "'.'i92 .m .150 .191 .169 “'.’38' Paid by farmers; Bran per ton.. 27. .58 24.96 29. 15 24.94 27.00 24.69 29. 73 26. 91 25.32 28.62 Clover seed . . .per bushel.. 9. 75 12. 30 12.90 9. 59 11. 52 '^J'imothy seed do.... 2. 95 2. 33 2. 43 2. 92 2.47 Alfalfa seed. . do 8. 15 9. 78 1 9.99 8. 19 9. 60 1 Table 11. — Range of prices of agricultural products at market centers. Products and markets. Apr. 1, 1914. Mar., 1914. Feb., 1914. Mar., 1913. Wheat, per bushel: No. 2 red winter, St. liOuis $0. 93 -$0. 93 $0. 92 -SO. 96 J $0.91 -80.951 •SO. 97?,-$l. 1 No. 2 red whiter, Chicago .921- .93| .921- .96-1 .931- .971 1.01 - 1.08 No. 2 red winter. New York^ Corn, per bushel: 1. 05 - 1. 05 1. 05 - 1. 06 1.01 - 1.051 1. 091- 1.12 No. 2 mixed, St. Louis . 69 - . 69 . 65 - .72 . 64 - . 681 .49 - .5 No. 2, Chicago . 661- • 67 . 63 - .70 . 61 - . 631 . 50 - .5 No. 2 mixed. New York^ .691- *70 .68g- .72-1 . 68 - . 70i .551- .5' Oats, per bushel: No. 2, St. Louis . 40 - . 40 .381- .43 .37i- .391 .391- .43 .32 - .3 No. 2, Chicago Rye, per bushel: No. 2, Chicago Baled hay, per ton: No. 1 timothy#Chicago .38-1- .38-1- .38|- .39^- .601- .64 .31f- .3 . 62 - .62 .591- .63 .58 - .6 15. 00 -16. 00 14. 50 -16. 00 15. OO'-ie. 00 13. 00 -16. 5c Hops, per pound: Choice, New York . 42 - .44 . 42 - .45 . 43 - .46 .21 - .27 Wool, xier pound: Ohio, fine, unwashed, Boston . 22 - .22 . 22 - .22 . 21- . 22 .23 - .24 Best, tub washed, St. Louis . 29 - .29 . 28 - .29 . 28 - .28 .33 - .35 Live hogs, per 100 pounds: Bulk of sales, Chicago. 8. 53 - 8. 65 8.20 - 9.00 8. 20 - 8. 90 8. 75 - 9.50 Butter, per pound: .42 Creamery, extra. New York .241- .25 .24^ .32 .26^- .32 .351- Creamery, extra, Elgin . 25 - . 25 .25- .30 ,261- .30 .34 - .35 Eggs, per dozen: .31 Average best, fresh. New York .211- .26 . 21 - .36 . 29 - .40 .20 - Average best, fresh, St. Louis .17?.- .171- .171- -27 . 241 - .28 .16 - .19 Cheese, per pound: Colored , 2 New York . 16 - . 161 .16?,- .171 .16i- .171 .16 - .17i 1 F. o. 1). afloat. September colored, September to April, inclusive; new colored. May to July, inclusive; colored, August. O WASHINGTO.X ; GOVERN -UEXT TRINTING OFFICE : 1914 U.S.DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Contribution from the Bureau ol Plant Industry, V/m. A. Taylor, Chief. July 10, 1914. THE CLASSIFICATION AND GRADING OF COTTON. By D. E. Earle, Cotton Technologist, and W. S. Dean, Assistant in Agricultural Tech- nology, Office of Agricultural Technology and Cotton Standardization. INTRODUCTION. The present method of grading cotton dates back to about 1800. •le grade names were first used in Liverpool, England. Persons I the trade — that is, the cotton merchant, broker (or factor), and the o/inner — were about the only ones who classified or graded cotton. *1 he producer rarely knew the grade of his cotton or for what use it ^ as best suited. Until recently, very few growers have had the opportunity of quiring such knowledge. Within the last four years almost all of 3 agricultural schools of the southern United States have added cotton grading to their regular courses of study, besides giving special iding courses in the winter. Field agents of the Farmers’ Coopera- tive Demonstration Work in every cotton-growing State have been "mplied with the official grades, and the growers have been able to Le use of these to a considerable extent. Of course, no one can learn to classify all the grades of cotton witliin /criod of six to eight weeks, and it is not necessary for the grower to •,ome familiar with all the grades of cotton that are grown. Often 5 enough if he knows only the three grades, Low Middling, Middling, .^d Good Middling, since this range of grades covers the bulk of the white cotton grown in an average season. By practicing with a full of types for comparison, a knowledge of the trade ^‘half grades” ly be gained, that is, the grades between Good Middling and Mid- mg and between Middling and Low Middling. Such knowledge, apled with a knowledge of the corresponding market prices, would very useful to the grower and in the end should encourage him to )duce a better quality of cotton and to handle it with more care. The objects of grading and classifying cotton are to aid (1) in deter- jiing the comparative values of the different qualities and (2) in -scribing the cotton so as to make buying and selling easier when Note. — Names, classifies, and describes the difierent grades of cotton. 41696°— Bull. 591—14 1 2 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 591. there are no samples. With the present methods of buying cotton, especially the short-staple varieties (tliree-fourths of an inch to 1^ inches), other things being equal, the grade practically determines the price that is received by the producer. Wliat is known as staple cotton (1 J-inch staple or above) is usually sold on sample. The sam- ple gives each party to the trade a chance to form his own opinion, and is necessary because cotton dealers and spinners have such dif- ferent ideas about the character and length of staple. GRADE NAMES.' The grade names that are in more or less general use tliroughout the United States for what is Imown as American cotton are as fol- lows: ABOVE MIDDLING, BELOW MIDDLING. 1. Fair. 2. Strict Middling Fair. 3. Middling Fair. 4. Strict Good Middling. 5. Good Middling. 6. Strict Middling. 7. Middling. 8. Strict Low Middling. 9. Low Middling. 10. Strict Good Ordinary. 11. Good Ordinary. 12. Strict Ordinary. 13. Ordinary. The official grades as prepared at present by the United States Department of Agriculture include only nine of these, namely, Mid- dhng Fair to Good Ordinary, inclusive. In an average season this range of grades covers practically all the white cotton grown. The grade names containing the word strict” are known in the trade as half grades, the others as full grades.^ If the order of these names is kept in mind it will help in understanding the descriptions that foUow. Middling, as the name shows, is the middle or basic grade, and is the grade upon which the market quotations are based. All grades above Middhng bring a higher price and aU below Middling bring a lower price than that quoted for Middling, the amount above or below varying according to the respective differences in use where the cotton is marketed. Many more grade names are used by the trade in the large spot markets to describe the different classes of colored cottons. The grades of white cotton, however, are the foundation of all these other classes. WTien the cotton is not white, its nature is indicated by adding the words ‘^off color” or ^4air color,” ^^spotted,” ^Hinged,” or ‘^stained,” as the case may be, to the grade given to the sample. In other words, there may be several classes of the same grade of cotton; e. g.. Middling '^off color,” Middling ‘Hinged,” or Middling “stained.” 1 The grading of Sea Island and Egyptian cotton will not be considered in this bulletin, since thecharao teristics of these varieties are such that different methods of grading as well as different grade names are used, 2 The words "Fully” and "Barely” put before the full grade are sometimes used on the exchanges when speaking of quarter grades. "Fully” means the quarter grade above, while "Barely” means the quarter grade below. CLASSIFICATION AND GRADING OF COTTON. § FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE GRADE. -3- c l The principal points to be considered in deciding the grade of a cot- ton are (1) foreign matter or impurities (such as leaf, dirt, sand, and also strings, motes, neps, gin-cut fiber, cut seed, and unripe fiber) and (2) color. With cotton that can be classed as white, the amount of foreign matter or impurities is of greater importance than color in determining the grade. It will be seen that grade and value do not run parallel except for cottons that have the same qualities of staple. The cotton merchant, in filling the spinners^ orders, must rate the strength, length, pliability, cling, and evenness of the staple as well as the grade. The relative spinning values will be considered apart from the grade. Fig. 1.— Sectional view of huller gin. Fig. 2.— Sectional view of plain gin. FOREIGN IMPURITIES. Leaf, dirt, and sand . — The amount of leaf, dirt, and sand in the sample depends upon the weather. Usually there is very little leaf when the cotton is picked before the vegetation is killed by frost. The dirt and sand may be caused by either wind or rain. Many of these impurities may be taken out at the gins by the use of cleaners. Fifty pounds or more can very often be extracted from one bale of low-grade cotton. If up-to-date machinery could be used for the whole crop there would be but few bales grading below Low Middhng. If, then, the cotton was sold on grade, the increase in price would offset the loss in weight and at the same time the cost for ginning would be reduced- Much of the leaf, dirt, sand, and hulls may be removed by the use of “huller’’ gins. (See fig. 1.^) All types of gins (see fig. 2), • All illustrations were prepared with the assistance of Mr. W. E. Chambers, of the Oflice of Agricultural Technology and Cotton Standardization, 4 farmers' bulletin 591. Fig. 3 —Motes, (Enlarged 5 times.) however, turn out cleaner and better samples if the cotton is thoroughly dry when ginned. Motes . — Motes (fig. 3^) are immature seeds or ends of seeds that are pulled off in the ginning. Immature seeds are found more or less in all cotton, the number depending upon the variety and the weather conditions during its growth and maturity. They go out as waste in the manufacturing processes and their presence lowers the grade. Ncfs and cut fibers . — Neps and cut fibers (figs. 4 and 5) may be caused by feeding the gin too fast, by the gin being in bad order, by the presence of unripe fiber, or by dampness in the cotton when ginned. Neps look like small white dots. They may best be seen when a thin layer of the cotton fibers is held toward the light. The cut fibers show in bunches and V-shaped kinks and give the sample a rough appearance. It is difficult to judge the grade or value of gin-cut cotton; in order to be on the safe side, the buyer often penalizes such cotton from 1 to 3 cents per pound. Stringy cotton . — Stringy cotton (fig. 6) is defective cotton, pro- duced by ginning wet or un- ripe seed cotton, or some times by a wrong adjustment of the brushes that take the lint awayfrom the gin saws. (See fig. 1.) The fibers in these strings do not separate very easily, while many of them are knocked out in the clean- ing processes at the null, and go into the waste. Cut seeds . — Cut seeds (fig. 7) are caused by fast ginning with ahard roll and by broken F.G.4,_Neps. (Enia^^ed 5 times.) or bent gin-saw teeth that strike the grate bars. Cut seeds have their effect upon the eye and touch in grading and should be avoided by the ginner. 1 The microphotographs, figures 3 to 8, inclusive, were made by Dr. Albert Mann^ Office of Agricultural Technology and Cpttpn Standardisation, CLASSIFICATION AND GKADING OP COTTON. 5 Unripe fibers . — Unripe fibers (fig. 8) have a glossy appearance and are usually matted together. Bolls of cotton that are picked before they are well opened, and also the top bolls that are forced open by the action of frost, usu- ally contain unripe fibers. These fibers are very weak, and they lower the grade, as does dirt or bad fiber of any kind. Requirements for satisfactory gin- ning . — Cotton should be dry when, ginned, and the saws, brushes, and other parts of the gin should be in good condition if a smooth sample is to be obtained. Cleaners used in connection with the ginning of low- grade cotton will improve the sample from one to two grades. COLOR. Fig. 5. — Cut fibers. (Enlarged 5 times.) The weather and the soil are the factors that influence the color of cotton. The early pickings when not exposed to the rain usually have a bright, creamy color, and if picked with ordinary care should grade Good Middling or better. If left in the field too long, however, the luster is lost and the color of the cotton changed to a ^^dead’’ or bluish white that may reduce the grade to Good Middling off color, or perhaps Middling or below, de- pending upon the quantity of trash and dirt. A rain may change the same cotton to Middling tinged” or Middling stained, ” according to the kind of soil and the quantity of rain. Weather-tinged and weather- stained cottons are often of a bluish color and when not grown on sandy land generally contain mud spots. The action of frost on the late bolls before they open also causes spots, tinges, or stains, depending upon the amount of colored cotton that is mixed with the white. This ^Urost” cotton has a yellowish or buff color and is usually weaker than other tinged cotton, owing to the bolls being forced open before the fiber is fully developed.^ Fig. 6.— Stringy cotton. (Enlarged 5 times.) 1 Earle, D. E. Cotton Grading. Bulletin 2, vol. 4, Clemson Agricultural College extension work. 6 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 591. Cotton picked while wet with dew or soon after rain will contahi an excess of moisture. This may cause mildew and thus give the cotton a bluish cast. A bale of cotton left exposed to the weather in the gin yard very often has a mildewed outer surface, or plate, and a sample drawn from near the surface of such a hale may not afford a fair representa- tion of its color. The United States official cotton grades, as well as other grade standards, require that cotton grading Strict Good Middling or above be of a bright creamy or white color and free from any discolora- tion. A definite or fixed color is not so absolutely required in the grades below Strict Good Middling. For exam- ple, a Middling may be creamy or dead white, and the same sample might grade below or above Middling, according as it contained more or less impurities. In the grades below Strict Low Middling, how- ever, the creamy color or bloom is lost, since climatic and soil conditions that lower the grade to this extent also affect the color, giving either a dead white, a gray, or a dingy or reddish cast to the lower grades, although they pass commer- cially as white cotton. The above variations in color can best be seen when the cotton is placed in north light. (See fig.' 14.) If out of doors, the examiner’s back should be turned toward the sun, so that his line of vision wiU be more or less parallel to the rays of light. The best light for grading may be had on a clear day between the hours from 9 a. m. to 3 p. m. It is sometimes hard to judge the color of cotton on a day that is cloudy or partly cloudy, because of reflected light. This difficulty is frequently experienced along a coast where there are numerous clouds. The reflection may be more troublesome when grading near large bodies of water. CLASSIFICATION AND ORADING OF COTTON. 1 SAMPLE FOR GRADING. In sampling a bale of cotton for grading, about 3 ounces should be drawn from each side of the bale. When the samples are drawn from a bale of compressed cotton they should be allowed to lie for a day before grading, so that the matted condition and deadened color may disappear. Classers are more liberal in grading com- pressed cotton, because the leaf and dirt are more condensed and the general appearance of the sample is rougher.- Samples from bales should be drawn in smooth sheets, and preferably when the bale is dry. In grading, the sample should be unfolded three or four times and examined in its different parts, since the leaf and dirt are not always evenly distributed. This unevenness is largely due to the fact that the cotton in any such sample came from several parts of the field and was perhaps picked by a number of persons. The dif- ferent pickings made from time to time also are very often stored together, and this may cause a considerable variation, especially during the latter part of the season.^ Many bales have a thin plate on one side that is of a higher or lower grade than the rest of the bale. This is usually caused by a ^^roll” being left in the breast’’ of the gin from cotton of a different lot previously ginned. The sample from such a bale should therefore be drawn from a sufficient depth to be fairly representative of the bale. UNITED STATES OFFICIAL COTTON GRADES. NEED OF UNIFORM GRADES. There has never been, in the history of the cotton trade, a uniform standard for grading American cotton. This has caused so much trouble and confusion that the question has been discussed at almost every meeting of cotton growers and manufacturers held during recent years. Approximately the same grade names are used in nearly all markets, but they do not have the same meaning. This is confusing to the grower and makes it difficult for him to know what value his crop would have on other markets than his own, because while the same grade names may be employed they are used with different meanings. ^Middling, for example, has sometimes varied from town to town. Even in the same market it sometimes has had a changed meaning from year to year, to fit the merchants’ ideas of what Middling cotton should be for that particular year, their opin- ions depending upon whether the crop was of a high or low grade. It is most desirable to have a single standard, so that if a bale of 1 During the season of 1911, Dr, N. A. Cobb, Agricultural Technologist, had some grading investigations made with the entire crop of Louis Fox, Waco, Tex. The crop was from selected “Triumph” seed and was on fairly uniform land. The respective pickings were stored and ginned separately, and the range of grades produced was as follows: Strict Middling, Middling, Strict Low Middling, Low Middling, and Strict Good Ordinary, the diSerence in the market price at Waco between the extremes being 1| cents per pound (January 18, 1911). 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 591. cotton is Middling in one market it will be a Middling bale in any market in the United States, and, if possible, in any market in the world. An act of the Sixtieth Congress authorized the establishment by the United States Department of Agriculture of nine official grades of cotton (with Middling as a basis), as follows: Middling Fair, Strict Good Middling, Good Middling, Strict Middling, ^Middling, Strict Low Middling, Low Mddling, Strict Good Ordinary, and Good Ordinary. In February, 1909, the Secretary of Agriculture called upon cotton growers, dealers, manufacturers, and experts to assist in making these grades.^ Tliis committee was provided with numerous samples of cotton from all sections of the cotton belt and from most of the exchanges in the United States. Each member of the committee was requested to bring with him samples of cotton from his locality or market, and nearly all the members complied with this request. In addition, Liver- pool and Bremen sent copies of their standards for reference. This cotton, with the sole exception of the Liverpool grades, was placed entirely at the service of the committee. The original set of official grades as prepared by this committee was intended to represent American white cotton of good color and fair staple. The cotton used was selected without regard to where it was grown.2 In making copies of these grades for sale, the same policy has been continued, and cotton for the official grade boxes has been used from almost every cotton-growing State. There are, how- ever, certain qualities in cotton (to be mentioned later) that usually indicate the section in which the cotton was grown. Each grade box contains 12 samples, so as to indicate the slight range of diversity allowed within the grade. For example, there may be one type of the .Low Middling that is of a reddish cast with bright trash, and another that has a gray or bluish cast with blackish trash. In one sample the trash may be in large pieces, while in another it may be broken up in small pieces, known as pinhead’^ trash. The same is true to some extent within the grade box of each of the nine official grades, the diversity being less marked above Middling than 1 The Secretary of Agriculture was assisted in the preparation of the original types by the following com- mittee, it not being intended that its members should represent any particular firm or exchange, but rather the entire cotton interests of the United States: Mr. Nathaniel N. Thayer, chairman (Barry, Thayer & Co.), Boston, Mass.; Mr. Joseph A. Airey (John M. Parker & Co.), New Orleans, La.; Mr. C. P, Baker (Lawrence Manufacturing Co.), Boston, Mass.; Mr. Jolm Martin, Paris, Tex.; Mr. Lewis W. Parker, Greenville, S. C.; Mr. James Akers (Inman, Akers & Inman), Atlanta, Ga.; Mr. F. M. Crump (F. M. Crump & Co.), Memphis, Tenn.; Mr. George W. Neville (Weld & Neville), New York, N. Y.; Mr. Charles A. Vedder (J. D. Rogers & Co.), Galveston, Tex. This committee, which was unanimous in its recommendation of these grades, was assisted by the following expert cotton classifiers: Mr. W. P. Barbot, of the classification committee. New York Cotton Exchange; Mr. Jules Mazerat, chairman of the classification committee. New Orleans Cotton Exchange; Mr. J. R. Taylor, cotton classer, A. L. Wolff & Co., Dallas, Tex. 2 Cobb, N. A. United States Official Cotton Grades. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry Circular 109. 1913. CLASSIFICATION AND GRADING OF COTTON. 9 below. In the everyday practice of the cotton classer, bales will be encountered that will pass as white cotton which do not really match any particular type in the standard. In such cases the bale is assigned to the nearest equivalent grade. CARE OF GRADE STANDARDS. Very few people, even among cotton merchants and spinners, seem to realize the importance of protecting their standards from light and dust. In these standards only the surface of the cotton shows the grade, and exposure to light and dust wall in a short time so change the appearance of the surface that it does not accurately represent the grade as certified. A special notice to this effect appears on the outside of each box of official grades. (See fig. 16, p. 23.) It has been found necessary to compare the ^‘working” standards that are used daily as copies in the preparation of the official grades with the official standard each month. The luster or bloom in the higher grades is bleached out by the light, and this, together with the dust that collects on the cotton, has the effect of lowering the grade, while the bleaching of the lower grades tends to improve their appear- ance. It is also very desirable to keep the grades stored in a dry place, for moisture will cause the color to darken. In order to insure a permanent standard, the Department of Agri- culture has had 50 sets of the official grades stored in large vacuum tubes, in accordance with a system devised by Dr. N. A. Cobb. In these tubes there is no light to bleach, no air to oxidize, and no mois- ture to permit mildew or other microscopic growth. The vacuum sets will be opened from time to time for use in preparing working” standards. Hence there will be no changing of the standard from year to year, as has been the case heretofore. GRADING BY STANDARDS. It is easier for beginners to match cotton against the standards if types of the cotton to be graded are placed for the time being in a box similar to the boxes containing the types in the standards. (See fig. 9.) The cotton in question may then be matched by placing the prepared, box of cotton to be graded by the side of the respective boxes of standard grades until the grade is determined. This method gives a greater surface for comparison, and also practically the same light on each box, a very important matter. When samples are held in the hands while grading, great care should be taken not to hold them over the standard grades; otherwise dirt, sand, and trash falling from the loose sample upon the standards will very quickly spoil the latter. When the building in which the grading is to be done is not suited for adding a skylight (see fig. 10), four or five large windows may be placed side by side in the wall on the north side if the room has a ceiling 10 or 12 feet high, 41696°— Bull. 591—14 2 10 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 591. The table for holding the grade boxes should have a top inclining toward the light at an angle of approximately 30 degrees where a skylight is used, and at about 45 degrees where the side light is used. Such use of the grades is being made at a number of places, and in some cases daily price quotations are obtained for use in connection with the grades. This method of displaying the grades gives the grower a chance to find out about what grade of cotton he has for sale, without his having to own a set of grades. When using the grades, one should be careful not to leave them open to any fig. 9.-Gradmg by standards. except a north light, if pOS- sible. This light is more even than others and not as hard on the grades. The lids of the grade boxes should be kept open only while the comparison is being made. COMPARISON OF AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN STANDARDS. The full grades in both American and European usage are as follows : Fair. Middling Fair. Good Middling. ( Low Middling. Good Ordinary. Ordinary. Fig. 10. — Sectional view of a skylight that may be placed on the roof of a warehouse or cotton shed, in order to get a north light for grading. By adding the prefix ^‘Strict’’ to each of these full grade names the American half grades are formed: P'air. Strict Middling Fair. Middling Fair. Strict Good Middling. Good Middling. Strict Middling. Middling. Strict Low Middling. Low Middling. Strict Good Ordinary. Good Ordinary. Strict Ordinary, Ordinary, CLASSIFICATION AND GRADING OF COTTON. H 111 the same way ‘ ‘ Fully ackled to each of the full-grade names will give the European half grades: Fair. Fully Middling Fair. Middling Fair. Fully Good Middling. Good Middling. Fully Middling. Middling. Fully Low Middling. Low Middling. Fully Good Ordinary. Good Ordinary. Fully Ordinary. _Ordinary^ DISTRIBUTION Off kid! An Ondes of the USDepdriment of Aoriculture The United States Official Cotton Grades have been on sale for three years and nine months. The present price is $20 per set of nine grades. The chart does not show the distribution abroad. The Grades have been sokl in Great Britain, Ger- many, France. Italy, Belgium, Japan, India, South Africa, Russia, Mexico, and Canada. The Official Grades arc prepared and issued by the Secretary of Agriculture in accordance with law'. The Department has no power to dispose of the Official Grades except by sale. Fig. 11. — Map of the eastern portion of the United States, showing the distriiiution of the United States official cotton grades. The locations of copies issued by private parties are not shown. Including these, about 2,000 sets of the grades are in use. In other words, in European usage the words Fully” and ‘‘Strict” are interchanged as compared with their use in America. The word “Barely” is used in the same way both here and in Europe; that is, to represent the quarter grade below, as “Barely Middling.” The United States standard grades have been distributed through- out the cotton growing and manufacturing States (fig. 11) and The American quarter grade above. 12 PAHMERS^ BULLETIN 591. officially adopted by the following cotton exchanges and associa- tions : New Orleans. Memphis. St. hhuis. Cliarleston. Natchez. Little Rock. Galveston. Macon. Mobile. Oklahoma. New York. New England Buyers. Arkwright Club. Southern Cotton Buyers. Fall River Cotton Buyers. Tliese standard grades have also been adopted by others that have not gone through the formality of a special vote. In a number of markets exporters sell to the European mills on the European (Idver- pool) classification. This is, of course, unfortunate, and it is hoped that in time an international standard may be agreed upon. In June, 1913, representatives of the American and European cotton exchanges met at Liverpool, and at this c()nference the Liver- pool Exchange agreed to widen the differences between their lower grades, to become effective September 1, 1914, so as to conform more nearly to the grades of the United States standard. There is, however, more color and contrast in the lower grades (Fully Low Middling to Ordinary, • inclusive) in the new Liverpool standard than in the United States standard. Liverpool Fully Low Middling has one type among the twelve that is tinged, while the Low Middling as a whole is grayer than the United States standard. The Liverpool Fully Good Ordinary and Good Ordinary have four or five types in the twelve that are “off color” as compared with the United States standard. The European usage of the word “Fully” instead of “Strict,” as used in America, has been retained in the new Liver- pool standard. In this connection it should be noted that the grades above Middling are very much the same in each standard. The new Liverpool standards evidently contain some cotton that has been ginned with less care than that used in the preparation of the United States standard. The pressure of the box lid on the Liverpool types also gives the respective grades the appearance of having more leaf than would otherwise be the case. The name of each of the new Liverpool standards (effective Sep- tember 1, 1914) is placed opposite the name of the United States standard to which it most nearly conforms. UNITED STATES STANDARD. Middling Fair. Strict Good Middling. Good Middling. Strict Middling. Middling. Strict Low Middling. Low Middling. Strict Good Ordinary. Good Ordinary. NEW LIVERPOOL STANDARD. Middling Fair. ‘ Fully Good Middling. Good Middling. Fully Middling. Middling. Fully Low Middling (1 tinged type). Low Middling (grayer). Fully Good Ordinary (off color). Good Ordinary (off color). Ordinary. CLASSIFICATION AND GRADING OF COTTON. 13 GRADE CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENT GROWTHS. There are certain grade characteristics in cotton that often indicate the section of the country in which the cotton was grown. The sections most commonly referred to in the American cotton industry are three in number and give rise to cotton of three regional types— Upland, Gulf, and Texas cotton. Each of these, however, is subdivided and passes under many trade names that more nearly tell the character of the cotton and where it was grown. Upland cotton.— The Upland type of cotton constitutes the bulk of the American crop and is perhaps the most useful cotton grown. It is produced almost throughout the inland districts of the cotton- growing States, but chiefly in North Carolina, South Carolina, Geor- gia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Virginia. Much cotton that is grown in the hilly parts of Mississii)pi, Louisiana, and Arkansas is sold as Upland. This cotton averages seven-eighths of an inch to an inch in length, although a number of long-staple varieties up to inches in length are being successfully grown in the Upland districts. In parts of the Piedmont section, shown on the soil map (fig. 12) by the letter D, the length is very often more than an inch, while in the sand hills (fig. 12, C), it may be less than seven-eighths of an inch. Cotton grown in the Piedmont section generally has a bright, creamy color, or ‘‘bloom,” that is considered desirable by many spinners. The leaf is usually black and in rather small pieces, while in the cotton from the sandy soil the color is generally whiter and the leaf larger and brighter. Atlantic States cotton changes color faster when left in the field than Western cotton. It takes on a bluish cast and is often spotted or tinged if grown on a red clay soil. This is no doubt due, in part at least, to the rainfall being greater in the Eastern States than in the Southwest during the gathering season. (See fig. 13.) Gulf cotton . — As the name indicates. Gulf cotton is grown in the States bordering on the Gulf of Mexico and in the basin of the Missis- sippi River. In using this name, many in the trade seem to refer to a cotton of 1^-inch staple or something better than the ordi- nary seven-eighths of an inch to an inch Upland cotton, regardless of whether it is grown on the Gulf or not. The length of staple, however, does not decide the grade or the regional trade name, for a considerable quantity of 1^-inch to IJ-inch cotton is grown in the Upland districts. The general color of Gulf cotton is whiter and the leaf often larger and blacker than that in either Upland or Texas cotton. The word “Gulf” is not much used in the actual buying and selling of cotton, other trade names that have a more definite mean- ing being employed. The most common of these trade names are 14 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 591 . CLASSIFICATION AND GRADING OF COTTON, 15 Fig. 13.— Map of the Southeastern States, based on the report of the Bureau of the Census of 1911, showing the production of cotton and also approximately the division line between Eastern Upland cotton and Gulf and Texas cotton. The white dots show the relative amount of cotton grown in the various parts of the cotton belt. The star shows the center of production. 16 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 591. Peelers, Benders, Rivers, Canebrake, and Red River, although a number of so-called varieties may be sold under each of these names. ^‘Peelers ’’ was formerly a varietal name, but it is now applied rather indiscriminately to most of the 11-inch Mississippi Delta cotton. Benders’’ is not a varietal name. It is applied to IJ-inch to 1-^ inch cotton of good body that is grown along the Mississippi, Arkansas, and White Rivers. The word is said to have applied originally only to cotton that grew in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas along the bends of the Mississippi River. ^‘Rivers” is used in referring to cotton having a staple of 1^^ to 1| inches, though if the cotton has a light body it is sometimes called Creeks.” “Canebrake” is the name applied to cotton that is grown in the south-central part of Alabama on the strip of black prairie land shown on the soil map (fig. 12) by the letter i? (small). Most of this cotton has a strong li^-inch staple and brings a higher price than other Alabama cotton. Texas cotton. — “Texas” is the trade name given to cotton grown in Texas and Oklahoma. This generally has about the same length of staple as Upland cotton except in the river basins and black prairie, where the length is usually 1 inches. The character of the fiber of Texas cotton varies considerably from year to year. When the grow- ing season is dry, the fiber is harsher and shorter, while the color may have a reddish tinge. Many of the leaves are dried up early in the picking season by the heat and drought. This, no doubt, accounts for the trash in this cotton being of a brighter color and more broken or peppery than in either the Gulf or Atlantic States cotton. A large quantity of boll hulls, shale, and stalk is often found in this growth of cotton, especially in Oklahoma and northern Texas, where all of the top crop does not mature, owing to the shorter growing season. These half-opened bolls and the bolls that do not open at all are usually ginned on a “double-rib” huller gin, and the cotton is known in the trade as “hollies.” Another type of cotton where the open and mature bolls have been gathered with the burr is found in this section near the end of the picking season. This cotton, although often resembling hollies, has a superior fiber and may be graded in the usual way. RELATIVE VALUES OF DIFFERENT GRADES.^ The relative values of the grades of sound white cotton, other char- acteristics being equal, depend chiefly upon the quantity of dirt and trash, etc., that goes to waste in the manufacturing process. The difference in price, however, will vary also in accordance with supply 1 Experiments are now being made in the OfTice of Agricultural Technology and Cotton Standardization to determine the quantity of waste, the tensile strength, and the bleaching qualities of the grades as stand- ardized by the United States Government. CLASSIFICATION AND GRADING OP COTTON. 17 and demand. During a season when the grades above Middhng are scarce, their premium on the price of Middhng is raised, while the penalty on the grades below Middling is also greater. Table I shows the quotations at various markets on February 2, 1914, for Low Mid- dhng, Middling, and Good Middling short-staple cotton based on the United States standard of classification, while figure 15 shows the relative amount of trash in these grades. Table I. — Quotations, based on the United States standard, at different markets for the same grades of short-staple cotton, February 2, 1914. Market. Low Mid- dling. Middling. Good Middling. New Orleans Cents. 12.06 Cents. 12.81 CerOi. 13.69 Galveston 11.44 12.87 13.69 Memphis 12.63 13.25 13. 75 Mobile 11.56 12.69 13. 19 Charleston 11.75 12. 75 13.25 St. Louis 12.25 13.25 13. 88 Little Rock 11.50 12.50 13.00 The reader wiU note that a given grade is quoted on the same day at different prices in the various markets. Tliis difference in price may be due to a number of causes: (1) The difference in the character of the cotton that is marketed at the various points, (2) the facilities of the market as a shipping point to the eastern or European mihs, (3) the different ways in which the ofhcial quotations are made by the respective markets, and (4) the supply and demand for the different grades. There is a greater difference between the prices quoted for Low Middling than for Mddling, which is partly due, no doubt, to differences of opinion in the trade as to the relative values of the vari- ous grades in comparison with Middling. Most of the cities named are concentration points, that is, places to which the cotton from the near-by smaller markets is sent. The basic price paid in the surrounding small, or primary, markets where the cotton is bought direct from the growers would, of course, be less, depending, among many other tilings, upon the local buyers^ knowl- edge of cotton,^ as well as the necessary cost for transporting the cot- ton to the concentration points. COMMERCIAL DIFFERENCES IN THE NEW ORLEANS SPOT MARKET. Table II shows what a complex question the classification of cotton is in the large spot markets, where aU of the different grades and classes of cotton are found. The wliite grades are used as the stand- ard, and the respective classes of colored cottons are shown for a par- ticular day as so much off the price of the respective white grades. 1 Mr. Charles J. Brand, in charge (A the Office of Markets, had a survey made of the primary markets in Oklahoma in the season of 1913. He found that on the same day and at the same point the lower grades of cotton very often sold for better prices than did the higher grades, as well as vice versa. 18 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 591 . Table II . — Quotations on the various grades of short-staple cotton when offcolor, spotted, tinged, or stained at New Orleans, May 9, 1914. ’ Grade. I>ow Ordinary.' Ordinary Good Ordinary Strict Good Ordinary. Low Middling. .... . . . . Strict Low Middling. . Middling Strict Middling Good Middling Strict Good Middling. Middling Fair Middling Fair to Fair. Fair stand- ard. Off color. Spotted. Light tinged. Tinged. Light stained. Stained. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. Cents. 11^ llH } ioff. I loff. i liofT. lioff. toff. Ioff. 1 If off. Ifoff. 12* 13 ] Jofi. |off. } ioff. loff. 131 13* w a 14* «14* > 1 off. Joff. icff. ioff. ioff. li off. a 15* a Nominal. COMMERCIAL DIFFERENCES AT NEW YORK. On the,.New York Cotton Exchange the grade differences were formerly fixed three times each year — in September, November, and February. The exchange rules have been recently revised to pro- vide for a monthly revision of grade differences, beginning Septem- ber 9, 1915, The United States standard grades have been adopted by the New York Exchange, and are now (May 1, 1914) being used for new contracts. The grade differences based on the official standards, however, have not as yet been fixed. RELATIVE VALUE OF DIFFERENT LENGTHS OF STAPLE. Long-staple cotton, with the exception of Sea Island and Egyp- tian cotton, is graded in practically the same way as short-staple cotton, although graders are usually more liberal as regards curls, strings, and general smoothness of the cotton. The reason for this is that in ginning staple cotton with either the saw or roUer gin the fibers become more tangled, forming curls and strings which affect the general smoothness of the cotton. Another reason is that the length of long-staple cotton is mainly what decides the price. The buyer looking for a lot of cotton with a desired length of staple will not be as particular with the grade as with the staple. It is usual in the trade to caU cotton that averages in length of staple IJ inches or more staple cotton,’^ and that less than 1 J inches ^^short- staple cotton.’’ There is no fixed length of staple used as a basis in many of the markets for what is known as short cotton. Almost no difference is made by local buyers in the price between different lengths of cotton ranging from sevemeighths of an inch to 1 ins inches ff the grade and quality are equal. One-inch cotton, however, is worth perhaps just as much more above seven-eighths-inch cotton as Good Middling is worth above Middling and should bring a cor- CLASSIFICATION AND (;RADIN( OF COTTON 19 Fig. 14.— Laboratory in which the official grades are prepared, showing skylights with northern exposure. 20 Middling CLASSIFICATION AND GRADING OF COTTON. 21 responding premium. We believe it is only a question of time when closer distinctions will be made in this respect.^ Table III shows quotations from responsible firms at New Orleans and Vicksburg, respectively, on April 1, 1913, for the various grades and lengths of staple above 1 inch. Table III. — Quotations on the various grades of cotton having lengths of staple of 1 inch or more, at New Orleans and Vicksburg^ April 1, 1913. Grade. New Orleans. Vicksburg. 1 1* i| lA n IN 1| li^ 1| 1 1* ll IN n If 1| MiHdlinjr "Fair 13J Rtrir.t Good Middlinfr 121 14 16i 12| 12f 14| I5i 17 18 20 Good Middling 12f 13| 16 17 18 19i 21 22 22| 12| 14 15| I6i 17i 19| Strict Middling 12^ 13i 15| in 19 20J 21| 22 12| 12| 13| 15 17| Middling 12| 12| 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 HI 12| 13 14 15 16 17 Strict Low Middhng 12A 12H 14 15 16 17 18 19 19 Ilf Hi 12| 13| 16| Low Middling 111 12A 13 14 15 16 17 18 18 HI HI HI 12| 13 14 15 Strict Good Ordinary 111 12 m 13 14 15 16 16 16 10| 10| 11 H| 12 13 14 Good Ordinary n, Hi 12 m 13i 14 HI 15 15 10| lOJ lOf 11 HI 12 13 These quotations show that the premiums are relatively higher for the grades above Middling and the penalties greater for the grades below Middling than with short cotton. Nevertheless, every addi- tional one-sixteenth of an inch in the length of the staple usually adds as much to the market value of the cotton as does a full grade in the grading. This is especially true for staples up to If inches in length. There is a greater difference of opinion, however, concerning length of staple than there is concerning the grade. Different experts vary considerably in their estimates of the length of the same sample of cotton, sometimes as much as one-fourth of an inch. This is often due, no doubt, to the fact that aU do not pull the staple in the same way. A rule used for measuring the drawn sample, therefore, is not always a sure index of the length, for one classer when drawing may discard more short fibers than another. If, however, every one had the same standard sample of cotton for 1 inch. If inches, and If inches, etc., the cotton could be compared with the standard, both being puUed in the same way, and doubtless a closer estimate could be made.^ The trade realizes the need of such a standard, but the difficulty of maintaining the same standard year after year for the different lengths has in the past seemed insuperable. In view of these difficulties, the New England terms for buying and selling cotton contain the following rule: The classers shall not undertake to declare the length of any staple, but shall judge the length of staple of any lot of cotton submitted to them only in comparison with the length of staple of a type which has been agreed upon as a standard by the purchaser and seller, and which must be submitted with the samples of the lot in question. 1 For a discussion of the agricultural importance of such distinctions in encouraging improvement in cotton production, see Cook, O. F., The relation of cotton buying to cotton growing, U. S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin 60, 1914. ? The length standards devised by Dr. N. A. Cobb are being utilized by the Bureau of the Census tO collect data as to the amount of various lengths of staple used in American mills. 22 FARMEKS' BULLETIN 591. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. The grade of a sample of cotton is determined by the quantity of leaf, dirt, sand, motes, neps, gin-cut or stringy fiber, and cut seed it contains, together with its color. Cotton should be dry when ginned, and the saws, brushes, and other parts of the gin should be in good condition if a smooth sample is to be obtained. Cleaners used in connection with the ginning will improve the cot- ton from one to two grades. Early pickings should neither be mixed nor ginned with later pick- ings that are of a lower grade, since the price paid for a bale of cotton is based on the lowest grade it contains rather than on the highest grade. Cotton should not be exposed to the weather; moisture causes it to mildew and so lowers the grade. The new Liverpool standards, which are almost equivalent to the United States standards, go into effect September 1, 1914. The lower Liverpool grades (Fully Low Middling to ‘Ordinary) allow more variations and contrast in color than the United States standards. The United States official cotton grades should be carefully pro- tected. The lid on the box containing them should be open only when a comparison is being made. Constant light and dust will ren- der the grades unfit for use within a comparatively short time. See the grade label (fig. 16). Low Middling, Middling, and Good Middling cover the bulk of white cotton grown in an average season, and a knowledge of these three giades is usually sufficient for the grower’s use. In the season of 1913-14 in markets using the United States stand- ard grades. Low Middling Upland cotton of seven-eighths of an inch to 1-inch staple sold for approximately 1 cent below Middling, and Good Middling sold for five-eighths of a cent above Middling. CLASSIFICATION AND GRADING OF COTTON. O 23 WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1914 Fig. 16.— Facsimile label of the Middling tj^ie box, United States official cotton grades. Special attention is called to the directions against allowing light and dust to destroy the grade. U.S.DER\RTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Contribution from the Forest Service, Henry S. Graves, Forester, June 11, 1914. STOCK- WATERING PLACES ON WESTERN GRAZING LANDS. By Will C. Barnes, Inspector of Grazing. CONTENTS. Page. Need for Water on the Range 1 Natural Watering Places and Their Improvement 4 Artificial Watering Places ^ NEED FOR WATER ON THE RANGE. On many areas throughout the Western range country the water supply is not sufficient for the number of stock the forage will support so that the lands must be understocked in order to use them at all. On other areas the water supply is sufficient for all the stock the range will carry, but is not permanent, and the animals must therefore be removed before the season Is over. Still other areas are made practically worth- less for stock purposes by the absence of water ex- cept at rare intervals during the winter, when the presence of snow allows their temporary use. The natural growth of the stock industry makes it imperative that all grazing lands should be brought to a condition where they can be utilized to their full capacity. No stock range can be properly utihzed if there is an uneven distribution of water. Note.— This bulletin gives suggestions for the development and improvement of stock-watering places; it deals more especially with conditions found within the N ational F orests. It is intended for distribution throughout the range country. 42498°— Bull. 592-14- -1 2 FARMERS^ BULLETIN^ 592. The suggestions given in this bulletin for improving tlie water sup- ply on grazing areas in the West are the result of the experience of the Forest Service in adding to or developing the water supply upon grazing areas on the National Forests, where the aim is to open up all new and heretofore practically unused range, to utilize more com- pletely the forage on ranges now in use, and to insure a better control of the ranges themselves. In all, a total of 676 separate water im- provement projects have been developed witliin the National Forests; 329 by the users of the range themselves, 172 through cooperation between the Service and the users, and 175 by the Forest Service alone. Of these 676 improvements, 378 are springs or seeps, 286 are reservoirs or tanks, while the rest are wells, trails, and the like. DAILY WATER REQUIREMENTS OF LIVE STOCK. The first point to be considered in developing the water resources on grazing areas is the amount of water necessary for individual animals of each class to be grazed. Unfortunately, no records have been kept or studies made of the requirements of stock grazing on the open range. However, it is known what amount of water is consumed by nonrange stock fed under ordinary farm conditions. Observations of the amount of water consumed by horses under varying conditions of work and weather indicate a daily consump- tion of between 50 and 110 pounds, or from 6 to 13 gallons. A pair of mules at the Oklahoma State Experiment Station drank, during hot weather, 113 pounds (13.6 gallons) per head daily, while one day they drank 175 pounds each.^ Prof. Henry, in liis work, ‘‘Feeds and Feeding,” says: “In Germany a full-grown ox placed in a respi- ration chamber drank 123.7 pounds (14.9 gallons) of water in 24 hours.” At the Pennsylvania State Experiment Station cows fed fresh grass consumed 60 pounds (7.2 gallons) each per day, while others fed dry grass drank 107 pounds (13 gallons) per day. The New York State Experiment Station found that dry cows drank 65 per cent as much as cows giving milk. Sheep on feed in Colorado consumed approximately 5 pounds of water (2.5 quarts) per head per day. In Michigan, on almost the same class of feed, grain and hay, sheep consumed from 1.4 to 2.8 pounds of water per day. Prof. Henry says: “A sheep needs from 1 to 6 quarts of water daily, ac- cording to feed and weather.” Forest officers estimate the average daily demand for water by the several classes of stock using National Forest range to be from 8 to 10 gallons for cattle, and from 0.5 to 2 gallons for sheep. In providing for a water supply for the different classes of stock, it will be fairly safe to estimate, therefore, not less than 10 gallons per head per day for cattle and horses, and 1 J gallons per day for sheep. Naturally this amount will vary with the season, Farmers’ Bulletin 170, Principles of Horse Feeding, p. 26. STOCK-WATERING PLACES ON WESTERN GRAZING LANDS. 3 and with the condition of the feed, whether green and lush or burnt and dry. When the feed is very fresh and the morning dews are heavy, the herd will often go for comparatively long periods without needing water other than that secured from their food. Under such con- ditions herders in the high mountain meadows usually do not take their bands to water more often than once in every 8 or 10 days, if the supply is some distance away. Cattle, on the same class of feed and under similar conditions, will also need less water than ordinarily. RELATION OF WATER SUPPLY TO FOOD PRODUCTION. Sufficient water at all times is absolutely necessary to enable stock to reach a marketable condition. However strong or plenti- ful the grass and forage on a given area may be, the animals using it must have all the water they need or they will not thrive. It may be taken as a fact that a full and easily reached supply of water is quite as necessary to range stock as a supply of grass and forage. They can not be fattened and turned off in a marketable form without both, but if it is merely a question of hving through the year, regardless of fitting them for market, a short grass supply is less likely to result in disaster than is lack of water. WARM AND COLD WATER. Prof. Henryk finds that, since the temperature of the water taken into the body must be raised to the temperature of the body, ani- mals exposed to cold, especially those in poor condition, will be benefited by drinking warm water. In this connection, the writer for several years carefully observed a large number of cattle which watered regularly at a windmill in New Mexico. Though in winter large openings were cut in the ice on the overflow pond, where the cattle generally watered in summer, so that the water along the sides was entirely clear and easily reached, the cattle would invariably go to the troughs at the mill, wliich were free from ice and where the water was comparatively warm. In range improvement, therefore, the advantage of warm over cold water should be taken into account. DISTANCE RANGE STOCK SHOULD TRAVEL TO WATER. Another thing to consider in locating watering places is the nature of the country over which the stock must travel to reach them. Cattle and horses will go long distances for water downhill in prefer- ence to going comparatively short distances uphill. They will also go long distances to water on smooth, fairly level ground in preference to going short distances down some steep, rocky canyon or mountain Feeds and Feeding, p. 64. 4 FARMERS^ BULLETIN, 592. side. Though cattle and horses dishke to go down a steep hill, they will feed up one very readily. It is an old range saying that a small boy can drive 500 head of cattle up a mountain side, though it would require a dozen men and some hard work to drive them down. Observations on the National Forests indicate that on average ranges cattle should not be required to go more than 2 miles to reach water, if they are expected to be in marketable condition in the fall. Under the most favorable conditions, however, they may travel as much as 4 miles, though in extremely rough, mountainous country the maximum distance should be nearer half a mile. NATURAL WATERING PLACES AND THEIR IMPROVEMENT. SPRINGS. Throughout the West the words spring’’ and ^'seep” are very generally used to designate one particular source of water supply. By spring is meant a natural outpouring of subterranean waters wliich find their way to the surface through some crevice in the earth, with a fairly steady flow sufflcient for stock- watering purposes. A seep, on the other hand, has a very small or intermittent flow, and often forms merely a wet place on the side of some lull or in some open spot. The flow from ordinary springs can be increased by comparatively simple means, and even seeps may be developed and made a source of water supply for a considerable number of live stock. Tlie work of cleaning out and improving a spring may be done in several ways. If the flow of water is so rapid as to hinder digging, and bailing will not do, a small hand pump may be used to keep down the flow. An ordinary iron pitcher pump on a 1 J or 2 inch pipe will handle a large amount of water at the expenditure of very little labor. Where one of these is not available, a homemade pump may be constructed from a 4 or 5 inch galvanized-iron tube of sufficient length, with the necessary overflow spout. A homemade valve with a straight wooden pole handle, worked either by hand or by a pump handle, will cost little, and will raise a maximum amount of dirty and muddy water with a minimum of power. When the water is disposed of the ground about the spring should be dug out. To determine how deep to make the excavation, take a long pole, or preferably an iron rod f or J inch in diameter, such as every village blacksmith has on hand, sharpen the point, and work down as a sounder. If the rod is not long enough, cut a thread on the ends of two pieces and join them with the common coupling used for iron pump rods. In deciding how deep to dig it should be borne in mind that the closer to bedrock the curbing goes, the stronger and steadier will be the flow. In few springs does the flow come from a single open- ing, but when the spring is clear it is easy to discover the several small holes through which the water flnds its way out of the ground. STOCK-WATERING PLACES ON WESTERN GRAZING LANDS. 5 Curling . — Wood is the poorest material for curbing springs; cement the best. Though wood submerged in water will last a reasonably long time, that part of the curbing above the permanent water line must be renewed at least every 5 or 6 years. Stone and rock are better than wood and are usually available. They make a substan- tial and lasting wall at a minimum cost. Wherever possible stone should be laid in cement to keep out surface waters from the spring. Of all curbing materials, cement is the most permanent and costs least for repairs and upkeep. Cement curbing may be constructed in the ordinary way with forms, and reinforced with wire or other material, or it may be built of blocks. Blocks are by far the best, since they may be molded in accordance with the shape of the excava- tion so as to key into one another and form a perfectly solid wall which will resist tremendous pressure from the sides. The amount of material needed for cement curbing is small, and may often cost not much more than lumber. Cement is now regularly carried in stock by dealers in almost every small town, and the sand and broken rock needed can nearly always be secured in the neigh- borhood of the spring. Walls luilt on the surface . — Sometimes the earth about the spring is badly cut or damaged by stock, or the spring may lie in the middle of some bog hole or swamp. In such cases the sides of the excavation are not likely to stand up during the process of digging. Often, too, quicksand will run in faster than it can be removed. When one of these conditions presents itself, it has been found advisable in build- ing the curbing wall to make a flat foundation frame of 2 or 3 inch plank the size of the excavation and a few inches wider than the width of the proposed wall. This is laid on the ground around the spring, and the walls, whether of stone, cement, or cement blocks, built upon it. The weight of the material upon the frame will force the latter down as the earth and sand are removed from under it, and with a little care the work of erecting the wall can be carried on above ground while the frame slowly settles down into the spring. If cement is used the forms can be set upon the frame and built up foot by foot as it sinks. When the work is finished and the cement prop- erly hardened, the forms inside of the wall can be torn out and those behind allowed to remain. This foundation-frame method will also be found convenient in building a rough wall of stone or rock, since the stones can be better matched and fitted together when the work is done above ground. Moreover, if it is not convenient to excavate entirely down to bedrock or solid earth, the frame furnishes a base which in most cases prevents any further settlement of the wall. Even if the wall should settle, it would do so evenly, and could be built up again on top without in the least disturbing the substructure. 6 S'ARMERS^ BULLETIN, 592. Raising the level of a spring . — Sometimes it is desirable to raise the level of a spring so that the water can be more easily carried to the troughs. This can be done during the course of the general improve- ment work if the origin or head of the spring is high enough above the outlet, and the surrounding earth sufficiently firm to stand the neces- sary pressure. To determine these facts place a section of iron pipe, large enough to carry off the flow and with plenty of additional room to provide for its becoming partly clogged by substances of any kind, in the retaining wall when the latter is built up to the height to which the water has always risen. Then, when the wall is built up 6 inches far- ther, place in it another pipe similar to the first. Then drive into the lower pipe a wooden plug and see if the water will rise to the next outlet. Before closing the first pipe measure the flow of the spring by observing how long it takes to fill a vessel of known capacity, and do the same thing after the pipe has been closed, in order to see whether in the raising process there has been any loss of flow. Experience has shown that if the flow is decreased more than 50 per cent it is better not to attempt to raise the spring. If the spring loses nothing by the additional raise in its outlet, however, the process can be continued by putting in new outlets and closing the lower ones until the water has been forced to rise to the desired height. Should the flow cease or refuse to rise to the new height during the tests with the first or second pipes, it may be because the water has broken out at some other point. This is especially likely to occur when the spring is in a soft spot, such as a swamp or bog hole. If after an examination in the vicinity of the spring this is found to be the case, the ground about the spring may be loaded sufficiently to stop the leaking. A solid corduroy floor of logs should first be laid about the spring and extended outward as far as practicable and then weighted down with rock. The more rock used, of course, the better it will be. When the floor has settled as far as it seems likely to do, a top covering of dirt should be put on to make a good footing around the spring. The strength of the spring should then be tested again, but no attempt should be made to force the water higher until the cor- duroy floor has had plenty of time to settle down and stop the outside leakage. After a few months, however, additional pipe openings may be placed in the waU. if there is need for raising the flow further. One instance is known where the water in a spring was raised 2 feet by this method. However, there is a certain element of chance in this raising process through the possibility of losing the flow which the person handling a project must carefully consider before beginning operations. If the water finds another channel too far back from the spring, the flow can not be recovered through corduroy work as de- scribed above. STOCK- WATERING PLACES ON WESTERN GRAZING LANDS. 7 Location of troughs. — Once the need for improving a spring has been settled, the next step is to locate the spot where the watering troughs should be placed. On theKaibab National Forest, Ariz., water has been piped out from rough canyons over a distance of more than miles, and in several other cases for more than 1,000 feet. In each instance, however, the additional amount of range gained and the very rough nature of the country immediately about the springs justified the expense. Ordinarily it wiU not be profitable to pipe water any such distances. On a large number of water improvements within National Forests the average length of pipe between the spring and the troughs is approximately 33 feet; on the majority of improve- ments the average distance is seldom more than 25 feet. However, if placing the trough some distance from the spring will save stock much travel up and down a very rocky trail, or even a hah mile up some sandy wash, it may well be considered whether the saving to the animals will nob justify the additional expense. The trough should be located on ground with sufiicient drainage to carry off the waste and surface water and sufficiently below the outlet of the spring to insure a faU which will enable the water to sweep before it any moderate amount of foreign matter that may find its way into the pipe. It is a mistake to use pipes with a diameter less than 1 inch, though the more nearly the flow fills the pipe the better it will be. The matter of laying the pipe under or above ground is one to be settled by local conditions. If there is no road or trail to be crossed, and if the elevation between the trough and the spring does not caU for lowering the pipe at any point, it will probably not be necessary to bury the pipe or otherwise cover it, provided the water comes directly from the spring at the usual temperature. If the pipe is likely to be disturbed in any way, however, it is better to place it a few inches below the surface. Usually in joining the pipes together it is better to have unions’^ at regular intervals for convenience in examining the pipes for possible obstructions. A long telegraph w ire of about No. 8 size, with a sharp barbed point on the end, will furnish the most convenient means of cleaning out a pipe, up which it can be pushed for 50 or 75 feet. Fencing a s'pring . — It is always advisable to protect a spring by a stout fence of poles, logs, or wdre, whichever is cheapest. This pre- vents the stock from watering at the spring itself, falling into it, or breaking down the walls and affecting the flow. If wire is used it should be well stretched and the comer posts firmly braced. Excel- lent protection for a spring is a small log crib built up about it to a moderate height. If the logs are peeled and placed on good founda- tion stones at the corners, such a crib will last many years. Fish in springs. — It is quite commonly believed that the presence of fish tends almost wholly to eliminate the growth of vegetable 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN, 592. matter in the pipe leading to the troughs, which interferes with the flow of most springs. In Arizona, 8 or 10 trout were placed in a large spring which had been cleaned out and cemented up. They lived there for over 10 years, during which time the spring was exceptionally free from all vegetable growth, though another spring near by, which contained no fish, was continually full of such growth, making it necessary to clean out the pipes at frequent intervals. Both springs were practically alike as far as the nature of the water and surroundmg conditions were concerned. SEEPS. Seeps may be improved in much the same manner as springs. Since their flow, however, is much smaller than that of the average spring, it is generally necessary to dig them out enough to secure every drop of water they are capable of yielding. This may be done through open cuts running across the wet spot where it is in an open place, or by ‘^drifting’’ into the side of a hill where the water shows its presence. Often a mere drip of water from some seam in a ledge can be developed into a much larger supply by merely drilhng a hole 6 or 8 feet into the rock close to the ^^seepy” place and springing’’ it with a charge of black powder. Seep development is a good deal of a gamble, and if the work bids fair to be expensive it must be justified by the necessity for more water on the range. There is usually greater necessity for storing the flow of a seep than of a spring, since in the case of the former advantage must be taken of the flow both day and night if sufficient water is to be secured for the stock. A stream from a seep not larger than a lead pencil wiU, if properly saved and reservoired, furnish water for a very consid- erable number of stock. In estimating the probable size of a storage tank or reservoir, the flow of the seep may be ascertained by the methods described on page 6. SWAMPS. Swampy spots, lying somewhat lower than the surrounding country, can often be made to furnish a water supply sufficient for a number of stock. Thus, on the Fremont Forest in Oregon, a spring in the middle of a swamp was cleaned out and an open channel cut across the swamp far enough to allow the flow to run down the draw below into a series of large open pools. This channel collected the surface and spring water, which before had been of little use, and supplied it to a band of sheep. By cross cutting such spots and accumulating the water at a central pool, from which it can be carried to some reservoir or catchment basin through open ditches, the supply will be increased considerably. Water development in swamps not only increases the supply, but often removes a dangerous and annoying bog hole. STOCK-WATERING PLACES ON WESTERN GRAZING LANDS. 9 TRAILS TO INACCESSIBLE WATERS. Western streams often flow for many miles through deep canyons, while near by are excellent stock ranges unused because of lack of water. Such streams may frequently be brought into use by the construction of trails, by means of which the stock may reach them, or by lifting their waters to the surface. On a National Forest in northeastern Arizona stockmen have built many first-class trails down the side of a canyon whose walls are almost perpendicular. The most successful of these trails are built with widie and comparatively level landings at the turns or switchbacks, so that the stock can conveniently pass each other or even rest there if they feel inclined. Many of the trails are blasted from the solid rock with outside walls built up by means of a retaining log held in place by steel rods set in drill holes in the rock and secured by cement or some similar material. To prevent the washing of the soil put on the rocks to furnish a footing for the stock, logs are placed across the trail at intervals, making it possible to level up the spaces between them and so form a series of easy steps. Where overhanging or jutting rocks endanger pack animals or riders, they are blasted away. On one Forest in Arizona several sheep trails have been in use for many years in a canyon whose walls are between 500 and 600 feet high. Bands of ewes and lambs, numbering as many as 1,500 head of old stock, have passed up and down them for long periods with no loss except an occasional animal stampeded through some cause or other. In using trails of this kind, the stock, especially sheep and cattle, should never be crowded. Animals like to take their time going down such places, and if crowded they will bunch up on the most dangerous points, wliich may result in injury and possibly death to some of them. Some of the means of raising water to the surface of a canyon by machinery are described on pages 7 and 8. ARTIFICIAL WATERING PLACES. One of the very first methods of adding to or improving the water supply was to increase the capacity of the many prairie lakes and reservoirs scattered about on the ranges. This generally took the form of providing a more ready way for water to reach the lake, which was done by plowing furrows diagonally across the slopes lead- ing down to it and so guiding the flood waters directly to a central point. In this way the precipitation from many small storms, which otherwise would not have reached the lake, was gathered up and stored for use. Again it was found possible by building small diversion dams to bring to the natural lakes or reservoirs the flow from distant ^ ^washes’ ’ or dry ‘‘ arroyos ” during the rainy season or while the snow was melt- ing. Such ditches often carried the water for many miles around hill- sides, and in some cases high flumes were built across deep valleys. 42498°— Bull. 592—14 2 10 FAKMERS' BULLETIN^ 592. Later, when the demands upon the range became greater, the natural reservoirs were supplemented by artificial ones. Experience soon brought out the .fact that the mere damming up of a stream would seldom serve the purpose, since the silt and debris quickly filled up the reservoir behind the dam, turning it into merely a dan- gerous bog hole where weak cattle found their final resting place. But by locating the reservoir in some adobe flat and leading the water to it through a ditch, very satisfactory results were obtained. Thus to-day one of the most important means of adding to the supply of water on certain forest ranges is through flood-water reservoirs. RESERVOIRS. Wliere a natural water supply is more than 1 mile distant, there seems to be no reason why small reservoirs can not be built upon almost every section in the open park-like places found on most F orests. Such reservoirs, which are usually auxihary or supplemental to the natural water supply, need not cost much to build or main- tain. If a low place is selected in the middle of some open park with sloping hills about it, comparatively little work with plow and scraper will construct a reservoir which, when trampled and puddled by use, will hold water sufficient for many head of stock for some time. Furrows running diagonally across the slopes will collect the rainfall or melting snow waters and carry them directly to the reservoir for storage. Artificial reservoirs permit the stock to be scattered out over a larger area than ordinarily and remove the need for them to concentrate at permanent watering places. It is remarkable how quickly stock, especially cattle, will find these new supphes of water and utilize them. Even though such a supply does not last for more than a few weeks, or even days, it will in a very short time well repay the cost of obtaining it. Two methods are followed in constructing dirt reservoirs. The first is to dig out the ground in some open adobe flat and build up the walls with the earth taken from the excavation. The second is to select some dry wash or canyon where it narrows down to a reasonable width and inclose it with a dam of earth. The last method insures the greater storage capacity and is the one most commonly used in the West. Its drawbacks are (1) the dangers from unusual floods, which may sweep down the wash and in a few minutes overwhelm the waste gate or spillway and tear a hole through the dam; and (2) the practical certainty that silt will find its way into the reservoir and gradually fill it up. With regard to this last objection, however, the silting-up process may be made less rapid by constructing a small ^^setthng’’ basin with ^dashboards’' a short distance above the reservoir itself. STOCK- WATEEING PLACES ON WESTERN GRAZING I.ANDS. 11 Before work begins on any tyi )0 of reservoir three matters should be settled which have an important bearing u})on the choice of a site. These are (1) the gallon capacity of the reservoir, (2) the amount of water the animals will require each day, and (3) the natural loss from evaporation and filtration. Knowing the dimensions in feet of the proposed reservoir, and estimating that each cubic foot of water con- tains gallons, the gallon capacity can easily enough be figured out. Data on the daily water consumption of the various classes of live stock are given on page 2 and on evaporation and filtration losses on page 15. Soil requirements . — A heavy adobe or clay soil is one of the first requisites for a reservoir site. If this is found, the question of leakage Fig. 2.— An earth reservoir for impounding flood waters used for sheep-watering purposes, Coconino National Forest, Ariz. is not serious after the first filling. The passing back and forth over the work by the horses as the reservoir is being built does much to settle the banks, though generally additional means must be em- ployed. The usual plan is to place salt on the banks and in the bot- tom of the reservoir. This attracts the stock, which soon trample down the material used until it is almost impervious to water. Good results have also been obtained by taking a band of range or other horses, and, with a foot or two of water in the bottom of the reservoir, running them about in it for an hour or so. Several hundred head of range cattle held in the tank for a few hours will give the same results. Sheep may be used, but the process is a hard one on both animals and wool. 12 FAKMEKS^ BULLETIN^ 592. Where the soil lacks in clay or adobo quahties, excellent results have been secured by hauling clay from some near-by place and scat- tering it over the bottom and sides of the reservoir. By the means just described this can be worked into the soil so thoroughly as to make the tank water-tight. Several experiments to stop reservoirs from leaking by running a trench 3 to 5 feet wide on the lower side of the embankment and down to bedrock, filling it in with clay, have not given very satisfactory results. In every case the leakage continued, probably because it was through the bottom of the reservoir and not tlrrough the bank. In most cases, placing from 2 to 4 inches of good stiff clay on the bot- tom, and seeing that it was well puddled, stopped the leak. Testing the ground . — Before finally deciding upon the location of a reservoir, soundings should be taken of the area upon which tlie water and bank’ will rest, to determine the nature of the underlying strata. This is easily done with a common fence-post auger or a well-digger’s auger. If the soil is shallow it may not be possible to obtain the needed material for the banks without endangering the bottom of the reservoir, and in such cases the soundings should be continued until a spot is found where plenty of soil can be obtained for the banks with- out going too close to bedrock. If loose rock or gravel is discovered close to the surface it v/ill be well not to take any soil from the bottom of the proposed reservoir, lest it result in leakage, and it may even be advisable to select another site. Building the embankment . — In building the embankment of a dirt reservoir the first step is to run an open ditch for its entire length in the center of the base on which the embankment wiU rest. Tliis ditch, wliich should usually not be less than 2 feet wide and 3 feet deep (wider if the base width of the dam is greater than the average, but of course not as deep if bedrock is close), is meant to be fiUed up with dirt taken from the excavation. In this way the embankment is keyed into the ground, and neither slides nor water can find their way between the new work and the more solid ground on which it rests. Soil for the embankment should be dug from the site of the pro- posed reservoir in a long, narrow pit. Tliis increases the capacity of the reservoir just so much, and will furnish a depression in which the water will gather as the amount shrinks, thus permitting the stock to obtain practically every gallon there is in the tank. It tends, too, to reduce the lose from evaporation, since the water, as it lowers, is con- centrated in a single deep hole instead of being scattered over the entire floor of the reservoir in a shallow sheet. Embankments are often built with a core of logs and brush, over which the earth is dumped. Sooner or later, however, the logs and brush must decay, bringing about a depression in the embankment STOCK-WATERING PLACES ON WESTERN GRAZING LANDS. 13 and a general loosening up of tlie eartli sure to result in leaks and possibly serious damage to tlie whole structure. No embankment should be considered finislied until its upper face, from the bottom level to the crest, is riprap])ed with rock large enougli to insure its remaining in ])lace under trying conditions. If the riprap work can be carried up as the embankment is built, keep- ing a little ahead of the earth, it will do much to prevent the borrow pit from filling up with waste dirt from the face of tlie bank. One of tlie best means of protecting tlie bank against erosion by waves due to high winds is to run a double boom of logs clear across the face of the dam just at the water line. The logs should be fas- tened together in pairs by heavy wire, and each end of the boom chained to a stout post placed in the earth at the end of the embank- ment. The boom then lies upon the rijirap work just at the water line, and floats freely, acting as a break against which the waves lose their force. Covering the face of the embankment with brush held in place by stakes is a cheap though temporary means of protection. If it were not for the likelihood of its being displaced by stock running over it, or destroyed by fire, it might be relied upon for permanent use. Spillways.— 1^0 matter how well built a dam may be, if sufficient allowance is not made for carrying off any excess of water, a part or perhaps all of the embankment is certain to be swept away. The large majority of dam and reservoir failures may be attributed to some defect in the spillway. The most common is that the spillway is too small for the body of water which may sometimes come sweeping down the canyon or valley into the reservoir, with a head of perhaps 4 or 5 feet. The reservoir fills to the brim, a tiny rivulet cuts its way across the top of the dirt fill, and in a few minutes there is a wide gap in the embankment througli which probably every drop of water in the reservoir runs out. In such cases repairs may cost almost as much as the original work, while in the drier regions it may be a year or two before another flood occurs of sufficient size to fdl the reservoir again. Another instance in which spillways fail is when, through faulty construction, the water finds its way beneath the spillway floor, or, if it has no floor, tears away the riprap work which lines it, and cuts into the embankment until the reservoir is ruined. A third danger lies in locating the spiilway at too high a level. In such cases the water, before being able to run out, may rise so close to the top of the embankment that on a windy day waves may be whipped across the crest of the dam, on which there may be a low spot through which the water readily finds passage. Experience has shown that the water should never be allowed to rise closer than 14 FARMERS^ BULLETIN, 592. 2 feet of the top of the embankment before it begins to run out of the spillway. Having figured out as closely as possible the spillway room neces- sary to carry off the surplus water from the reservoir, it is far better to err on the safe side and perhaps double the figures than to build on too small a scale and some day see the entire work torn out as a result of some cloudburst. Care must be taken so to divert the waste water as it comes from the spillway that its eddying force does not cut into the toe of the embankment and undermine it. This can usually be done by placing plenty of riprap work or loose rock along the sides of the embank- ment below the spillway. The ideal wasteway is one so located that when the water in the reservoir has reached its proper level the supply will overflow either at some point before it enters the reservoir or at the extreme rear of the latter, where it can be led over some rocky ledge or low place in the surrounding ridge. If the reservoir is filled from a ditch a waste gate at the proper level in the ditch bank will serve the pur- pose. Should this be undermined by the water no great harm will be done, for the cut made in the bank could drain off but a small amount of water from the reservoir proper. Fencing , — As a general thing a reservoir embankment is saved a great deal of wear and tear by fencing it in. If stock are allowed to run over it as they please, trails will be worn here and there, which may offer fine opportunities for some accidental overflow. Tram- pling by stock also cuts down the banks to a considerable extent and narrows the width of the top of the fill so that much of its strength is lost. The usual plan is to run a wire fence clear around the dam or embankment, both inside and out, so that stock can not get on it at all. Where the bank is riprapped the fence need only come down to the top of the riprap work. Usually stock are allowed to enter a reservoir to drink, but where, as sometimes happens, the water is also needed for domestic purposes it is necessary to keep them out. In such cases a string of troughs is constructed below the reservoir to which the water is drawn through a pipe controlled by a float valve, thus keeping the troughs full at all times. Cost . — The cost of building a reservoir of the character described is not excessive. The material need usually be moved only a short distance, and a considerable amount can be piled up in a day with the ordinary ^^slip’^ scraper. As the bank rises, either a wheel scraper or the type known as the fresno should be employed. Such work, under contract, should not cost over 20 cents per cubic yard, and if the amount to be done is large and the earth close at hand it should cost even less. Figuring the cost of a team and driver STOCK-WATERING PLACES ON WESTERN GRAZING LANDS. 15 at $3.50 per day of 10 hours, and other labor at $1 per day, the following will he the approximate cost of moving earth for an ordi- nary reservoir embankment: Amount of earth moved per day. Haulage. With slip scraper holding I cubic yard. Cost. With wheel scraper holding 1 cubic yard Cost. Feet. Cubic yards. Cents. Cubic yards. Cents. 50 60 9.0-11.0 100 6. 6- 9. 1 100 45 10. 9-13.4 90 7.0- 9.5 200 30 14. 9-17.4 60 9.1-11.6 The cost depends largely upoji the nature of the soil, heavy soil requiring more plowing and loosening up to facilitate loading it on the scraper. The average actual cost of 8 reservoirs on the Lincoln National Forest, wdth an average capacity of 1,250,000 gallons, was $506; of 6 reservoirs on the Prescott National Forest, with an average capacity of 216,000 gallons, $183; of 5 reservoirs on the Prescott National Forest, with an average capacity of 300,000 gallons, $340; and of 7 reservoirs on the Tusayan National Forest, with an average capacity of 473,000 gallons, $247. Loss hy evaporation and filtration . — When a reservoir is fairly well settled and the leakage is reduced to a minimum, the daily loss of water through evaporation and filtration, or soaking into the earth, will not exceed from a half to 1 inch. In new reservoirs, however, it will be considerably greater.^ The loss by evaporation is greatest during the three summer months, but takes place at all seasons of the year. At the Roosevelt Dam in southern Arizona the actual loss of water by evaporation approximated 6 feet per year. With the average stock-watering reservoir in the W^est, where evaporation is at the maximum, probably as much water is lost through evaporation and leakage as is taken from the reservoirs by the animals them- selves. With the figures given, however, and a knowledge of the number of stock that will water at the reservoir it should be possible to determine pretty accurately the demands that a reservoir wiU be called upon to meet. WELLS. In comparatively few places throughout the West can well water be obtained at moderate depths. The cost of drilling a well with modern machinery, however, is not great, and where water is more than 50 feet below the surface the best way to reach it is by drilling or boring. Up to a depth of 500 feet the average cost of a well where work is done under contract is approximately $1 per running Civil Engineers’ Uandbook, Trautwine. 16 FARMERS^ BULLETIN, 592. foot. This does not include casing, which wall cost $1 per running foot if of steel or heavy iron, and 25 cents if of galvanized iron, making the total cost per foot between $1.25 and $2. Where the hole is in rock, casing may not be necessary. In many parts of the West the charge for digging o})en wells down to 50 feet is about $2 per foot, which includes sawing and setting the curbing in place, if lumber is used, but not the cost of the material. Lumber should never be used for curbing, because of its rapid decay. Here again, as in the case of springs, cement blocks are the best for the purpose. Wliether these or ordinary rough stones are used, the same system of preventing dangerous slides can be employed as is recommended for springs; namely, to build the walls upon a Fig. 3. — An unusually well-equipped watering plant in Arizona. Troughs are of heavy steel and roof protects water from sim. W ater is raised from well several hundred feet deep by steam pump. Coconino National Forest. heavy plank foundation from the top and allows it to sink as the work progresses. If properly laid, the w^alls will be perfectly safe against caving, moving sand wdU be effectively shut out, and the wall can be carried down to almost any depth. An open w^ell has this objection, however, that unless the curbing is carefully laid and the top securely closed small animals get into the water and render it unfit for use for anything else than stock. The curbing should be carried up at least 2 feet above the ground, and the lid should never be left off. Where the water supply is rather limited an open well has the advantage that after reaching bedrock a ^‘sump” or chamber can be excavated in which water can accumulate wiien the mill or pump is not working, thus consideralily increasing the capacity of the well. STOCK- WATEEING PLACES ON WESTERN GRAZING LANDS. 17 Dee'p wells and windmills . — Throughout the Texas Panliandle region the watering of stock from deep wells has been worked out almost to an exact science. Water is found in practically unlimited quantities at depths of from 150 to 300 feet, though there is little on the surface. Wlien the entire region was one great cattle range it was considered most satisfactory to have a well at the intersection of every* four sections, in order that stock would not have to travel over 2 miles in any direction to reach water. Finished wells such as those in Texas cost from $350 to $500 and upward, according to depth. A steel or wooden windmill complete, with pipe, cylinder, etc., and ready for use, costs from $150 to $300. Wooden towers cost from $30 to $60. The average Texas well complete, with mill, tower, troughs, etc., represents an investment of about $1,000. Under ordinary weather conditions such a well, in connection with a suit- able reservoir for storing the water against a calm season, can easily supply between 350 and 500 cattle each day. When such an outfit is well taken care of, repairs are not heavy. If the cylinder is placed below the surface of the water (as it should be) the valves need not be renewed more than once every 6 months unless an unusual amount of sand is raised. It is a very severe storm that does a windmill any damage, provided the weights are properly adjusted so as to meet sudden squalls. The life of a good windmill is reasonably long when it is given the proper care. The adherence to a few simple rules will often go a long way toward pro- longing the life of a mill and avoiding costly breakdowns. When a mill is first assembled, and before it is put to use, every nut on it from one end to the other should be tightened with a wrench. After that, every bolt head should be riveted with a rivetting hammer, so that the nut will not work off under any circumstances. It is far cheaper in the end to cut off a bolt with a cold chisel and replace it with a new one, if such a thing seems necessary, than to neglect to do so, for nine-tenths of the breakdowns that occur when windmills are left to themselves are due to the nuts dropping off. At regular intervals, at least once each week, a windmill should be gone over carefully to see that every bolt and nut is tight. Parts which need it should be oiled. Windmills looked after in this way will seldom need expensive repairs. Windmills are also used for raising water from deep canyons in which there are streams or springs. In some cases the mill is set back from the edge of the canyon and the power carried to the pump- rod by a ‘Uriangle. Several such plants are in operation in Arizona and New Mexico, raising the water from canyons from 100 to 300 feet deep with entire success. Any other pumping power, of course, can be used in the same way. 18 FARMERS^ BULLETIN, 592. Other means of raising water . — While the windmill is the main dependence of stockmen for raising water, improvements in gasoline and oil engines have brought them into wide use, especially as aux- iliary to the wind engine. No matter how great the reservoir capacity, long periods of calm are likely to occur during which the storage sup- ply of water is exhausted. To meet such emergencies, gas engines mounted on wheels or wagons, so that they can be moved from one well to another, have been used with great success. The cost of a 2-horsepower gasoline engine is about $125 and a 3-horsepower $175 and up. Actual horsepower is also used for pumping purposes where the well is close to a camp or ranch. With either a sweep attach- ment or an ordinary treadmill, horses or burros useless for ordinary work can be utilized. RESERVOIRS FOR PUMPING PLANTS. No well is complete without a reservoir with a capacity large enough to carry the stock dependent upon it over a long calm spell. In the Panhandle country the common type of dirt reservoir is the one most used. If possible the well should be located at a spot somewhat higher than the reservoir in order to give the water the necessary fall. Ex- cavations for watering from 300 to 500 cattle are usually about 50 feet wide, 100 feet long, and about 3 feet deep. The walls can be built up with the dirt from the excavation, so as to give the entire reservoir an average depth of about 5 feet. Such a reservoir will hold approximately 200,000 gallons of water, enough to supply the number of cattle mentioned for several days, with due allowance for leakage and evaporation. The cost of a reservoir of the dimensions given should not exceed $100, with ordinary wages for men and teams. Wlien the work can be done by the stockman’s employees and teams in the course of their ordinary work, the expense will be even less. The long, narrow type of excavation gives the minimum of haulage for the dirt, and the teams can be worked back and forth across the hole, thus avoid- ing loss of time in loading. Where there are no rocks to handle, two teams and several slip scrapers, or fresno scrapers, can get the earth out of the hole and into the banks very quickly Wlien the soil is of such a kind that it will not hold water readily, reservoirs are often lined with coatings of heavy crude oil or coal tar to make them water-tight. The entire surface of the tank is first rolled until it is fairly firm and solid, and is then gone over with a rake until the soil is loosened up to a depth of about an inch. The coating material, not boiling hot but warmed sufficiently to make it flow readily, is then spread by means of an ordinary broom or sprink- STOCK-WATERING PLACES ON WESTERN GRAZING LANDS. 19 ling pot until every part of the surface is covered. To cover a reservoir 50 feet wide, 100 feet long, and 4 feet deep, requires approx- imately 8 barrels of tar. If placed on the soil at boiling temperature the tar covering is likely to crack in cold weather. Stock should not be allowed to enter the reservoir after it is lined, because they are likely to cut the bottom with their feet. The cost is not heavy, and where clay can not be obtained and the slope is enough to per- mit troughs to be erected, it is in some ways the most satisfactory method of watering stock without danger of the water becoming foul. Cement reservoirs . — Wliere windmills are used for stock watering purposes cement reservoirs to hold the water pumped by the mills have been very successful. Their usual size is 30 by 20 feet and from 4 to 6 feet high, holding approximately 20,000 gallons of water, and watering 200 head of cattle for a period of from 8 to 10 days. The walls and bottom should be from 5 to 6 inches thick and reinforced with wires, especially about the corners. Barbed wire is excellent for reinforcement. Where there is danger of the water 'freezing soHd, the reservoir should be built with a decided slope to the inner walls. The slope can be obtained by making the walls 8 or 10 inches thick at the bottom and gradually narrowing them to 4 inches at the top. This will resist the pressure from the expanding ice, which otherwise might crack the walls. The usual 1, 2, 3 mixture is probably the best for such a reservoir, although a mixture of 1, 3, 5 has sometimes been used successfully. Tlie somewhat cheaper cost of the latter, however, scarcely justifies the possible loss in efficiency where the work is designed to be per- manent. Under ordinary conditions a reservoir of the size mentioned can be built at a cost of something like $100. This varies, of course, with the cost of materials and labor. Troughs at reservoirs . — The use of troughs at reservoirs avoids to a certain extent the necessity of cutting ice in the winter, since the water can be drawn from beneath the ice in the reservoir, provided the troughs and float valve are kept open. Where stock use a reservoir directly, many owners prefer to have a string of troughs between each of the wells, the overflow from the last trough going into the reservoii\ In winter, stock will drink the comparatively warm well water in preference to that from the reservoir and fare better on it. Where there is a string of five or six 10-foot troughs, and the mill makes an occasional turn, the water will not freeze in the first two or three troughs unless the temperature gets very low. Even then the animals can easily break the ice with then’ noses, a thing they very quickly learn to do. 20 FARMERS^ BULLETIN^ 592. STOCK WATER FROM MINING TUNNELS, On several National Forests use has been made of tlie waste water from mining tunnels, especially those abandoned by tlieir owners. Few tunnels run into the side of a mountain without striking a flow of water. If the mine is not being actively operated, and the owners are willing, the water running from the tunnel may be piped some distance to troughs, or a reservoir may be built. Frequently the tunnel itself may be used as a reservoh* by closing the entrance with cement work and placing an outlet pipe some distance above the floor. By the use of a float valve, water can be drawn off at the troughs as needed. If the winters are cold enough to freeze the water and burst the pipe, it should be buried below the surface of the ground. TROUGHS, The land of trough or other receptacle for holding water derived from wells and springs will depend very largely upon the character of the surroundings. Manifestly, it is necessary to utilize whatever material* is in the immediate vicinity of the watering place, even though it may not work for either permanence or appearance. The feature of permanence should not be lost sight of, however, if it can be obtained without too great a sacrifice of economy. Log troughs . — Hewed logs are and probably for a long time wiU continue to be by far the most common material for the construction of troughs. The fact that the trough can be constructed with the tools commonly at hand, and the low cost for renewals and repairs, are points which make for their use. The cost of a log trough depends to a great extent upon the skill and energy of the workmen. With labor at S2.50 per day, the cost of several 16-foot troughs hewed from yellow pine on an Arizona Forest was $7.50 each, which is rather high for this class of work. On an Oregon Forest the cost of log troughs is estimated at 20 cents per cubic foot of opening. On a Nevada Forest the cost is estimated at 14 cents per cubic foot of opening. On the Wallowa National Forest in Oregon tlie cost was from 21 to 26 cents per cubic foot for tamarack and 35 cents for yellow pine. Troughs may be hewed witli an ax or burned out with fire, or both, as seems best. Where one man is making several troughs time may be saved by using fire, but otherwise it is likely to effect no material saving. Yellow pine burns more readily and hews somewhat harder than most other trees. Aspen, yellow pine, spruce, and lodgepole pine are all used for troughs. In two cases, one in Utah and the other in Arizona, a string of yellow pine troughs is still in use after nearly 30 years’ service. Plarik troughs . — Next to the log trough, the plank trough is the form most common on the National Forests. A plank trough is much shorter lived than a log trough and is likely to leak whenever STOCK-WATERING PLACES ON WESTERN GRAZING LANDS. 21 the water is out of it for a few days. The use of material more than 2 inches thick does not add much to its hfe. Painting the trough both inside and outside is always advisable. Two coats of lead paint or very thin pine tar not only preserves the wood but makes the trough less likely to leak after being left without water. The framing of such troughs should be carefully mortised together and braced with iron rods at both top and bottom. Where it is more than 6 feet long there should also be a brace in the middle. A string of plank sheep-watering troughs on a National Forest, built of 2-inch plank, 12 feet long, 12 indies deep, and 12 inches wide, holding about 90 gallons each, cost $4 per trough. On another Forest the average cost of plank troughs, built of 2-inch material, from 12 to 16 feet long, was approximately $10 each. This includes material and labor. The lumber used was unfinished, and the troughs were not painted. The cost of a trough may be greatly increased by using the higher grades of material. Clear, finished 2-inch plank is expensive any- where, and its value for troughs is hardly great enough to warrant its use in place of the rough material of lower grades. Knots should be painted over with a heavy coat of lead paint or tar and then cov- ered on both sides with pieces of tin. A knot thus reinforced will remain in place as long as the tin does, and will seldom leak. When either log or plank troughs begin to leak they may be temporarily repaired by thi^owing a few shovelfuls of earth into them. Strips of cloth forced into the open seams vdth a knife or sharpened stick will also remedy a great many leaky places. Other forms of wooden troughs . — Another type of wooden trough is constructed of long, narrow staves bound together with steel rods. These troughs are half round ui shape, and the rods pass through wooden cross pieces laid upon the top of the trough. By means of nuts at each end the rods can be tightened up as required. These are a little more expensive than the ordinary plank trough, and are made either of pine or redwood and in various lengths from 8 to 16 feet. As with the plank trough, the main objection to them is the shrinking whenever the water is drawn out or even lowered for any length of time. Troughs are often made of planks put together with tongue and groove material in order to make them wider than single plank. These are built somewhat in the style of the ordinary water flume, and are held together by wooden frames of 4-inch timbers mortised and tenoned into each other and tightened by means of wooden wedges. Not only do the seams of these troughs open when the trough is left unfilled for a short time, but the planks themselves warp and do not readily come back into place when pressure from the wedges is applied. Moreover, they are the most expensive kind of wooden trough. 22 FARMERS^ BULLETIN^ 592. Metal troughs . — Where moderate cost, extreme lightness of weight, length of service, and low cost of maintenance are desired, the com- mon metal trough used by stockmen is superior to any other type. They can be procured either completely built or in sheets punched and ready for putting together. Their lasting qualities, of course, are excellent, and even if a hole is cut in one when ice is removed during the winter or from some other cause, repairs may be made cheaply and with the tools on hand at almost every stock ranch. Metal troughs are commonly half round in shape, stiffened with an iron or heavy wooden rim about the top, and braced at intervals of 2 or 3 feet with iron rods, the ends of the latter passing through a 3 or 4 inch brace on the top of the trough exactly as in a wooden trough of similar type. They are but httle more expensive than the stave trough and last much longer. A number of such troughs on the Kern Forest, in California, made of No. 18 galvanized iron, each holding 300 gallons, cost approximately $20 each dehvered at the nearest railroad station. The cost of hauling them to the watering places was comparatively low, and in most cases the trough, work- men, tools, etc., were all hauled in one wagon. Each of the troughs was 3 feet wide, 12 feet long, and 18 inches deep. Another lot of smaller troughs, each holding 135 gallons and built of No. 22 gal- vanized iron, cost about $17 each dehvered at the watering places. Oklahoma fools . — In recent years there has come into use a type of watering trough, or more properly reservoir, known as the Oklahoma pool. This is made of a circular wall of heavy galvanized iron, generally not over 2 feet high above ground, and for sheep not over 12 inches above ground. The circular wall is placed on edge in the ground in a narrow trench about 6 inches deep. A covering of about 3 or 4 inches of stiff clay, well tamped and puddled until it becomes water-tight, forms the bottom of the tank. Such a watering trough is easily placed in position. The material comes in long strips ready for fastening together at the ends with rivets. A stout iron rod runs about the top, making it firm and safe. Okla- homa pools can be made as large as necessary, and a great number of stock can be watered at the same time without undue crowding and fighting. If an animal gets into the tank, no harm is done, for the bottom is improved by the tramping and the sides are so low that stock can easily step over them. As a convenient storage reser- voir and water tank Oklahoma pools are yery satisfactory and cost less than the ordinary watering trough made of the same material. Dirt reservoirs . — The small dirt reservoir used for drinking purposes is the most unsatisfactory kind of trough. There is an undue amount of waste through evaporation and leakage, while the water is always more or less fouled by the animals. The reservoir can not be cleaned by any ordinary means, and so grows worse with time. The type STOCK-WATERING PLACES ON WESTERN GRAZING LANDS. 23 should be used only when other kinds are not available except at prohibitive cost, and should be replaced by something better at the first opportunity. Cement troughs . — Where the materials are readily available, and the cost of cement not prohibitive, concrete is the best material for watering troughs. If the concrete is mixed and the troughs built in the proper way, the watering place is practically indestructible. The great weight of such troughs prevents them from being moved or overturned by either animals or floods. They are not affected by decay, are easily cleaned, and the cost of upkeep is small. On the other hand, the location of a cement trough should be carefully considered, since it can not easily be moved if located in the wrong place. The walls, especially the corners, should be well reinforced with iron rods or barbed wire placed in the wet cement as the work progresses. To avoid injury by freezing, it is customary to give the inside of the trough a gradual slope by making the sides thicker at the bottom than at the top. Where lumber for the forms is not readily obtainable, earth may be scraped up into a mound and the form of the trough excavated, the walls of the excavation forming the outside of the trough. When finished and the form removed, the inner and outer surfaces of the trough should be washed with a mixture of pure cement put on with a broom or brush. This will close all small cracks or seams and give the work a finished appearance. The inlet and outlet pipes should be placed in the mixture where required as the work progresses. A collar placed about the center of these pipes will prevent leaks caused by the water following the pipe through the cement. The important thing in constructing a concrete trough is to use enough of the required materials, especially cement, and to obtain materials of the highest standard. Trough capacity . — If there is a strong flow from a spring, troughs need not be of unusual size or number. Wlien left to their own devices cattle seldom travel or feed in large bodies, and it is safe to assume that under ordinary range conditions more than a dozen head of cattle or horses will scarcely ever come to water in one bunch. Sheep, however, must all be watered at one time, and that class of stock requires a long string of troughs, each of comparatively small capacity, rather than a few deep and wide troughs as for cattle. In deciding the question of trough capacity points to consider are the following: Average water requirements of each class of stock, as given on page 2, and in the case of sheep the usual size of the bands and the flow of the spring. Foundations for troughs . — The life of any form of wooden trough will be greatly prolonged by placing it on a foundation which wiU keep its bottom out of the mud and water. At the same time, the trough should be set low enough to permit the young animals to 24 FARMERS^ BULLETIN, 592. drink from it. Cement or rock foundations are much better tluin short pieces of logs, and should always be used, even where some slight expense of time and labor is required to obtain the needed material. If rocks are used they should be laid in cement, if possible, and the foundation layer should be placed deep enough in the ground to avoid freezing and made sufficiently wide to prevent settling when the ground about the trough becomes saturated with water. Moreover, a log trough 12 to 1 6 feet long when filled with water has considerable weight, and a slight sinking of either end of the foundation would cause the trough to leak or to overflow, and may finally result in the whole trough turning over. Wliere sections of a log are used for the founda- tion, they should be cut from some old, burned, pitchy tree, which is resistant to decay. If the bottom of a trough is hewed flat and bound to the foundation by means of a mortise 4 or 5 inches deep, the tendency of the log to roll will be overcome much better than by simply setting the trough upon the foundation and holding it in place by blocks or wedges. The latter are sure to work out of place. In the case of cement troughs great care should be taken to have the foundation firm and solid. Otherwise its great weight will cause it to settle and perhaps turn over. Connections between troughs . — The success of the use of log troughs depends very largely upon the kind of connection between them when more than one is used. The ends of each trough should be carefully squared with a saw, and the troughs placed as close as possible to each other, end to end. An open notch cut in the end of each trough, as deep as necessary, holding a strip of sheet iron or tin is the best means of carrying water from one trough to another. It will be found far superior to an iron pipe, for it will not clog up with leaves or grass. Drainage about troughs . — Every effort should be made to keep the ground about troughs as dry as possible. There is bound to be more or less slopping of water as the animals drink, and a certain amount of overflow due to stoppage of the pipes. Moreover, the constant wear- ing away of the ground about the trough forms holes in which rain and snow water collect. For this reason the ground about the trough where the stock stand to drink should be dug away to a depth of from 5 to 6 inches as far back from the troughs as advisable. Into this excavation logs should be laid corduroy fashion, or else a layer of loose rock placed Telford style, as closely together as they can be wedged, and in a way to obtain a fairly smooth and level surface. If this is done, and the old dirt placed on top, the ground about the troughs wiU usually be solid and dry. The top layer of earth will have to be renewed occasionally, of course, to counteract the wear by the feet of the animals and the effect of the wind. One of the commonest sights on a poorly managed range is a string of watering troughs so high that only the old stock can water, and with a bog STOCK-WATERING PLACES ON WESTERN GRAZING LANDS. 25 hole in front of them through which the animals must wade to ob- tain a drink. General suggestions regarding troughs . — Every trough more than 18 inches wide should have a strong bar or plank placed lengthwise along its center as a means of keeping stock from getting into it, and per- haps drowning. This is especially necessary in the case of the half- round type, with its smooth bottom. The plank should be at least 1 J or 2 inch stuff, which will stand the weight of an animal thrown upon it, and should be wired or bolted firmly to the crosspieces. Some- times it is advisable to use the planks laid side by side, so that no animal can get all of its head below the cover, or else placed so that the opening on one side is only wide enough to allow the animal to get its head into the trough as far as the eyes. Every watering trough should be carefully staked down. Stock, especially cattle, in fighting for water may often throw the trough out of line or tip it over unless it is securely fastened. This can be done by placing stout posts of some decay-resisting wood at each corner and along the sides. The posts can be wired to the crosspieces or fastened by other means. The most satisfactory overflow or waste outlet is made by placing in the end of the trough at the proper water level a short piece of pipe with an elbow at each end. On the inside of the trough another short piece should be screwed into the elbow so as to carry the pipe down to within a short distance of the bottom. To the outer elbow of the pipe should be screwed another pipe long enough to carry the water to the ground and off to a considerable distance, in order to avoid a mudhole about the trough. The good point in this arrange- ment is in the fact that as the water enters the outlet pipe so far below its surface, little or no foreign matter is likely to enter the pipe and clog it. Care should, of course, be taken not to create a siphon. In the bottom of every trough should be a hole at least 2 inches in diam- eter from which dirt and other matter may be washed out. The hole is ordinarily closed wdth either a wooden or metal plug. In the case of wdde watering troughs it is often a good plan to run a fence through the center of the trough parallel wdth its length. This wdll keep the animals from trying to cross over or fighting across the trough, and will enable timid animals, which ordinarily stand about waiting for the rest to leave, to drink with the others. Where the troughs are not wide enough to be divided, it is often a good plan to fence them so that the animals can water only from one side. This is especially desirable where the back of the trough rests against a hillside, when the stock if allowed to approach from that side would either carry dirt and other waste material into the troughs or else slip in them- selves. The one objection to the fence is that old animals, especially cattle, are very likely to keep the younger animals from drinking as long as they can hold their ground. 26 FARMERS^ BULLETIN, 592. USE OF CEMENT. Cement enters into so many iniportant parts of water and other improvement work that a few suggestions regarding its use are given here. For complete directions regarding cement the reader should consult Farmers’ Bulletin 461, ‘'The Use of Concrete on the Farm.” Six-inch thickness of wall will be sufficient for almost every pur- pose of water development. The following formula gives the amount of the various materials needed in the preparation of concrete: Quantities of materials in 1 cubic foot of concrete. Mixture, 1 (portion) cement, 2 sand, 4 stone or gravel: Cement (barrels) 0. 058 Sand (cubic yards) 0163 Stone or gravel (cubic yards) 0326 For all ordinary cement construction the 1, 2, 4 proportions are sufficient. This means that to 1 shovel or other measure of cement take 2 of sand and 4 of gravel or broken rock. In figuring on such work, multiply the number of cubic feet in the proposed concrete structure by the above factors. This will give for the cement the number of barrels required, and for the sand and rock the number of cubic yards. To reduce the cement to sacks, multiply by 4, there being on an average 4 sacks of cement to a barrel. One sack of cement is enough for 1 cubic foot of construction work. Assuming that the work around some spring will total 20 cubic feet, the amount of material needed would be as follows: Cement 20X0.058=1.16 barrels or 4.64 sacks. Sand 20X0.0163=0.3260 cubic yard. Stone or gravel 20X0.0326=0.652 cubic yard. Or, roughly, 20 cubic feet of concrete will take 4 1 sacks cement, J of a cubic yard of sand, and f cubic yard of stone or gravel. Broadly speaking, sand may be said to include all stone or grains that will pass through a wire screen with J-inch mesh. Sand so fin e that it will pass through a 40-mesh screen is unsuitable for concrete work. A 40-mesh screen is one that contains 40 holes to the square inch of surface. Sand should bo free from clay, loam, or vegetable matter. To test it in this respect, place about 4 inches of sand in a pint fruit jar, fill the jar with water to within an inch of the top, place the cap on, and shake vigorously. If there is more than half an inch of clay or loam on top of the sand when it settles, the ma- terial is not fit for use. Sand made up of grains of various sizes is better than sand of uniform size grains. A sharp angular grain is the best, and hence “ wind-blown” sand is never satisfactory. Gravel, like sand, should be made up of pieces of different sizes. For water troughs, spring curbs, and the like it should range between the size that will not pass through a J-inch screen up to that which will STOCK- WATERING PLACES ON WESTERN GRAZINCx LANDS. 27 pass through a l.|-inch ring. It should bo froo from foreign matter, clay, loam, or dust. To get the best results, the sand and gravel should be screened separately and then mixed. The ordinary wet mixture requires about 5 gallons of water to a sack of cement. Where the amount of concrete is small, the water should be applied by means of a sprinkling pot. In all cases it should be applied slowly in order to avoid washing the cement from the mixing board. To mix the different materials, spread the necessary amount of sand 4 or 6 inches deep over a mixing board or frame of suitable size and as nearly water-tight as possible. On top of the sand put the necessary amount of cement. Then, with one man on each side, begin at one end and slowly shovel the mass over. The material should be poured from the shovel with a swinging motion so as to thoroughly mix the two parts. On top of this mixture place the rock and gravel, and shovel it all over again. During this operation the water should be added. The more the materials are mixed, the better the cement will coat each bit of gravel or grain of sand, and the more satisfactory will be the result. The mixture should not stand more than 30 minutes before being used. If by any accident this should happen, the mixture should be thrown away, since remixing it would not be safe. As the cement is placed in the forms it should be tamped down with an ordinary tamping instrument. When the water begins to rise on top of the work it is an indication that the packing has reached the proper point of solidity. Cement work should be sheltered from the direct rays of the sun for 5 or 6 days after being set. During this time it should be kept wet, in order that the drying-out process shall be gradual. Sacks, burlap, hay, or straw mil serve the purpose. Forms may be built of either rough or planed lumber. Where the work is in the ground, the earth itself will ordinarily form the molds. Care should be taken to see that the form is so braced and backed that it will not bulge out of shape. Forms should be as water-tight as possible so that the liquid cement will not run through the cracks. Concrete will not be injured by freezing after it is placed in the forms, provided no strain is put upon it until it has thoroughly thawed out and become set. A heavy covering of straw over fresh cement work will generally prevent freezing. o WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1914 Contribution from the Rural Organization Service, T, N. Carver, Director. June 3, 1914. U.S.DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HOW TO USE FARM CREDIT. By T. N. Carver, Director, Rural Organization Service. There is no magic about credit. It is a powerful agency for good 1 the hands of those who know how to use it. So is a buzz saw. . hey are about equally dangerous in the hands of those who do not •mderstand them. Speaking broadly, there are probably almost as many farmers in this country who are suffering from too much as ^"•om too little credit. Many a farmer would be better off to-day if ne had never had a chance to’borrow money at all, or go into debt for le things which he bought. However, that is no reason why those iarmers who do know how to use credit should not have it. NATURE AND USE OF CAPITAL. There is no mystery about credit or capital. Capital consists of . )ols and equipment, though sometimes we speak of it as though it ere the money necessary to buy the tools and equipment. Capital (id land are the factors which call for investment by the farmer, bus the large use of capital in farming has come because of the invention of agricultural machinery. When farming was done with few very simple tools, most of which were made either by the irmer himself or by the local blacksmith, capital did not play a large art in agriculture. Another way of saying the same thing is that it id not take much money to buy all the equipment the farmer needed : knew how to use. The purchase of land was the only thing requir- ing much money, and land, in this country, was either free or very (heap. Therefore, there was very little money required to start in griculture. At the present time, not only is the price of land rising, ut the equipment of a farm requires more capital because of the ncreased use of improved machinery. This is likely to increase more .and more as the years go by. Note.— T his bulletin is intended to help farmers with the business side of their enterprises and is suitable for all sections of the country. 41695°— 14 2 FAEMERS^ BULLETIN 593. Capital is brought into existence in only one way — that is, by con- suming less than is produced. If one has a doUar, one can spend it either for an article of consumption, say confectionery, or for an article of production, say a spade. He who buys a spade becomes a capitalist to the amount of a dollar' — that is, he becomes an owner of tools. The process is precisely the same, whether the amount in question is a dollar or a million dollars. If he does not have the dollar, his only chance of getting the spade is either .to borrow it or borrow the money with which to buy it. That is, he must use credit. Again, the process is precisely the same, whether the amount be a dollar or a million dollars. HOW CAPITAL IS SECURED. There are, therefore, only two ways of securing capital for the equipment of a farm. One is to accumulate it oneself, by consuming less than one produces; the other is to borrow it. The advantage of borrowing is that one does not have to wait so long to get possession of the tools and equipment. One can get them at once and make them produce the means of paying for themselves. Without them, the farmer’s production might be so low as to make it difficult ever to accumulate enough with which to buy them. With their help, he may be able to pay for them — that is, to pay off the debt in a shorter time than it would take to accumulate the purchase price without them. That is the only advantage of credit in any business, but it is a great advantage to those who know how to use it. PROPER AND IMPROPER USES OF CREDIT. Shortsighted people, however, who do not realize how inexorably the time of payment arrives, who do not know how rapidly tools wear out and have to be replaced, or who do not keep accounts in order that they may tell exactly where they stand financially, will do well to avoid borrowing. Debts have to be paid with deadly certainty, and they who do not have the wherewithal when the day of reckoning arrives, become bankrupt with equal certainty. On the other hand, there is nothing disgraceful about borrowing for productive purposes. The feeling that it is not quite respectable to go into debt has grown out of the old habit of borrowing to pay living expenses. That was regarded, perhaps rightly, as a sign of incompe- tency. It was then natural that men should not like to have tlieir neighbors know that they had to borrow money. But to borrow for a genuinely productive purpose, for a purpose which will bring you in more than enough to pay off your debt, principal and interest, is a profitable enterprise. It shows business sagacity and courage and is not a thing to be ashamed of. But it can not be too much emphasized | HOW TO USE FAEM CREDIT. 3 that the would-be borrower must calculate very carefully and be sure that it is a productive enterpriso before he goes into debt. This distinction between borrowing for a productive purpose and borrowing to pey living expenses will help to explain why religious leaders in times past have been opposed to interest. It is undoubtedly a bad practice for men to borrow money with which to buy articles for consumption, except in the most extreme cases. Articles for con- sumption are goods which are used to satisfy desires rather than to assist in production. Before the days of expensive machinery, when capital was not an important factor in production, such a thing as borro\ving for productive purposes was practically unknown. The only borrowing that was done was for. the purpose of buying nonpro- ductive goods. This is a bad practice. OBJECTION TO USE OF CREDIT. The question may be asked, however, why did not the early guard- ians of society forbid borrowing instead of forbidding the taking of interest ? The reason was that so long as the usurers were permitted to offer loans, many shortsighted people would jdeld to the temptation to borrow. Since the purpose for which they borrowed added noth- ing to their earning capacity, they were in no better position to accu- mulate money after they borrowed than they had been before. If they had been able to accumulate anything before, they would not have needed money. The fact that they had not been able to accu- mulate anything before would be pretty conclusive proof that they would not be able to accumulate enough to pay the debt. There- fore, they put themselves into the clutches of the usurer. Rightly or wrongly this was the attitude of the early religious and moral leaders on the subject of usury, or interest. Instead of for- bidding shortsighted borrowing, as aU borrowing for purposes of con- sumption is, they went to the root of the matter, and attacked lend- ing for interest. Since the use of productive machinery, that is, capital, has come to play such an important r61e, these considerations do not apply to borrowing for productive purposes. Therefore, dis- criminating modern leaders and teachers do not oppose the taldng of reasonable interest. In fact, the State regulates this matter by fixing the maximum legal interest charge. There is need, however, of a revival of sentiment against lending for nonproductive purposes, which was aU that the early leaders and teachers opposed. PRINCIPAL MORE IMPORTANT THAN INTEREST. In the payment of a debt it is not the interest but the principal which gives the greatest trouble, except where interest rates are exorbitant. If a man borrows $100 for a year at 7 per cent, he has to pay, at the 4 farmers’ bulletin 593. end of the year, $107. If he borrows at 5 per cent, he has to pay $105. The difference is $2. Nowj $2 is not to be despised. Good business consists in large part in looking after just such items as this. Never- theless, it is only a little harder to pay $107 than to pay $105. The point is that the principal is the same in either case, and it is the principal which gives the greatest trouble. The reason it has seemed necessary to emphasize this elementary fact is that many people ^eem to imagine that if interest on farm loans can be reduced from 7 per cent to 5 per cent, or from 6 per cent to 4 per cent, conditions wiU be made easy for the farmers. It is impor- tant that interest rates be lowered wherever it is economically pos- sible, but it is vastly more important that farmers should learn how to pay back the principal easily. The only way to do this is to use the money borrowed in such a way as to put one in possession of the means of repayment. If the $100 which a man borrows is spent for fertilizer, which adds $125 to the value of his crop, he should not find any great difficulty in repaying the loan, both principal and interest. If he uses it in such a way as to add only $75 to his crop, he will have some difficulty in repaying the principal, saying nothing of the interest. It is more important that he should be able to use the $100 so as to add $125 rather than $75 to his crop, than it is that he should be able to borrow at 5 per cent or even without interest. An unproductive enterprise is not a safe basis for borrowing under any conditions. In other words, it is of more importance that the enterprise in which one is engaged shall be a productive enterprise than that the rate of interest at which one can borrow money is high or low. The first and more important rule to be observed, therefore, in the use of farm credit is to make sure that it is for a productive purpose, that is to say, moke sure that the 'pur'pose for which the loorrowed money is to he used will produce a return greater than needed to pay the debt. Except in extreme cases, it is bad policy to borrow for the purpose of purchasing anything which will not help to pay for itself. As a rule, the purchase of these things should be postponed until the farmer has accumulated the wherewithal out of his own earnings. But if he borrows money to buy fertilizer and agrees to repay the loan before his crop has been harvested and sold, he may have diffi- culty in repa 3 dng it. One in such a predicament has three possi- bilities open to him. He may receive money from some other source at the time the loan falls due, he may get the loan extended or the note renewed, or he may be sold out by his creditor. The first is not altogether desirable because it violates an important principle of business management; namely, that each part of the business shall provide the means of paying its own expenses. The second is unde- HOW TO USE FARM CREDIT. 5 sirable because it puts liini in tlie position of requesting a favor of bis creditor, whereas all business arrangements between man and man ought to be so clear and so definite that neither shall need to ask special favors of the otlier. The tliird needs no comment. REPAYMENT AND DURATION OF LOAN. Tliis brings us to the second rule to be observed in the use of farm credit. The contract should provide for the repayment of the priji- cipal at the most convenient time; that is, when the farmer is most hkely to have the means wherewith to repay it. The third rule is closely related to the second. It has to do with the duration of the loan, or the time for which the loan is to run. If a man borrows to buy fertilizer which is to be used up in one year, the loan ought not to run for more than a year. If he is not able to pay the loan with liis fn*st crop, he will never be in a position to pay it, unless he draws upon some other source for the money. This 'vdolates the first rule. Again, it should not be for a shorter period than the growing season of the crop; for that would violate the second rule. If he borrows for the purpose of buying a twine-binder which will help in the harvesting of several grain crops, each crop should not only pay the annual interest charge, but a part of the principal as well. A small loan of this kind, for an investment which lasts only a few years, may not give much trouble and may not require any special method of repayment. But a heavy loan, for the purchase of land or the making of costly and durable improvements, may lay a con- siderable financial strain upon the farmer. Any method which will reheve that strain is, therefore, a matter of importance. In order to reduce the strain as much as possible the loan should be for a long period of time. In no case, of course, as stated above, should the loan outlast the improvement. If the borrower wants the money to build a silo, and the silo will last 10 years, the loan should not be for more than 10 years. It is better to err on the safe side, if at all, and pay the debt off in less than 10 years rather than to let it run too long. If the silo will not pay for itself in that time, it never will. On the other hand, it can scarcely be expected to pay for itself in one or two years. Unless the borrower has other resources, it would be a financial strain if his debt has to be paid so soon. The length of time the debt is to run should have a close relation to the 'productive life of the improvement for which the money is borrowed. This will do away with the necessity of having the loan frequently renewed, and it will free the borrower from subjection to an unscrupulous lender who might refuse to renew a short-time loan and insist on foreclosure. 6 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 593. REPAYMENT OF LONG-TIME LOANS. The fourth rule is that 'provision should he made in the long-time loan for the gradual reduction of the principal. There are two well- recognized ways of doing this. One is to provide in the note that, on any interest date, the borrower may, if he so desires, repay a part of the principal. As the principal is gradually reduced the annual interest charge is likewise reduced, and by paying the same sum annually, the debt is gradually wiped out. Another method is to provide in the note itself for a definite rate of amortization by fixed annual or semiannual payments. Each of these fixed payments not only pays the interest but a small part of the principal besides, eventually wiping it out completely. Farmers are strongly advised, in all long-time loans, to insist on one or the other of these methods of repayment. It may be necessary to organize and work together in order to secure these and other favorable terms. An examination of the tables at the end of this article will show what may be done by the method of amortization by fixed annual and semiannual payments. RATES OF INTEREST. The fifth rule is that as'low interest rates as possible should he secured. While this is obvious enough, it is apparently not quite clear to a good many farmers just how to secure low interest rates. Interest rates, like prices in general, depend upon the law of supply and demand. When there is more loanable capital in a community than is wanted by the borrowers of that community, the rate of interest is low and the bor- rowers can dictate terms. When there is less loanable capital than is wanted by borrowers, interest is high and and the lenders dictate terms. Obviously, therefore, it is to the interest of the borrowers to increase the number of lenders, or, at least, to increase the amount of loanable capi- tal in their community. The way to increase the supply of loanable capital is not to denounce lenders and hold them up to public hatred. That is like throwing clubs at chickens to cure them of shyness and make them come when they are called. The right way is just the opposite of that; it is to make the neighborhood attractive to lenders, so that they will be anxious to come. Then the borrowers wiU be able to secure favorable terms. So long as lenders are hated, so long as borrowers habitually try to beat the lenders and force them to resort to legal proceedings to collect, just so long will the right kind of lenders avoid such a community, interest rates will be high, terms unfavorable, and foreclosures frequent. The only kind of lenders who will go to such a community are the loan sharks, who go in for the purpose of HOW TO USE FARM CREDIT. 7 taking advantage of high interest rates ajul who watch tor chances to foreclose mortgages. IMPROVING CREDIT CONDITIONS. The point to remember is that the farmers have it within their power to a large extent to remedy these conditions themselves, though it may take some careful planning and hard work. In the first place, they must disabuse their minds of the notion that tangible property, such as land, furnishes the best security in the world. The business abihty and character of the borrower are of even greater importance in such transactions than the value of the land he may own. Where farmers are known to be capable of paying their debts and willing to do so promptly and without legal proceedings, there credit conditions are good, because the right kind of lenders are attracted. The right kind of lenders do not like to foreclose mortgages or resort to any form of legal procedure. They will avoid any neighborhood where such things occur frequently, and leave it to others less considerate. The right kind of money lender merely wants his principal back, together with the stipulated rate of interest. Where these are assured to him without the vexation of legal procedure, he will go. Generally speaking, that is why such vast quantities of loanable capital are going to certain farming sections and lending at low rates, rather than going to other sections where high rates might be secured. It must be admitted, however, that one farmer can do very little, when working alone, to give his neighborhood a better financial repu- tation, or to attract the right kind of lenders. This is a problem which must be worked out by the whole community, or, at least, by a considerable group of men. Ten just men, it will be remembered, might have saved even Sodom and Gomorrah. If there are nine other men in your neighborhood in whom you have confidence, who have confidence in one another and in you, you and they may be able to work out this problem together. If ten men can not be found in a community who have confidence in one another, how can they hope to find lenders from the outside who will have confidence enough in that community to risk lending money there ? If ten or more who have confidence in one another, enough confi- dence to be wilhng to trust one another financially, can get together and hold together, they can eventually work out their credit problems. The tables on pages 8, 9, and 10 show the time necessary to pay a debt of $1,000, at 5 per cent, by annual payments of $100, $90, $80, $75, and $70. 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 593. Table 1. — Amortization table. Amount of loan . . . Length of term Rate of interest. . . Annual payments. — years., per cent.. $ 1,000 15 5 $100 [These figures apply proportionately to a loan of any amoimt whatever.] Annual periods. Total annual payment. Interest at 5 per cent. Paid on prin- cipaL Amount of principal still unpaid. 1 $100. 00 $50. 00 $50. 00 $950. 00 2 100. 00 47. 50 52. 50 897. 50 3 100. 00 44. 87 55. 13 842. 38 4 100. 00 42. 12 57. 88 784. 49 5 100. 00 39. 22 60. 78 723. 72 6 100. 00 36. 19 63. 81 659. 90 7 100. 00 33. 00 67. 00 592. 90 8 100. 00 29. 64 70. 36 522. 54 9 100. 00 26. 13 73. 87 448. 67 10 100. 00 22. 43 77. 57 371. 11 11 100. 00 18. 56 81. 44 289. 66 12 100. 00 14. 48 85. 52 204. 14 13 100. 00 10. 21 89. 79 114. 35 14 100. 00 5. 72 94. 28 20. 07 15 21.07 1. 00 20. 07 Total 1, 421. 07 421. 07 1, 000. 00 Table 2. — Amortization table. Amount of loan . . . Length of term Rate of interest. . . Annual payments. $1,000 years.. 17 .per cent. . 5 $90 [These figures apply proportionately to a loan of any amount whatever.] Annual periods. Total annual payment. Interest at 5 per cent. Paid on inin- cipal. Amount of principal still unpaid. 1 $90. 00 $50. 00 $40. 00 $960. 00 2 90. 00 48. 00 42. 00 918. 00 3 90. 00 45. 90 44. 10 873. 90 4 90. 00 43. 70 46. 31 827. 60 5 90. 00 41. 38 48. 62 778. 97 6 90. 00 38. 95 51. 05 727. 92 7 90. 00 36. 40 53. 60 674. 32 8 90. 00 33. 72 56. 28 618. 04 9 90. 00 30. 90 59. 10 558. 94 10 90. 00 27. 95 62. 05 496. 88 11 90. 00 24. 84 65. 16 431. 73 12 90. 00 21. 59 68. 41 363. 31 13 90. 00 18. 16 71.83 291. 48 14 90. 00 14. 57 75. 43 216. 05 15 90. 00 10. 80 79. 20 136. 86 16 90. 00 6. 84 83. 16 53. 70 17 56. 38 2. 68 53. 70 Tota l - - 1, 496. 38 496. 38 1, 000. 00 HOW TO USE FARM CREDIT. 9 'Table 3. — Amortization table. Amount of loan.., Length of term Rate of interest . . . Annual payments. $1,000 years.. 21 .percent.. 5 $80 [These figures apply proportionately to a loan of any amount whatever.] Annual periods. Total annual payment. Interest at 5 per cent. Paid on prin- cipal. Amount of principal still unpaid. 1 $80. 00 $50. 00 $30. 00 $970. 00 2 80. 00 48. 50 31. 50 938. 50 3 80. 00 46. 93 33. 07 905. 43 4 80. 00 45. 27 34. 73 870. 70 5 80. 00 43. 54 36. 47 834. 23 6 80. 00 41. 71 38. 29 795. 94 7 80. 00 39. 80 40. 20 755. 74 8 80. 00 37. 79 42. 21 713. 53 9 80. jOO 35. 68 44. 32 669. 20 10 80. 00 33. 46 46. 54 622. 66 11 80. 00 31. 13 48. 87 573. 80 12 80. 00 28. 69 51. 31 522. 49 13 80. 00 26. 12 53. 87 468. 61 14 80. 00 23. 43 56. 57 412. 04 15 80. 00 20. 60 59. 40 352. 64 16 80. 00 17. 63 62. 37 290. 27 17 80. 00 14. 51 65. 49 224. 79 18 80. 00 11. 24 68. 76 156. 03 19 80. 00 7. 80 72. 20 83. 83 20 80. 00 4. 19 75. 81 8. 02 21 8. 42 . 40 8. 02 Total 1, 608. 42 608. 42 1, 000. 00 Table 4. — Amortization table. Amount of loan Length of term years. . Rate of interest per cent. . Annual payments $ 1,000 23 5 $75 [These figures apply proportionately to a loan of any amount whatever.] Annual periods. Total annual payment. Interest at 5 per cent. Paid on prin- cipal. Amount of principal still impaid. 1 $75. 00 $50. 00 $25. 00 $975. 00 2 75. 00 48. 75 26. 25 948. 75 3 75. 00 47. 44 27. 56 921. 19 4 75. 00 46. 06 28. 94 892. 25 5 75. 00 44. 61 30. 39 861. 86 6 75. 00 43. 09 31. 91 829. 95 75. 00 41. 50 33. 50 796. 45 75. 00 39. 82 35. 18 761. 27 9 75. 00 38. 06 36. 94 724. 34 10 75. 00 36. 22 38. 78 685. 55 11 75. 00 34. 28 40. 72 644. 83 12 75. 00 . 32. 24 42. 76 602. 08 13 75. 00 30. 10 44. 90 557. 17 14 75. 00 27. 86 47. 14 510. 03 15 75. 00 25. 50 49.50 460. 54 10 FAKMERS BULLETIN 593. Table 4. — Amortization table — Continued. Annual periods. Total annual payment. Interest at 5 per cent. Paid on prin- cipal. Amount of principal still unpaid. 16 $75. 00 $23. 03 $51. 97 $408. 56 17 75. 00 20. 43 54. 57 353. 99 18 75. 00 17. 70 57. 30 296. 69 19 75. 00 14. 83 60. 17 236. 52 20 75. 00 11. 83 63. 17 173. 35 21 75. 00 8. 67 66. 33 107. 02 22 75. 00 5. 35 69. 65 37. 37 23 39. 24 1. 87 37. 37 Total 1, 689. 24 689. 24 1, 000. 00 Table 5. — Amortization table. Ajnount of loan... Length of term Rate of interest. . . Annual payments $1,000 ...years.. 20 percent.. 5 $70 [These figures apply proportionately to a loan of any amount whatever.) Annual periods. Total annual payment. Interest at 5 per cent. Paid on prin- cipal. Amount of principal stiU unpaid. 1 $70. 00 $50. 00 $20. 00 $980. 00 2 70. 00 49.00 21. 00 959. 00 3 70. 00 47. 95 22. 05 936. 95 4 70. 00 46. 85 23. 15 913. 80 5 70. 00 45. 69 24. 31 889. 49 6 70. 00 44. 47 25. 52 863. 96 7 70. 00 43. 20 26. 80 837. 16 8 70. 00 41.86 28. 14 809. 02 9 70. 00 40. 45 29. 55 779. 47 10 70. 00 38. 97 31.03 748. 44 11 70.00 37.42 32. 58 715. 86 12 70. 00 35. 79 34. 21 681. 66 13 70. 00 34. 08 35. 92 645. 74 14 70.00 32.29 37. 71 608. 03 15 70. 00 30. 40 39. 60 568. 43 16 70. 00 28. 42 41. 58 526. 85 17 70. 00 26. 34 43. 66 483. 19 18 70.00 24. 16 45. 84 437. 35 19 70. 00 21.87 48. 13 389. 22 20 70. 00 19. 46 50. 54 338. 68 21 , 70. 00 16. 94 53. 07 285. 61 22 70. 00 14. 28 55. 72 229. 89 23 70. 00 11. 50 58. 50 171. 39 24 70. 00 8. 57 61. 43 109. 96 25 70. 00 5. 50 64. 50 45. 46 26 47. 73 2. 27 45. 46 Tntnl 1, 797. 73 797. 73 1, 000. 00 HOW TO USE FARM CREDIT. 11 The tables on pages 11, 12, 13, and 14 show the time necessary to pay a debt of $1,000, at 6 per cent interest, by annual payments of $100, $90, $80, $75, and $70. Table 6. — Amortization table. Amount of loan... Length of term . . . Rate of interest . . . Annual payments. $ 1,000 ...years.. 16 percent.. 6 $100 [These figures apply proportionately to a loan of any amount whatever.] Aimual periods. Total annual payment. Interest at 6 per cent. Paid on prin- cipal. Amount of principal still impaid. 1 $100. 00 $60. 00 $40. 00 $960. 00 9 100. 00 57. 60 42. 40 917. 60 3 100. 00 55.06 44. 94 872. 66 4 100. 00 52. 36 47. 64 825. 02 5 100. 00 49. 50 50. 50 774. 52 6 100. 00 46. 47 53. 53 720. 99 7 100. 00 43. 26 56. 74 664. 25 8 100. 00 39. 85 60. 15 604. 10 9 100. 00 36.25 63. 75 540. 35 10 100. 00 32. 42 67. 58 472. 77 11 100. 00 28. 37 71. 63 401. 13 12 100. 00 24. 07 75. 93 325. 20 13 100. 00 19. 51 80. 49 244. 71 14 100. 00 14. 68 85. 32 159. 40 15 100. 00 9. 56 90. 44 68. 96 16 73. 10 4. 14 68. 96 Total 1, 573. 10 573. 10 1,000.00 Table 7. — Amortization table. Amount of loan . . . Length of term Rate of interest. . . Annual payments. $1,000 ...years.. 19 percent.. 6 $90 [These figures apply proportionately to a loan of any amount whatever.] Aimual periods. Total annual payment. Interest at 6 per cent. Paid on prin- cipal. Amount of principal stiU unpaid. $90. 00 $60. 00 $30. 00 $970. 00 2 90. 00 58. 20 31. 80 938. 20 3 90. 00 56. 29 33. 71 904. 49 4 90. 00 54. 27 35. 73 868. 76 5 90. 00 52. 13 37. 87 830. 89 6 90. 00 49. 85 40. 15 790. 74 7 90. 00 47. 44 42. 55 748. 18 8 90. 00 44. 89 45. 11 703. 08 9 90. 00 42. 19 47. 82 655. 26 10 90.00 39. 32 50. 68 604. 58 12 FARMERS BULLETIN 593. Table 7 . — Amortization table — Continued. Annual periods. Total annual payment. Interest at G per cent. Paid on prin- cipal. Amount of principal still unpaid. 11 $90. 00 90. 00 90.00 90. 00 90. 00 90. 00 90.00 90. 00 77. 20 $36. 28 33. 05 29. 63 26. 01 22. 17 18. 10 13. 79 9. 22 4. 37 $53. 72 56. 95 60. 37 63. 99 67. 83 71. 90 76.21 80. 78 72. 83 $550. 85 493. 90 433. 54 369. 55 301. 72 229. 82 153. 61 72. 83 12 13 14- 15 16 17 18 19 Total 1, 697. 20 697. 20 1, 000. 00 Table 8. — Amortization table. Amount of loan . . . Length of term Rate of interest. . . Annual payments. $i,oao ... years-- 24 .percent.- 6 «80 [These figures apply proportionately to a loan of any amount whatever.] Annual periods. 1 -. 2 .. 3.. 4-. 5.. 6 .. 7-. 8 .. 9-. 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 14 15 16. 17 18. 19 20 21 22 . 23 24 Total annual payment. Interest at 6 per cent. Paid on prin- cipal. Amount of principal still unpaid. $80. 00 $60. 00 $20. 00 $980. 00 80. 00 58. 80 21. 20 958. 80 80. 00 57. 53 22. 47 936. 33 80. 00 56. 18 23. 82 912. 51 80. 00 54. 75 25. 25 887. 26 80. 00 53. 24 26. 76 860. 49 80. 00 51. 63 28. 37 832. 12 80.00 49. 93 30. 07 802. 05 80.00 48. 12 31. 88 770. 17 80. 00 46. 21 33. 79 . 736.38 80. 00 44. 18 35. 82 700. 57 80. 00 42.03 37. 97 662.60 80.00 39. 76 40. 24 622. 36 80. 00 37. 34 42. 66 579. 70 80. 00 34. 78 45. 22 534. 48 80. 00 32. 07 47. 93 486. 55 80. 00 29. 19 50. 81 435. 74 80. 00 26.14 53. 86 381. 89 80. 00 22. 91 57. 09 324. 80 80.00 19. 49 60. 51 264. 29 80. 00 15. 86 64. 14 200. 14 80.00 12. 01 67. 99 132. 15 80. 00 7. 93 72. 07 60.08 63. 68 3. 60 60. 08 1, 903. 68 903, 68 1, 000. 00 Total HOW TO USE FARM CREDIT. 13 Table 9. — Amortization table. Amount of loan . . . Length of term . . . Rate of interest . . . Annual payments $ 1,000 years.. 28 percent.. 6 $75 [These figmes apply proportionately to a loan of any amount whatever.] Annual periods. Total annual payment. Interest at 6 per cent. Paid on prin- cipal. Amount of principal still unpaid. 1 $75. 00 $60. 00 $15. 00 $985. 00 2 75. 00 59. 10 15. 90 969. 10 3 75. 00 58. 15 16. 85 952. 25 4 75. 00 57. 13 17. 87 934. 38 5 75. 00 56. 06 18. 94 915. 44 6 75. 00 54. 93 20. 07 895. 37 7 75. 00 53. 72 21. 28 874. 09 8 75. 00 52. 45 22. 56 851. 54 9 75. 00 51. 09 23. 91 827. 63 10 75. 00 49. 66 25. 34 802. 29 11 75. 00 48. 14 26. 86 775. 43 12 75. 00 46. 52 28. 48 746. 95 13 75. 00 44. 82 30. 18 716. 77 14 75. 00 43. 01 31. 99 684. 77 15 75. 00 41. 09 33. 91 650. 86 16 75. 00 39.05 35. 95 614. 91 17 : 75. 00 36. 89 38. 11 576. 81 18 75. 00 34. 61 40. 39 536. 41 19 75. 00 32. 18 42. 82 493. 60 20 75. 00 29. 61 45. 38 448. 22 21 75. 00 26. 89 48. 11 400. 11 22 75. 00 24. 01 50. 99 349. 11 23 75. 00 20. 95 54. 05 295. 06 24 75. 00 17. 70 57. 30 237. 76 25 75. 00 14. 27 60. 73 177. 03 26 75. 00 10. 62 64. 38 112. 65 27 75. 00 6. 76 68. 24 44. 41 28 47. 07 2. 66 44. 41 Total 2, 072 07 1, 072. 07 1, 000. 00 14 FAKMERS BULLETIN 593. Table 10. — Amortization table. Amount of loan. .. Length of term . . . Rate of interest. . . Annual payments. $1,000 — years.. 34 .percent.. G $70 [These figures apply proportionately to a loan of any amount whatever.] Annual periods. Total annual payment. Interest at 6 per cent. Paid on prin- cipal. Amount of principal still unpaid. 1 $70. 00 $60. 00 $10. 00 $990. 00 2 70. 00 59. 40 10. 60 979. 40 3 70. 00 58. 76 11. 24 968. 16 4 70. 00 58. 09 11.91 956. 25 5 70. 00 57. 38 12. 62 943. 63 6 70. 00 56. 62 13. 38 930. 25 7 70. 00 55.81 14. 19 916. 06 8 70. 00 54. 96 15. 04 901. 02 9 70. 00 54. 06 15. 94 885. 09 10 70. 00 53. 11 16.89 868. 19 11 70. 00 52. 09 17. 91 850. 28 12 70. 00 51. 02 18. 98 831. 30 13 70. 00 49. 88 20. 12 811. 18 14 70. 00 48. 67 21. 33 789. 85 15 70. 00 47. 39 22. 61 767. 24 16 70. 00 46. 03 23. 97 743. 27 17 70. 00 44. 60 25. 40 717.87 18 : 70. 00 43. 07 26. 93 690. 94 19 . 70. 00 41. 46 28. 54 662. 40 20 70. 00 39. 74 30. 26 632. 14 21 70. 00 37. 93 32. 07 600. 07 22 70. 00 36. 00 34. 00 566. 08 23 70. 00 33. 96 36. 04 530. 04 24 70. 00 31. 80 38. 20 491. 84 25 70. 00 29. 51 40. 49 451. 35 26 70. 00 27. 08 42. 92 408. 43 27 70. 00 24. 51 45. 49 362. 94 28 70. 00 21. 78 48. 22 314. 72 29 70. 00 18. 88 51. 12 263. 60 30 70. 00 15. 82 54. 18 209. 42 31 70. 00 12. 56 57. 44 151. 98 32 70. 00 9. 12 60. 88 91. 10 33 70. 00 5. 47 64. 53 26. 56 34 28. 15 1. 59 26. 56 Total 2, 338. 15 1, 338. 15 1, 000. 00 O WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1914 2J.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Contribution from the Office of Markets, Charles J. Brand, Chief. June 4, 1914. SHIPPING EGGS BY PARCEL POST.' By liEwis B. Flohr, Scientific Assistant. INTRODUCTION. There is a most active, nation-wide interest in methods of elimi- nating waste and expense in getting food products from the farm to he consumer. This is a natural result of prevailing high prices to ohe city buyer and low net returns to the grower. The farmer has ost much of his old-time interest in growing larger, better crops at reater expense, which frequently bring him lower prices and smaller eturns, or even losses, without reducing prices to the consumer. There are many products which are ready for use when they leave he farm; to a considerable extent these can be marketed direct by Lie farmer to the consumer. This will obviate the necessity for con- entrating any given product in large quantities in storage or market- ig centers, save the cost incident to this concentration and conse- •uent redistribution, and get the product to the consumer in a fresher, letter condition. The parcel post offers a channel or means for such marketing. The Postmaster General has done much to popularize the parcel ost, and a great deal has been said in the public press in regard to its tilization in establishing direct business intercourse between country nd city. The Office of Markets, in cooperation with officials of the *ost Office Department, has conducted an extensive study of the ossibilities of marketing various farm and food products by parcel ost, with a view to promoting direct dealing when practicable. The /ork of shipping eggs has progressed to a point where definite con- fusions based on experimental data can be stated. More than seven mndred dozens of eggs have been sliipped experimentally through the Qails,from various points, under various conditions, and in various dif- .erent types of containers, without undue loss, showing that it is un- 1 This bulletin presents conclusions from recent investigations made in cooperation with the Post Office Department. It contains matter which at the present time is arousing considerable public interest and furnishes information as to the use of the parcel post as a channel of communication between the producer and consumer which will prove of value to every postmaster as well as to the patrons of their offices. 42675°— 14 1 .2 FAliMEKS^ BULLETIN 594. doubtedly a feasible and practical method of transporting eggs. This is true both as regards the cost of shipment and the condition of the eggs on reaching the consumer’s kitchen. While it is probable that for some time to come the great bulk of eggs which come from distant producing territory will be shipped by other methods, it is no doubt true that many cities can he supplied with a considerable portion of their fresh eggs from within the first and second zones by parcel post to the advantage of both producer and consumer. By such direct contact the producer should secure somewhat better prices for his eggs than are realized by present methods of marketing, and the consumer should obtain a fresher quality at no increased cost, or, frequently, even at a reduction in price. The pro- ducer who does not have satisfactory marketing facilities may find in the parcel post a means of solving his egg-marketing problems. This applies especially to the man whose flock is so small that he can not make case shipments, i. e., shipments in the regular 30-dozen-size egg case. SUMMARY OF RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTAL SHIPMENTS. Four hundred and sixty-six shipments were made in the experi- ments. They comprised a total of 760 dozens, or 9,131 eggs, in lots of from 1 to 10 dozen each. The number of eggs broken was 327, or slightly less than 3.6 per cent of the whole number. Of these, 209 eggs, or slightly less than 2.3 per cent, were broken too badly to use; the remaining 118 were usable. If 91 eggs broken in parcels known to have received violent usage be eliminated, the breakage resulting in loss is less than 1 .3 per cent. The instructions issued by the Post Office Department for the handling of fragile mail matter (which includes eggs) are carefully drawn and quite ample. If all employees of the postal service could be educated to observe the instructions faithfully the breakage could be reduced to a negligible minimum. This presupposes proper prepa- ration for mailing. These experimental shipments were made over various routes and distances, including not only local shipments over short routes but points as far away from Washington as Minneapolis, Minn., and the Rocky Mountains. They began in October, 1913, and extended to February, 1914, thus inclufling the holiday rush. The shipments have been sufficiently numerous to justify the conclusion that eggs can be shipped by mail satisfactorily under the existing postal provisions, provided these are rigorously observed. THE EGGS. Parcel post is a new medium for marketing eggs and its successful use imposes the need of greater care on the producer. Only such eggs should be shipped as are produced by healthy fowls kept under proper SHIPPING EGGS BY PARCEL POST. 3 sanitary conditions and supplied with sound, wholesome feed. If possible only nonfertile eggs should bo produced for market; fertile eggs deteriorate rapidly and are the cause of much loss. A broody hen on the nest, or exposure to a temperature from other sources sufficient to start incubation, causes all such eggs to be rejected when they are candled. Eggs should be cared for carefully, beginning with keeping the fowls under such conditions that the eggs wdll not bo soiled in the nest by mud from the feet of the hens or otherwise; they should bo gathered at least once a day (twice will be better) and should be stored in a well-ventilated place, which must be kept as cool as possible. Eggs intended for high-class trade should never be washed, as washing removes the natural mucilaginous coat- ing of the egg and opens the pores of the shell. Eggs which have been soiled should be kept for home use or dis- posed of otherwise than to a parcel-post customer. In spite of the greatest care it will sometimes happen under ordinary farm conditions that an occasional bad egg will appear among those sent to market. It would be wise to illustrates a homemade candling outfit, consisting of small lamp and corrugated pasteboard box. candle every egg shipped. Candling is “ the process of testing eggs by passing light through them so as to reveal the condition of the contents.’’ A simple candling outfit may be made of an ordinary pasteboard box suffi- ciently largo to bo placed over a small hand lamp after the ends have been removed. The box should have a hole cut in it on a level with the flame of the lamp. Several notches should be cut in the edges on which the box rests, to supply air to the lamp. The box should be sufficiently largo to prevent danger from catching fire. The box shown in figure 1 is made of corrugated pasteboard; ordinary pasteboard will serve the purpose. Candling is done in the dark, or at least away from strong light, and each egg is held against the hole in the side of the box, when its condition may be seen. An egg that shows any defect should not be marketed. 4 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 594. Only first-class eggs can be successfully marketed by parcel post. The shipping of bad eggs would not only cause dissatisfaction or even the loss of the customer, but if persisted in would doubtless be con- strued as a violation of the purc-food law. Persons desiring to build up a business of marketing eggs by this method should hatch their chicks early enough to have them begin laying in the fall season when eggs are scarce and high priced. This will also result in more evenly distributed production throughout the year.^ PRESERVING EGGS IN WATER GLASS. In the spring, when they are plentiful, eggs may be preserved for home use in a solution of water glass, so that those laid during the fall and winter season may be available for marketing. A standard grade of water glass can be obtained at drug stores for 75 cents per gallon, if bought in moderately large quantities. Each quart of water glass should be diluted with 10 quarts of water, which has been boiled and cooled. Only strictly fresh, newly laid eggs should be placed in the solution. Stone jars or crocks should be used. The eggs may be packed in these and the solution poured over them, or the eggs may be placed daily in the solution by putting them down in it carefully by hand so as to avoid breaking or cracking them. The solution will not injure the hands. The jars should be put where they are to be kept before the eggs are placed in them, and should not be moved, because breakage and loss may result. The water- glass solution may become cloudy, but this is a natural condition and should cause no alarm. Eggs thus kept are good for all purposes, but the shells break rather easily in boihng. This trouble can be prevented by puncturing the end of the shell with a pin or needle just before boiling. Perhaps an occasional customer will be wilhng to buy eggs preserved in water glass, but they should be sold for just what they are and at a price mutually agreed upon by the producer and consumer. 1 The following publications prepared by the Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of Agriculture, will be helpful to poultry raisers: Farmers’ Bulletin 51, Standard varieties of chickens. Farmers’ Bulletin 236, Incubation and incubators. Farmers’ Bulletin 287, Poultry management. Farmers’ Bulletin 445, Marketing eggs through the creamery. Farmers’ Bulletin 452, Capons and caponizing. Farmers’ Bulletin 528, Hints to poultry raisers. Farmers’ Bulletin 530, Important poultry diseases. Farmers’ Bulletin 562, The organization of boys’ and girls' poultry ciubs. B. A. I. Circular 176, A system of poultry accounting. These publications may be obtained free from the Division of Publications, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, SHIPPING EGGS BY PARCEL POST. 5 CONTAINERS. Experience has shown that frequently parcels are mailed in con- tainers not sufficiently strong and inadequately prepared and pro- tected. These are frequently the cause of complaint. The producer who desires to make use of the parcel post sliould provide such con- tainers or carriers as meet the requirements of the postal authorities, and such as will carry the particular product in a manner satisfactory to the consumer. Otherwise he will lose his customer, and should the container or carrier not be sufficiently stout to stand the service it Fig. 2.— This illustration shows two 2-dozen-size corrugated-pasteboard egg boxes. The one to the left is closed. The other is taken apart to show construction. The two inner pieces of the case fold around the egg fillers and slip into the outer case sho^vn on top. In filling, the box is not taken com- pletely apart but only opened up properly. will not be worth returning as an empty to use again, if intended to be returned. The postal requirements for mailing eggs for local delivery are as follows : Eggs shall be accepted for local delivery when so packed in a basket or other con- tainer as to prevent damage to other mail matter. This embraces all collection and delivery service within the juris- diction of the postmaster of the office where the parcel is mailed. Eggs to be sent beyond the local office are to be prepared for mail- ing as follows : Eggs shall be accepted for mailing regardless of distance when each egg is wrapped separately and surrounded with excelsior, cotton, or other suitable material and packed 6 FARMERS^ BULI.ETIN 514. in a strong? container made of double-faced corrui^ated pasteljoard, metal, wood, or other suitable material and wrapped so that nothin^ can escape from the j^ackage. All such parcels shall be labeled “Eggs.” Eggs in parcels weighing more than 20 pounds shall be accepted for mailing to ofTices in the first and second zones when packed in crates, l)oxes, buckets, or other containers having tight bottoms to prevent the escape of anything from the package and so con- structed as properly to protect the contents. Such i)ackages to be marked “Eggs— This side up,” and to be transported outside of mail })ags. Fig. 3.— This picture shows a 10-dozen-size box of corrugated pasteboard. The eggs are placed in four layers of 30 each. The ideal container must be simple in construction^ efficient in serv- ice; and cheap. Simplicity of construction is essential so that it may be assembled and packed or filled readily and rapidly. Any part which is to be opened should be so marked or notched as to indi- cate the part to pull up or out. It must bo efficient in service to insure satisfaction to the shipper and to the receiver, and also to pre- vent damage to other mail matter by possible breakage and leakage. It must be inexpensive or it will defeat the object to be attained, namely, a reduction of the cost of handling between producer and consumer. Trials of many different styles and makes of containers or cartons for shipping eggs by parcel post were made. Quite a number proved SHIPPING EGGS BY PARCEL POST. 7 satisfactory in extended trials. A few of them are illustrated in the following pages for the purpose of showing in a general way their appearance and construction. Any container which meets the postal requirements and which serves the purpose properly can be used. Fig. 4.— This photograph shows a fiber-board box fitted with corrugated-pasteboard lining and fillers, or partitions, of the same material. Each egg has a wrap of one-faced corrugated pasteboard'. The lining is raised to show the eggs; it shows dark against the lid. INFORMATION RELATIVE TO SECURING CONTAINERS. The experiment stations in the various States have information as to containers for parcel-post shipments of eggs, in consumer-size lots, and persons desiring information of this kind should not address the United States Department of Agriculture, but should address the director of the experiment station in their own State. The following list gives the post-office address of each station : Alabama: Auburn. Tuskegee Institute. Alaska: Sitka. Arizona: Tucson. Arkansas: Fayetteville. California: Berkeley. Colorado: Fort Collins. Connecticut: New Haven. Storrs. Delaware: Newark. 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 594. Florida: Gainesville. Georgia: Experiment. Guam: Guam. Hawaii; Honolulu. Idaho: Moscow. Illinois: Urbana. Indiana: Lafayette. Iowa: Ames. Kansas: Manhattan. Kentucky: Lexington. Louisiana: Baton Kouge. Maine: Orono. Maryland : College Park. Massachusetts: Amherst. Michigan: East Lansing. Minnesota: University Farm, St. Paul. Mississippi: Agricultural College. Missouri: Columbia. Montana: Bozeman. Nebraska: Lincoln. Nevada: Reno. New Hampshire: Durham. New Jersey: New Brunswick. New Mexico: State College. New York: Geneva. Ithaca. North Carolina: Raleigh. North Dakota: Agricultural ('ollege. Ohio: Wooster. Oklahoma: Stillwater. Oregon: Corvallis. Pennsylvania: State College. Porto Rico: Mayaguez. Rhode Island: Kingston. South Carolina: Clemson ('ollege. South Dakota: Brookings. Tennessee: Knoxville. Texas: College Station. Utah: Logan. Vermont: Burlington. Virginia: Blacksburg. Washington: Pullman. West Virginia: Morgantown. Wisconsin: Madison. Wyoming: Laramie. PACKING EGGS FOR SHIPMENT. The eggs for packing, if the trade requires it or if it can be done without any disadvantage, should be assorted as to size and color. Eggs irregular in shape, those which are unusually long or thin- shelled, or which have shells otherwise defective, should be kept by the producer for home use, so that breakage in transit may be reduced as much as possible. Regardless of the particular style or design of the container used, each egg should be wrapped according to parcel-post requirements (see p. 5), so that it will not shake about. Square- block tissue paper, which comes in packages of 500 sheets each, or soft wrapping paper, should be used around each egg. Should the eggs be able to shake about in the container, the danger of breakage in handling is increased. For packing of parcels exceeding 20 pounds see page 6. From the experimental shipments that have been made, it is clear that the packing should be attended to carefully. A little practice will enable the packer to do his work rapidly. THE APPEARANCE OF PARCELS. Not only should the eggs be of the best appearance possible, but the general appearance of the parcel should be neat and attractive. A container badly stained from broken eggs should not be used again. Better a little less profit on a shipment of eggs because of having to use a new container than a displeased customer, who, displeased a few times, will be no customer at all. SHIPPING EGGS BY PARCEL POST. 9 THE WEIGHT OF EGG PARCELS. Average hens’ eggs will weigh about pounds to the dozen, or 2 ounces apiece. The weight of a single dozen of eggs in a carton properly packed and wrapped for mailing will run from 2 to 3 pounds, depending on the nature of the particular container, the size of the eggs, and the packing and wrajiping used. If the container be a ver}^ light one and the eggs small, the parcel may fall within the 2-pound limit, and the postage therefore within the first and second zones, or 150-mile limit, would be 6 cents. But most parcels containing a dozen eggs will exceed 2 pounds but will not reach 3 ; therefore the postage on them will be 7 cents within the first and second zones. A parcel containing 2 dozen eggs will add perhaps 2 cents to the postage, though sometimes only 1 cent, depending on the nature of the container and the packing and wrapping. It is important to observe that the larger the parcel (within the size and weight limits) the cheaper is the postage, as the first pound of every package costs 5 cents within the first and second zones, while each additional pound, up to 50, costs but 1 cent; so that while a 1-pound parcel would cost 5 cents postage, a 2-pound parcel would cost only 6 cents or 3 cents a pound. A 20-pound parcel would cost 24 cents, or 1^ cents per pound, and a 50-pound parcel would cost 54 cents, or but 1^5 cents per pound. SHIPPING EGGS FOR HATCHING PURPOSES. In preparing for mailing eggs intended for hatching purposes, great care should be taken to see that each egg is wrapped with sufficient material to hold it snugly and yet not too rigidly in its compartment. The outside of the parcel should be labeled Eggs for hatching.” Special attention should be given these shipments by all postal employees, particular care being exercised to keep them away from excessive heat or cold. The person receiving eggs in this way for hatching should place them on the small end in bran or something of the kind for 24 hours, in order that the germs may thoroughly settle before incubation is started. SUPPLIES FOR SHIPPERS. As the postal regulations require that every parcel must have on it the name and address of the sender, preceded by the word ‘^From,” each person shipping eggs by parcel post will find it convenient to have a rubber stamp similar to the following: From WiUiam Smith, Rural Corners, Pennsylvania. The stamp and an inking pad will cost about 50 cents. 42675°— 14 2 10 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 594. • The postal regulations also require that parcels containing eggs are to be marked ''Eggs.” For this purpose a rubber stamp having letters one-half inch high and reading "Eggs” should be used to stamp this word on each side of the parcel. Thus the nature of the contents will be apparent no matter which side happens to be in view. The sender will soon learn how much postage each size of parcel requires. Should he desire them, parcel-post scales can be secured at reasonable prices. There are many times when scales are needed in the farm home, and the parcel-post type will serve these other pur- poses also. They can be had for $2.50 and weigh up to 20 pounds. (See fig. 5.) "Union” scales hav- ing both a platform and a scoop attachment and weighing up to 200 or 300 pounds can be had for from $6 to $12, if desired. Under a subsequent heading entitled ' ' The wrapping and addressing of parcels ” paper and twine or cord for tying are dis- cussed. Boxes, wrapping paper, and twine should be bought in as large quan- tities as possible (say a year’s supply at a time), so that lower prices may be obtained. With proper Fig. 5.— This illustration shows 20-pound parcel-post scales, Organization it will be which will be found quite convenient for many household -possible for Several farm- purposes requiring a small scale. ” ... , . ers to join m ordering containers by the thousand and other supplies in correspondingly large quantities. THE SIZE OF PARCELS. In arranging with the customer as to the size and frequency of shipments it is wise to take into consideration the fact that the larger the parcel sent (i. e., the more eggs sent in one parcel) the cheaper will be the postage per dozen. This is more fuUy discussed under the heading "The weight of egg parcels.” It would be much more economical for the family that uses, say, four dozens a week to have them sent in a 4-dozen parcel once a week than to have them sent in two 2-dozen parcels at different times during the week; and the eggs, if produced under proper conditions and properly kept. SHIPPING EGGS BY PARCEL POST. 11 would not deteriorate to any appreciable extent in that length of time. The same principle would hold good regardless of quantity used. Considering the cost of the container and the postage, there wiU be no economy in a consumer buying eggs for food by parcel post in less than 2-dozen lots. There may be exceptions to this in the case of invalids, in the case of persons who desire strictly newly-laid eggs, even though they do cost more, and, occasionally, for other reasons. THE WRAPPING AND ADDRESSING OF PARCELS. The appearance of the parcel depends largely upon the manner in wliich it is wrapped. Odds and ends of paper and twine are not desirable for this purpose. Every producer who aims to make a business of shipping eggs by parcel post should procure a supply of good, tough paper of the proper size to wrap his parcels, and also good, strong, though not too heavy, cord or twine that stretches very little. No matter what the design of the container there is always danger, should the parcel be subjected to excessive pressure or violence in any form, that the eggs may be broken and the contents leak out. In a large number of experiments it was found that when parcels were properly wrapped with good paper, even though there were quite a number of broken eggs in the parcel, in only a few cases did any leakage of the contents damage other mail matter. It wiU be a simple matter, especially if there are cliildren in the home who can learn to attend to this part of the work, to wrap the parcels both rapidly and neatly. A little attention to the best man- ner of »folding the paper in completing the wrapping wiU result in a securely and neatly covered package. The foregoing apphes to par- cels weighing less than 20 pounds — parcels exceeding 20 pounds need not be wrapped. (See p. 6.) To insure prompt delivery the address should be plainly written on the wrapping of the parcel. Much mail matter is delayed or alto- gether fails to reach its destination because of incomplete or poorly written address. INCLOSURES. An inclosure stating the number of eggs and the price may be placed in the parcel, but no message of any kind may be included, as that would subject the package to the first-class postage rate. UNPACKING EGGS WHEN RECEIVED. The person receiving the eggs should unpack them immediately to see if any have been broken. It might be desirable to have in- structions printed on the outside of the container, and the following are suggested : ^‘Please unpack and examine at once to see condition and to give proper attention. 12 farmers' bulletin 594. Wliether or not this is printed on tlie container, the shipper should have a distinct understanding with the consumer that this is to be done with every parcel received, so that information as to any unsat- isfactory condition may be promptly obtained. THE RETURN OF EMPTY CONTAINERS. Many shippers will doubtless find it desirable and economical to have the customer save the containers and return them after a sufficient number have accumulated. Wlien so returned the postage on empty cases still in usable condition is less than the cost of new ones. The consumer should receive credit for the postage required to return them. Many of the containers are made in ^‘knocked- down’^ style, i. e., to take apart and fold up so that they can be made into a much smaller package or parcel. Containers which are knocked down to be returned should be packed in such a way that there will be no edges or points projecting without support or protection, as such projections are likely to be broken or crushed in the mails. The cost of the container is necessarily included in the price of the eggs to the consumer. It is therefore to the interest of the consumer to take proper care of containers and to save for return all that are in usable condition. Since the return of containers will have some effect on the price of the eggs, the proper spirit of thrift should cause the consumer to take good care of all returnable empties and to send them back in accordance with whatever agreement or understanding may obtain between the producer and himself. METHODS OF BRINGING PRODUCER AND CONSUMER TOGETHER. One of the big problems to the average farmer is how to secure customers who desire eggs direct from the farm. In other words, the question is, ^^How shall I come in contact with the person who wants my product ? ’ ' An occasional contact may be secured through acquaintance in the city or town where a parcel-post market is sought. Cont£|,ct might also be secured by a small advertisement in a city or town paper, stating the number of eggs available per week. In France city dwellers make these business arrangements in summer when in the country on their holiday. Consumers who will not take trouble about these relatively small things should not complain of the high cost of food products. Additional contact ought to be more easily obtained than the original contact, for the simple reason that if a producer supplies satisfactory eggs the person receiving them is almost sure to obtain other customers for him by speaking well of his product. It might be said in this connection that the reputation a parcel-post shipper makes with his first customers will very largely determine his success or failure in marketing by this method. SHIPPING EGGS BY PARCEL POST. 13 The matter of holding business once secured and securing addi- tional business is of considerable importance. One of the serious drawbacks of ordinary farming is the great irregularity of income during the year. The development of a regular parcel-post business in eggs and the many other products that may be marketed by this means will increase the income and distribute it somewhat better throughout the year. Once a customer has been secured every endeavor should be made to furnish strictly high-grade goods and to deal fairly, promptly, and satisfactorily, so that the customer may be retained. Once a reputation is established for products of high quality and for fair dealing, the holding of customers and securing new ones will be a comparatively simple matter. THE FIXING OF FAIR PRICES. As the object of parcel-post dealing is to get somewhat better prices for the producer and better products at the same price, or the same class of products at lower prices, for the consumer, the question of arriving at prices fair to both is important. It is also difficult. It is not likely, at least not for some time to come, that eggs will be marketed so largely by parcel post that the ordinary marketing quotations can not be depended upon in arriving at prices. It ought to be a comparatively easy matter for a producer and a consumer to agree upon a stipulated market quotation as the basis for determining the price to be paid. A consumer may desire 5 dozen eggs per week, the price to be an agreed upon number of cents per dozen above the wholesale quotation for the best grade of eggs on the market that week. The necessary relations in this matter can be maintained only by scrupulous honesty and well-founded mutual trust. CONTRACTS OR AGREEMENTS BETWEEN PRODUCERS AND CONSUMERS. The nature of the agreement between the producer and the con- sumer, whether reduced to writing or not, should be made to suit the circumstances and must be fair to both. Perhaps the first agree- ment made should be in writing; but later, if mutual confidence and trust has been thoroughly established, the contract may be verbal. The matter of frequency and method of payment can be arranged in various ways. For the first agreement term, which may be a year or less, cash in advance might be satisfactory, until a definite system of orders and payments is established. The agreement should specify : (1) The names of the parties to the agreement. (2) The length of time during which the agreement is to be in force. (3) The number of eggs to be shipped each week during the time the contract runs, and also the frequency of shipment and the number in each shipment. 14 FAEMERS^ BULLETIN 594. (4) Price to be paid during the time of the contract, together with the base on which the price is fixed. (5) Method of adjusting claims for broken or bad eggs. (6) The consumer should open boxes properly (without cutting or tearing), and should take proper care of them and return them by mail as desired by the producer, (7) Frequency of payment and manner of remitting; postage paid on empties returned to the producer to be credited to the consumer on next bill rendered. For the reason that eggs are in very abundant supply in the spring season and in very short supply in the fall and early winter season, the contract should specify quantity to he supplied each week throughout the year. The producer can not expect the consumer to take all the eggs that are to be marketed in the season of greatest production, nor can the consumer expect to get as many eggs as he desires in the season of lowest production; and these two extremes should be thoroughly understood and specifically mentioned m the agreement, so as to have no misunderstanding regarding them. In the season of short supply the consumer might be willing to try some eggs preserved in water glass (see p. 4), thereby relieving the situation. The producer in making an agreement with a consumer should undertake to stand good for eggs lost by breakage in shipping. Should this provision in the agreement be abused by any consumer it might be sufficient reason to refuse to again contract with that consumer, and of course satisfactory evidence of unusual breakage would need to be produced, and it might even be necessary to locate the cause of the breakage in the mails. The following is a suggested form of agreement: This Article of Agreement made this day of , 1914, by and between John Doe, of Doeville, Doe County, Va., party of the first part, and Richard Roe, of 298 Bahama Avenue, Washington, D. C., party of the second part, WiTNESSETH, That for a price of cents ( ) per dozen above the wholesale price for best eggs quoted in the “Blankville News” on Tuesday of each week, the party of the first part agrees to supply the party of the second part four (4) dozens of eggs weekly for the remainder of the calendar year 1914, each weekly consignment to be shipped in one parcel. Payments are to be made every four weeks on bill rendered by party of the first part to party of the second part after making proper allowance for eggs broken beyond use and for eggs otherwise unusable. The party of the second part is to receive credit for postage on empties returned and agrees to take proper care of containers, open them properly (without cutting or tearing), and to return them to the party of the first part as party of the first part may desire. If party of the first part require it, party of the second part agrees to return con- tainers with broken eggs in place if he claims they are damaged beyond use. PARCEL POST ZONES. The United States is divided into “ units, each one of which is numbered, as illustrated by the accompanying section of map. (See fig. 6.) The center of each unit constitutes the zone’s center for all post offices within that unit. The first zone consists of any given SHIPPING EGGS BY PARCEL POST. 15 Fig, 6.— This illustration shows a section of Parcel Post Zone Map for Washington, D, C., and all other post-ofllces in Unit 1071. 16 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 594. unit together with all the adjouiiiig units, even though they hut touch at the corner. The second zone embraces all those units within a radius of 150 miles from the center of any given unit, and the whole of any unit, any part of which is touched by this 150-mile boundary line, is considered entirely within that zone. There is a separate zone map for each unit. The accompanymg illustration shows a section of the map for the unit in which Washing- ton is located. The second circle shows the nominal boundary of zone 2 ; but owing to the fact that all units which are touched by this boundary line fall entirely within the second zone, the units which are bounded by the heavy line (outside the second curved line) are entirely within zone 2. This principle applies to all other zones; that is, any unit which is touched at any point by the boundar}^ of a given zone lies wholly within that given zone and is so considered for the purposes of the parcel-post service. Particular description is here given of the first and second zones because of the fact that the great bulk of the shipping of farm prod- ucts by parcel post is likely to be done within these zones. Tlie rate can be ascertained readily from the accompanymg tables. Local parcel post rates. Pounds, Postage. Pounds. Postage. Pounds. Postage. Pounds. Postage. Pounds. Postage. 1 Cents. 5 11 Cents. 10 21 Cents. 15 31 Cents. 20 41 Cents. 25 2 6 12 11 22 16 32 21 42 26 3 6 13 11 23 16 33 21 43 26 4 7 14 12 24 17 34 22 44 27 5 7 15 12 25 17 35 22 45 27 6 8 16 13 26 18 36 23 46 28 7 8 17 13 27 18 37 23 47 28 8 9 18 14 28 19 38 24 48 29 9 9 19 14 29 19 39 24 49 29 10 10 20 15 30 20 40 25 50 30 Fifty pounds is the weight limit for local delivery. These rates are 5 cents for the first pound and 1 cent additional for each 2 pounds or fraction thereof; they apply to any parcel-post matter that does not go beyond the jurisdiction of the mailing office. First and second zone parcel post rates. Pounds. Postage. Pounds. Postage. Pounds. Postage. Pounds. Postage. Pounds. Postage. 1 Cents. 5 11 Cents. 15 21 Cents. 25 31 Cents. 35 41 Cents. 45 2 6 12 16 22 26 32 36 42 46 3 7 13 17 23 27 33 37 43 47 4 8 14 18 24 28 34 38 44 48 5 9 15 19 25 29 35 39 45 49 6 10 16 20 26 30 36 40 46 50 7 11 17 21 27 31 37 41 47 51 8 12 18 22 28 32 38 42 48 52 9 13 19 23 29 33 39 43 49 53 10 14 20 24 30 34 40 44 50 54 SHIPPING EGGS BY PARCEL POST. 17 The weight limit within the first and second zones is 50 pounds. These rates appl}^ to all points within the first and second zones, there l)eing no difTerence in rates between these two zones. A simple rule to determine the postage on any parcel not going beyond the second zone is to add 4 to the number of pounds, and the resulting number is the cents’ postage required. Example: A parcel weighs 13 pounds and 11 ounces; this will require postage on 14 pounds (as any frac- tion of a pound is considered a full pound) ; 14 + 4 = 18 cents postage. Tlie weight limit for the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth zones is 20 pounds. Any information desired as to rates, zones, and the like can be obtained from any post ofTice. MEASUREMENT LIMITS FOR PARCEL-POST MAIL MATTER. In addition to the weight limits shown in connection with the foregoing postage tables, there is a measurement limit, which is the same for all zones. This limit is that the girth (measurement around) and the length added must not exceed 72 inches. For example, a parcel 10 inches square (40 inches around) and 32 inches long would be just up to the limit. So also would a parcel 12 inches square (48 inches around) and 24 inches long. A parcel cubical in shape and 14 inches in each dimension would measure 56 inches around, and to this would be added 1 4 inches for length, making 70 inches, or 2 inches less than the limit. THE PRACTICABILITY AND UTILITY OF THE PARCEL POST IN EGG MARKETING. Under the present method the general farmer, or in most cases the wife, sells the surplus eggs to the local storekeeper, taking their value out in trade. The parcel post offers an opportunity for a cash outlet at better prices. It should prove a valuable help, especially to those farms that are located unfavorably as regards a consuming market. It is not too much to say that shipping by parcel post has been demon- strated as a practical proposition when properly conducted. To send a 2-dozen-size parcel would cost about as foUows: For container and wrapping, 8 cents; for postage, 9 cents — or a total of 1 7 cents, which would be 8J cents a dozen marketing cost. Market- ing a 5-dozen parcel would cost about 13 cents for container and wrapping and 14 cents postage, or a total of 27 cents; a lO-dozen lot would cost about 22 cents for container and wTapping and 25 cents postage, or a total of 47 cents. The postage rates here used are those within the first and second zones. The rates to the third and farther zones are higher, and the advantages of marketing by parcel post consequently less. The foregoing figures include the cost of a new container each time. The experiments show that containers from the 4-dozen size up will stand on an average two to four trips quite satisfactorily. Con- 18 FAKMEKS^ BULLETIN 504. tainers for smaller lots will stand on an average from three to five trips. As the postage cost of returning containers is considerably less than the price of new ones, the average expense for containers can be materially reduced from the figures quoted. DISADVANTAGES OR DIFFICULTIES IN MARKETING EGGS BY PARCEL POST. If it is kept in mind that it takes a few days for eggs to reach the consumer, a regular supply of eggs can be had for use at all times. The possibility of broken eggs and the consequent adjustment of pay- ment may seem to be a disadvantage, but if properly provided for in the agreement (see p. 14) it need not be. The matter of arriving at equitable prices may seem to be difficult, but this need not be a drawback. The matter of fixing fair prices is discussed on page 13. Some farmers may be so situated that they already have a satis- factory market for their eggs. Others may desire to have a parcel- post market during a part of the year, but may dispose of them other- wise during the remainder of the year. The local market may also at times afford a more satisfactory price than that received under a parcel-post selling agreement. There may also bo producers of large quantities of eggs who find express transportation cheaper than parcel post. The necessity of securing proper containers and of properly wrap- ping and packing the eggs for mailing, as well as the care that needs to be exercised in shipping only strictly first-class eggs, may seem to some to be both disadvantageous and difficult, but if a parcel-post market is to be developed, it will require care and attention to get it properly established and to keep it going successfully. DIRECT MARKETING OF LARGER QUANTITIES OF EGGS THAN PRIVATE FAMILIES REQUIRE. The foregoing discussion applies especially to shipments of eggs for family consumption. It is quite likely that many producers will desire a larger outlet than is afforded by private families. These may be shipped in containers such as described by postal regulations. (See p. 6.) They must come within the weight and measurement limits, however. The present 30-dozen commercial case exceeds the weight and measurement limits and would have to be forwarded by express. The express companies are now paying special attention to small shipments of food products, and furnish prompt and efficient service. Should any individual farmer not have enough eggs to ship alone, a good method would be to have a number of neighboring farmers club together for the purpose of shipping eggs and secure a purchaser in the person of an hotel, restaurant, or lunch-room proprietor, or a SHIPPING EGGS BY PARCEL POST. 19 retail grocer in some town or city. The eggs from each farm should be packed in 1-dozen size cartons or fillers, which would take the place of the ordinary filler of the standard 30-dozen size egg case. These cartons should have stamped on them the name and address of the producer; or, instead of the name and address, a number could be assigned to each farm for purposes of identification, and each carton should be sealed so that any complaint in regard to quality can be traced back to the individual producer. This is necessary in order to protect members of the club from complaints of delinquency not justly attributable to them. Further information will be given by the Office of Markets to any group of farmers desiring to organize a cooperative egg club. Shipping by express presupposes that the producers concerned are within reasonable distance of express service, otherwise the expense of transporting the eggs to the express office might be prohibitive. It is hoped that these methods may enable the producer to realize better prices, and that at the same time the consumer will secure a fresher product. Eggs handled and shipped as described in these pages will be fresher and in better condition than ordinary country- store or huckster-collected eggs. The average farmer pays scant attention to egg and poultry pro- duction, usually leaving matters relating thereto to his wife. He should not consider them beneath his notice. Properly managed, this branch of farm industry may prove quite profitable. Indeed, it is not unlikely that a careful keeping of the cost of producing corn on many farms would lead to the conclusion that the family treasury had profited more by the activities of the hen than by raising corn. OPPORTUNITY OF EXTENSION OF PARCEL POST MARKETING TO OTHER PRODUCTS. It is quite possible that once having secured a parcel-post market for eggs, many farmers having other commodities not readily salable at home may open up markets for them in the same way. Methods of arriving at prices would be the same, the producer advising the consumer as to the commodities — quantity and price. By this means a market may be found for many products which are not now being marketed, mainly for the reason that they are in the nature of by- products or small surpluses over the family’s need which do not justify a special trip to market. In addition to such things as may be by-products or surpluses over the family’s need, there is quite a field of opportunity open for develop- ment in making a special effort to produce such things as town or city residents are anxious to obtain, and by proper attention quite a sup- plemental income could be built up by developing such business. 20 l^ARMEKS^ BULLETIN 5tM. SUMMARY. ( 1) In the experiments conducted in this study yGOfJ dozens, ( 9,131 eggs, were sent through the mails in 4G6 shipments of from 1 i 10 dozens each. The total breakage was 327 eggs; of these, 118 wei only cracked or slightly broken and were usable, and 209 (or 2.3 pr cent) were broken beyond use. Ninety-one eggs were broken b cause the parcels containing them were handled contrary to post i rules and regulations. Subtracting these, the loss was only 1.3 p * cent. This shows the possibility of shipping eggs by parcel post wit small loss, and indicates that eggs may be so shipped with safety existing postal regulations are observed. (2 ) Care should be exercised in the production of eggs so that the^s will be of as good quality as possible to begin with. The hens should be provided with proper quarters and fed on clean, wholesome feed. The production of nonfertile eggs reduces the losses materially. After gathering, the eggs should be kept carefully in the coolest and best ventilated place available. (3) Trials of many styles and makes of containers were made; quite a number proved satisfactory. The addresses of manufactur- ers of containers can be obtained from the agricultural experimei ^ stations in the several States. (4) In selecting eggs for shippmg by mail, thin-shelled and uj. usually long or irregular-shaped eggs should not be used. Each eg »• should be wrapped in sufficient paper to hold it snugly in its own ind vidual compartment in the container. The container should be pro] - erly closed and carefully wrapped with good, tough wrapping pap(T and strong twine. The address should be plainly written to insure prompt delivery on arrival. The postal regulations require the name and address of the sender on the parcel also. (5) If attention is given to the necessary details, as indicated ii this bulletin, eggs can be shipped by parcel post to the advantage o*’ the farmer. This method of marketing affords a means of increasim the fresh-egg business to the benefit of both the producer and the con- sumer, by marketing direct while the eggs are still in fresh condition. (G) Farmers located out of reach of a satisfactory market or of the usual means of transportation can find in the parcel post a read} means of getting their eggs direct to a consuming market promptly and at prices that wiU justify the additional trouble involved in pack iiig for mailing. o AVASHINGTON : GOVERNMSJNT printing office : 1914 U.S.DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Contribution from the Bureau of Entomology, L. O. Howard, Chief. June 15, 1914. i^RSENATE OF LEAD AS AN INSECTICIDE AGAINST THE TO- BACCO HORNWORMS IN THE DARK-TOBACCO DISTRICT. By A. C. Morgan and D. C. Barman, Entomological Assistants, Southern Field Crop Insect Investigations. INTRODUCTORY. In the dark-tobacco districts of Kentucky and Tennessee tobacco hornworms {PJdegethontius quinquemaculata Haw. and P. sexta Joh.) ire the ever-present and most serious problem of the tobacco ^ower. Ten to twelve vears ago, when labor was )lentiful, cheap, and effi- ient, “hand worming” was 'ound to be economical and ‘ffective in combating this *est. However, during the ast six or eight years hand forming has become too ostly, because of the great scarcity and inefficiency of labor, and the growers have '•een forced to employ an nsecticide. At the time insecticides were first used Paris green was )und to be the safest and most efficient. Nevertheless, there has •dways been complaint of frequent serious burning of tobacco as a result of its use. To find a safe and effective insecticide has been me of the main lines of investigation during the past five years. ..rsenate of lead (diplumbic) has been found to meet the requirements. NECESSITY AND ADVANTAGES OF THE USE OF AN INSECTICIDE. The effect of the scarcity of labor in bringing about the use of n insecticide upon tobacco has already been explained. In addi- uon to this necessity of using a poison, the much greater efficiency Note.— T his bulletin is intended to assist the tobacco growws of Kentucky and Tennessee and the adjoining States in combating a troublesome pest. 42497“— Bull. 595—14 Fig. 1.— Map showing distribution of the tobacCJhornworms in the United States. 2 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 595 . of a good application of an insecticide is another strong argument in its favor. Hand worming, even of the best, has many objections; for instance, eggs are not picked off, many small worms are over- looked, and, lastly, during the hot hours of the day large worms crawl down into the ruffles’’ near the bases of the leaves, and a considerable number are thus overlooked. On the other hand, a thorough application of an insecticide will kill practically every hornworm — except those very nearly full grown — within two or three days, and will also continue to kill the young worms that hatch several days after the application. In short, hand picking has only an immediate effect in lessening the worms, whereas the applica- tion of an insecticide usually continues to kill over a period of several days. Cheapness is another point very greatly in favor of an insec- ticide as compared with hand picking. The cost of keeping an acre of tobacco hand wormed in a year when worms are plentiful is variously estimated at from $6 to $10. A like number of worms can be killed with Paris green at a cost of not more than $2 per acre, and with arsenate of lead at a cost of from $3 to $5 per acre. INJURY jTO TOBACCO BY THE USE OF PARIS GREEN. Although Paris green has been in general use upon tobacco in many locahtiesi of Kentucky and Tennessee for more than a decade, yet, on account of its very frequent serious injury to tobacco, many growers use it only after it becomes too costly to keep the worms off the tobacco by hand picking. Occasionally dosages of 2 and even 2J pounds are applied without visible injury. On the other hand, unfavorable weather conditions may cause dosages of 1 to IJ pounds to burn seriously. In 1912 several fields in the vicinity of Clarks- ville, Tenn., were injured in amounts varying from 10 to 25 per cent of the gross value of the crop. The usual loss, however, is not greatei than 4 or 5 per cent. Paris green injures tobacco in two ways: First, by causing dead, burned areas upon the leaves, where the powder has been collected by the dews or washed down by the rains; second, by weakening the leaf at the stalk. Light rains wash the insecticide into the axils of the leaves, and the result is that many leaves drop off before cutting time or become so weakened that they drop off when the plant is cut. Although such leaves are not a total loss, for they are ‘collected and cured, yet they are a partial loss, for they lack weight and elasticity. ADVANTAGES OF THE USE OF ARSENATE OF LEAD. Arsenate of lead causes none of the injury just mentioned^ Ex- periments performed under the direction of the senior writer show that powdered arsenate of lead may be put on a fresh sucker wound ARSENATE OF LEAD FOR TOBACCO HORNWORMS. 3 in large quantities without causing any noticeable injury, and that when applied to a torn or bruised leaf it produces no injury. Paris green can not be applied to tobacco in the '^graining” stage (i. e., when nearly ripe) in sufficient quantities to do good insecticidal work without too gTave danger of burning the plant. Arsenate of lead, on the other hand, can be safely applied to tobacco in the graining’’ stage in quantities sufficient to produce satisfactory insecticidal results. Furthermore, arsenate of lead will cause no irritation to the operator as will Paris green; in fact, thus far it has produced no noticeable injurious effects upon the operators. RESULTS THAT HAVE BEEN OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF ARSENATE OF LEAD. APPLICATIONS IN FAIR WEATHER. On August 24, 1910, Paris green was applied to a plat of tobacco at the rate of IJ pounds per acre. On the third day after the appli- cation 95 per cent of the worms were dead. However, on the fifth day after the application numbers of small worms were seen upon the tobacco, which indicated that the dosage was losing its effect. On August 25, 1910, powdered arsenate of lead was applied^ in the same field, to one plat at the rate of 5 pounds per acre and to another plat at the rate of SJ pounds per acre. On the fourth day after the application about 99 per cent of the worms had been killed by the 5-pound dosage and about 89 per cent by the SJ-pound dosage. Both dosages of lead arsenate continued to kill worms for several days after the Paris green had lost its effect. The foregoing applications were made under the most favorable conditions; that is, while dew was upon the plants i and while there was no breeze. The tobacco was about two- thirds grown. On August 21, 1911, a dosage of arsenate of lead at the rate of 4f pounds per acre was applied during a breeze. At the expiration of four days only 78 per cent of the worms were dead. On the same date and under the same conditions an application of Paris green at the rate of If pounds per acre killed only 54 per cent of the worms in four days. These experiments emphasize the necessity of making the application of an insecticide when there is very little breeze, APPLICATIONS IN RAINY WEATHER. On August 28, 1911, arsenate of lead was applied about 7 a. m. to two plats of tobacco at the rates of 5 pounds and 4 pounds per acre, respectively, and Paris green was applied to the check plat at the rate of 2J pounds per acre. The same day between 11 a. m. and 2 p. m. about one- third of an inch of rain fell in dashing showers. On the second day after the application 91 per cent of the worms had been killed by the 5-pound dosage of arsenate of lead, 83 per cent by the 4 FAEMERS^ BULLETIN 595 . 4-pound dosage of arsenate of lead, and only 66 per cent by the 2^- pound dosage of Paris green. On the fourth day after the applica- tion the number of worms on the 5-pound dosage arsenate-of-lead plat was still further reduced. On the other hand, the worms had increased in numbers upon the 4-pound dosage arsenate-of-lead plat and on the Paris-green plat. These results indicate that arsenate of lead can be made effective under conditions under which Paris green is practically a failure. EXPERIMENTAL ACRE AT CLARKSVILLE, TENN. During the summer of 1913 an experimental acre of tobacco at Clarksville, Tenn., was kept free of worms by the use of powdered arsenate of lead from the time worms appeared in destructive num- bers until worms ceased to appear. Four applications were made, usmg a total of 12^ pounds, an average of a little more than 3 pounds per dosage. However, the first dosage was too light, only 2 J pounds, and had to be repeated. Had the first dosage been at the rate of about 4 pounds per acre, undoubtedly two more dosages of about 3J pounds per acre would have been sufficient to do the work accom- plished by the four applications. The total cost of the arsenate of lead and labor (assuming the arsenate of lead to retail at 25 cents per pound) was only $3.86, an average cost of 77 cents per week for the five weeks over which the dosages remained effective. The first dosage was applied while the worms were small, and the repetition of the dosages at intervals of about 10 days prevented the growth of large worms. No hand worming was done upon this acre and no tobacco was injured either by the worms or by the ar- senate of lead, t THE 4.ACRE FIELD AT PEMBROKE, KY. On August 12, 1913, 4 acres of large tobacco upon the farm of Mr. K. Y. Pendleton, at Pembroke, Ky., were given an application of 5^ pounds per acre of powdered arsenate of lead. At the time of the application the worms averaged two per plant. On August 14, or two days later, only four live worms were found on the entire field. The examination was made by walking across the field in opposite directions and examining numerous plants . There was no injury to the tobacco from poison bum. No more poison was applied to this field and practically no hand worming was necessary during the remainder of the season. This very remarkable result is explained in part by the fact that very little rain fell during August, and by the fact that comparatively few eggs were laid upon this tobacco after the middle of August. If worms had been numerous during the latter part of August and the weather rainy, undoubtedly another application would have been required. AKSENATE OF LEAD FOE TOBACCO HOENWOEMS. 5 The results upon this field emphasize the fact that a clean sweep of the tobacco worms can be made with arsenate of lead without danger of burning the tobacco. The tobacco in this field was well advanced and at a stage in which Paris-green burn was very likely to occur. HOW TO APPLY ARSENATE OF LEAD TO TOBACCO. Paris green is generally applied to tobacco by means of a dust gun and without the admixture of a carrier. On the other hand, arsenate of lead must be mixed with a carrier in order to secure an even and thorough distribution. Several carriers have been tested with this insecticide. Finely sifted air-slaked lime did not dust evenly. Poad dust and land plaster proved to be too heavy. The best results were obtained with finely sifted, freshly burned wood ashes. At least an equal bulk of the wood ashes should be used. Mix the arsenate of lead and ashes very thoroughly and apply while there is dew upon the tobacco and when there is no breeze. Even if very dry and finely sifted ashes are used, unsatisfactory results will be obtained unless the application is made with a powerful dust gun. The hand-power dust guns now in general use do not furnish suffi- cient power to make anythiug like a satisfactory and effective appli- cation. Special guns that will perform satisfactory work are gradu- ally coming on the market. The new guns have a fan with a diame- ter of 8 inches, whereas the old guns have a fan diameter of only 6 inches. The new guns have also an auxiliary dust chamber, which is very essential, because the dust containers of the old guns are so small that they have to be refilled five or six times for each acre dusted. Two refillings of the new guns will be sufficient for dusting an acre. To secure the best results, dust the tobacco when dew is upon the . plants and when there is no breeze. The use of a carrier that does not dust evenly, the application of the insecticide when there is too much breeze, and the use of too small a dust gun are all certain to give unsatisfactory results. Avoid these mistakes, and satisfactory results wOl be secured. Thoroughness of application can not be too strongly recommended. When tobacco worms are numerous a poor application of an insecti- cide wDl miss worms enough to ruin in two days more than enough tobacco to pay for the whole application. Make the application thorough. THE GRADE OF ARSENATE OF LEAD THAT SHOULD BE USED. Arsenates of lead may be broadly divided into two forms, tri- plumbic and diplumb ic. Theoretically the triplumb ic form may contain 25.58 per cent of arsenic oxid, while the diplumbic may 6 FABMERS^ BULLETIN 596 . contain 33.15 per cent of arsenic oxid. Experiments have shown that the triplumbic form is too slow in its insecticidal action to justify its use against tobacco hornworms. The diplumhic form is the one that should be used. In order to he sure of receiving the diplumhic form, demand that the manufacturer and dealer guarantee that the arsenate of lead you huy contains at least SO per cent of arsenic oxid {As^O^ in which not more than 1 per cent is free or water-sol- uhle. This grade was the one used in all the experiments men- tioned in this bulletin. It is necessary to have a low percentage of free, or water-soluble, arsenic in order to insure against burning the tobacco. WHEN TO APPLY ARSENATE OF LEAD. The first application of arsenate of lead should be made when tobacco worms become too numerous to be kept off tobacco by the hand-pickmg that is usually done while hoeing, suckering, or topping tobacco. In som^ years a second and even a third application may be necessary. The time for making these applications wiQ be indi- cated by the nunfbers of eggs and young worms appearing on the tobacco. For further discussion of this heading see figure 2. DOSAGE OF ARSENATE OF LEAD REQUIRED. When tobacco is small and has not begun to lap in the row an apphcation of 3J pounds of arsenate of lead per acre will be efficient if carefully made. Full-grown tobacco should receive not less than 5 pounds per acre. Of course the weight of the ashes or other carrier used is in addition to the weight of the arsenate of lead. In water spray use not less than 3 to 4 pounds per 100 gallons of water. COST OF ARSENATE OF LEAD. The special grade of powdered arsenate of lead recommended for use on tobacco will cost about 22 cents per pound at the factory in 100-pound kegs. The freight will be about 1 cent per pound, mak- ing the total cost 23 cents per pound to the grower. Therefore a 3^- pound dosage will cost about 80 cents, while a 5-pound dosage will cost SI. 15. In 1913 powdered arsenate of lead retailed at Clarks- ville, Tenn., for 25 cents per pound. A 2-pound dosage of Paris green costs from 50 to 55 cents, while a dosage of 1 J pounds, which is the smallest which should be appUed, will cost about 31 to 35 cents. If the comparative cost of Paris green and arsenate of lead were the only question to be considered, it would be useless to recommend arsenate of lead. The cost, however, for the careful grower should be a matter of strictly secondary consideration. The certainty of not burning the tobacco should more than compensate for the extra cost of this insecticide. ABSENATE OF LEAD FOB TOBACCO HOBNWOBMS. 7 Fig. 2. — Amount of leaf surface of tobacco eaten by homworms from time of hatching to completion of growth. A represents one-sixteenth of the amount eaten in the first 9 days; JB represents one-sixteenth of the amount eaten in the last 10 to 11 days. During the first 9 days of its life the tobacco homworm eats about 7f square iuches of leaf surface, while during the last 10 to 11 days of its life it eats about 191 J square inches — 25 times the amount eaten during the first 9 days. This statement should suggest the proper time for applying arsenate of lead to tobacco, which is while the worms are small — that is, while they are easy to hill and before they have done much damage to the tobacco. Repeat the application as soon as numbers of small worms appear upon the tobacco. ^ ■ i.-,' 8 farmers' BULLETIIT 595. SUMMARY. Paris green frequently burns tobacco very severely, and maj reduce the value of the crop as much as 50 per cent in exceptional cases. It is impossible to apply an effective dosage of Paris green withoul risk of burning tobacco. Paris green, which is applied in dust form without a carrier, is usee at a dosage of from 1 to 2 pounds per acre. Arsenate of lead is safe and effective during rainy weather, whih Paris green is dangerous and ineffective. It is recommended that arsenate of lead be used against the tobacce hornworms, and that it be applied as a dust or powder. The dosage of arsenate of lead in powdered form varies from 3^ pounds per acre to 5 pounds per acre. If apphed as a spray, use 2 . to 4 pounds in 100 gallons of water. Arsenate of le^d applied in powdered form, as here recommended, must be mixed 'with a carrier. The best carrier found so far is di^ wood ashes, used in a bulk at least equal to the arsenate of lead. In applying arsenate of lead use a dust gun having a fan diameter of at least 8 inches. Apply arsenate of lead when there is no breeze and when dew is on the plants. 0 , WASHINGTON : OOVSENMHNT PRINTING OFFICH ; 1914 U.S.DEPARTMENT' OF AGRICULTURE Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Wm. A. Taylor, Chief. June 20, 1914. THE CULTURE OF WINTER WHEAT IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. By Clyde E. Leighty, Agronomist in Charge of Eastern Wheat Investigations, Office of Cereal Investigations. INTRODUCTION. The region under discussion in this bulletin includes the humid winter-wheat districts, comprising mainly the States east ol* Ne- braska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, with a small eastern portion of each of those States and excepting the New England States. This region is shown by shaded lines on the accompanying map (fig. 1). The bound- ary of this region is some- what arbitrary, as there is a zone on the north in which both winter and spring wheat are grown and an- other on the west where conditions may be either humid or semiarid. Within this area the rainfall shown by the numbered lines in figure 1 is usually sufficient for crop needs without re- sorting to special methods of tillage to conserve mois- ture, such as are practiced on the Great Plains. In that part of the area which lies west of the line of about 35 inches average rainfall, the hard red winter wheats of the Turkey or Crimean type are prin- cipally grown. East of this line the semihard and the soft red wheats Fig. 1. — Map of the United States, showing by shaded lines that portion of the humid wheat region to which this bulletin is applicable. The boundaries are somewhat arbitrary, there being transition zones on the north and west. The average annual rainfall in inches is shown by the numbered lines. Note. — This bulletin gives directions for growing winter wheat in the eastern half of the United States, including small portions of eastern Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. 4?, 202°— Bull. 596—14 2 FARMERS BULLETIN 596. and the soft white wheats are principally produced, the red wheats being most generally grown. (Fig. 2.) SOILS ADAPTED TO WHEAT. The soil best suited to the production of wheat is one which fur- nishes a firm yet friable seed bed, while beneath this there is a com- pact subsoil. It should have sufficient natural slope to allow good surface drainage and should be provided with subsoil drainage. This soil, furthermore, should contain plenty of vegetable matter and plant food and should not be acid. These conditions are most nearly fulfilled in the loam, silt-loam, clay-loam, and some of the clay soils. Sandj^ soils and many heavy clay soils are not so suitable for wheat growing, the former being too loose in texture to retain moisture and the latter too compact to allow aeration and proper drainage. A silt loam overlying clay is a good combination. The Hagerstown loam of the Eastern States is one of the best for wheat growing. It is described as follows : The Hagerstown loam is characterized through practically its entire extent by a brown or yellowish brown silty loam surface soil having a depth which ranges from 6 inches as a minimum to 12 or 14 inches in the deeper areas. This surface soil is soft and mellow and usually has the appearance of being well charged with organic matter. It grades downward into a yellow heavy loam or clay-loam subsoil, which in turn grades into a heavier clay loam or clay subsoil at a depth of 2 to 2J feet. This deeper subsoil is not infrequently of a brown or reddish color and in practically all cases it is sharply hounded by the underlying undissolved limestone rock. CULTURE OF WINTER WHEAT IN EASTERN UNITED STATES. 3 On poorly drained soils, wheat is often killed directly by the accu- mulation of water in low spots or is smothered by the formation of ice in winter. Wheat plants are also often heaved out of the ground by the alternate freezing and thawing in the fall and spring, this being due to the formation of ice in soils saturated with water. Sufficient moisture should be present for good growth, while all water in excess of this amount should be promptly removed by the drainage system. Winterkilling, which is usually a sign of poor drainage, is thus largely prevented. It is a frequent observation that winterkilling is worst where the humus content of the soil is least. This is probably due to the better drainage resulting from the improved physical condition of soil in which humus is plentiful. FERTILIZERS. There are few of the older agricultural soils suited to wheat grow- ing on which fertilizers of proper composition will not give a profit when applied in connection with good farm practice. The object of fertilization is mainly to provide a balanced ration for the growing plant, and it is therefore necessary to supply in the fertilizer the elements of plant food which are not already available in sufficient quantity in the soil. It is likewise unnecessary to add an element already available in sufficient amount. The soil constituents which are often deficient are calcium (lime), nitrogen, potassium, phos- phorus, and humus, or decaying organic matter. Calcium is supplied as lime or limestone to correct acidity, if necessary, and also as a plant food. Nitrogen is present in manure and in nitrate fertilizers, but the principal source is from the air. It can be obtained from the air very cheaply by growing legumes, such as clover, cowpeas, and soy beans, in rotation or as catch crops. Potassium is usually present in the soil in sufficient amount and can be made available by the decay of manure and plant remains, but when absent or not readily available it is supplied as kainit, or po- tassium salt. Phosphorus is very generally deficient in the older wheat soils and must be supplied by the addition of some form of phosphatic fertilizer, such as acid phosphate, bone meal, rock phos- phate (floats), or basic slag. Humus is supplied in stable or barn- yard manure and in green manure. Stable or barnj^ard manure is of great benefit when added to soils. It supplies humus by the decay of the organic matter, while nitrogen and potassium are usually contained in it in considerable amounts. It usually does not contain a sufficient percentage of phosphorus, however, to be a balanced ration for plants. If 40 or 50 pounds of acid phosphate, rock phospijiate, or basic slag are added to each ton of manure as it is being made in the stable or before hauling to the field, this, deficiency of phosphorus is overcome, and a better form of 4 FARMEKS BULLETIN 596. fertilizer can scarcely be found. At least 8 tons per acre of this treated manure should be applied once in four years. The Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station, after making hun- dreds of fertilizer tests throughout the State, has instituted on its experimental farm a method of fertilization which should be appli- cable to a large part of the winter-wheat region. It is described as follows : Corn, oats, wheat, and clover have been grown in a 4-year rotation, . . . these crops being grown on four 10-acre fields, each crop being grown every season. In this experiment, manure has been taken directly from the stable to the field. . . . This manure, moreover, has been reenforced with phosphorus car- ried in acid phosphate or raw phosphate rock to make up for the phosphorus taken out of their feed by the animals producing the manure, in order to build up their skeletons, the phosphate being dusted in the stables at the rate of 1 pound per 1,000-pound animal per day. This phosphated manure has been spread on the clover sod in the fall or early winter at the rate of about 10 tons per acre, and plowed under for corn, the plowed land being dressed with lime- stone ... (1 ton per acre). The oats receive no treatment, but the wheat receives a complete fertilizer, made up of about 200 pounds steamed bone meal, 100 pounds acid phosphate, and 40 pounds muriate of potash in the fall, followed by 60 pounds nitrate of soda in the spring, or a total of 400 pounds per acre, having the formula 4-16-5, and costing about $6.50 per acre for the materials, or at the rate of $32.50 i>er ton. Allowing $5 for handling the manure, $3 for the phosphate used with it, $3 for the limestone, and $6.50 for the fertilizer, the total cost of this treatment has been $17.50 per acre for each four-year i)eriod, or $4.38 annually. The outcome of this treatment has been an eight-year average of 77 bushels of corn per acre, followed by 61 bushels of oats, 33 bushels of wheat, and 3$ tons of hay, thus giving an increase above the unfertilized yield of 50 bushels of corn, 31 bushels of oats, and 21 bushels of wheat, and more than three times as much hay as has been harvested from either of the hay crops on the un- treated land. In other words, this 40-acre tract is yielding more than twice as much corn, wheat, and hay as the average of Ohio, and nearly twice as much oats. Of course, not all the land in Ohio is in condition to produce such yields. Much of it is deficient in drainage and there are some areas of thin, cold clay that will require not only drainage, but also such treatment as will increase the supply of vegetable matter in the soil, before any system of fertilizing can have its full effect. But the response which is being given by soils in other parts of the State to certain parts of the treatment above described is sufficient to show that the yields of the great majority of Ohio farms may be very materially increased by measures which will be abundantly reimbursed in each year’s crops. Green manures are any green crops that are grown and plowed under for soil benefit. By their decay they furnish humus and make available certain mineral elements already in the soil. Eye is very good for this purpose, though it is better not to use this crop alone, but in combination with a legume. The legumes are usually grown foi* green manure, however, as they furnish abundant green material to plow under and also have the added advantage of being able to CULTURE OF WINTER WHEAT IN EASTERN UNITED STATES. 5 change the nitrogen of the air into a form available for the use of plants. When barnyard or other rotted manure is not available and plant remains, such as straw and stubble, are not returned to the soil, the gi-owing of suitable green-manure crops is imperative in order to maintain soil fertility and the supply of humus. On comparatively few farms is there sufficient rotted manure to take the place of green manures altogether, although by returning the plant remains to the soil less of the green manure will need to be grown than where no returns are made. By the proper care of plant residues and the use of green-manure crops, principally the legumes, fertility can be maintained as cheaply and as effectively as with the use of large amounts of rotted manures only. The amount and kind of commercial fertilizers to be added in a system of farming where no stable or barnyard manure is produced would not differ from that given in preceding paragraphs as in use in Ohio. The applications of lime, phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen should be made as there directed, except that rotted straw may take the place of the manure or the phosphate may be added directly to the clover sod and not in connection with manure. The rotation of corn, oats, wheat, and clover can be made to furnish sufficient humus to the soil. To do this, cornstalks generally should not be removed. Only the seed of the clover crop should be removed, and all straw and other plant remains should be returned to and incorporated with the soil. ROTATIONS. It is not advisable to crop wheat continuously on the same land, as such a practice results in depleted soil fertility, poor physical condi- tion of the soil, increased growth of weeds, mixtures of grain varie- ties, and lowered yields of poorer quality. Even if soil fertility and a fairly good physical condition are maintained by the addition of chemicals, such a cropping sj^stem is not advisable, on account of its cost and the further reasons just cited. A rotation of grain crops only is but little better than continuous wheat, as there is no nitrogen-adding crop, and humus is likely to be exhausted by this system. The fallow system is also impracticable in the region under discussion. A good rotation system should include a legume and a cultivated crop. Local conditions should determine the rotation and the par- ticular crops to be used. The stirring of the soil incident to cultiva- tion has a beneficial effect upon its chemical and physical conditions and tends to eradicate weeds. Manures can also be worked in by cultivation and made available for the wheat crop. In much of the humid areas a rotation in which corn, tobacco, cowpeas, or soy beans 6 FAEMERS^ BULLETIN 596. precede wheat is practicable. The purpose of growing a leguiue is to gather nitrogen from the air and store it in the soil, and also to help maintain the supply of humus. The clovers in the Northern States, and cowpeas, soy beans, vetch, and crimson clover in the Southern States, are the leading legumes for this purpose. Vetch is usually grown with rye in the East and South. A good rotation, especially for the northern part of the winter- wheat region, is corn, oats, wheat, clover and timothy (two years). This may be modified by the omission of the oats or the timothy, or both. Cowpeas or soy beans may be substituted very profitably for oats in many localities where oats do not pay, or wheat may be grown twice in succession. In. tobacco-growing localities tobacco may be so substituted ; barley may also take the place of oats in some localities. It is being recognized that wheat after cowpeas or soy beans is more profitable than after corn ; hence, a rotation of corn, cowpeas, or soy beans, wheat, and clover is advisable where these legumes ai^e adapted. On soils suitable for wheat in the South the rotation may be as follows : (1) Cotton, with crimson clover sown at the last cultivation and plowed under the following spring. (2) Corn, with cowpeas sown between the rows at the last culti- vation. (3) VTieat, followed by cowpeas, followed by rye. The cowpeas following the wheat crop may be cut for hay, or they may be disked in or plowed under as green manure. WHEAT AS A NURSE CROP. lYinter wheat is one of the most satisfactory nurse crops. Winter barley is probably better in the Southern States, where it can be grown, as it matures earlier and does not grow so tall. Wheat is better than spring oats, because it does not make so much shade and is removed from the ground earlier in the season. By the early removal of the grain crop the young clover and grass plants are benefited by the moisture remaining in the soil, which is very important in dry seasons. Vdien used as a nurse crop the stubble should be left as high as possible, to furnish some protection and support to the young grass and clover. The shocked grain should be removed from the field as soon as possible after cutting, to avoid injury to the seeding. WHEAT AS A COVER CROP. Where a good groAvth of wheat is secured in the fall, the crop is A'aluable in preventing the washing which is so preA^alent AvheneA^er heavy clay soils are unprotected. The leaching out and loss of plant food and feililizers by the Avinter rains are also largely reduced by such a cover crop. CULTURE OF WINTER WHEAT IN EASTERN UNITED STATES. 7 PREPARATION OF THE SEED BED. The principle underlying the preparation of soil for wheat is that the seed bed must be firm, moist, and well compacted beneath, with a mellow, finely divided upper 3 inches of soil. If wheat is grown in rotation with oats or after wheat, the stubble should be plowed to a depth of at least T inches immediately after harvesting the crop of grain. The ground should be harrowed within a few hours after plowing, and cultivation with harrow, disk, drag, or roller should be given as necessary thereafter until planting time, to kill weeds, to settle and make firm the subsoil, and to maintain a soil mulch above. Late plowing does not allow time for these results to be obtained. Experiments at the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station fur- nish evidence that “ the largest yields of wheat and the largest profits result from those methods of preparation by which the soil is worked early in the season and kept cultivated until the wheat is sown and when wheat is grown in rotation with other crops. There may be an exception to very early plowing on fertile soils in wet seasons. Under these conditions medium early plowing is advisable.” If a cultivated crop precedes wheat, frequent cultivation given to this crop will preserve moisture and maintain a soil mulch. If level cultivation has been practiced, a* good seed bed can usually be pre- pared by disking and harrowing after removing the crop. If weeds are present, however, it may be advisable to plow shallow, the disk preceding and following the plow. Early plowing and thorough tillage of the plowed soil aid in catching the water which falls and in storing this and the water already in the soil for use by the wheat plants. The firm seed bed under this mulch enables the young wheat plants to make use of the subsoil waters which rise by capillarity when there is a perfect union between the plowed soil and the subsoil. Sufficient water is thus assured for the germination of the seed when sown and for the early fall growth of the seedlings, a very important consideration. Plant food is also likely to be more abundant in the soil when such methods are employed. If the importance of thorough tillage were more generally recog- nized and proper methods of seed-bed preparation were employed more commonly throughout the so-called humid areas, there would be less frequent losses from drought and better wheat crops would result. In this area the mistake is often made of thinking that there will always be moisture enough present for maximum crop growth, with the result that short crops are often obtained where more at- tention to moisture preservation would have assured good yields. 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 596. PREPARATION OF THE SEED. It is usually advisable to use home-gi*own wheat for seed. It has been shown by experiment that seed acclimated to a locality generally gives better yields than seed of the same variety brought from a dis- tance. The practice of changing seed each year or every few years is not justified by experimental results. Any change that is made should be for the purpose of establishing a better variety of known value. Small tests should be made of a new variety in a locality in order to establish its value and allow for acclimatization before gen- eral sowings are made. Broken, immature, and shriveled grains, weed seeds, and all foreign material should be removed by fanning and grading the seed before it is sown. The fanning mill will also remove smut balls and many grains affected by scab, as these are lighter than the sound grain. Where stinking smut is present, seed wheat should be treated with formalin according to the method described in F armers’ Bulletin 507, entitled “The Smuts of ^Vheat, Oats, Barley, and Corn.” This formalin treatment will ver^^ materially check the disease known as anthracnose, which attacks the lower portions of the stems and causes the leaf sheaths to become blackened. After treating the seed with formalin, reinfection should be avoided by the use of bags, bins, and implements that are free from the disease germs, treating these also with formalin if necessary. The control of the loose smut of wheat is difficult, but it can be accomplished by the hot- water treatment described in Farmers’ Bul- letin 507. As infection of the seed with this disease occurs at the time of flowering, it can be avoided by sowing seed from fields or portions of fields in which no smutted heads are found. Little difficulty is usually experienced in regard to the germina- tion of seed wheat. Should any doubt exist, due to the seed being old, shriveled, weathered, or otherwise not in good condition, a germi- nation test should be made. To make a germination test several lots of 100 grains each should be counted out and placed between blotters or Canton flannel or in sand, where they must be kept moist and at a temperature of about 70° F. for several days, after which the num- ber of seeds which show strong sprouts should be counted. Seed that is weak in vitality should be discarded or sown at a higher rate per acre than that commonly employed. SOWING THE SEED. METHOD OF SEEDING. So many experiments have shown the superiority of drilling over broadcasting wheat that doubt should no longer exist regarding this point. More uniform stands are secured with less seed and winter CULTURE OF WINTER WHEAT IN EASTERN UNITED STATES. 9 resistance is greater where drills are used for seeding. The shoe drill, disk drill, and hoe drill are all about equally good for seeding purposes, and it makes little difference on well-prepared soil which kind is used. In all soils except those that are very heavy or wet it is well to have the drill provided with press v/heels, which firm the earth about the seed and insure close contact of seed and soil. The press wheel is especially valuable where the winters are severe and the seed bed rather loose. The drill rows should be from 6 to 8 inches apart. The proper depth to plant seed wheat is about 2 or 3 inches. A greater depth than 3 inches is seldom advisable except, perhaps, in loose, dry soils. A depth of 1 to 2 inches is allowable when a good supply of moisture is present. TIME OP SEEDING. Wheat should be sown early enough to allow the plants to become well started before winter sets in, yet not so early as to allow them to become jointed. Where the Hessian fly is present, as it generally is in most of the sections where winter wheat is grown, seeding should be delayed as much as possible. The first frost in the fall destroys most of these insects and thus reduces to a minimum the damage which they inflict. The only effective means of combating this pest is the late sowing of wheat by all wheat growers in a community, accom- panied by a systematic destruction of stubble or other breeding places of the insects. In seasons when the first frost is unusually delayed it is not safe to wait too long, as losses may be greater from failure of the young, poorly rooted plants to survive the winter than from injury by the fl}^ The risks of late seeding may be largely avoided by providing a seed bed finely worked on top, but compact and well drained beneath, in which there is plenty of moisture and available plant food. Prompt germination of the seed and rapid growth of the seedlings thus assured will allow the plants to enter the winter in as good con- dition as those from seed sown earlier but less favorably. The proper time for sowing wheat can not be exactly specified for all the area here being considered. In general, for each 10 miles of difference in latitude there is a difference of one day in the seeding date, this date being earlier as one goes north or later as one goes south from a given point. Similarly, seeding should be approxi- mately one day earlier for each 100 feet of increase in elevation. The proper date for localities in the latitude of northern Ohio is about the first week in September; for southern Ohio, the last Aveek in September; for central Tennessee and central Oklahoma, aboui the middle of October; and for northern Georgia, about the first of November. For the Piedmont section of Yirsinia, alloAvance for 10 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 596 . elevation must be made, and so in the northern part the middle of September and in the southern part the last week in September seem best. There is usiiallj^ a period of several weeks in all the winter- Avheat area, however, in which sowing may take place with about equal results. This period is longer as one proceeds southward. RATE OF SEEDING. The quantity of seed that should be sown under ordinal-}^ condi- tions in the humid winter-wheat areas is 6 pecks per acre. This may be varied according to the size of kernel of the variety used, the con- dition of the seed bed, the fertility and character of the soil, and the date of seeding. When the grains are small, the seed bed in good condition, the soil rich, warm, and well drained, and the seeding early, 5 or even 4 pecks per acre are often sufficient. IWiere opposite (‘onditions exist, 7, 8, or even 10 pecks may give more profitable results. It is advisable to adhere to these rules with all varieties, regardless of any claims of exceptional tillering ability that may be made. PASTURING AND MOWING. It frequently happens, especially in the Southern States, that an overabundance of foliage is produced in the fall, and danger of winter injury is increased thereby. It is often advisable under these conditions to mow off the plants in the fall or to pasture moderately. As growing wheat is an excellent feed, it is more profitable to dis- pose of the excess growth in the late fall or early spring b}^ pastur- ing. Excessive pasturing at any time, pasturing when the soil is wet, and late spring pasturing are veiy injurious and should be entirely avoided. The amount of lodging is probably reduced by judicious mowing or pasturing. CULTIVATION OF THE CROP. The wheat crop of the humid areas is generally not benefited by cultivation of any sort either in the fall or spring. On heavy soils in very dry seasons light harrowing early in the spring is sometimes profitable. The use of a corrugated roller is often advisable in the spring where the soil is badly heaved. It may also be beneficial to roll winter wheat immediately after sowing when the soil is dry and loose, but this treatment would probably be detrimental where soil- moisture conditions are normal. HARVESTING THE CROP. TIME OF CUTTING. ' Where a self-binder is used, wheat may be cut with safety when the straw has lost nearly all of its green color and the grains are not entirely hardened. If cut sooner than this, shriveled kernels will CULTURE OF WINTER WHEAT IN EASTERN UNITED STATES. 11 result. If left standing until fully ripe, a bleached appearance, due to the action of the elements, often results and loss from shattering may ensue, lldieat that is fully ripe is also more difficult to handle. Where the area of wheat is large, cutting should begin as early as it can be done safely. MANNER OF CUTTING. In practically all of the region under discussion wheat is cut with a self-binder. The header used in the Great Plains area is seldom seen east of Kansas and Nebraska. The old method of cutting with a cradle is still used on very rough land and for small patches where wheat is not an important farm crop. SHOCKING. Wheat should be shocked in the field immediately after being cut and bound. A shock is begun by standing two bundles in a nearly upright position with heads together and butts sufficiently apart to prevent falling over. From 8 to 12, and sometimes more, bundles are then set up about these until a round shock of the proper size is formed. The number of bundles to place in a shock depends upon the degree of ripeness, the length of straw, and the size of the bundle, fewer bundles being used where the straw is short or not fully ripe. In placing the bundles, the butts should be jammed into the stubble to insure firmness and the heads should lean inward suffi- ciently to prevent falling over. IWien this part of the shock is com- pleted it should be covered as perfectly as possible with two bundles, the heads of which, have been broken down at the band, to form a cap. This cap should be placed so as to protect the standing bundles from rain and sun as much as possible. If the heads of the cap are placed on the side of the shock toward the prevailing winds, some protection against blowing off may be afforded. STACKING. In the Eastern States wheat is usually stacked outside or stored in mows as soon as it is dried out in the shock, and it is then allowed to remain a few weeks or months until thrashing can be done. Farther west, thrashing directly from the shock is the more common practice. The cost of thrashing from the shock is generally some- what less than the cost of stacking and thrashing from the stack. Where the stacking is properly done, however, better j)rotection is afforded the grain, which is more important when thrashing can not be done soon after cutting. A “ sweating ” process also takes place in the stack, which improves to some extent the color, condition, and test weight of the grain and its milling and baking qualities. • A similar “ sweating ” process may apparently take place in shock- thrashed wheat after being placed in the bin. The two chief ad- 12 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 596. vantages of stacking, therefore, are the protection from the weather and the improved quality of the grain, where the farmer does not have sufficient storage space for shock-thrashed grain. The addi- tional cost, if any, resulting from stacking wheat may often be offset by the better price obtainable on account of the better quality result- ing from protection and improvement in the stack. It is also pos- sible in wet weather to thrash out the wheat more completely from the straw and to remove more of the chaff when stacking is practiced. THRASHING. Thrashing should not be attempted when wheat or straw is wet or tough, as good results can not then be obtained. Wheat can dry out much better in the head than after being thrashed. If thrashed wet and marketed immediately, it is discounted heavily in price; if placed in a bin, it is likely to become hot and badly damaged. The wheat straw may be stacked in the open, stored in the mow, or spread at once over the field. When the price is good it may be sold. It should never be burned. Straw furnishes excellent rough- age for live stock, while by using it for bedding in stalls a large part of the valuable liquid manure can be preserved. Rotted straw from an old straw pile or from straw spread directly on the field makes good manure, as each thousand pounds of straw contains on the average about 8 pounds of potassium, 5 pounds of nitrogen, and smaller amounts of other important plant foods. One thousand pounds of wheat grain removes on the average about 20 pounds of nitrogen and about 3^ pounds each of phosphorus and potassium. o WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1914 US. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Contribution from the Office of Public Roads, L. W. Page, Director, July 7. 1914. THE ROAD DRAG AND HOW IT IS USED. Prepared by the Office of Public Hoads. INTRODUCTION. An attenijit will be made in this paper to describe the best methods )f constructing and using road drags and to supply information con- •.erning the conditions for which such drags are adapted. Since, inder favorable conditions, road drags may be effectively used in iiain tabling roads constructed of earth, top soil, sand clay, or gravel, , brief discussion of the essential features of each of these types of •onstruction Avill also be given in order that the purposes of the drag lay be more fully understood. Wlien it is appreciated that of more than 2,000,000 miles of })ublic lads in the United States only about 200,000 miles have been given hard surface, and of these 200,000 miles approximately one-half re surfaced with gravel, the importance of every effective device )r maintaining the simpler tyjies of roads becomes readily apparent, t should be observed in this connection that a large part of our total .lileage of public roads is entirely unimproved and that the drag is * little use in improving sand or clay roads which have never been •owned or drained. A much larger part, however, has been sufh- ently improved to make the work of the drag effective, and it is nquestionably true that the magnitude of this part is steadily 1 creasing. Notwithstanding the fact that road drags, made of wood or a com- mition of wood and metal, have been in use for at least two gen era- ms and were described in a textbook published as early as 1851 toads and Railroads, by William Gillespie, p. 191), the benefits be derived from using them are, even now, far from being generally xlerstood. This fact is thoroughly evidenced by the prevalence of ry unsatisfactory roads upon which considerably more money is nually expended in hauling materials to fill holes and ruts than mid be required to maintain the roads in good condition by the belligent use of a road drag. OTE. — This bulletin contains instructions for constructing road drags and directions for their use in repair and maintenance of earth, top-soil, sand-clay, and gravel roads. 44395 ° 14 2 FARMERS^ BULLEJIN- 597, PURPOSE OF THE DRAG. The drag is a simple and inexpensive device for maintaining cer- tain types of roads which when wet become rutted under traffic and which become firm on drying out. It is also well adaj)ted for pro- ducing a smooth and uniform surface on newly constructed roads in which the material used for surfacing is earth, earthy gravel, or some similar material. Wlien the construction of the drag is discussed later, however, it will be obvious that it is essentially a maintenance implement and that its use in construction is distinctly secondary. It will also be apparent that roads which are very rocky or very sandy can not be materially improved by its use. Properly used at the right time the road drag performs four distinct offices. First, by moving at an angle to the traveled way it tends to produce or preserve a crowned cross section. Second, if used when the material of the surface is not compact and hard, it tends to reduce ruts and other irregularities in the road by moving material from points which are relatively high to those which are relatively low. Third, when used after a rain it accelerates the drying out of the road by spreading out puddles of water and thus increasing the surfaces exposed to evaporation. Fourth, if the surface material is in a slightly plastic state, dragging smears over and partially seals the so-called pores which naturally occur in earthy material, and thus makes the road surface more or less impervious to water. The advan- tage of this smearing action of the drag wiU be more readily under- stood if a sample of ordinary earth is examined under a magnifying glass. Such an examination will show that the earth closely resem- bles a sponge or honeycomb in structure, and the desirability of clos- ing the open pores will be readily apparent. If used improperly or at the wrong time, the drag may do actual injury to a road. Dragging a very dry road, for example, serves to increase the quantity of dust and may do additional damage by destroying the seal produced during previous dragging. If, on the other hand, the road is very wet and muddy, the irregularities in the surface are likely to be increased rather than diminished by dragging. HOW THE DRAG IS CONSTRUCTED. The accompanying illustrations (figs. 1 and 2) show two typical designs for road drags, either of which is very simple and inexpensive. The design shown in figure 1 contemplates the use of an ordinary log of timber, such as may be readily obtained in almost every locality. The log should be about 7 or 8 inches in diameter and from 6 to 8 feet long, and should preferably be of hard, tough wood which wiU not decay very rapidly when exposed to the weather. White oak, burr oak, chestnut, cedar, hickory, walnut, or any similar wood may be The koad drag and how it is used. 3 satisfactorily used, provided that it is well seasoned before the drag is put into use. Railroad ties have been frequently used for this piu’pose and possess the advantage that they are already cut to about d £ the right length. In selecting the tie, however, care should be exer- cised to see that it is of sound wood and of the proper size. The drag is made by splitting or sawing the log into two equal semicylinders, which are then framed together in the manner shown 4 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 597. in figure 1. The better of the two pieces should form the front runner of the drag, because it is the one s'id)jected to the greater wear. Moreover, while the front runner should always be placed with the face forward, it is claimed by many that better results may be obtained by having the round part of the back runner go forward in order to increase the smearing action of the drag. The two run- ners are usually spaced from about 30 inches to 36 inches apart, and are connected in ladder fashion by means of cross stakes or rungs. The ends of the rungs are ordinarily fitted into 2-inch auger holes, bored in the runners, and are securely held in place by means of end wedges. The auger holes are 'so arranged that the runners, when framed together, will be displaced in a longitudinal direction with resi)ect to each other. The object of this displacement, or offset as it is usually termed, is to make the ends of the front and back run- ners follow approximately the same line on the road while the drag is in operation. The amount of displacement, therefore, should de- ])end on the amount of skew necessary to make the drag empty itself. But since this skew varies with the condition of the road surface, the proper offset to be given to runners can not be definitely fixed. Under ordinary conditions an offset of from about 12 inches to about 16 inches will prove satisfactory. In order to make it easy for a man to stand upon the drag and to shift his weight properly when dragging over a hard surface, the drag should be provided with two 1-inch boards parallel to the runners and nailed down to the rungs. These boards should be about 8 inches wide and their length should be slightly less than that of the runners of the drag. The chain by means of which the drag is drawn should be about 8 feet long and its links should be made of three-eighths-inch steel. On light drags two trace chains may be used for this purpose. The hitching link, which is designed so that its position on the chain may be readily changed, should be made of one-half-inch steel. If de- sired, an ordinary clevis may be substituted for the hitching link shown in the designs. It is also well to use a few half-inch links at each end of the chain, because the wear is greater at these points. It is customary to fasten the chain to the drag by running one end through a hole near the discharge end of the front runner and by looping the other end over the rung at the cutting end of the front runner. This is a very simple way of connecting the chain, but it has the disadvantage that it tends to rack the drag to pieces, and the method of connection shown in figure 1 is therefore to be preferred. Many road drags constructed as above described, without metal cutting edges or other modifications, have been very satisfactorily used where the conditions were favorable. It is evident, however, that such drags are effective only on comparatively soft road surfaces. THE ROAD DRAG AND HOW IT IS USED. 5 and to (liininisli tliis limitation and also to increase the life of the drag it is very desirable to provide a metal cutting edge for the front runner. An excellent edge of this kind may be made from a strip of iron or steel about one-fourtli incli thick and about 4 inches wide, and even old wagon tires or worn-out grader blades have been very satisfactory. The cutting edge may extend along the entire length of the front runner, or it may extend along only a part of this length and leave the discharge end of the runner without protection. The advantage of the first method is that tlie entire front runner is protected from fraying and wearing. The second method affords a slight operating advantage in that the discharge end of the runner is somewhat better adapted to spreading out and compacting the material which it releases while in operation. A sldllful operator, however, can usually so adjust the hitching link or shift his weight, if he is riding upon the drag, that the discharge end of the front runner will satisfactorily spread the material which is moved, even when the metal-cutting edge extends throughout its length. The design for a road drag shown in figure 2 is adapted for localities in which sawed lumber may be readily obtained. In this design the runners are made of 2 or 2} inch boards, 10 inches wide and from 6 to 8 feet long, reinforced with other 2-inch boards of the same length, but only 6 inches in width. If more convenient, however, 4-inch runners without reinforcing boards may be readily substituted for those shown. The method of framing the runners together is a modification of that described in connection with the split-log type of drag. In this case only two of the cross braces have their ends fitted into augur holes like rungs, while all other bracing is ‘Alapped’^ nto the runners and secured by means of nails. In fastening the draw-chain to a sawed lumber drag, it is usually advisable to run both ends of the chain tlirough holes in the front runner or else make the connections by means of eye or hook bolts, as shown in figure 2. The reason for this is tliat the sawed cross braces are seldom sufficiently strong to withstand the pull of the chain when it is looped over them, as is frequently done when round timber crosspieces are used. If straight-grained pieces are used for the cross- pieces, however, there is no apparent reason why one end of the chain might not be connected by looping it around the 24-inch square crosspiece near the cutting end. In addition to the two common types of road drags which have already been described, there are a number of special types which may be advantageously used under certain circumstances. For example, a drag such as is used by many farmers for smoothing over newly plowed fields may be constructed by nailing together 1-inch boards, siding fashion, in such manner that the ends of the boards 6 FARMERS BULLETIN 59t will line up approximately with the road when the drag is properly skewed for operating. The drag should be made of boards about 5 or 6 feet long and should be provided with about four 2 by 4 inch cleats on the top side. These cleats not only serve as nailing strips for the boards, but furnish a very convenient means for fastening the draw chain to the drag. A drag constructed of boards as just described may be readily drawn by one horse, and is sometimes very useful in securing a THE ROAD DRAG AND HOW IT IS USED. 1 smooth surface on newly constructed earth or sand-clay roads. One of the two general types, already described, however, is in general to be preferred. Several different types of steel road drags are now oji the market, and some of these have been used with very satisfactory results. One very distinct advantage which steel drags possess is that they may be so constructed that the runners or blades can be readily shifted longitudinally with respect to each other, and thus adjusted to suit any angle of skew at which it is deemed desirable to run the drag. The principal disadvantage is that the smearing action of the wooden drag is largely lost. Steel drags are also much more expensive than those made of wood or a combination of wood and metal, such as are shown in the designs which have already been described. HOW TO USE THE DRAG. The principal factor in successfully operating a properly con- structed road drag, provided that the condition of the road is favor- able, is skill on the part of the operator. Such skill can be obtained only by intelligent experience in the use of the drag, and no rules can be laid down which would enable an inexperienced operator to produce first-class results. The following suggestions are intended, therefore, to serve rather as a guide to the judgment than as a criterion to be implicity followed. Under ordinary circumstances the position of the hitching link on the draw chain should be such that the runners will make an angle of from 60° to 75° with the center line of the road, or in other words, a skew angle of from 15° to 30°. It is apparent that by shifting the position of the hitching link the angle of skew may be increased or diminished as the conditions require. When dragging immediately over ruts or down the center of the road after the sides have been dragged, it is usually preferable to have the hitching link at the center of the chain and to run the drag without skew. When the principal purpose of the dragging is to increase the crown of the road, the drag should be sufficiently skewed to discharge all material as rapidly as it is collected on the runners. On the other hand, if depres- sions occur in the road surface, the skew may perhaps be advantage- ously reduced to a minimum, thus enabling the operator to deposit the material which collects in front of the runners at such points as he desires by lifting or otherwise manipulating the drag. Many other examples of conditions which require modifications in the angle of skew might easily be cited, but these will readily suggest themselves to an intelligent operator as his experience increases. The length of hitch is another very important consideration in operating a road drag. In the designs which have been discussed the draw chain may be readily taken up or let out at either end and the length of hitch thus increased or diminished as desired. It is imprac- 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 597 . licablo to prescribe even an approximate i-ule for fixing the hnigth of hitch, because it is materially affected by the hcdght of the t(‘am and the arrangement of the harness, as well as by th(^ condition of the road surface. Experience will soon teach the operator, howev(T, wlien to shorten the hitch in order to h'sscm the amount of cutting done by the front runner and when to lengtlien it in order to producer the opposite effect. When the road surface is sufficiently hard or the amount of material which it is desired to have the drag move is sufficient to warrant the operator standing upon the drag while it is in operation, he can greatly facilitate its work by shifting his weight at proper times. For example, if it is desired to have the drag discharge more rapidly, the operator should move toward the discharge end of the runners. This will cause the ditch end of the runners to swing forward and thus increase the skew angle of the drag. The operator may, of course, produce the opposite effect by moving his weight in the opposite direction. In the same way, he can partially control the amount of cutting which the drag does by shifting his weight backward or for^ ward, as the case may be. An intelligent and interested operator will soon learn many simple ways by means of which he can easily control the different features of the work which a drag performs, and he will also learn to utilize effectively every effort which his team exerts. Unskilled or indiffer- ent operators, on the other hand, may do actual injury to a road by dragging it in an improper way, and they generally waste a large part of the work which their teams perform. Cases are not infrequently observed in which no care whatever is exercised to see that the team is properly hitched to the drag or to determine when the operator should ride and when walk. Very often the operator seems to think that the drag is, or at least ought to be, an automatic device, and that his function is merely to drive and ride. It is almost needless to say that under such conditions as these, the road drag usually proves a failure. WHEN TO USE THE DRAG. It is fully as important that a road be dragged at the right time as it is that the dragging be properly done. Furthermore, the difn- culties involved in prescribing definite rules for determining when dragging should be done are equally as great as those already encoun- tered in attempting to define how it should be done. Only very gen- eral statements concerning this feature of the work can properly be made here, and much must be left to the experienced judgment of those who decide when the dragging of any particular road is to be started and when it is to be stopped. The rule frequently cited, that all earth roads should be dragged immediately after every rain, is in many cases entirely impracticable THE ROAD DRAG AND HOW IT IS USED, 9 and is also very misleading because of the conditions which it fails to contemplate. It is true that there are many road surfaces com- posed of earth or earthy material which do not become very muddy under traliic, even during long rainy seasons, and since such surfaces usually tend to harden very rapidly as soon as the weather clears up, it may be desirable to drag roads of this kind immediately after a rain. Such roads, however, would not ordinarily need to be dragged 10 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 597 . after every rain, because of the strong tendency that they naturally possess of holding their shape. On the other hand, many varieties of clay and soil tend to become very muddy under only light traffic after very moderate rains, and it is evident that roads constructed of such materials could not always be successfully dragged immedi- ately after a rain. Sometimes, in fact, it may be necessary to wait until several consecutive clear days have elapsed after a long rainy spell before the road is sufficiently dried out to keep ruts from form- ing almost as rapidly as they can be filled by dragging. In many cases of this kind, however, it is possible greatly to improve the power of the road to resist the destructive action of traffic during rainy seasons by repeatedly dragging it at the proper time. Well-constructed sand-clay and topsoil roads should not often become muddy after they are once well compacted. They may become seriously rutted, however, under heavy traffic, during rainy weather, and are almost sure to need dragging several times each year. Such roads should ordinarily be dragged as soon after a rain as practicable, as otherwise the surface soon becomes dry and hard, so that it is necessary to do considerably more dragging in order to fill the ruts. Furthermore, the material which the drag moves will not compact readily unless it contains a considerable amount of moisture. Gravel roads can be effectively maintained with a road drag only when the gravel composing the surface is fine grained and contains a considerable quantity of clay or earth. Gravel road surfaces in which this condition prevails not infrequently get badly out of shape during wet weather, and may sometimes require considerably more attention than well-constructed sand-clay or topsoil roads. The time for dragging gravel roads is unquestionably while they are wet. In fact, the best results are sometimes obtained by doing the dragging after the road has become thoroughly soaked and while it is still raining. In general, it may be said that the best time to drag any type of road is when the material composing the surface contains sufficient moisture to compact readily after it has been moved by the drag and is not sufficiently wet for the traffic following the drag to produce mud. FEATURES OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION INVOLVED. In order that the maintenance work of the drag may be effective, it is essential that the roads which are to be maintained first be con- structed. The drag is, of course, useful in smoothing the surface of roads which are entirely unimproved, but it should not be expected to keep the surface of a road smooth and uniform until the road has first been properly graded, drained, and crowned. THE ROAD DRAG AND HOW IT IS USED. 11 Figure 3 shows typical cross sections for roads constructed of earth, of sand-clay, and of gravel. The sand-clay section may also be used for topsoil roads, except that, as a rule, no material from the roadbed is mixed into the surface when topsoil is used. These sections are all well adapted to drag maintenance, provided that they are employed in conjunction with the other essential features of road construction. It should be remembered, however, that no typical section could be shown which would be applicable to all cases. The character of the material of which the road is constructed, for example, has a very important bearing on the crown of the surface. Moreover, Fig. 4.— Earth road in Jackson Township, Hardin County, Iowa, before dragging. climatic or soil conditions may make it desirable to change entirely the section of the side ditches. The only reason for crowning a road surface is to enable it to shed water, and unless effective means are provided for disposing of the water after it is drained off the surface crowning will be of very little, if any, advantage. The side ditches should be amply large and should have sufficient fall to carry the water away as rapidly as it enters them, and they should have outlets at all convenient points. Cross drains or culverts should be constructed wherever it is desir- able to transfer drainage water across the road, and they should usu- ally be provided with end or wing walls for protecting the slopes of the embankment. When the material composing the roadbed is 12 FARMERS ^ BULLETIN 507 . likely to be springy, a system of longitudinal underdrainage may be found necessary to secure proper drainage. In constructing a road, of any type whatever, it should be constantly borne in mind that adequate and continually effective drainage is absolutely neces- sary if the road is to be maintained in good condition. Road surfaces of sand-clay and topsoil and gravel road surfaces of the kind susceptible to drag maintenance are really nothing more than modifications of the ordinary natural earth road surface. These surfaces are usually employed only when the natural material of the roadbed is of an inferior quality of earth, such as sand, sticky clay, Fig. 5.— The earth road shown in figure 4 after dragging. gumbo, loam, or other material which does not tend to hold its shape under traffic in all conditions of weather. The methods of construct- ing these surfaces indicated in the accompanying typical cross sec- tions (fig. 3) must of course be modified to suit local conditions. If intelligent care is exercised in their construction, however, they should become compact and firm under traffic, and should be easily maintained in a smooth, uniform condition by means of the road drag. COST OF DRAG MAINTENANCE. Notwithstanding the fact that road drags have been widely used, there are very few reliable data available which relate to the cost of drag maintenance. Furthermore, most of the data which have been THE ROAD DRAG AND HOW IT IS USED. 13 collected are difficult to interpret, because of the fact that they do not usually furnish sufficient information concerning the character of the surface maintained or the prevailing climatic and traffiic condi- tions to warrant any very general deductions. Sufficient is known, however, to warrant the unqualified statement that no cheaper method than dragging has ever been devised for maintaining those types of roads for which the drag is adapted. The cost of constructing a satisfactory road drag varies from about $2, when a split-log drag is used and all materials are con- veniently available, to perhaps $10 or $12, when the drag is made of first-class sawed lumber, neatly finished in every detail and painted. This item of first cost appears almost insignificant when it is con- Fig. 6.— Topsoil road in Virginia before instituting drag maintenance. sidered that the life of a well-constructed road drag should be at least three or four years. The cost of operating a drag varies, of course, with the cost of labor and team hire. Accurate data kept by a representative of the Office of Public Roads in Bennington County, Vt., during 1912 and 1913, showed that under favorable conditions a road could be dragged at the rate of about 1 mile per hour. This was where the road was comparatively well shaped and only one trip in each direc- tion was necessary. Where more trips of the drag were required, the rate was, of course, corresjiondingly diminished. In this county teams with drivers cost from $3.50 to $5 per working day of from 8 to 10 hours, and the cost per mile for dragging a road one time showed a corresponding variation. The number of draggings neces- 14 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 597 . sary per year varied over a wide range and depended on the length of time that the road had been constructed and the character of material composing the surface. The average cost per mile of dragging an earth road 8 miles long in Alexandria County, Va., during 1911 and 1912 was $1.25 for each dragging, including an average of three round trips. This road was being maintained as an experiment by the Office of Public Roads, and the above cost is based on 24 draggings during the first year. Probably the most economical and efficient system of managing drag maintenance is to assign definite sections of road to each of several responsible interested residents who own teams and live conveniently near the road. In this way the men and teams who Fig, 7.— Topsoil road shown in figure 6 after instituting drag maintenance. do the dragging will be occupied in other work when not engaged in dragging the road, and need be paid only for the actual time employed. This system also creates a wholesome spirit of rivalry among those in charge of different sections of road and good results natu- rally follow. CONCLUSION. In conclusion it seems well to summarize a few of the principal points which have already been discussed at some length. First, the road drag is the simplest and least expensive contrivance yet devised for maintaining roads constructed of earth or earthy material. Second, the successful operation of a road drag depends to a very great extent on the skill and intelligence of the operator. Third, the time to use the drag is when the material composing the THE KOAD DKAO AND HOW IT IS USED. 15 uad surface is sufficiently moist to compact readily under traffic ifter it has been moved by the drag and does not contain sufficient moisture for the traffic following the drag to produce mud. Fourth, dragging can not usually bo so arranged as to keep teams employed all the time, and it is therefore desirable to have it done by interested Fig. 8.— Gravel road, Arlington, Va., showing the result of experimental drag maintenance under the supervision of the Office of Public Roads. persons who can find employment for themselves and teams when they are not engaged in dragging. Figures 4 to 8, inclusive, show a few of the advantages which some communities are now deriving from the intelligent use of the road drag, and a study of these should prove instructive as well as interesting. o WASHINGTON : GOVEKNMENT I’KINTING OFFICE : 1914 l/UwA- 3 ^ US. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE May 22, 1914. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. CONTENTS. Page. Winter wheat condition and forecast, May 1 1 Wheat fed to live stock 3 Outlook for 1914 foreign wheat crop 4 Rye condition and forecast 6 Hay condition and stocks 6 Pastures condition 7 Spring plowing and planting 7 Trend of prices of farm products 7 Honeybees 8 Beet sugar in the L^nited States, 1913 9 Sources of sugar supply 11 Hawaiian sugar campaign, final returns for 1912-13 12 Acreage and yield of cotton in 1913 13 Basis for interpreting crop condition reports 13 Crop conditions in Florida and California 14 The equivalent in yield per acre of 100 per cent condition on June 1 21 TIME OF ISSUANCE AND SCOPE OF JUNE CROP REPORTS. A report regarding the condition of cotton on May 25 will be issued on Monday, ne 1, 1914, at noon (eastern time). A summary of the June grain report will be made public on Monday, June 8, at 2.15 m. (eastern time). This report will give the preliminary estimate of the acreage ,pring wheat, oats, and barley, and the condition on June 1 of winter wheat, spring ..eat, oats, barley, rye, and hay. A. supplemental report will be issued, covering the following items: Condition on ne 1 of clover, alfalfa, pasture, bluegrass (for seed), sugar cane, sugar beets, hemp, ■pies, peaches, pears, blackberries, raspberries, cantaloupes, watermelons, Canadian as, Lima beans, cabbage, onions, and the acreage compared with that sown last ar of clover and sugar cane. ‘ WINTER-WHEAT CONDITION AND FORECAST. MAY 1. The Crop Reporting Board of the Bureau of Statistics (Crop Esti- ^ ates), United States Department of Agriculture, estimates, from e reports of correspondents and agents of the bureau, as follows : On May 1 the area of winter wheat to be harvested was about 1,387,000 acres, or 3.1 per cent (1,119,000 acres) less than the area 44132°— Bull. 598—14 1 2 ■farmers' bulletin 598. planted last autumn, but 11.6 per cent (3,688,000 acres) more than the area harvested last year, viz., 31,699,000 acres. The average condition of winter wheat on May 1 was 95.9, com- pared with 95.6 on April 1, 91.9 on May 1, 1913, and 85.5, the average for the past 10 years on May 1. A condition of 95.9 per cent on May 1 is indicative of a yield per acre of approximately 17.8 bushels, assuming average variations to prevail thereafter. On the estimated area to be harvested 17.8 bushels per acre would produce 630,000,000 bushels, or 20.3 per cent more than in 1913, 57.5 per cent more than in 1912, and 46.3 per cent more than in 1911. The outturn of the crop will probably be above or below the figures given above according as the change in conditions from May 1 to harvest is above or below the average change. A combination of the largest acreage ever recorded with a promise of the largest yield per acre ever recorded makes the present report on the condition of winter wheat noteworthy. If the present promise be maintained until harvest, the yield per acre, estimated to be 17.8 bushels, will compare with an average for the past 10 years of 15 bushels, the highest yield for the period being 16.7 bushels in 1906 and the lowest yield being 12.4 bushels. During the past 20 years there has been a gradual tendency toward an increase in yield per acre. One feature of the situation is that there is not a single State in which the win ter- wheat prospect is unfavorable. Last fall was favor- able for wheat seeding and an unusually large area was seeded. The condition of the crop on December 1 was given as 97.2 per cent of normal, the highest figm'e of the past 10 years, 89.2 being the average for the period. It is thus observed that the crop entered the winter with a very good start. The winter proved to be almost ideal. Practically no complaints have been made of ice smothering, heaving out from freezing and thawing, etc. During the severe part of winter the crop was well protected by snow, and since the breaking of winter the temperature has been cool, and moisture suflicient to maintain the crop in almost normal condition. The forecast from the acreage and condition report as of May 1, 630 million bushels, compares with 524 milfions, the final estimate of last year’s crop, which exceeded any previous crop. The largest esti- mated production before last year was 493 millions, estimated in 1906. The smallest crop of the past 10 years was that of 1904, with 333 millions. No human agency can foretell what will befall the crop before it is gathered; the present forecast is based upon the experience of the past. If conditions continue very favorable, the final outturn may THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 3 be larger than the amount forecast, or conditions can arise which would result in a decidedly smaller outturn than the present forecast. Interpretations of crop condition figures have been made for three years. Last year the May 1 condition of winter wheat was inter- preted as forecasting a yield of 16.6 bushels per acre; the final esti- mate was 16.5, a reduction of less than 1 per cent. In 1912 the May forecast was 14.4 bushels per acre, the final estimate 15.1, an advance of 5 per cent. In 1911 the May forecast was 15.6 bushels and the final outturn was 14.8, a reduction of 5 per cent. The average price of wheat in the United States on May 1 was 83.1 cents a bushel, a decUne of 1.1 cents smce Apiil 1; the price on May 1 last year was 80.9 cents, two years ago 99.7 cents, and three years ago 84.6 cents. The price is generally lower than a year ago east of the Mississippi River and higher than a year ago west of the Missis- sippi River. A report upon spring wheat will not be made until June. The production of spring wheat in 1913 was 240 million bushels; in 1912, 330 million; in 1911, 191 milhon; in the past five years, an annual average of 250 million. This figure added to the forecast of winter wheat, namely, 630 millions, makes 880 millions, which may be con- sidered as a theoretical forecast of total wheat crop. Although a large crop is forecast this year, the amount of carry-over from the 1912 crop will probably be small because of the unusually large amount of wheat used as animal feed during the past season. Details by States are given on page 15. WHEAT FED TO LIVE STOCK. The wheat crop of 1913 in the United States was estimated at 763 million bushels, as compared with 730 millions in 1912 — an increase of 33 million bushels. The amount of old wheat carried into the crop year of 1913 was approximately 90 million bushels, as compared with 78 milhons in the preceding year, or 12 millions more. Thus, the apparent supply for the 1913 crop season was 45 million bushels more than for the preceding season. Notwithstanding this apparently larger supply of 45 million bush- els, the estimated stocks of wheat on March 1 last were about 32 mil- lion bushels less than on March 1, 1913, farm stocks on March 1 being estimated at 5 million bushels less, in interior mills and ele- vators 20 millions less, and commercial visible stocks 7 millions less than in the preceding year. That is, comparing the two crop seasons, the 1913 season appar- ently had 45 milhon more bushels than the 1912 season; but on March 1 of the 1913 season there appeared to be 32 million bushels 4 FARMEKS^ BULLETIN 598. less on hand than on ‘March 1 of the 1912 season — a difference of 77 milhon bushels to be accounted for. Increased exports can account for 7 millions of the above 77 mil- lions; normal increase of consumption from natural growth of the country can account for about 11 millions; an increased amount of seed used for seeding the enlarged winter wheat area can account for 5 million bushels^ — a total of 23 milhons accounted for, leaving 54 millions unaccounted for. This difference may result from inaccuracy in some of the estimates, from an increase in the per capita con- sumption, or from some unusual use made of the crop. An unusual feature of the past season has been a large wheat pro- duction coincident with a practical failure of the corn crop in Kan- sas and adjacent States. In Kansas the wheat production last year was 87 million bushels, compared with an average of 71 millions in the preceding four years; whereas the corn production was only 23 millions, as compared with an average of 156 millions for the preced- ing four years. The price of wheat and corn in Kansas has been about the same during the past season, and in many counties wheat has been the cheaper; normally wheat is 30 to 35 cents per bushel dearer than corn. In consequence of the relative plentifulness and cheapness of wheat, and the scarcity and dearness of corn, much more wheat was used 'on farms for animal feed than usual. The ex- tent of such use is not definitely known. Ordinarily about 2 per cent of the entire wheat crop is estimated to be fed to animals. Recently the county correspondents of the Bureau of Statistics (Crop Estimates) in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Missouri were requested to estimate the percentage of the wheat crop of the past year that would be consumed on farms as feed. The Kansas corre- spondents estimated 12.6 per cent, Nebraska 14.7 per cent, Oklahoma 21 per cent, and Missouri 14.4 per cent. Applying these percentages to the wheat production of these States gives a total of 29 milhon bushels; these States produced 206 millions of last year’s total crop of 763 milhons for the United States. If 29 milhon bushels of wheat were fed to live stock in these four States, whereas in a normal year only 4 or 5 milhon bushels would be so fed, it is reasonable to esti- mate that this year in the entire United States about 40 to 45 milhon bushels more than the normal amount of wheat were fed to hve stock. This would leave 9 to 14 milhons not otherwise accounted for, which, however, is a small difference. . THE OUTLOOK FOR THE 1914 FOREIGN WHEAT CROP. At the beginning of May the general wheat prospect abroad pre- sented few features materially different from those of ordinary years. In the Southern Hemisphere, where each calendar year the first of THE AGRICI^LTUEAL OUTLOOK. 5 the world harvests take place, the two principal producing coun- tries, Argentina and Australia, have given a total }deld of 231,685,000 bushels against 293,295,000 bushels the year before. The distribu- tion of production between the two countries was: Argentina, 117,758,000 (revised) in 1914 against 198,414,000 bushels in the preceding year, and, by the same comparison, Australia 113,927,000 bushels against 94,880,000. In both countries seeding is now in progress under fairly favorable conditions for next winter’s har- vest. There have, however, been complaints at times of excessive rain, deleterious particularly to the ripened maize crop in Argentina. Some- increase is expected this year in each country in the total acreage under all crops, but none is anticipated in the wheat area. The 1914 wheat crop of New Zealand has also been a good one, the yield being officially put at 200,000 bushels above that of the pre- vious year. In British India, where occurs, annually, the first important wheat harvest north of the equator, the acreage now being cut has been officially estimated at 25,500,000 acres, con>- pared with 29,716,000 acres last year, a decrease of 3,822,000 acres, or 13 per cent. Harvest, though at times disturbed in parts by heavy rains, has, for the most part, been during propitious weather. No quantitative estimates of yields are yet available, but it is nota- ble that exports thus far are very limited. Spring seeding in Can- ada seems to have been retarded by wet weather in April, and indi- cations are for no extension of the spring wheat area over that of last -year. The prospects for the European wheat crop are, as a whole, fuUy up to the standard for the season. The total acreage, owing to increased sowings in Russia and Roumania, is expected to exceed that of last year, and the general appearance of the fields in almost all countries is reported to be of good promise. In Great Britain there has been an increase of about 4 per cent in acreage. The con- dition of the plants is, for the most part, satisfactory. In France an unusually large proportion of the winter wheat has been frozen out, and as the weather has not been altogether favorable to spring sow- ings the acreage is expected to be less than that of either of the past two years. The appearance of vegetation, particularly in the north, is not all that is desired, though it improved greatly in April. The popular belief is that France will at the best not produce a large crop this season. The acreage under winter wheat in Italy is normal and in Spain 3^ per cent less than last year. Excepting some local com- plaints of dry weather, the present outlook in both countries is satis- factory: In Belgium, Denmark, and Germany the growing crops receive^ favorable mention, though a rather dry April now makes felt in many parts urgent necessity for additional rain. In central and southeastern Europe the only discordant notes in a general harmony of favorable crop reports are complaints of an unsatisfactory condi- 6 farmers' bulletin 598 . tion of the growing Hungarian wheat and a decrease, owing to unfa- vorable weather last fall, in the sowings of Bulgaria. Although there are no definite official reports from Russia, the tone of local and com- mercial reports is very hopeful, and the present popular expectation seems to be, if present conditions are maintained, for a yield exceed- ing that of any previous year. RYE. The average condition of rye on May 1 was 93.4, compared with 91.3 on April 1, 91 on May 1, 1913, and 89.4, the average for the past 10 years on May 1. The condition of the crop is high in every State. A condition of 93.4 may be interpreted as forecasting a yield per acre of about 17.1 bushels, which compares with a final estimate of 16.2 last year, 16.8 two years ago, and 16.2, the average of the past 10 years. The yield per acre of rye has not varied widely from year to year, the lowest yield per acre since 1900 being 15.1 bushels (in 1900), and the highest 17 bushels in 1902. An estimate of tlie acreage to be harvested, to which to apply the forecast of yield per acre to ob- tain a total production figure, has not been made. The acreage planted for grain last fall was 2,702,000 acres, compared ’^vitli 2,731,000 sown in the fall of 1912. During the past five years the estimated area harvested has been 8 per cent less than the estimated area sown for grain. A yield per acre of 17.1 bushels on 8 per cent less area than sown for grain last fall would produce 42,500,000 bushels, which compares with last year’s final estimate of 41,381,000 and the estimate two years ago of 35,664,000. Details by States are given on page 15. HAY. The average condition of meadow (hay) lands on May 1 was 90.9, compared with 88.5 on May 1, 1913, and a 10-year average on May 1 of 88.1. A condition of 90.9 on May 1 may be interpreted as forecasting a yield per acre of about 1.46 tons, which compares with a final estimate of 1.31 tons produced last year and an average yield in the past 10 years of 1.40 tons. The hay prospects on May 1 were more or less promising in every State. An estimate of the acreage wiU not be made until August. The stocks of old hay on farms on May 1 are estimated as 7,832,000 tons (12.2 per cent of the crop), against 10,828,000 tons (14.9 per cent) on May 1, 1913, and 4,744,000 tons (8.6 per cent) on May 1, 1912. The average price of hay, $12.32 on May 1 this year, $11.13 last year, and $17.64 two years ago, reflects this difference in stocks of hay on hand. Details by States are given on page 16. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 7 PASTURES. ^ Pastures, although above average condition on May 1 for the entu*e United States, are not so uniformly favorable in the different States as are wheat, n^e, and meadows. In 17 of tlie 48 States the condi- tion figure was more or less below the lO-year average, in 4 States the condition is the same as the 10-year average, and in 27 States the condition was above the 10 -year average. Where the conditions are lowest, generally in the Atlantic Coast States, the cause is the late sprmg and consequent late starting of grass. Conditions are particularly good in the Pacific Coast States. Details by States are shown on page 17. SPRING PLOWING AND PLANTING. So much plowing was accomplished last autumn that, notwith- standing the tardiness of spring, the total amount of plowing and planting for spring-sown crops by May 1 was slightly more than the average. About 70.9 per cent of the plowuig was completed by May 1, compared with 67.2 per cent on May 1, 1913, and a 10-year average on May 1 of 06.6. Of spring planting, 56.4 per cent was completed up to ^lay 1, compared with 57 per cent on May 1, 1913, and an 8-year average on May 1 of 54.6. This work is generally backward in the North Atlantic Coast States and down to South Carolina, also in the North- ern States, Wisconsin, Mmnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, but about up to the average or somewhat better m nearly all other sections of the United States. Details by States are printed on page 17. TREND OF PRICES OF FARM PRODUCTS. The level of prices paid producers of the United States for the principal crops increased about 1.3 per cent during April; in the past six years the price level has increased during April 3.2 per cent; thus, the increase this year is less than usual. Since December 1 the index figure of crop prices has advanced 2 A per cent; during the same period a year ago the advance was 5.3 per cent, and the average for the past six years has been an advance of 11.1 per cent. On May 1 the index figure of crop prices was about 17 per cent higher than a year ago, but 18.3 per cent lower than two years ago and 1.3 per cent higher than the average of the past six years on May 1. The level of prices paid to producers of the United States for meat animals increased 0.4 per cent during the month from March 15 to April 15, which compares with an increase of 3.7 per cent in the 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 598. same period a year ago, an increase of 10.7 per cent two years ago^^ a decrease of 4.7 per cent three years ago, and an increase of 4.8 per cent four years ago. From December 15 to April 15 the advance in pj rices for meat animals has been 8 per cent; whereas during the same period a year ago the advance was 14.5 per cent, and two years ago 17.3 per cent, while three years ago there was a decline in price of 6.6 per cent during this period. On April 15 the average (weighted) price of meat animals — hogs, cattle, sheep, and chickens^ — was $7.40 per 100 pounds, which is 0.7 per cent higher than the prevailing price a year ago, 17.5 per cent higher than two years ago, 27.6 per cent higher than three years ago, and 4.4 per cent lower than four years ago on April 15. A tabulation of prices is shown on pages 18-20. HONEYBEES. The Bureau of Statistics (Crop Estimates) on May 1 made an inquiry regarding the number of colonies of honeybees, their condi- tion, and the condition of the principal nectar-bearing plants. The inquiry covered the additional subjects of the principal nectar-pro- ducing plants in the different sections and the approximate dates of nectar flow of each. As this is the first inquiry on this subject, and no comparisons exist based on previous inquiries by the Bureau, it is difficult to draw conclusions, except in a most general way. The number of colonies of bees in the United States this year, spring count, appears to be about 4 per cent above the number last year, and 2 per cent above recent years. Decreases compared both with last year and recent years are reported in the New England States, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Missis- sippi, Louisiana, and California. The loss in California and in a majority of the other States named was due to a severe epidemic of foul-brood disease. Increases are particularly marked in the North Central, Kocky Mountain, and Pacific Coast States, except as already noted. The condition of the colonies is reported to be about 98 per cent of a normal, taking the United States as a whole. The condition is about 5 per cent above normal, however, in the Kocky Mountain and Pacific Coast States. The condition of colonies compared with last spring is about 4 per cent better, being reported as inferior only in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi. It is generally better than last spring in the North Central States, and very much better in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast States. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK. 9 The condition of nectar-hearing ])lants averages about 99 per cent of a normal for the United States as a whole, ranging in the neighborhood of 95 in all the countiy east of the Rockies, excepting Texas, where it is 115, and about 105 per cent in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast States, being highest, 120 per cent, in California. Compared with last year, the condition of nectar-bearing plants averages 3 per cent higher for the United States, being generally slightly below last year east of the Rockies, except in Texas, where it is 50 ])er cent better, and decidedly better in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast States, reaching the very high figure of 175 per cent compared with last year in California, where moisture conditions in the white-sage country presage a bountiful nectar flow. In the important honey-producing States of Texas, Colorado, and California the outlook is very promising, showing numbers of colonies compared with recent years of 115, 115, and 85, and compared with last year of 112, 120, and 93 per cent, respectively; colony conditions compared with normal of 115, 110, and 107, and compared with last year of 120, 110, and 125 per cent; and condition of nectar-producing plants compared with normal of 115, 107, and 120, and compared with last year of 150, 107, and 175 per cent, respectively. The number of colonies in the white-clover belt of the North Cen- tral States is at least 5 per cent above the number last year, and, taken as a whole, the condition of the colonies is equal to that of last year; but the condition of nectar plants in these States is reported as not quite so good as last year, due partly to a late spring and partly to loss of clover from the drought in some sections. An inquiry will be made in July regarding honey production, and another inquiry on the same subject will be made later in the season. It is hoped in the meantime to secure the agreement of a large number of experienced and up-to-date beekeepers to furnish reports on the honey crop in order that the estimates may be approximately correct and therefore of real value to honey producers and others interested. Details by States are given on page 17. BEET SUGAR IN THE UNITED STATES, 1913. The beet-sugar output of the United States for the campaign beginning in the fall of 1913 was the largest on record. It amounted to 733,401 short tons, which was 40,845 in excess of the large yield of 1912. There were 71 factories in operation in 1913-14, or two less than during the preceding campaign, while the average length of the campaign was 85 days in 1913-14, practically the same as in 1912-13. The beets used in the factories in 1913-14 amounted to 5,659,462 tons, and were grown upon 580,006 acres. The average value of the 44132°— Bull. 598—14 2 10 j'ARIviSRS^-^llH^LLiiTIN 508. beets per ton was $5.34, and the total amount received farmers for this product amounted to $30,222,000. In the ])ieceding cam- paign, 1912-13, the farm value of the beets used for sugar amounted to $30,406,000, the average price being $5.82 per ton. Details of the beet-sugar campaign for the past three years in each principal State and in the United States are shown in Table 1 . Table 1. — Sugar-beet and beet-sugar 'production in the United States, 1911 - 1913 . State, and year of beet harvest. Fac- Aver- age Sugar Beets used. Analysis of beets. Average ex- traction of sugar. in oper- ation. length of cam- paign. made (chiefly refined). Area. Aver- age yield per acre. Produc- tion. Aver- age price per ton. Per- cent- age of su- er ose.i Pu- rity coeffi- cient.2 Per- cent- age of beets. Per short ton of beets. California: No. Days. Tom.^ Acres. Tons.^ Tons.^ Dolts. P. ct. P.ct. P.ct. Lhs. 1913 12 99 171,208 127,610 8. 92 1,138,003 6.10 18.04 86. 26 15.05 301 1912 11 90 158,904 111,416 99,545 9.01 1,004,328 6. 46 18. 79 83.99 15. 82 316 1911 Colorado: 1913 10 98 161,300 10. 42 1,037,283 5. 54 18.95 82.04 15.55 311 14 96 229,274 168, 410 10. 93 1,840,653 5. 67 14. 92 84. 01 12. 46 249 1912 17 91 216,010 124, 800 144,999 11.32 1,641,861 5. 96 16. 19 84. 81 13. 16 263 1911 14 63 86,437 11. 07 957, 142 5. 55 15. 44 81.22 13. 04 261 Idaho: 1913 4 77 29,620 22, 497 9.90 222,612 4.99 16. 24 86. 35 13. 31 266 1912 4 64 24,761 19, 952 8. 55 170,619 5.18 17.37 88.01 14.51 290 1911 * 3 91 26, 730 17,052 12.11 206,367 5.02 16.65 88.26 12. 95 259 Michigan: 1 1913 15 82 122, 424 107,965 8.85 955,242 5.93 15. 82 82. 61 12. 82 2.56 1912 16 74 95, 049 124,241 6. 75 838, 784 5.69 14. 72 83. 75 11.33 227 1911 17 122 125,500 145, 837 9.90 1, 443, 856 5. 74 14. 59 80.00 8.69 174 Ohio: 1913 5 80 28, 687 30,661 7. 84 240, 435 5.34 14. 46 82. 95 11.93 239 1912 5 91 28,503 27,062 9. 72 263,005 5.31 13. 95 81.36 10. 84 217 Utah: 1913 7 90 57, 231 39, 472 12. 21 481,863 4. 81 15. 07 83.86 12. 08 242 1912 6 97 59, 571 37,000 12. 03 445, 130 4. 90 16.37 86. 29 13. 38 168 1911 6 96 57, 280 33, 950 13. 03 442,310 4. 81 15. 98 86. 10 12.95 259 Wisconsin: 1913 4 57 12, 553 23, 260 11,800 20, 172 9. 66 114,000 207,085 5. 80 14. 10 11.01 220 1912 4 91 10.27 5. 84 15. 10 84.31 11.23 225 1911 4 106 23, 640 23, 241 11.02 256, 124 5.51 14.23 81.00 9.23 185 other States: * 1913 10 68 82, 404 71,591 9.31 666, 654 5. 66 14.99 81.89 12. 36 247 1912 10 78 86, 498 70, 458 9.28 653, 565 5.82 16. 37 83.89 13. 23 265 19115 12 83 80, 250 67,815 10.61 719,251 5. 48 1.5. 16 84.51 11. 16 223 United States: 1913 . 71 85 733, 401 580,006 9. 76 5,659, 462 5.34 15. 78 83.22 12. 96 259 1912 73 86 692, 556 555, 300 9.41 5,224,377 5. 82 16.31 84.49 13. 26 265 1911 66 94 599, 500 473, 877 10. 68 5,062,333 5. 50 15.89 82.21 11.84 237 1 Based upon weight of beets. 2 Percentage of sucrose (pure sugar) in the total soluble solids of the beets. 3 Short tons (2,000 pounds). < The 10 factories in “Other States” in 1912 and 1913 were located as follows: Indiana, 1; Illinois, 1; Min- nesota, 1; Iowa, 1; Nebraska, 2; Kansas, 1; Montana, 1; Nevada, 1; and Arizona, 1. 6 Including Ohio in 1911. About 2,500 pounds of refined sugar are 3 fielded on an average by an acre of beets, and for each ton of beets the average for the past three years has ranged from 237 to 265 pounds of refined sugar. Sugar beets yielded during the past three years from 9.41 to 10.68 short tons per acre, and were worth from $52.12 to $58.74 per acre. The average output per factory increased from 9,083 short tons of sugar in 1911-12 to 10,330 short tons in 1913-14. The average quan- THE AGRICULTlJfiAI^.QyTLOOK. 11 tity of beets used by each factory ranged from 71,567 to 79,711 tons, and the area from wliich each factory drew its supply of beets ranged from 7,180 to 8,168 acres. Table 2. — Average results per acre and per factory in the beet-sugar industry of the United States, 1911-1913. Year of l^eet harvest. Average yield, beets per acre. Average sugar made. I Average per factory. Average farm value of beets. Per short ton of beets. Per acre of beets. Area har- vested. Beets used. Sugar made. Per ton. Per acre. Tons! Pounds. Pounds. Acres. Tons.'^ Tons.^ Dollars. Dollars. 1913 9. 76 259 2,517 8, 168 79,711 10,330 5.34 52. 12 1912 9. 41 265 2,496 7,607 71,567 9,487 5.82 54. 77 1911 10. 68 237 2, 529 7,180 76. 702 9. 083 5. 50 58. 74 1 Short tons (2,000 pounds). SOURCES OF SUGAR SUPPLY. The total amount of sugar produced within the United States proper from the crops of 1913 exceeded 1,000,000 tons. In the previous year, owing to the crop failure in Louisiana, the sugar pro- duction of the United States proper was only about 855,000 tons, and two years ago this production amounted to 960,000 tons. The average consumption of sugar in the United States for the two fiscal years beginning 1911 and 1912 was about 4,000,000 short tons. Of this amount 45 per cent in the first year and 55 per cent in the second consisted of foreign sugar, while 30 and 24 per cent, respec- tively, represented sugar received from Hawaii, Porto Rico, and the Philippine Islands; the sugar of domestic production constituted 25 and 20 per cent, respectively, of the total supply. Domestic beet sugar constituted in 1911-12, 15 per cent of the total supply, and in 1912-13, 16 per cent, while Louisiana cane sugar was represented in the former year by 9 and in the latter by 4 per cent of the total supply of all sugar in the United States for those years. Taking the total domestic production as a basis, beet sugar con- stituted, in 1913-14, 71 per cent and cane sugar 29 per cent. In 1912-13 and 1911-12 beet sugar formed 81 and 62 per cent, respec- tively, of the total domestic production, while cane sugar formed 19 and 38 per cent, respectively. Of the total domestic production of the past three years, 71 per cent consisted of beet sugar and 29 per cent cane. It is to be understood that in this paragraph domestic production refers to the United States proper and does not include any of the insular possessions. 12 - FARlV/iRfe^^WLL'ETIN 598, Table 3. — Quantity and sources of the sugar supply of the United States. [In tons of 2,000 pounds.] Year beginning July 1. Domestic production. Received from Hawaii, Porto Rico, and Philippine Islands 2 (chiefly raw). Imports from foreign countries, less exports (chiefly raw). Retained and re- ceived for consump- tion. Beet sugar (chiefly refined). Cane sugar (chiefly raw). Total do- mestic pro- duction. Louisi- ana. Texas. 1 1913 Tons. 733, 401 692, 556 599, 500 Tons. 292, 698 153, 573 352, 874 Tons. 7.000 9.000 8.000 Tons. 1,033,099 855, 129 960,374 Tons. Tons. Tons. 1912 1911 1,018,979 1,178,058 2, 346, 027 1,792,646 4, 220, 135 3,931,078 1 Estimate of W illet and Gray. 2 Less shipments (chiefly refined sugar) from the United States to these possessions. FINAL RETURNS FOR THE HAWAIIAN SUGAR CAMPAIGN OF 1912-13. The production of sugar in Hawaii during the year ending Septem- ber 30, 1913, amounted to 546,524 short tons, which was about 49,000 less than the year before and 28,000 less than in 1910-11. The average yield of cane per acre was the lowest in the past three years, amounting, however, to 39 tons; and the total cane crushed for sugar equaled 4,476,000 short tons. The area harvested in 1912-13 was greater than in the preceding year, but less than in 1910-11. In Hawaii about 18 months are usually required for a crop of cane to mature. The average yields per acre in the sugar-crop reports of this Bureau apply only to areas whose crops were used in sugar making in the campaign to which averages refer. Table A. — Final returns for the Hawaiian sugar campaign ending Sept. SO, 191S, and comparison with two preceding campaigns. Facto- Average length of cam- paign. Sugar made (chiefly raw). Cane used for sugar. Average extraction of sugar. Island, and year ending Sept. 30. ries in opera- tion. Area har- vested. Average yield per acre. Produc- tion. Per cent of cane. Per short ton of cane. Per acre of cane. Hawaii: No. Days. Tons.^ Acres. Tons.i Pons.i Per cent. Pounds. Pounds. 1913 24 170 197,212 53,600 32 1,703,000 11.58 232 7,364 1912 24 204 209,914 52,900 34 1,799,000 11.67 233 7,936 1911 26 198,830 53,400 33 1,744,000 11.40 228 7,447 Kauai: 1913 9 198 100,340 20,800 42 841,000 11.93 239 9,665 1912 9 206 96, 845 18,900 43 807,000 12. 00 240 10, 248 1911 Maui: 9 100,667 21,200 43 919,000 10.95 219 9,497 1913 7 152 124,820 19, 700 47 929,000 13.44 269 12,684 1912 7 192 148,740 19,400 55 1,074,000 13.85 277 15, 334 1911 Oahu: 7 139,894 22, 500 50 1,133,000 12.35 247 12,435 1913 10 157 124, 152 20,500 49 1,003,000 12. 38 248 12, 153 1312 10 200 139, 539 21,800 50 1,094,000 12. 75 255 12,802 1911 8 135,087 19,900 52 1,039,000 13.00 260 13, 577 Territory of Hawaii: 1913 50 169 546, 524 114,600 39 4,476,000 12. 21 244 9,544 1912 50 200 595,038 113,000 42 4,774,000 12. 46 249 10, 532 1911 50 574,478 117,000 41 4,835,000 11.88 238 9,820 Short tons (2,000 pounds). THE AGRICUJLTTr-ffiA'H.^CWTLOOK. 13 ACREAGE AND YIELD OF COTTON IN 1913. The Bureau of Statistics (Crop Estimates), United States Depart- ment of Agriculture, has made a revision of its preliminary estimates of cotton acreage last year (1913), based upon results of a special investigation and the report of the Bureau of the Census of the quan- tity of cotton ginned in the past season. The revision indicates that the area planted to cotton (in cultivation at the end of June, 1913) was about 37,458,000 acres, instead of 35,622,000 as reported last July. The revised estimated will be used by the Bureau of Statistics as a basis in making its cotton acreage estimates this year. The yield of cotton per acre in 1913 is estimated at 182 pounds, as compared with 190.9 pounds in 1912, 207.7 pounds in 1911, 170.7 pounds in 1910, and 154.3 pounds in 1909. The area picked in 1913 was about 37,089,000 acres. Details by States for 1913 are given in Table 5, as follows: Table 5. — Cotton acreage and yield per acre, 1913, by States. state. Area planted (in cultiva- tion end of June; 1913), revLsed. Area picked, 1913. Yield per acre, 1913. Virginia Acres. 48, 000 1,589, 000 Acres. 47, 000 Pounds. 240 North Carolina 1,576,000 239 South Carolina 2, 798, 000 2, 790, 000 235 Georgia 5,345,000 5,318, 000 188, 000 3, 760, 000 3.067.000 1.244.000 208 Florida 192, 000 3, 798, 000 3.117.000 1.263.000 150 Alabama 190 Mississippi . 204 Louisiana 170 Texas 12,686,000 2,527,000 12,597, 000 2,502, 000 865,000 150 Arkansas 205 Tennessee 866, 000 113,000 210 Missouri 112, 000 3,009, 000 14, 000 286 Oklahoma 3, 102, 000 14,000 132 California 500 United States 37, 458,000 37, 089, 000 182.0 BASIS FOR INTERPRETING CROP CONDITION REPORTS. The equivalent of 100 per cent of a normal condition in terms of prospective yield per acre, for crops in the United States, is esti- mated as follows, the figures being based primarily on averages of the last five years, with modification where such averages are un- duly influenced by abnormal years. -The approximate yield per acre indicated by the condition report of any month is obtained by multiplying the equivalent of 100, as given below, by the condition percentage. For example, if the condition of corn on October 1 be reported 75 per cent of normal, the indicated yield per acre would be 14 ' ' FAKM^R^'^’CJLL^TIN 598. 35X0.75 = 26.25 bushels. A brief statement relating to the inter- pretation of crop condition figures was published in tlie Crop Re- porter for July, 1911. Table 6. — Estimated equivalent in yield per acre of 100 condition. Estimated equivalent in prospective yield of a condition oT 100 (normal) on — May 1. June ] . July 1. Aug. 1. Sept. 1. Oct. 1. Com .bushels. . 31.8 19.7 16.6 18.6 37.1 30.2 18.5 33.5 34.7 3." 0 Winter wheat do ie.6 19.5 15.3 18.0 35.4 28.6 18.4 Spring wheat dc 17.4 18.0 All wheat do Oats do 37.9 31. 3 38.4 31.9 Barley do Rye do 18.3 Buckwheat do 23.8 124 1,006 10.6 38.5 1.65 , 234 24.7 129 1,021 11.0 38.8 25.6 132 1,004 11.3 39.2 Potatoes do. . 115 965 10.1 38.5 1.70 232 Tobacco pounds. . Flax bushels. . Rice do Hay tons. . 1.62 232 Cotton pounds. . 260 280 FLORIDA AND CALIFORNIA CROP REPORT. Table 7. — Crop conditions in Florida and California. Crop, Florida. 1 I California. Condition May 1 — Condi- tion Apr. 1, 1914. Condition May 1— Condi- tion Apr. 1, 1914. 1914 1913 1912 1914 1913 1912 Pineapples 80 95 89 80 Oranges 95 90 96 102 95 70 92 98 Lemons 90 92 56 90 94 T.imes 95 90 90 100 Grapefruit 96 88 98 101 Peaches 80 70 85 85 Pears 55 48 60 82 Strawberries i 86 90 80 Watermelons 85 84 86 Cantaloupes 80 81 84 Apricots ... 80 61 78 Almonds 89 48 92 Cauliflower i 96 90 90 Velvet beans 86 Tomatoes .. 77 ; 81 87 80 Cabbages i . 90 87 80 Potatoes - . . 85 87 84 92 Cowpeas . . 85 «3 83 Production compared witli a full crop. THE AGRICHLTH'RAJUi WTLOOK 15 Table 8. — Winter wheat and rye; acreage., condition, forecast, and prices on dates indicated . Winter wheat. llye. State. Acreage. Condition May 1. Forecast 1914 from May 1 condition. Final estimate 191.3, (000 omitted). Price May 1. Condition May 1. Condition Apr. 1 Price May 1. Per cent aban- doned. Acres remain- ing to be harvested. 1914 1913 10-year aver- age. 1914 1913 1914 10-year aver- age. 1914 1913 P. c. P. c. P. c. Bush. Bush. Cts. Cts. P.c. P. c. P. c. Cts. Cts. 95 91 98 95 91 96 94 63 94 94 94 100 8;5 New York 1.0 360,000 95 92 87 7,500 6,800 99 101 92 88 94 75 73 New Jersey 4.5 79,000 93 95 90 1,400 1,408 101 90 93 92 91 j 76 75 Pennsylvania . . 2.0 1,312,000 94 94 90 23, 400 21,802 90 100 94 90 94 i 75 77 Delaw'are 2.0 114,000 94 95 91 1,900 1,638 96 100 90 91 90 1 76 69 Maryland 1.5 612,000 94 95 91 9,900 8,113 94 103 92 91 91 70 72 Virginia 1.9 779,000 95 95 91 10.000 10,608 101 105 94 91 95 83 81 West Vuginia. . 2.0 236,000 95 92 88 3,200 3,055 100 105 93 90 93 82 89 North Carolina. 2.6 611,000 92 93 90 6, .500 7,078 112 113 92 91 92 99 96 South Carolina. 3.0 80,000 88 84 8.5 900 972 125 122 89 87 89 172 181 Georgia 3.0 140,000 90 89 87 1,600 1,708 122 120 90 89 92 122 120 Ohio 1.3 2,090,000 96 91 80 38,900 35,100 92 102 95 85 96 71 69 Indiana 1.3 2,485,000 98 91 81 45, 500 39, 775 91 97 95 88 96 62 62 Illinois 2.0 2,576,000 97 94 83 47, 500 41,888 86 93 96 90 97 63 58 Michigan 2.3 879,000 92 83 80 15. 800 12, 776 90 100 93 86 91 62 56 W isconsin 5.0 85,000 89 89 88 1,600 1,749 84 82 , 92 91 87 55 54 Minnesota 8.0 41,000 89 810 83 80 93 89 88 49 51 Iowa 2.0 479,000 95 93 89 11,100 10,530 80 80 96 93 93 61 04 Missouri 1.4 2,549,000 99 95 86 44,200 39, 586 86 95 95 90 96 70 77 North Dakota.. 92 87 87 42 47 South Dakota. . 14.0 69,000 88 900 76 76 93 91 88 53 54 Nebraska 4.0 3,123,000 94 97 87 63, 100 58, 125 75 74 92 90 92 56 53 Klansas 4.5 7,950,000 96 91 82 1.32,000 86,515 80 79 95 87 95 70 65 Kentucky 2.3 745,000 98 91 87 10,200 9,860 96 102 95 88 94 82 87 Tennessee 2.0 709,000 97 92 88 8,600 8,400 102 107 93 88 93 94 100 Alabama 8.0 31,000 92 90 88 400 374 123 112 90 87 91 129 101 Mississippi 15.0 1,000 90 90 86 14 92 Texas 5.0 1,082,000 90 78 79 15,600 13, 050 93 90 88 78 81 99 102 Oklahoma 3.0 2,465,000 96 89 82 35,500 17,500 83 78 97 84 97 80 70 Arkansas 2.5 105,000 97 95 87 1,.300 1,313 89 92 96 87 93 89 to Montana 5.0 481,000 ~ 96 92 94 12,900 12,288 73 68 97 96 94 75 62 Wyoming 4.0 41,000 90 97 94 1,100 1,000 80 85 97 96 97 60 55 Colorado 8.0 194,000 95 94 90 4,800 4,220 78 73 94 91 92 67 54 New Mexico 7.0 42,000 93 85 900 651 92 90 Arizona 5.0 31,000 94 90 900 928 112 115 1 Utah 3.0 223,000 99 90 93 5,500 4,600 77 77 97 96 96 55 60 Nevada 4.5 18,000 97 90 98 400 368 91 100 Idaho 2.0 339,000 99 95 96 10,100 8,494 73 73 98 96 97 75 73 Washington 4.5 1,201,000 98 95 94 33,000 32,400 80 79 98 94 100 55 Oregon 2.0 622,000 102 92 96 15,200 12,305 82 77 100 96 98 80 75 California 5.0 408,000 95 62 80 7,800 4,200 93 94 100 88 100 92 90 United States 3.1 35,387,000 95.9 91.9 85.5 630,000 52.3,561 83.9 80.9 93.4 89.4 91.3 j62.9 62.4 16 FAKMEKS BULLETIN 598, Table 9. — Hay — Stock and price of old crop, condition and forecast of meadows, May 1; amount fed on farms where produced, 1914, with cojnparisons. Hay. State, Quantity on farms May 1 (000 omitted). ] Price May 1 — Per cent fed to stock owned on farms pro- ducing it. Meadows: Condition May 1, Yield i)cr acre. 1914 1913 1912 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 10- year aver- age. 1914 ( indi- ca- ted). 1913 (fi- nal). 10- year aver- age. • P.ct.i Tons. Tons. Tons. Dolls. Dolls. P.ct. P.ct. P.ct. P.ct. Tons. Tons. Tons. Maine 11 131 486 148 14.00 13.90 78 73 93 94 1.12 1.00 1.12 New Hampshire 10 50 88 47 17. 50 16. 00 88 85 91 91 1.11 1.00 1.11 Vermont 10 128 182 92 14.40 13.50 89 85 95 94 1..33 1.28 1.32 Massachusetts 11 63 77 41 20. 70 20.00 86 80 89 91 1.20 1.21 1.23 Rhode Island 18 12 8 5 21.00 21.40 85 85 94 90 1.18 1.17 1.17 Connecticut 12 52 57 25 20.00 20.70 82 84 92 91 1.20 1.14 1.17 New York 12 643 826 337 15.00 13. 20 73 73 88 88 1.20 1.14 1.22 New Jersey 17 80 83 41 19.00 18.00 70 70 90 90 1.33 1.30 1.34 Pennsylvania 16 663 817 242 15.00 13.40 71 69 89 88 1.34 1.32 1.35 Delaware 14 13 16 4 16. 70 14.00 75 75 86 88 1.33 1.30 1.37 Maryland 12 59 92 20 16.00 11.80 74 71 87 86 1.30 1.26 1.30 Virginia 12 114 107 36 15. 50 14.50 81 80 88 87 1.23 1.27 1.22 West Virginia 10 92 144 18 16. 30 14.20 85 81 92 89 1.29 1.25 1.30 North Carolina 14 59 53 43 18. 30 16. 70 87 84 87 88 1.30 1.31 1.44 South Carolina 18 44 38 46 18.60 20.00 83 83 8.5 86 1.19 1.16 1.30 Georgia 22 77 54 52 18. 50 18. 70 85 85 86 88 1.38 1.40 1.50 Florida 17 11 7 7 17.00 18. 50 85 78 84 85 1.30 1.35 1.36 Ohio 12 462 684 196 12.80 10. 70 67 63 92 86 1.44 1.30 1.36 Indiana 13 234 465 146 13. 40 10. 40 71 66 91 87 1.34 1.00 1.28 Illinois 1 12 294 523 191 14.00 11.60 75 68 88 88 1.25 .98 1.25 Michigan 12 302 541 222 12. 40 9.60 70 67 85 84 1.28 1.05 1.28 W isconsin 15 577 504 243 10. 50 10. 30 77 81 91 87 1.55 1.62 1.48 Minnesota 13 324 407 142 6.70 6.50 72 75 89 85 1.56 1.50 1.54 Iowa 13 577 891 200 10.00 8.90 80 80 91 88 1.46 1.48 1.41 Missouri 8 144 704 123 14.50 9.70 80 73 88 88 1.14 .60 1.14 North Dakota 13 50 82 51 6. 50 5.70 78 75 86 82 1.29 1.14 1.27 South Dakota 13 72 114 11 6.60 5. 70 85 82 90 84 1.35 1.20 1.29 Nebraska 10 168 202 49 8.50 7.40 80 80 93 88 1.40 1.34 1.40 Kansas 6 81 317 66 12. 30 7. 50 80 77 85 86 1.28 .90 1.30 Kentucky 13 88 180 80 17.10 14.00 77 71 93 89 1.30 .87 1.25 Tennessee 15 163 219 111 18.00 14.80 76 74 93 89 1.40 1.21 1.42 Alabama 17 49 47 44 16. 20 14.60 81 81 88 86 1.50 1.36 1.59 Mississippi 17 50 56 48 13. 70 11.30 85 80 89 87 1.56 1.33 1.57 Louisiana 14 34 33 23 12. 60 12.00 70 75 90 89 1.71 1.50 1.74 Texas 16 74 70 30 12.00 11.10 74 75 94 85 1.41 1.16 1.41 Oklahoma 7 27 58 13 11.50 7. 50 70 73 86 87 1.08 .85 1.18 Arkansas 13 50 67 41 14.80 12. 80 75 75 91 89 1.36 1.20 1.40 Montana 18 214 170 109 7. 90 8.90 60 68 93 92 1.86 1.80 1.80 Wyoming 12 109 146 34 8.00 6.80 70 70 98 95 2.25 1.90 2.18 Colorado 12 219 286 no 9. 50 8. 30 66 63 96 93 2. 30 2.05 2.29 New Mexico 9 36 57 51 14.00 11.70 58 50 94 88 2. 54 2. 08 2.35 Arizona 10 54 27 8 8. 50 11.00 67 67 100 92 3.50 4.00 3.27 Utah 8 73 102 61 9. 20 9.00 74 72 98 95 2. 94 2. 33 2.89 Nevada 13 84 123 68 9.60 10.00 65 60 97 96 2. 91 2.75 2. 57 Idaho 9 184 194 208 7. 90 7.00 59 55 98 95 3.04 2. 90 2.94 Washington 10 179 171 231 11.90 12. 00 62 66 99 94 2. 38 2. 30 2. 27 Oregon 10 173 209 192 9.60 8. 30 68 67 99 96 2. 23 2.10 2.11 California 11 396 344 438 10.50 15.90 48 54 100 86 2.05 1.50 1.77 United States 12.2 7,832 10, 828 4,744 12. 32 11.13 72.2 71.2 90.9 88.1 1.46 1.31 1.40 Per cent of 1913 crop. THE AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK 17 Table 10. — Condition of pastures^ arid percentage of plowing and planting done hij Mag 1, 1914, and condition of honeybees 1914, with comparisons. State. Spring pasture, condition May 1. Spring plowing, percentage done by May 1. Spring plant- ing, percentage done by May 1. Honeybees. Number of colonies compared with— Condition of bees compared with — Condition of nectar plants compared with — 1914 1913 10- year aver- age. 1914 1913 10- year aver- age. 1914 1913 8- year aver- age. Last year. Usu- al. Last year. Nor- mal. Last year. Nor- mal P.c. P.c. P.c. P.c. P.c. P. c. P.c. P.c. P.c. Maine 90 90 93 55 28 22 3 6 4 99 98 88 94 85 93 New Hampshire 87 96 90 32 35 26 4 12 8 96 94 100 91 98 95 Vermont 92 91 92 50 53 38 4 16 14 98 98 100 95 98 98 Massachusetts 87 93 88 30 43 32 12 21 16 96 95 93 90 90 91 86 93 87 40 52 47 28 42 32 99 99 96 93 Connecticut 84 92 89 29 39 37 15 24 20 92 85 80 85 100 90 New Y ork 82 89 85 41 58 45 9 32 24 103 102 100 95 93 95 New Jersey 86 93 88 52 68 64 39 55 45 103 100 105 98 no 98 Pennsylvania 85 89 84 51 73 71 25 47 40 98 95 100 94 90 93 83 91 85 61 67 74 30 35 36 101 100 98 95 Maryland 85 90 85 59 68 76 27 34 34 100 96 100 95 90 93 Virginia 84 88 85 75 86 81 45 54 50 100 98 85 93 100 90 West Virginia 91 85 87 60 78 72 36 52 40 101 99 95 95 100 94 84 84 85 76 81 84 58 67 67 103 101 92 91 - 82 83 84 82 82 85 75 73 75 100 100 91 91 Georgia 86 85 88 84 84 83 74 75 74 98 95 95 94 100 93 Florida 84 87 86 85 90 77 80 85 62 103 101 105 97 no 95 Ohio 90 87 85 55 62 66 32 38 34 108 105 98 100 90 100 Indiana 90 89 85 55 52 56 37 38 35 115 no 90 96 90 95 Illinois 87 87 87 60 45 54 43 38 37 100 97 93 98 75 85 Michigan 82 82 78 49 43 44 33 31 31 103 101 101 98 93 94 Wisconsin 91 81 84 63 65 61 43 54 56 105 100 133 no 89 93 Minnesota 87 81 82 68 68 56 60 69 66 105 100 108 98 95 95 Iowa 90 86 85 70 58 63 56 52 50 115 105 112 100 93 95 Missouri 86 87 86 70 56 61 50 46 44 93 90 105 85 85 85 North Dakota 80 86 81 54 46 43 45 48 50 105 no 102 100 South Dakota 88 84 82 64 60 61 62 65 70 115 105 no 105 93 98 N ebraska 89 91 84 64 53 61 52 45 48 97 95 no 95 100 95 Kansas 80 89 83 69 62 68 55 50 55 90 85 85 86 90 85 Kentucky 89 88 87 69 72 70 •40 47 40 110 115 96 95 85 93 Tennessee 91 89 88 75 75 74 54 62 54 115 120 105 95 93 92 Alabama 87 84 88 85 81 81 74 73 69 105 105 102 97 95 95 Mississippi 89 86 88 82 83 78 72 73 68 95 94 92 93 100 95 91 87 90 85 89 86 73 79 76 96 93 91 90 Texas 94 79 85 91 92 90 75 79 78 112 115 120 115 150 115 Oklahoma 85 85 86 87 85 84 73 71 70 110 107 100 98 99 96 Arkansas 90 87 89 78 80 76 64 71 65 100 99 92 90 Montana 91 88 89 69 55 67 59 42 51 110 120 105 100 Wvominc 98 98 91 61 50 64 45 35 52 110 106 108 100 Colorado 94 92 89 64 63 67 56 57 59 120 115 no no 107 107 New Mexico 90 85 84 76 63 72 61 44 57 115 no 108 105 119 105 Arizona 92 84 89 90 90 81 84 80 71 no 115 115 105 106 105 TTt.a.h 98 87 93 82 76 75 78 68 72 105 no 105 102 N evada 97 90 95 85 88 85 70 75 74 105 no 100 100 Idaho 97 90 94 80 56 73 70 47 62 130 150 126 115 123 no Washington 99 91 92 87 77 77 81 70 80 105 108 115 102 100 Oregon 100 95 95 87 82 82 76 70 79 108 no 106 105 98 100 California 101 '62 86 91 91 83 85 87 83 93 85 125 107 175 120 , United States .. 88.3 87.1 85.6 70.9 67.2 66.6 56.4 57.0 54.6 |l03. 7 101. S 1 104. 4j97. 8 103.0 99. 1 18 TARMEES^ BULLETIN 598. Table 11, — Prices to producers of agricultural products May 1, 1914 and 1913. [Cotton in cents per pound; other products, cents per bushel.] State. Corn. Oats. Barley. Buck- wheat. Potatoes. Flax seed. Cotton, 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914' 1 ! 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 1 1 1914 j 1 1 1913 Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. as. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. 79 68 58 50 80 80 61 70 64 40 80 70 55 50 90 75 ' 75 85 73 Vermont. 77 68 54 50 87 85 86. 80 77 67 78 66 50 49 86 77 96 75 109 100 32 32 100 93 76 80 63 50 44 100 100 89 77 New York 80 66 49 44 73 72 83 71 82 59 New Jersey 80 66 50 42 81 72 82 69 Pennsylvania 75 65 47 45 65 60 74 70 85 58 Delaware 72 60 60 40 70 99 73 Maryland 73 61 51 46 63 60 76 77 53 87 75 53 52 69 67 87 85 88 74 12.5 11.9 87 71 56 51 78 76 99 69 96 84 63 59 80 92 97 83 12.6 11.2 100 92 66 61 131 145 12.7 11. 7 Georgia 95 94 63 119 104 12.9 11.7 Florida 87 93 69 70 139 129 15.0 14.0 Ohio 68 53 40 34 61 60 76 65 83 52 Indiana 64 51 38 33 53 61 85 81 84 48 Illinois 63 51 37 31 51 45 100 85 89 60 Michigan 6S o4 41 34 57 62 67 67 57 32 W iscoflsin 61 52 37 33 53 50 72 64 52 28 129 1^ Minnesota 54 45 32 28 44 42 70 60 51 26 138 116 Iowa 59 45 34 30 49 51 73 85 93 49 120 130 Missouri 76 55 45 39 110 101 72 120 120 11. 5 9.5 North Dakota 56 49 30 23 37 36 60 28 136 112 South Dakota 57 43 34 29 45 42 77 36 125 117 Nebraska. . . . 65 47 37 33 51 41 90 53 120 117 Kan.sas ^ 75 52 45 39 55 40 101 72 124 125 Kentucky 82 66 54 48 62 70 104 65 Tennessee. 84 69 55 51 82 85 75 73 115 83 12.3 11.9 Alabama 95 84 66 59 118 115 12.7 11.6 Mississippi . 83 79 59 62 112 105 12. 5 11.9 Louisiana 81 79 59 54 100 110 11.8 11.8 Texa.s 89 69 50 43 75 50 119 106 11.6 11.5 Oklahoma.. .. 77 52 48 43 45 107 89 10. 9 11.2 A rka.nsas 84 73 53 52 111 97 11.3 11.7 Slontana 74 39 41 65 49 75 44 113 W yoming 58 50 38 70 70 78 70 Colorado 68 50 49 39 59 51 57 30 New Mexico 100 70 60 40 44 110 70 Arizona.. 115 100 65 70 67 75 115 111 Utah 70 69 40 44 57 52 60 43 Nevada, 112 52 58 71 86 78 35 Idaho 76 78 35 34 47 50 48 30 M'^ashington 76 40 41 55 45 42 32 Oregon 69 75 38 42 55 56 37 ! 20 Ca.lifornia, , 89 80 52 52 56 i 63 65 ! 42 i United States 72.1 56.8 39.5 34.2 49.3 48.3 77.3 j 71.4 71.4 ;48.2 1 134.7 114.312.2 ! 11.6 THE AGKICULTURAL OUTLOOK, 19 - Table 12 . — Prices to producers of agricultural products on dates indicated. [Butter, chickens, and wool, in centsper pound; eggs, cents per dozen; livestock, dollars per 100 pounds.] May 1. Apr. 15. State. Butter. Eggs. Chickens. Hogs. Beef cattle. Veal calves. Sheep. Wool. 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 I 1914 1913 1914 1913 1914 1913 Maine as. 30 as. 31 as. 22 as. 20 as. 15.0 as. 14.5 $7.90 $8.00 $7.00 $7.60 $7. 80 $8. 401 $4.50 $4.20 as. I9I as. 21 New^ Hampshire . 33 32 23 20 15.9 15.2 9.20 8. 50 7.60 6.90 8. 50 8. 10 5.90 5.70 17! 21 Vermont 29 35 20 19 13.8 13.4 7.90 7.90 5.50 5.00 7. 40 7. 00 3.90 4. 10 18 19 Massachusetts 33 36 26 26 17.6 17.5 8.70 9. 10 6. 90 6.00 9. 40 9.00 25 Rhode Island 32 38 21 21 17.7 18.0 9.60 8.30 8. 50 6.80 10.00 8.30 ’ 5 .’ 66 ' 5.56 22 Connecticut 30 38 25 22 17.2 17.0 9.60 8. 50 6.60 8.00 10.00 9.00 6.00 7. 40 20 18 New York 28 33 20 19 16.0 15.0 8.00 8.20 5. 40 5.60 8.60 8.60 4. 30 4.80 19 20 New Jersey 32 36 21 21 17.1 17.4 9. 50 8.80 7. 50 6.90 9. 70 9.50 4.60 6.00 20 18 Pennsylvania 28 33 18 18 14.8 14.0 8. 70 8. 50 7. 40 7.20 8.80 8.60 5.80 5. 40 20 23 Delaware 30 27 18 18 14.5 16.0 8.60 8.80 6.40 6. 10 9.70 10.00 4.80 5.40 21 20 Maryland 28 28 17 16 16.1 16.0 8. 10 8. 50 7. 20 6.50 8.90 9.50 5.50 4.80 19 22 Virginia 26 25 16 16 15.0 14.4 7.90 7.80 6. 30 6. 00 8. 20 7.90 4. 70 4.60 20 23 Wast Virginia 27 26 18 17 13.4 12.2 8.00 8. 00 6.60 6. 00 8. 00 7. 90 4.70 4.80 20 23 North Carolina. . . 25 24 16 15 12.5 11.0 8.00 7. 70 5.00 4.40 6.00 5.40 4. 20 4.90 19 21 South Carolina. . . 26 26 20 19 15.0 12.7 7.80 7.60 4.70 4.30 5.50 5. 40 5. 10 5. 10 15 14 Georgia 26 25 18 17 13.7 12.7 7.80 7.10 4. 50 4.10 5.40 5.00 4. .50 4.30 19 21 Florida 33 35 22 22 16.0 15. 6 6. 10 5.60 4.70 4.20 5.90 5.20 6.00 6. 10 21 Ohio 24 26 17 16 13.2 12.5 8.30 8. 70 7. 10 7.00 8.50 8. 60 4. 70 5. 20 '"26 21 Indiana 22 24 16 16 12.5 11. 7 8 . 40 8 . 70 7.00 6 . 70 7.80 7.70 4.50 4.60 20 21 Illinois 24 26 16 16 12 . 2 11.7 8. 10 8 . 50 7.00 6.80 8.20 7.60 4. 70 5. 10 17 20 Michigan 25 28 18 17 12.8 12.1 8. 10 8.50 6 . 40 6 . 40 8.20 8.20 4.90 5.40 20 18 Wisconsin 25 30 17 17 12.5 11.7 8.00 8 . 30 5. 70 6 . 00 7.80 7. 50 4. 70 5.20 18 20 Minnesota 24 29 16 16 11.0 10.2 7.80 8. 10 6.00 5.90 7.50 7. 40 4.70 5.00 16 18 Iowa 24 28 16 15 10.7 10.4 8. 10 8.50 7.40 7.40 8.20 7.30 5.00 5.30 17 19 Missouri 21 23 16 15 12.2 11.5 7.80 8. 10 6 . 90 6 . 90 7.60 7. 30 4. 70 5.00 18 19 North Dakota 20 23 14 15 10.2 10.0 7. 20 7. 40 5.70 5. 30 7.50 6.60 4.70 4.80 15 17 South Dakota 21 25 15 15 9.3 9.0 7.60 8 . 00 6 . 60 6 . 40 7.60 7. 10 5.00 5.20 16 17 Nebraska 20 23 15 14 10.6 10 . 1 7. 90 8.20 7.00 6.90 8 . 40 7.90 5.70 5.90 15 18 Kansas 20 24 15 14 10.7 10.4 7.90 8 . 30 7. 10 7. 10 8. 10 7. 70 5. 30 6.20 15 Kentucky 21 22 15 14 12.0 11.4 7.80 7.80 6 . 40 6.00 7. 50 6.80 4.00 4.00 "’26 21 Tennessee 19 20 15 14 12.0 11.6 7.30 7. 10 5. 70 5. 10 6 . 50 6.00 3.80 3.80 18 19 Alabama 21 22 16 15 12.5 11.8 7.20 7.00 4.30 3. 50 5. 10 4. 70 3.80 4.00 15 10 Mississippi 23 23 15 16 12.5 11.8 6 . 40 6.20 4. 40 3.80 5.50 4.80 4.00 3.90 15 17 Louisiana 26 27 17 16 12.9 12.8 6.50 5.40 5. 10 4. 10 6 . 30 4.00 5.90 4.00 14 15 Texas 21 22 14 13 10.0 9.0 7. 30 7. 30 5. 70 5.20 6. 30 6. 30 4.90 4. 40 14 14 Oklahoma 20 22 14 13 10.4 10.0 7.60 8.00 6. 10 5.90 7. 50 6.90 5. 10 5.20 15 19 Arkansas 23 23 15 14 10.8 10.0 6 . 40 6.20 4.90 4.20 6 . 40 5. 70 3.80 3.80 16 17 Montana 33 32 18 22 13.0 13.9 7.60 7.90 6 . 30 6 . 70 8.80 8.00 5. 00 6.00 17 18 Wyoming 28 31 19 20 11.7 12.3 7. 70 7. 40 6.90 6.50 10 . 00 9.00 5. 80 5.80 16 17 Colorado 27 27 19 18 12.8 13.0 7.70 7.90 6 . 90 6 . 50 8 . 70 8.80 5. 50 6.00 16 16 New Mexico 33 36 23 19 13. 8 12.2 7.90 8. 10 6 . 50 5.90 7. 60 7.00 5.50 3.90 14 14 Arizona 34 40 23 24 17.0 15. 4 7. 70 7. 50 6 . 20 6 . 00 7.20 8 . 40 1 7.50 4. 20 4. 20 14 14 Utah 30 32 17 19 13. 1 13.5 7. 10 7. 30 6. 10 6. 00 10.00 5.20 5.60 15 14 Nevada 34 39 29 27 22.0 22.5 8.90 8.90 6.80 8.00 8. 10 10.00 5.00 5. 50 15 14 Idaho 27 32 17 19 10. 1 11.7 7. 50 7.50 6 . 50 6 . 10 7. 50 8. 30 4.50 5. 40 17 18 Washington 28 31 19 19 14.6 14.2 7.80 8. 10 6.80 6 . 70 7. 90 8.60 5. 40 5.80 16 16 Oregon 26 33 18 20 13.9 12.7 7. 50 7. 70 6 . 70 6.80 7. .50 8.20 5. 10 5.20 16 16 California 26 30 21 18 15.0 13.9 8.00 7.20 6.80 6 . 50 7. 40 7.20 5. 00 5.30 14 16 United States. 23.8 27.0 16.8 16. 1 12.5 11.8 7.80 7. 94 6 . 29j 6 . 08 7.68 7. 38 4.96 5. 16 16.8 17.7 20 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 508. Table 13. — Averages for the United States of prices paid to producers of farm products. I'roducts. April 15. May 15. 1 March 15. 1914 1913 1912 1911 1910 1913 1912 1914 1913 1912 Hogs per 100 pounds. . $7.80 $7. 94 $6. 78 $6.17 $9. 26 $7. 45 $6. 79 $7.80 $7. 62 $5. 94 Beef cattle do 6. 29 6. 08 5.15 4. 67 5.31 6.01 5. 36 6. 28 5.88 4. 75 Veal calves do 7. 68 7. 38 6. 22 5. 96 6.54 7.17 6.23 7. 92 7. 49 6. 11 Sheep do 4.96 5.16 4.57 4. 55 6. 10 4.91 4. 74 4. 77 4. 97 4. 12 Lambs do 6. 47 6. 59 5. 98 5. 77 7.47 6. 66 6. 16 6.31 6. 56 5. 38 Milch cows ...per head.. 59.60 55. 34 45. 14 44. 81 42. 22 54.80 45. 63 59.23 54. 00 44.00 Horses do 138. 00 148. 00 142. 00 147. 00 154. 00 145. 00 144. 00 138. 00 146. 00 140.00 Honey, comb.. . .per pound. . .137 .141 .138 .136 .134 .138 .137 .137 .139 .139 Apples .per bushel. . 1.37 .85 1.15 1.39 1. 14 .94 1.29 1.29 .82 1.04 Peanuts .per pound.. .049 .048 .049 .049 .054 .047 .049 .047 .047 .050 Beans (dry) .per bushel. . 2.11 2.11 2.37 2.20 2. 16 2. 18 2. 52 2. 05 2. 10 2. 42 Sweet potatoes . . do .92 .94 1.17 .95 .85 .93 1. 19 .87 .91 1.02 Cabbages per 100 pounds. . 2.23 1.15 3.17 1. 33 2.29 1. 58 2. 98 2. 03 1.03 2.88 Onions .per bushel. . 1.60 .79 1.75 1.19 1.03 .87 1.77 1. 55 .77 1.67 Wool, unwashed. .per pound.. .168 .177 .173 .157 .223 .163 .178 .164 .184 .169 Clover seed .per bushel.. 8.06 11.00 12.91 8.79 7.91 10. 74 12. 53 8. 17 10. 42 12.89 Timothy seed do.... 2. 28 1.74 7. 27 5.17 1.76 7. 16 2. 30 1.72 7.33 Alfalfa seed do 6.77 8. 36 8. 21 6. 60 8. 19 Broom corn per ton. . 89. 00 58. 00 101. 00 74.00 204. 00 53. 00 83. 00 91.00 57. 00 99. 00 Cotton seed do 24.17 21.89 18.62 26. 12 21.88 19.21 23.60 21. 55 18.21 Maple sugar . . per pound . . .125 .130 . 125 . 123 . 116 . 124 . 126 . Ill Maple sirup 1. 10 1.10 1.08 1. 08 1. 09 1. 10 1.06 1.05 Hops , .per pound. . .206 . 150 .182 .204 .134 .372 .205 .401 Paid by farmers: Bran per ton. . 28. 50 24.69 29.73 25. 48 26. 58 24.59 30.18 27. 58 24.96 29.15 Clover seed . . . . .per bushel. . 9. 84 12.90 12. 90 9. 45 12. 30 Timothy seed. do 2. 95 2. 43 2. 40 2. 97 2. 33 Alfalfa seed do 8.17 9. 99 9. 75 8.01 9. 78 Table 14. — Range of prices of agricultural products at market centers. Products and markets. May 1, 1914. April, 1914. March, 1914. April, 1913. April, 1912. Wheat per bushel: No. 2 red winter, St. Louis No. 2 red winter, Chicago $0.94 -$0.94-1 $0. 92 -$0. 96 $0. 92 -$0. 963 $1. 04 -$1. 121 $1. 02 -$1. 21 .94i- .951 .921- .953 .921- .961 1. 02 - 1. 09i .99 - 1.17 No. 2 red winter. New York i 1. 04 - 1. 04 1.03 - 1. 05 1.05 - 1.06 1.12 - 1.151 1. 061- 1.23i Corn per bushel; No. 2 mixed, St. Louis No. 2, Chicago . 70 - .70 .68^ .71i .65 - .72 .54 - 60i .76 - .83 . 67 - . 67i .64 - .691 .63 - .70 . 54 - .57 .74 - .811 No. 2 mixed. New York i Oats per bushel: No. 2, St. Louis No. 2, Chicago . 40 - .40 .71 - .381- .76i .41 .681- .381- .72f .43 .571- .64 .32*- .35 .79^- .55 - .801 .59 . 37 - .37 .37 - .393 . 371 - .393 . 34 "- .35i .54^- .58^ Rye per bushel: No. 2, Chicago Baled hay per ton: No. 1 timothy. . 63 - .63 .60 - .63 . 591 - .63 . 60 - .64 .91 - .961 Chicago 15. 00 -16. 00 15. 00 -] L7.00 14. 50 -] L6.00 14.00 -17.00 22. 00 -26. 00 Hops per pound: Choice, New York.. . 39 - .41 .39 - .44 .42 - .45 .21 - .23 .40 - .55 Wool per pound: Ohio fine unwashed, Boston . 22 - .22 .22 - .22 .22 - .22 .21 - .23§ .201- .21 Best tub washed, St. Louis .30- .30 .29 - .30 .28 - .29 .28- .33 .30 - .33 Live hogs per 100 pounds: Bulk of sales, Chicago 8. 25 - 8. 35 8.00 - 8. 95 8.20 - 9.00 8. 40 - 9. 29 7.60 - 8.05 Butter per pound: Creamery, extra. New York .25J- .26 .241- .26i . 241 - .32 .301- .37 .301- .351 Creamery, extra, Elgin . 231 - .23J . 231 - .25 .25 - .30 .30- .35 .30 - .32 Eggs per dozen: Average best fresh. New York .23 - .23 .20 - .26 .21 - .36 .20- .23 .21 - .25 Average best fresh, St. Louis .18J- .18i .17 - .181 .17i- .27 .15^ .17 .17^ .191 Cheese per pound: Colored ,2 New York . 131 - .13f .13 - .161 .16i- .17i . 151 - .163 . 151 - .19i 1 F. 0 . b. afloat. 2 September colored — September to April, inclusive; new colored May to July, inclusive; colored — August. THE AGRICULTURAL, OUTLOOK. 21 EQUIVALENT IN YIELD PER ACRE OF 100 PER CENT CONDITION ON JUNE 1. Table 15. — The equivalent in yield per acre of 100 per cent condition on June 1 in each State. States and Territories, Winter wheat. Spring wheat. 1 Oats. 1 1 1 Barley. Rye. Hay. Cotton. Bushels. Bushels. Bushels. Bushels. Bushels. Tons. Pounds. 26.0 40.0 i 30.0 1.18 38.0 1 28.0 1.21 26.0 41.0 33.0 19.5 1.40 37.0 1 18.5 1.32 32.0 i 1.24 34.0 20.0 1.30 22.5 35.0 29.0 19.1 1.33 19.5 34.0 18.8 1.60 19.0 35.0 28.5 18.0 1.55 18.0 35.0 16.0 1.65 17.5 32.5 32.0 16.7 1.60 13.7 24.5 30.0 14.0 1.50 250 14.4 27.5 14.0 1.50 11.6 21.0 11.0 1.55 285 12.9 25.5 11.5 1.40 280 12.6 23.0 10.6 1.65 240 20.0 1.55 145 Ohio 19.9 40.0 31.0 19.0 1.65 Indiana, 19.0 36.0 30.5 18.0 1.52 Illinois 19.8 40.0 31.0 19.5 1.50 Michigan 19.7 36.0 28.5 16.7 1.48 Wisconsin 22.5 19.5 38.0 30.0 19.0 1.60 Minnesota 16.5 36.0 27.0 21.5 1.60 Iowa 24.8 17.2 36.0 28.0 20.0 1.55 Missotu'i 18.0 32.0 27.0 17.0 1.45 350 North Dakota 12.5 31.0 23.0 19.2 1.40 South Dakota 13.5 31.0 24.0 19.5 1.40 Nebraska 22.5 15.5 30.0 24.5 18.5 1.40 Kansas 19.0 1.5.0 34.0 23.0 17.5 1.45 Kentucky 14.5 26.0 29.0 15.0 1. 45 Tennessee 12.7 25.5 28.5 13.3 1.60 247 Alabama, 13.4 22.0 12. 7 1.65 225 Mississippi 14.9 22.5 1. 70 240 T/Onisiana . .. 24.5 1.80 230 Texas 16.4 39.0 30.0 17. 5 1.50 212 Oklahoma 17.0 35.0 30.0 15.0 1.25 220 Arkansas 13. 1 27.5 12. 7 1.50 240 Montana 29.0 26.0 48.0 36.0 23.0 1.90 Wyoming 30.0 28.0 37.5 33.0 22.0 2.25 Colorado 27.0 26.5 42.0 38.0 19.5 2. 40 New Mexico 24.3 24.0 37.0 34.0 2. 70 Arizona 32.0 27.0 45.0 41.0 3. 60 Utah 25.3 30.0 48.0 42.0 19.5 3.00 Nevada 25.3 31.0 45.0 41.0 3. 00 Idaho 30.2 28.0 47.0 43.0 23.0 3. 10 Washington 28.4 21.0 50.0 42.0 22.0 2. 40 Oregon 24.6 20.0 38.0 36.5 17.8 2. 25 CaUfornia 20.5 41.0 33.0 19.0 2. 05 1 United States 19.5 15.3 35. 4 28.6 18.4 1.62 231.9 o US.DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WK' BULLETl 599 Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Wm. A. Taylor, Chief. July 6, 1914. PASTURE AND GRAIN CROPS FOR HOGS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. By Byron Hunter, Agriculturut, Office of Farm Majiagemeut} INTRODUCTION. This bulletin deals specifically with crops and systems of cropping that may be used in economical pork production in the Pacific North- west. Scattered here and there throughout the Northwest are men who are successfully producing pork. They have been visited, and their methods, crops, and feeding systems have been studied. This bulletin makes the practices of these successful men available to all. Owing to the rapid growth in population of this section during the last decade, the demand for pork has increased faster than the sup- ply, and there is littlo reason why hog raising should not become a more important industry in the Pacific Northwest. Although there have been some outbreaks of hog cholera, the Northwest has been remarkably free from this disease. The larger cities have well- equipped packing houses, and modern union stockyards are in opera- tion at Portland, Oreg. During recent years a large percentage of the hogs slaughtered in the cities of Portland, Tacoma, Seattle, and Spokane have been shipped from east of the Rocky Mountains. In addition to this, enormous quantities of eastern bacon and lard are annually consumed by the Pacific Coast States. MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES. Since economical pork production depends largely upon the con- sumption of a great deal of cheaply grown feed, the pasture should be so managed that the forage produced will be clean, tender, and palatable. In practice, hog pastures are generally managed in one of three ways: (1) Continuous close grazing, (2) alternate pasturing of equal areas, and (3) pasturing the meadow. Note.— This publication, or reprint of Department Bulletin No. G8, issued February 2.5, 19U, is in tended to encourage hog raising in the Pacific Northwest; it is especially adapted to Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. 1 Mr. Hunter is now State leader in charge of Farm-Management Field Studies and Demonstrations in the State of Washington, and is employed cooperatively by the United States Department of Agriculture and the State College of Washington. 45611°— Bull. 599—14 1 2 FARMERS^ BULLET )9. CONTINUOUS CLOSE GRAZING. The method in most common use is to turn in all the hogs the pas- ture will support, leaving them in the field during the entire season. Usually the pasture is kept closely grazed. Too often it is overgrazed, the plants being cropped so closely that the stand is soon ruined. The pasture then becomes little better than a dry lot, and the hogs make unsatisfactory gains. When the feed in the pasture becomes scarce, either the number of hogs per acre should he reduced or other forage provided. ALTERNATE PASTURING OF EQUAL AREAS. One of the most satisfactory ways of managing a pasture is to divide it into two or more fields of equal area. These fields are then used alternately, the hogs remaining in each about a week or 10 days. In the case of clover and alfalfa the growth is allowed to become 3 to 4 inches high before the hogs are turned in to eat it off quickly. When the pasture consists of such crops as rape, kale, and vetch, which will not stand close grazing, the growth is permitted to reach a height of 8 or 10 inches before the hogs are turned in. Changing the hogs from field to field gives the pasture a period of rest, during which the plants recuperate and grow rapidly. When the stock is returned to the field the forage is clean, tender, and pala- table and large quantities are consumed. Owing to the rapid growth made while at rest, a pasture that is subdivided and the areas grazed alternately is capable of carrying a much larger number of hogs per acre, other conditions being equal, than one that is continuously pastured. Hogs usually graze a pasture somewhat unevenly, some areas being eaten off much more closely than others. To keep down the weeds and make the growth come on evenly, the pasture is clipped with a mower immediately after the hogs are removed. Hogs are inclined to root when the surface of the ground is wet or damp. For this reason the pasture, if under irrigation, is irrigated just after the hogs are changed from one pasture lot to the next. This gives the surface of the ground time to dry before the forage is large enough to be grazed. PASTURING THE MEADOW. Many successful hog raisers prefer to use such crops as clover and alfalfa for both pasture and hay at the same time. The number of hogs turned into the field is so limited that the usual crops of hay are made. The chief advantages of this method are (1) the presence of an abundance of feed, (2) the meadow is not grazed closely enough for the stand to be injured, (3) it is not necessary to subdivide the pasture into smaller areas for alternate pasturing, and (4) the changing of the hogs from one inclosure to another is obviated. PASTURE AND GRAIN CROPS FOR HOGS. 3 When the number of animals pastured is so limited that the usual hay crops are made, the growth becomes so coarse and woody that they do not consume as much forage as is desirable for economical gains, as the hogs relish the young shoots best. When the forage becomes too large to furnish desirable feed, an area near the watering place is clipped with a mower. This should be large enough to furnish the desired amount of pasture. In a few days the clipped area produces a vigorous growth of new shoots, upon which the hogs feed without materially disturbing the rest of the meadow. If the area first mowed is not sufficient to furnish the required feed, more of the meadow is clipped, as necessity may demand. To prevent the Fig. 1.— Hogs on alfalfa pasture without other feed. Note their thin condition and ungainly shape, espe- cially the older hog on the left. stand of these clipped areas from becoming injured by overgrazing, different portions of the meadow are used in this way from year to year. GRAIN RATION WHILE HOGS ARE ON PASTURE. While the cost of producing pork may be reduced materially by the use of such roughage as alfalfa hay, roots, or green-pasture for- age, it is desirable to feed grain or other concentrated feed in addition. Mature, dry brood sows are sometimes maintained in an apparently satisfactory condition on good pasture alone. Young growing hogs, on the other hand, usually become ungainly in shape, big bellied, and thin in flesh or stunted when compelled to subsist on pasture alone. Figure 1 illustrates the condition of hogs run on pasture without other feed. 4 FARMERS^ BULLE:';X 599. Hog growers differ quite widely regarding the quantity of grain that should be fed while on pasture. Some feed a full grain ration, i. e., all the grain the hog will consume. Others feed a medium ration, one that is equal to about 2 to 3 per cent of the live weight of the hog. Still others prefer a light grain ration, one that is equal to only about 1 per cent of the live weight of the hog. Occasionally men are found who run young shotes on pasture without other feed. This is a mis- take, for it almost invariably results in a stunted hog. No fixed and fast rule can be laid down, for the supplemental grain ration which should be fed in conjunction with green pasture depends upon a number of factors, the more important of which are (1) the age at which the hogs are to be marketed, (2) the price of grain, and (3) the plentifulness and quality of the pasture. RATIONS FOR HOGS OF VARIOUS CONDITIONS AND MARKET AGES. If hogs are to be marketed when 7 to 9 months old, it is necessary to feed them about aU the grain they will consume, in addition to the pasture, in order to make them reach the weight demanded by the market, 170 to 225 pounds. Hogs that are marketed when 10 to 12 months old are usually maintained on pasture alone during the graz- ing season. If fed at all, the grain ration is very light. This results m a slow daily gam, but a greater percentage of the growth is made from the cheaply grown forage. The added cost of maintaining a hog until 10 to 12 months old, however, usually more than equals the saving of the grain ration. Mature breeding stock that is not expected to make any gain in weight requires but little, if any, additional feed when on good pasture. Hogs that are thin in flesh and nearly grown may be expected to make small daily gains without other feed when on the best of pas- ture. Pigs and small shotes usually become stunted when on pas- ture unless given a Uberal quantity of additional feed. Young hogs should be so fed that they grow rapidly instead of becoming stunted. During the fattening period, hogs on pasture should be fed aU the grain they will eat up clean three times a day. THE PRICE OF GRAIN. Owing to the fluctuation in the price of hogs and of grain, the sup- plemental grain ration is sometimes expensive. Under such cir- cumstances there is great temptation to place the hogs upon an exclu- sive pasture ration. This seldom pays, for it usually takes approxi- mately as much concentrated feed in the end, and much more time, to fit for market hogs which have been on an exclusive pasture diet as is required for hogs fed liberally while on pasture. Under extreme circumstances mature breeding stock or hogs which are nearly grown may be carried on good pasture until cheaper concentrated feed can be obtamed. PASTURE AND GRAIN CROPS FOR HOGS. 5 QUALITY AND ABUNDANCE OF PASTURE. The composition of pasture forage is quite variaiile. Alfalfa, clover, vetch, peas, etc., furnish feed that is much richer in protein than most other crops. Generally, therefore, hogs which are feeding upon leguminous pasture require slightly less concentrated feed than when grazing upon nonleguminous pasture, such as timothy, orchard grass, bluegrass, or the cereals. It frequently happens that a farmer has more hogs than his pasture is capable of supporting. When such is the case the pasture will go much farther if a full grain ration is fed. The more grain a hog con- sumes the less he will feed upon the pasture. In general, pigs and shotes should be kept in a thrifty, growing con- dition at all times. It never pays to allow them to cease growing Fig. 2.— a herd of brood sows on pasture. They were fed enough grain to keep them in good condition. and become stunted. Brood sows, likewise, must be kept in good flesh (not fat) if large litters of strong, healthy pigs are to be expected. Figure 2 shows a herd of well-kept brood sows on pasture. In gathering the material for this bulletin it was quite generally observed, on the one hand, that the men who are enthusiastic pork producers feed a liberal supplemental grain ration to young, growing hogs when on pasture. On the other hand, those who think there is little profit in raising hogs run them very largely on pasture without other feed during the grazing season. HOGGING OFF CROPS. Turning hogs into a standing field of mature or nearly mature wheat, barley, peas, or corn and allowing them to feed at will until the crop is consumed is called hogging off” or '^hogging down” the 6 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 599. crop. To some this may appear to be a wasteful practice. Under . good management, however, it is a very satisfactory and economical method of utilizing limited areas of these crops. ADVANTAGES IN HOGGING OFF CROPS. Some of the advantages in hogging off crops are (1) the cost of harvesting and marketing the crop is saved, (2) the labor of caring for hogs is greatly reduced, (3) the vegetable matter in the soil is increased, (4) the droppings of the animals are distributed quite evenly, and (5) the hogs are given exercise. It costs from 15 to 25 cents per bushel to harvest and market wheat in the greater part of the wheat belt of the Pacific Northwest, the cost varying with the yield, the method of harvesting and thrashing, and the distance the wheat is hauled to market. In some of the more arid wheat-growing districts of both Oregon and Washington the yield of wheat is fre- quently as low as 6 to 8 bushels per acre. The cost of harvesting and marketing such crops runs from 35 to 40 cents per bushel. The cost of harvesting and marketing barley is approximately the same as that of wheat. When the hogs are so managed that the crop is thoroughly cleaned up, hogging off the crop practically saves the cost of harvesting and marketing. In the case of hght-yielding crops this saving is considerable. Most of the crops that are suitable for hogging off are utilized during the busiest season of the year, i. e., at a time when it is very desirable that the hogs require as little attention as possible. If turned into a mature field of wheat, peas, or corn and provided with water, shade, and salt, the hogs require very little other attention. Most of the arable lands of the Pacific Northwest would be mate- rially benefited by the addition of more organic matter. When the crop is hogged off, the straw, pea vines, or cornstalks, as the case may be, are left on the ground. By cutting this material thoroughly in the fall of the year with a sharp disk harrow and plowing it under, the soil is enriched in vegetable matter. This, in turn, greatly reduces the tendency of the soil to wash. The washing of soil due to the burning of straw and consequent lack of humus is well shown in figure 3. In hogging off the crop, the droppings of the animals are scattered quite evenly over the field. USUAL GRAIN CROPS HOGGED OFF. The Pacific Northwest is peculiarly adapted to the hogging off of crops. The wet season occurs during the winter months and the dry season during the summer. This gives a long period in which crops may be used in this way. The principal crops that are suitable for hogging down are wheat, field peas, corn, and barley. PASTURE AND GRAIN CROPS FOR HOGS. 7 Wieat . — Wheat is generally used from the time the first spots in the field are nearly ripe, about the stiff-dough stage, until the stubble field is open or until field peas or some other crops are ready for use. It will be seen, then, that the season for using wheat is from four to six weeks. If used during a longer period, there may be considerable loss from shattering, and the autumn rains in some localities may also damage the crop. A soft variety of wheat with a smooth club type of head is best suited for hogging down. The club head does not shatter so readily as most other types. The true hard and bearded varieties, such as Turkey, are not suitable. The kernels become so hard and the beards are so severe on the hogs’ mouths that they do not eat enough to make economical gains. Fig. 3.— Soil washing near Dayton, Wash., in the spring of 1910. This land was summer-fallowed during the season of 1909 and planted to winter wheat. On the farm of W. II. Steen, Umatilla County, Oreg., 90 hogs pas- tured from July 17 to August 24 on 11 acres of ripe standing wheat, estimated to yield 15 bushels per acre, made an average gain in weight of 160 pounds per acre, worth $14.40. In another instance M. E. Schreck, of Whitman County, Wash., pastured 109 head of hogs on acres of standing wheat and 1 acre of pasture from July 30 to August 17. The hogs made a gain of 212 pounds per acre and gave a net value per acre of $15.73. The net returns from 44 acres of wheat alongside, yielding 19f bushels per acre, were only $8.04 per acre. Field peas . — The field pea is one of the most satisfactory crops to harvest with hogs. The quality of feed furnished is of the very best, hogs are very fond of the mature peas, and under good management 8 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 599. the crop is gathered with but very little waste. Most varieties of peas are comparatively large and difficult to cover. What is shat- tered usually lies on the surface of the ground until picked up later. The hogs are turned into the field about the time the last peas are nearly mature. In most districts they may be used until about October 1, or until there is danger of the crop being damaged by wet weather. A protracted autumn rain faffing upon a heavy crop that the hogs have not cleaned up may cause the peas to sprout. To prevent this the vines are sometimes burned as soon after the rain as they are dry enough. Burning the vines leaves the peas lying upon the surface of the ground. It is not necessary to burn the vines, however, if a movable fence is used and the hogs are made to clean up the crop in small areas that will last from two to three weeks each. Since ripe, mature peas are rich in protein, green succulent feed in addition to the peas will help to balance the ration. Corn . — Where corn is successfully grown it is an excellent crop to hog down. Carefully conducted tests at the Minnesota experiment station show that hogs waste no more corn in the field than when fed in lots, and that they gather it as clean as most men do in husking.^ Farm experience also bears out this conclusion. Corn is advanta- geously used from the tune the ears are well glazed until the weather becomes unfavorable and the ground muddy. In some districts of the Northwest, where the rainfall is scant, corn can be hogged off far into the winter. There is slightly less waste if a movable fence is used and the hogs are not turned mto more corn than they can consume m 15 or 20 days. Especially is this true when the ground becomes wet and muddy. Barley . — As a crop to hog off, barley is used during the summer, autumn, and winter. Because the beards, when dry and hard, are so severe on the mouth of the hog, the common beardless barley is generally used during the summer and early autumn. The bearded varieties usually outyield the beardless considerably, and for this reason the former are generally preferred for late autumn and whiter use. There are some, however, who prefer the beardless varieties for all seasons. If sown very early m the spring, beardless barley generally ripens about ten days or two weeks earlier than winter wheat. This makes it one of the first crops available for hogging off in the early summer. The hogs are turned into the field when the first patches are ripening, or when the kernels are in the stiff-dough stage. Hogs do only fairly well on mature bearded barley when the beards are dry and stiff. After the autumn rains have softened the beards and kernels, however, they take to it readily. For late autumn and 1 Oaumnitz, D. A., Wilson, A. D., and Bassett, L. B. Pork production. Minnesota Agricultural Ex- periment Station, Bulletin 104, p. 63-119, 9 fig., 1907. PASTURE AND GRAIN CROPS EOR HOGS. 9 winter use the bearded varieties are allowed to stand ui the field until the fall rahis have set hi well. This usually gives plenty of time after harvest for the hogs to glean the stubble field. Blue barley, a bearded variety, is generally sown for late fall and winter use. When allowed to stand in the field it does not shatter and sprout nearly so easily as wheat or the so-called winter varieties of barley. On a farm hi Umatilla County, Oreg., during November, 1910, 80 hogs were pastured 18 days and 98 hogs 10 days on 11.4 acres of bar- ley on a steep hillside. The gain in weight averaged 230 pounds per acre, having a value of $18.35 per acre. The estimated yield of Fig. 4.— a hillside on the farm of W. H. Steen, Umatilla County, Oreg., too steep for the use of a binder, but satisfactorily harvested by hogs. The shotes in the picture are gleaning the barley after the fattening hogs have taken the greater part of the feed. barley was 21 bushels per acre. Figure 4 shows the hillside with shotes gleaning the barley after the fattening hogs have taken off practically all the feed. DETERMINING THE AREA TO BE HOGGED OFF. In order to reduce the waste to a minimum, the area of each crop hogged off must be thoroughly cleaned up. Owing to the variation in crop yields and the quantity of grain that hogs of different sizes will consume, it is not always easy to determine the acreage of each crop to be used in this way. Suppose a portion of the main winter- wheat crop is to be fenced and hogged off from the time the grain is just past the stiff-dough stage, say July 10, until the stubble field is open, August 15. What area of the winter wheat shall be set aside 45611°— Bull. 599—14 2 10 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 599. to be used in this way? This may be determined in two ways, as follows : (1) When the first spots in the field are nearly ripe or when the kernels have just passed the stiff-dough stage, measure and fence a small trial area, enough to last the herd of hogs for only a few days. From July 10 to August 15 is 36 days. If a trial area of one acre lasts the herd 6 days, as many acres of wheat must be reserved as the number of times 6 is contained in 36, or 6 acres. (2) By the second method, the yield of the crop per acre and the quantity of feed that the herd of hogs will consume per day are estimated. Suppose that the yield of wheat is 30 bushels, or 1,800 pounds, per acre and the herd of hogs will consume 400 pounds of wheat per day. If 400 pounds of wheat are consumed in one day, an acre, or 1,800 pounds, will last 4.5 days. If one acre lasts 4.5 days, 8 acres will be required to last 36 days, i. e., from July 10 to August 15. The quantity of wheat that the herd of hogs will consume per day can be determined quite accurately by weighing their feed for a few days just before they are turned into the field. In the case of growing hogs, they will consume a little more each day as they grow older. THE AREA OF GRAIN TO HOG OFF AT ONE TIME. Crops are hogged off in two ways: (1) By subdividing the field with a movable fence into small areas that will last the hogs from 10 to 20 days and (2) by turning the hogs into the entire field in the begin- ning. No data are at hand showing which of these methods is more economical. While both are used in the Pacific Northwest, the latter is the one generally practiced. Where crops are used in this way during the late fall and winter in the more humid portions of the wheat belt and west of the Cascade Mountains, where the autumn rains are frequently heavy, the area should probably be limited so that it will be cleaned up in 15 or 20 days. In the arid and semi- arid districts or when used during the dry season in the more humid localities, there is probably no good reason why the area hogged off should not be all that the hogs will clean up nicely during the season. Much larger areas doubtless can be hogged off on sandy or gravelly soils than on clay soils that become sticky when wet. CROPS SUITABLE FOR PASTURE AND HOGGING OFF. The three Pacific Northwestern States to which this bulletin is primarily applicable may be divided into three distinct agricultural districts: (1) Western Oregon and western Washington — that portion of these two States lying west of the Cascade Mountains, (2) the wheat belt, and (3) the irrigated valleys. Because of their great variation in topography, elevation, rainfall, soil, temperature, etc., these three districts present a wide range of agricultural possibilities. For this reason the crops that may be used in economical hog production in each area are discussed separately. PASTURE AND GRAIN CROPS FOR HOGS. 11 CROPS FOR WESTERN OREGON AND WESTERN WASHINGTON. The moist, mild climate of this district makes it possible to provide an abundance of cheaply grown forage for hogs throughout the entire year. The number of crops which may be used for this purpose is very great. The growmg of most of them is discussed in detah in Farmers’ Bulletm 271 of this department, ^‘Forage-Crop Practises m Western Oregon and Western Washington,” to which the reader is referred. Only such points of information as can not be easily found elsewhere are presented here. USE OF VARIOUS PASTURE CROPS. Table I shows suitable pasture crops in western Oregon and western Washington, with the dates of planting and use. Table 1 . —Pasture crops for western Oregon and western Washington. Crops. When planted. Approximate dates when used. Number of hogs an acre will pasture.i Clover A previous year April 1 to November 1 8 to 16 8 to 16 Alfalfa do do Rape in rows April 1, 15, and 30 June 1 to November 1 8 to 14 Rape and oats April 25 to May 15 J line 25 to N ovember 1 6 to 15 Rape and clover May 15 to June 1 July 1 to November 1 6 to 15 Rape July (in com at last cultiva- tion). do October 1 to April 1 5 to 8 Vetch and wheat, vetch and do 5 to 8 oats, or vetch alone. Vetch and wheat or vetch and September (on spring stubble) . November 1 to April 1 5 to 8 oats. English rye*grass Early spring or early fall November 1 to July 1 5 to 14 6 to 12 Winter wheat September 1 to October 15 February, March, and April... Vetch September March to July 1 8 to 16 1 The number of hogs that can be pastured per acre depends upon (1) the productiveness of the soil, (2) the variation of the season, (3) the management of the pasture, (4) the size of the hogs, and (5) the kind and quantity of other feed the hogs receive in addition to the pasture. From a study of Table I it will be seen that pasture may be provided for swine in western Oregon and western Washington throughout the entire year. It is not mtended that aU of these crops shall be used on any one farm. The purpose of the table is to assist the farmer in the selection of pasture crops which may meet the needs and condi- tions of his farm. If intended for late fall, winter, and early spring use, a pasture should not be grazed during the autumn, in order that a large amount of forage may accumulate. This is necessary with almost all winter forage crops, for growth practically ceases when winter begins. The forage that is allowed to accumulate during the autumn is grazed during the winter. It must be understood also that there are times during the winter when most soils west of the Cascade Mountains become so wet that the tramping of the hogs does a great deal of injury by puddling the soil. For this reason it is generally considered best to remove the hogs from the pasture when a heavy rain falls. This is not always 12 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 599. necessary, however, as, for example, on sandy soils and pastures with a close grass sod. Clover. — Of the legumes, red clover for well-drained soils and alsike for wet lands are generally the most satisfactory. The clovers make their maximum growth during the months of April, May, and June. When the summer drought comes on, the quantity of forage produced gradually decreases. If a clover pasture is utilized to its fullest capacity durmg the spring and early summer, it is necessary to provide additional green feed for the dry season. This may be done by grazing the clover meadow during the summer after removing a crop of hay. Alfalfa . — Alfalfa is not used so generally as clover for hog pasture west of the Cascade Mountains. It has been tried in many localities with varying degrees of success. It has given best satisfaction on the sandy or loamy soils along the watercourses where the water table is at least 4 feet below the surface. AKalfa is highly successful in the Umpqua and Rogue River Valleys on irrigated and subirrigated land. Under conditions favorable to its growth, it produces an abundance of feed from early spring until late in the fall. Rajye in cultivated rows . — If grown in rows and kept well cultivated, rape furnishes excellent green forage during the dry season when clover pasture is cut short by the summer drought. In growing rape in rows the land is prepared early and kept in good condition until planting time. The best results are secured by making three plantings on approximately April 1, 15, and 30. These three areas are then pastured alternately, the hogs being changed from one to the other. By thorough cultivation rape can be kept growing all summer. It is usually large enough to pasture with light hogs in 6 to 8 weeks after planting. Before brood sows and other grown hogs are turned on the rape, it should be large enough so that they will feed upon the leaves instead of biting off the stem or pulling up the plants. When the fall rains come, rape makes a vigorous growth and can be used until the ground is so wet that the soil is injured by the tramping of the hogs. Rape and oats . — Summer pasture is also provided by sowing 1 bushel of oats and 4 pounds of rape seed per acre during the latter part of April or early in May. If sown too early in the spring the rains pack the soil so hard that the rape does poorly. Oats and rape pasture is used from the time the growth is 5 or 6 inches high until winter begins. When hogs are pastured on rape and oats they do not work on the latter very much (unless the pasture is grazed closely) until the oats are nearly ripe. In stripping the ripe grain from the straw considerable is dropped on the ground and covered by the tramjiing of the hogs. The grain that is covered in this way germi- nates when the fall rains begin. Both the oats and rape then grow vigorously and make excellent fall and winter pasture. PASTURE AND GRAIN CROPS FOR HOGS. 13 Winter pasture is also provided by sowing rape with oats intended for hay or grain. When sown in this way the rape grows but little until after the oats are harvested and the autumn rains have begun. Rape and clover . — One of the most satisfactory ways of providing summer pasture is to sow rape and clover together late in May or early in June. For the details of this method, see Farmers’ Bulletin 271 of this department. Rape in corn . — From 3 to 4 pounds of rape seed per acre are some- times sown in corn during July, just before the last cultivation. If the corn is planted on a well-pre})ared seed bed and kept thoroughly cultivated, so that the soil will remain moist, the rape usually germi- nates in about five days. It then furnishes excellent green succulent forage during the autumn while the corn is being hogged off. If the Fig. 5. — A one-horse disk grain drill used for planting grain between the rows of standing com. corn crop is husked or cut and removed from the field and the rape allowed to grow until late in the fall, the rape furnishes good pasture from November 1 to April 1. Vetch and wheat, or vetch and oats, or vetch alone . — Vetch sown alone or with wheat or oats in corn at the last cultivation or in the early fall on spring-plowed stubble land furnishes pasture for hogs during the late fall, winter, and early spring. One bushel of vetch and a bushel of oats or 40 pounds of wheat are used per acre. If sown alone, from 90 to 120 pounds of vetch seed are required per acre. The seed is either planted with a one-horse grain drill which runs between the rows of corn or it is sown broadcast from the back of a horse. A one-horse disk grain drill, which can be used for this purpose, is shown in figure 5. If the latter method is used, a hood is placed over the head of the horse to keep the grain from falling into the animaFs 14 farmers' bulletin 599. ears. If sown broadcast, the last cultivation of the corn covers the seed. If vetch and wheat or oats are sown in corn when ‘daid by” in July, the pasture is ready for use by October 1 ; if sown on spring- plowed stubble land in the early fall, it is ready about November 1. The pasture may be used during the winter and early spring. If other pasture is not available, these crops will also furnish excellent forage for hogs until late in June. Vetch is also sown alone in the fall and used during April, May, and June. English rye-grass . — Owing to the excessive winter precipitation west of the Cascade Mountains, the ground is frequently so wet that the tramping of stock is very injurious to most soils. For this rea- son a grass pasture with a close, tough sod is very desirable for win- ter use. English rye-grass meets this need admirably. This grass forms a close sod that stands tramping well. It is one of the first grasses to begin growth in the spring and one of the last to cease growing in the fall. A rye-grass pasture maybe used from the early autumn until the following July. During the summer drought, growth practically ceases. If kept grazed rather closely, the pasture will last for years. A permanent English rye-grass pasture may be started by sowing from 10 to 15 pounds of seed per acre with oats or wheat in the early spring or fall. The grain crop is either thrashed or cut for hay. The grass is then ready for grazing the following autumn after being sown. A permanent pasture may be started also by sowing the grass seed with vetch, oats, or wheat on stubble land in the early fall. The mixture of grass, vetch, and grain is used for pasture the following winter and spring. The second year the pasture is a close grass sod that will stand grazing when the ground is wet. Winter wheat . — Winter wheat sown in the early fall for a grain crop furnishes excellent pasture for hogs during February, March, and April. GRAIN CROPS TO HOG OFF. Table II. — Crops to hog off in western Oregon and western Washington. Crops. When planted. Approximate date when used. Beardless barley Early spring July 1 to July 20. July 10 to August 10. July 25 to October 1. September 15 to November 15. Winter wheat September and October Field peas Early spring Com April 20 to May 10 Wheat . — Hogs make rapid and economical gains on wheat until the chaff becomes thoroughly dry. If they are then supplied with green feed, they wiU do much better. If peas are not available for hogging off during August and September, wheat may be used until the autumn rains begin. Spring wheat may also be grown to take the place of the peas. PASTURE AND GRAIN CROPS FOR HOGS. 15 Beardless barley . — If no winter wheat is available to hog off, its place may be filled with beardless barley. In fact this crop may take the place of corn and peas as well, being used from the time it is in the stiff-dough stage, about July 10, until winter rains come. Hogs do exceptionally well on it after the rains have softened the kernels. Peas . — To furnish autumn pasture, one-half peck of wheat or a peck of oats is frequently sown with peas that are to be hogged off. In working upon the mature crop the hogs cause considerable of the oats or wheat to shatter out. Much of this is covered by the tramp- ing of the hogs. Wlien the first fall rains come it germinates and fur- nishes good pasture. Corn . — Corn is hogged down to good advantage in much of the territory west of the Cascade Mountains for about six weeks — that is, from the time the kernels are pretty well glazed and dented until late in the fall. After the rainy season is well begun, the hogs get many of the ears down on the wet ground. This causes the corn to mold and spoil. For this reason it is not best to undertake to hog off too late in the season. In the Willamette Valley corn reaches the hogging-off stage about September 15. In the Rogue River Valley it is earlier and in northwestern Washington much later than in the Willamette Valley. SUCCULENT WINTER FEEDS. Table III . — Succulent winter feeds for western Oregon and western Washington. Crops. When planted. When used. Kale Planted in March or April; trans- planted in June. May 25 October 1 to April 1. November 1 to January 16. November 1 to April 1. Do. Squash Roots April 1 to May 15 Artichokes Early spring Thousand-headed hale. — Thousand-headed kale is an excellent succulent whiter feed for hogs. The mild whiters of western Oregon and western Washington permit kale to stand in the field all winter. It is cut and fed as needed. Unless fed hi a rack or on a clean floor, pigs waste a great deal of the kale by tramping it hi the mud. Full directions for growing kale will be found hi Farmers’ Bulletin 271 of this department. Squashes . — In order to raise squashes successfully the land is manured heavily durhig the fall or whiter, plowed about March 1, allowed to lie for five or six weeks, and then disked, harrowed, and clod mashed until hi good condition. From May 1 to 15 it is replowed. Just before the seed is planted, about May 25, the sod. is again cultivated. The squashes are gathered about November 1, stored in a dark place hi the barn, and covered with straw to keep them from freezing. They keep better if gathered before the surface of the squashes has been frozen. They are fed from approximately November 1 to January 15. 16 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 599. Boot crops.- The mangel-wurzels, haK-sugar beet, sugar beet, and white French sugar beet are all used for hog feed. Beets may be stored either hi pits or in bins in the barn, or fed from the field. Occa- sionally there is some loss from freezing if left hi the field all whiter. Usually, on the other hand, there is much to be gained by feeding from the field, because (1) beets make considerable growth during the late fall and whiter, much of which is lost if they are stored; (2) when fed from the field the tops are utilized the same as the roots; and (3) it is much cheaper to feed from the field than to store them first and feed them later. Beets are fed whole. Articholces . — Artichokes are planted in rows and cultivated hi precisely the same manner that potatoes are grown. The tubers are cut into rather small pieces and planted a little thicker and a little earlier than potatoes. Artichokes are utilized by turning the hogs into the field hi the fall after the tubers have made their growth. If the hogs have been ringed, the ground is loosened up with a plow, enough tubers being plowed out at a time to last a week. The soil best adapted to the growth of artichokes for hogs is the sandy land along the watercourses. They can be hogged off on such land without seriously injurhig the soil during the entire winter. The heavier soils are frequently badly puddled by the tramping of the hogs durhig wet weather. This can be counteracted by liberally applying coarse fresh manure or straw" just before the hogs are turned into the field in the fall. By manuring heavily and workhig the ground early in the spring, artichokes may be grown on the same land for several years. They are sometimes allowed to volunteer, the land bemg plowed, worked down, and the crop permitted to come from the tubers left hi the soil. This is not good practice, however, it bemg much more profitable to plant them m rows, so that they can be cultivated. A crop of artichokes that is ready for the hogs is shown hi figure 6. Objection is sometimes made to artichokes on account of the diffi- culty of getting rid of them when it is desirable to grow some other crop on the land. They may be eradicated by sowing the land to clover, clover and rape, or clover and oats, and pasturing with sheep or cattle during the summer. If no stems and leaves are allowed to grow, no tubers will form. Close pasturing for one season wdll ehminate artichokes. CROPS FOR THE WHEAT BELT. The wheat belt of eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and north- ern Idaho presents a great variety of agricultural conditions. The elevation above sea level varies from 1,000 to as much as 3,000 feet. The annual precipitation also varies from approximately 10 inches to 25 inches. In some of the more arid districts where the altitude PASTURE AND GRAIN CROPS FOR HOGS. 17 is low, the soil is frequently so light that it is subject to blowing and drifting. In the districts where the precipitation is heaviest, on the other hand, the soil is a dark, fertile, silt loam. Owing to these varia- tions crop production varies widely in the wheat belt. For conven- ience in discussing the cropping and feeding systems wliich may be used for hogs, the wheat belt is divided into (1) the subhumid or moister districts and (2) the arid and semiarid districts. There is no distinct line of demarcation between them, for they gradually blend into one another. Fig. 6.— Afieldofartichokesin theWillamette Valley, Oreg.,thatisreadyforthehogs. When the lower leaves began to die, sheep were turned in. They stripped off the leaves as high as they could reach. Cattle would consume the rest of the leaves. Subhumid or Moister Districts. The more humid portions of the wheat belt are generally situated near the mountains. The annual rainfall is usually sufficient to grow alfalfa successfully without irrigation. USE OF VARIOUS PASTURE CROPS. Table IV . — Pasture crops for the subhumid districts. Crops. When planted. Approximate dates when used. Number of hogs an acre will pasture. Winter wheat Early in September Clover Alfalfa Kale or rape Rape and clover. Winter wheat.. Wheat in corn.. Stubble field April, previous year A previous year April and May May 1 Early in May July 15 to 20 (at last cultiva- tion of corn). October 15 to November 15, March 15 to Junel. April 10 to December 1 April 15 to November 15 June 15 to December 1 July 10 to November 15 June 1 to November 15 September 15 to November 15. 5 to 8 8 to 15 8 to 15 8 to 15 6 to 14 G to 15 6 to 12 August 25 to April 1 18 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 599. Winter wheat . — Many farmers use the main win ter- wheat field for hog pasture. If the autumn rains begin early enough in the fall to do the seeding during the first part of September, wheat usually makes sufficient growth to furnish pasture from October 15 until the ground is so wet that it is injured by the tramping of the hogs. If sown during September, winter wheat also makes very early spring pasture. It is used from the time the ground is settled until the grain begins to head, or until the hogs begin to chew the heads. Ordinarily this will be from March 15 until June 1. Excellent summer and autumn pasture is provided by sowing winter wheat early in May on a well-prepared seed bed. If not pastured very closely during the autumn, wheat that is sown during May can be used during much of the winter. If sown just before the last cultivation in corn that has been well cultivated, wheat generally furnishes an abundance of green feed during the autumn when corn is being hogged off. Clover and alfalfa . — Red clover is adapted to the wheat-growing districts having a claylike subsoil and the maximum precipitation. While alfalfa is adapted to the same territory it has a much wider range of usefuhiess, for it succeeds with less rainfall and on lighter soils than clover. Clover begins to grow earlier in the spring and continues to grow later in the fall than alfalfa. The young tender growth of clover is not so easily injured by severe frosts as that of alfalfa. Red clover fits nicely into short rotations because it is short lived and so easily killed by plowing. Where the land is to be used continuously for hog pasture for a number of years alfalfa easily stands first. The carrying capacity of both clover and alfalfa is greatly reduced by the summer drought, and it is usually necessary to provide addi- tional feed during this time. The essentials in successfully growing both of these crops are given in detail in Popular Bulletin 31 and Bulletin 80 of the Washington Agricultural Experiment Station, Pullman, Wash. Kale and rape. — Thousand-headed kale and Dwarf Essex rape are very closely related. The mature individual kale plants are generally larger than those of rape. In the more humid portions of the wheat belt of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington few crops are more satisfactory for pasture during the summer and autumn than kale and rape. The green aphis sometimes attacks both of these crops during the last of August. WJiile kale is seldom injured very much, rape is frequently damaged considerably. For this reason kale is the preferable crop. A field of kale is shown in figure 7. To grow either rape or kale successfully the land to be planted receives an application of stable manure and is plowed during the late fall. As soon as the surface soil is dry enough in the spring, PASTURE AND GRAIN CROPS FOR HOGS. 19 it is thoroughly cultivated to destroy weeds, germinate weed seeds, and conserve moisture. For early summer use, say the middle of June, the seed is planted as early in the spring as the soil has warmed up well. If the crop is not to be used until July 15, the date of planting may be delayed until about May 1 . Seeding at that date gives an opportunity to cultivate the ground several times before the seed is planted. This makes it much easier to keep the crop free from weeds. While kale and rape may be sown broadcast, the best results are secured by planting in rows about 32 inches apart. Kale is thinned until the plants stand 12 to 14 inches apart in the rows. Rape can be left a little thicker in the row. Fig. 7.— Thousand-’headed kale on the college farm, Pullman, Wash. , planted in drill rows 28 inches apart. (Photographed August 23, 1909.) By pasturing and cultivating two or three times, the crop may be kept green all summer. After the fall rains come both rape and kale make a much better growth than clover or alfalfa. They stand a great deal of severe frost and can generally be used until about December 15. If used only during the late summer and autumn, better results are secured by cutting and feeding kale instead of turning the hogs into the field. When the plants are allowed to become large, the hogs break down and waste many of the leaves. Rape and clover . — Summer pasture is provided and a stand of clover established at the same time by sowing 3 pounds of rape seed and 8 to 10 pounds of red-clover seed per acre about May 1. The seed is mixed and sown together according to the methods described for sowing clover in Popular Bulletin 31 of the Washington Agricultural Experiment Station. If sown May 1, the rape and clover should be 20 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 599. large enough to pasture by July 1 to 10. Rape makes excellent green forage while wheat, peas, and corn are being hogged off. Gleaning stubble fields . — Wheat farmers who raise hogs give them the run of the stubble fields from the time the grain is harvested until the land is plowed the following spring. They feed upon the heads that are dropped in harvesting and also on the volunteer grain. It is frequently supposed that the combined harvester and thrasher will leave so little grain in the field, especially on level ground, that there is nothing to be gained by gleaning the stubble with hogs. It is also supposed that in gleaning a large stubble field hogs will do so much traveling that they make no gains. To show that neither of these assumptions is well founded, the experience of W. H. Steen, Umatilla County, Oreg., in gleaning the stubble field with hogs may be cited. On August 24, 1910, 90 head of hogs, weighing 6,261 pounds, were turned into 178 acres of wheat stubble. They were in the field with- out other feed until November 1, when they weighed 8,350 pounds. The gain in live weight per acre was 11.73 pounds. The value of the gain per acre (11.73 pounds) at 6, 7, and 8 cents per pound amounts to 70.4, 82.1, and 93.8 cents, respectively. The stubble land gleaned by the hogs is comparatively level, and a good job had been done in cutting the grain with a combined harvester. On steep land the waste in harvesting is always much greater than on level land, and the gain in gleaning the stubble with hogs should be cor- respondingly greater. GRAIN CROPS TO HOG OFF. Table V . — Crops to hoq off in the subhumid district. Crop*. When planted. Approximate dates when used.i Beardless barley Winter wheat Early spring September and October ■Tuly 5 to August 1. July 20 to August 20. July 10 to November 1. August 1 to September 1. September 1 to November 15. From beginning of autumn rains Field peas Early spring Spring wheat do Com May 1 to 20 Blue barley or common beardless Early spring barley. to midwinter. ‘ Because of the great variation in altitude in the more humid portions of the wheat belt, there is a corre- sponding variation in the dates at which crops mature. Barley, wheat, and peas, for example, reach the hogging-off stage much earlier when grown at low altitudes than at high altitudes. For this reason the dates in the above table for using the crops are only approximately correct. A discussion of the use of the crops mentioned in Table V will be found on pages 6 to 9 of this bulletin. The growing of wheat and barley is familiar to all and needs no further comment. The growing of field peas and corn are discussed in Popular Bulletins Nos. 36 and 38, and Bulletin 99 of the Washington Agricultural Experiment Station. These bulletins may be had by applying to the Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, Pullman, Wash. PASTURE AND GRAIN CROPS FOR HOGS. 21 WINTER FEEDS. Table VT. — Winter feeds for the subhumid distriets. Crops. When planted. Approximate dates when used. Alfalfa hay A previous year November 1 to April 15. Do. October 15 to May 1. Late fall, winter, and early spring. Do. Do. Roots April and May Artichokes April Bundle or headed wheat Field peas (unthrashed) Bundle or headed barley Fall or spring Early spring Fall or early spring Alfalfa hay . — Alfalfa hay is probably the most satisfactory winter roughage that may be provided for hogs in the subhumid wheat dis- tricts. If intended for hogs, it is cut green a little before the appear- ance of the first blossoms. It is also best to take it from a portion of the field where the stand is thick. The hay will then be fine, palatable and rich in protein. Fig. 8.— Rack for feeding hay to hogs. Alfalfa hay is usually fed in one of two ways, whole or cut. Whole hay is generally fed in racks. Figures 8 and 9 show racks used for feeding hay to hogs. Hay is also fed on the surface of the ground. By either of these methods there is considerable waste, especially if the hay is coarse. One of the most popular and satisfactory ways of feeding alfalfa hay to hogs is to run it through a hay cutter, chop- ping it into lengths of about one-half inch. The hay is then mixed with chopped or rolled wheat or barley. The mixture is moistened with all of the water that it will absorb, and allowed to stand for 12 hours before it is fed. Some soak the hay and add the grain just before feeding. During very cold weather the hay may be wet with hot water and fed immediately. Where it is not necessary to hasten the growth of the hogs alfalfa hay may form one-half of the ration by weight. Where a rapid gain is desired a ration consisting of one- fourth alfalfa hay and three-fourths grain is more satisfactory. Root crops . — The sugar beet, the white French sugar beet, man- gels, carrots, and rutabagas are all used for fall and winter hog feed. 22 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 599. The success of root crops largely depends upon the preparation of the seed bed. In growing sugar beets in the vicinity of Waverly, Wash., the following has been found a very satisfactory way of preparing land for this crop. Stubble land is disked or plowed shallow in the autumn. As soon as in condition to work in the early spring it is plowed 7 or 8 inches deep and then harrowed, planked, and rolled again and again until a firm, mellow seed bed is formed. The time of planting depends on the season. In localities whose altitude is from 2,000 to 2,500 feet, root crops are usually planted the last of April or early in May. For winter use roots are stored either in cellars or pits. Roots are generally fed in connection with a grain ration. The hogs usually receive all of the roots that they will clean up and sufficient grain to make them thriye and grow as desired. Fig. 9.— An easily and cheaply constructed rack for feeding hay to hogs. The sides consist of ordinary hog-fencing wire stapled on a frame. Artichokes . — On rich, mellow land that retains moisture well arti- chokes usually yield better than potatoes. But on land that dries* out quickly the yield is not very satisfactory. The methods given on page 16 of this bulletin for growing artichokes will apply in the main for this district also. The hogs are turned in late in the fall, about the time that alfalfa or clover pasture is failing. Some allow the hogs to work on the tubers at will from the last of October until May 1. Others prefer to use artichokes only in the late fall and early spring, the hogs being removed from the field during the winter, when the ground is so wet that their rooting will puddle the soil. The hogs are returned to the field as soon as the ground has settled in the early spring. Used in this way artichokes fill in two periods, the late fall and early spring, when green feed is scarce. As with the root crops, hogs must also receive a grain ration of some kind when feeding upon artichokes if PASTURE AND GRAIN CROPS FOR HOGS. 23 rapid gains are desired. When the ground is frozen hard other feed must be provided. TJntlirashed wheat . — Many hog raisers use headed or bundle wheat to carry dry brood sows and young shotes through the winter. When feeding upon the unthrashed grain the hogs get considerable rough- age in chewing the heads. They are also compelled to eat more slowly and to masticate their food better than when feeding upon thrashed grain. Wlien the grain is fed in the straw the thrashing bill is saved and the hogs are kept busy during much of the time. Unthrashed wheat and artichokes or roots of some kind make a good combination for wintering hogs. Field peas . — In some locahties field peas are stacked and the unthrashed vines fed to hogs during the late fall, winter, and early spring. Mature pea grain is a concentrated feed, very rich in pro- tein. For this reason hogs should receive other feed in addition to the peas to dilute the ration. Any of the root crops, artichokes, or potatoes are excellent for this purpose. Unthrashed harley . — In using unthrashed bearded barley for winter feed for hogs, a large quantity is thrown into the feed lot at a time in order that the beards and kernels may become wet and soften. If fed dry, the kernels are too hard to be eaten readily. Arid and Semiarid Districts. ' The arid and semiarid districts may arbitrarily be designated as • that portion of the wheat belt whose normal precipitation is insuffi- cient to grow alfalfa successfully. In much of this region, however, alfalfa can be grown profitably for hog pasture by keeping the stand very thin and cultivating it thoroughly in the late fall and early sprmg. If sown rather thmly m rows about 24 to 36 inches apart and cultivated occasionally during the spring and summer, alfalfa will make profitable hog pasture over a very wdde territory now consid- ered too dry for that crop. The crops mentioned in Table VII will provide pasture during much of the year in the dry region. PASTURE CROPS. Table VII . — Pasture crops for the arid and semiarid districts. Crops. When planted. Approximate date when used. Number of hogs an acre will pasture. W inter wheat October. April 1 to May 15 6 to 10 5 to 10 5 to 10 5 to 8 4 to 7 Beardless barley February or March May 1 to June 15 Sprinp' whp.n.t ■* May 1 f.n July 1 Winter wheat or beardless barley. Field corn and Early Amber sorghum. Stubble field May ' ■'V . ■ r ' * April 10 to May 10 June 15 to August 1-25 July until autumn frosts August 25 to April 15 24 farmers’ bulletin 599. Wheat . — Wheat is used for hog pasture as follows: (1) As soon as the surface of the ground is dry in the spring, about April 1, the hogs are turned into the main crop of winter wheat that is grown for market. Some prefer to use the winter wheat until it begins to joint; that is, for about a month or six weeks. Others use it until the hogs begin to chew the heads of wheat, and still others harvest with the hogs in the field. (2) Spring wheat sown the last of February or early in March is generally large enough for pasture, 3 to 4 inches high, by May 1. By pasturing it rather closely it will stay green until about July 1. (3) Summer pasture is provided by sowing either spring or winter wheat about May 1. Land that is sown at this date is plowed during the late fall, in the winter, or very early in the spring. To destroy weeds and retain moisture it is kept thoroughly cultivated from early spring until the wheat is sown. The pasture is ready for use in about six weeks from date of planting. If grazed closely, it should remain green until in August. Barley . — The common beardless barley is also sown in the early spring and early in May for spring and summer pasture. Barley comes more quickly and makes more feed than wheat. The hogs also like it better than wheat up to the time it has headed olit. Corn and sorghum . — Field corn and several varieties of sorghum are grown in a limited way in the dry portion of the wheat belt for hog pasture. The principal varieties of sorghum are kafir, Jerhsalem corn, milo, and Amber sorghum. Just which of these is most satis- factory when grown as a grazing crop or to cut and feed green has not been fully determined. On account of the siicculency and high sugar content of its stems as well as its habit of suckering after being cut or eaten down. Amber sorghum is probably the best of the varieties named above. The variety grown is locally known as Early Amber sorghum. Field observations seem to indicate that Amber sorghum is best adapted to the extremely dry districts where the altitude is rather low, and corn to the higher districts. These crops need to be further tested in limited areas to determine which are most profitable. Corn and sorghum are grown in much the same way. To be suc- cessful, the preparation of the seed bed must receive special atten- tion. Perhaps the most satisfactory way to prepare the land for these crops is to plow during the late fall or winter and then cultivate thoroughly from early spring until planting time. Sorghum is planted a trifle later than corn, in rows 3 to 3i feet apart with a grain drill. The seed is dropped 10 to 15 inches apart in the row. To firm the soil and cause the seed to germinate quickly, a corrugated roller or subsurface packer is run just behind the drill. The cultiva- tion is the same as that of com. The crop is either cut and fed green or the hogs are turned into the field when the sorghum or corn is 14 to 18 inches high. The former method gives by far the most feed. Corn and sorghum are generally used in a 2-year rotation with wheat or barley, the land being in sorghum or corn for summer green feed one year and in barley or wheat to pasture or hog off the next. PASTURE AND GRAIN CROPS FOR HOGS. 25 Gleaning stubhle fields . — If the farm is fenced hog tight, the hogs have the run of the stubble field from the time the grain is harvested until the land is plowed the following spring. The volunteer grain makes the earliest green feed in the spring. GRAIN CROPS TO HOG OFF. Table VIII . — Crops to hog off in the arid and semiarid districts. Crops. When planted. Approximate dates when used.i Beardless barley Early spring Jime 20 until autumn rains begin. July 1 to opening of stubble field or until autumn rains begin. July 15 to opening of stubble field or until autumn rains begin. July 20 until autumn rains begin. From beginning of autumn rains to late winter — October 15 to Feb- ruary 10. W i n ter wh eat . October Spring wheat Early spring, February and March. do Field peas . Blue barley or the common beard- less barley. do 1 The altitude of the arid and semiarid districts varies from 1,000 to 3,000 feet. For this reason the dates .at which the crops in the above table mature will vary considerably. The dates given for the use of these crops, therefore, are only approximations. Whether or not wheat and peas shall be used from the time they are available in the early summer until the autumn rains have softened the barley sufficiently to be hogged down will depend upon the number of hogs kept on the farm. Where only enough hogs are kept to glean the stubble field, peas and wheat are used only until the grain is thrashed and the stubble field is open. Where more than enough hogs are kept to clean up the stubble field, wheat and peas can be profitably hogged off until the barley is in condition to use. Somewhat limited observations indicate that field peas in the dry parts of the wheat belt seldom have nodules on their roots. The yield also is usually light. The lack of nodules, the light yields, and the high price of seed make the production of peas questionable. It is probable that they may be grown profitably in rows as a culti- vated crop. At the experimental farm at Moro, Oreg., peas are planted in double rows 7 inches apart with 35-inch spaces between the double rows. The peas are planted in this way with a grain drill by stop- ping up a part of the feed cups. The peas support each other and stand up better when planted in this way. They are cultivated with a spike-tooth harrow until about 4 or 5 inches high. They then receive shallow cultivation between the rows until the vines lop over. WINTER FEEDS. The feeds that may be used economically to carry hogs through the winter are standing barley and headed wheat. Field peas may also be stacked and fed without thrashing. CROPS FOR THE IRRIGATED VALLEYS. Much of the irrigated land along the Columbia River, on the one extreme, is less than 400 feet above the level of the sea. Some of the irrigated mountain valleys, on the other hand, have an elevation of 26 farmers’ bulletin 599. 3,500 to 4,000 feet. At the low altitudes pasture is available much earlier in the spring and later in the autumn than at the higher altitudes. In the mountain valleys all of the grain fed is raised, while in the lower districts most of the grain consumed is purchased from the near-hy wheat farms. In the lower districts corn is successfully grown. In the higher valleys corn has not proved a success. PASTURE CROPS. Table IX . — Pasture crops in the irrigated valleys. Crops. When planted. Approximate dates when used. Number of hogs an acre will carry. Red clover Previous year. March to November 10 10 to 20 10 to 20 10 to 20 Do Early spring with wheat, oats, or barley. Previous year After grain is harvested to November 10. April 1 to to November 1 Alfalfa Alfalfa is most generally used for hog pasture under irrigation. There are many who prefer clover, however, especially in the moun- tain valleys, because it starts growth earlier in spring and is less in- jured by fall frost than alfalfa. The two crops are sometimes grown together. It is claimed that a mixture of the two will carry nearly one-third more hogs per acre than either grown alone. In the mountain valleys where the cereals are important crops, clover fits into the rotations better than alfalfa. In the Powder Kiver Valley, Oreg., red clover is grown in a 2-year rotation with wheat, oats, or barley. The clover is sown in the early spring and after the grain is harvested makes excellent pasture until winter. The following June a crop of hay is cut. About the middle of July, when the second crop is about 10 inches high, the clover is plowed under and the ground worked down immediately. The following spring the land is again sown to clover and wheat, oats, or barley. Where there is plenty of water for irrigation throughout the season, the clover sod is not plowed under until during the autumn. WINTER FEEDS. Table X. — Winter feeds in the irrigated valleys. Crops. When planted. When used. Alfalfa hay A previous year November 1 to April 15. Do. Late fall, winter, and early spring. Do. November 1 to April 15. Root crops April and May Bundle or headed wheat Field peas Fall or spring Early spring Artichokes i April (same as potatoes) 1 Artichokes are best adapted to the lower irrigated districts, where the winters are open enough to permit the hogs to work on the tubers. They are used from the time that alfalfa pasture fails in the autumn until it is available again in the spring. Even in the lower valleys there are times during the winter when the ground is frozen too hard for the hogs to root out the tubers. Alfalfa hay, roots, or other feed must then take the place of the artichokes. A discussion of the use of these crops will be found under Winter feeds,” pages 21 to 23. PASTUEE AND GRAIN CROPS FOR HOGS. 27 CROPS TO HOG OFF, Table XI . — Crops to hog off in the irrigated valleys. Crops. When planted. Approximate dates when used.* Beardless barley Club wheat Early spring, April September or October August 1 to November 15. August 5 to September 15. August 20 to November 15. August 20 to October 1. Field peas Early spring, April Club wheat do 1 The dates for using the crops in the table above are applicable to localities whose altitudes range from 3,000 to 4,500 feet. At lower altitudes these crops are ready for use much earlier. The hogging off of crops under irrigated and nonirrigated condi- tions is so similar that the discussion of the use of these crops on pages 5 to 10 and 14 and 15 of this bulletin will be found applicable in the irrigated districts. SUMMARY. During recent years the hog industry in the Pacific Northwest has been inadequate to supply the local demands for pork and pork products. This has caused the average price of pork to be relatively high and has made it necessary to ship a large percentage of the hogs slaughtered and bacon consumed from east of the Rocky Mountains. It is possible to provide pasture for hogs in most of this region throughout much of the year. In most localities it is also possible to provide crops that may be hogged off during several months of the busy season. The crops generally used for this purpose are wheat, field peas, corn, and barley. By supplementing well-managed pas- ture with the proper grain rations and utilizing the ability of the hog to harvest grain crops for himself, the average cost of producing pork may be materially reduced. These conditions offer an opportunity for profitable pork production in the Pacific Northwest on a much larger scale than at present practiced. o WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1914 ;:ij M rifii . *' ' '"./"ti< •-'•■ e' ' 'ir^nT M;. U’T-J 'rV; .-^jBiB' '7, : V ■'.. ..t^j ■;■# • ■ r. *,'‘i^ ,.. .P*^' ■■I ^ )iL, . - * ff'* « {'* *•' '.v ‘‘ Mk.g ^ «M: < .jr tru ^ T" ^ us. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Wm. A. Taylor, Chief. July II, 1914. \N OUTFIT FOR BORING TAPROOTED STUMPS FOR BLASTING. I^y Harry Thompson, Agriculturist, Office of Farm Managenietif . INTRODUCTION. In using explosives to blast stumps from the ground in order to »repare it for farming, it is comparatively easy to place the charge nder a stump having semitaproot or a lat- ral system of rooting y boring or digging a ole in the earth to a »oint under the center -f resistance and deep ■no ugh to give the de- ared effect. ^ PLACING THE CHARGE. When clearing land here most of the • tumps are taprooted, as in the longleaf-pine regions of the South, it has been found, im- practicable to place the charge in the earth outside of the stump, as this practice, because of the small size of the lateral roots, usually results in blowing the dirt away from one side and only cracking and slightly loosening the stump. Fig. 1.— Diagram showing a section of a taprooted stump and a charge in position for lilasting. iFor methods of using powder in blasting stumps, see page 14 of “t'ost and methods of clearing land in western Washington,” by Harry Thompson U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry Bulletin 239, CO p., 25 fig., 1912. Note. — This paper gives detailed information concerning a power outfit for boring taprooted stumps for blasting. In those sections of the country where such slumps are abundant it will be of value in reducing the cost of clearing land for agricultural purposes, 4541C°— Bull. 600—14 2 FARMERS^ BULLETIN 600. To get the best results when blasting tliese stumps, tlie charge must be placed within the taproot. To do this, a hole of sufFicient size and deep enougli to place the explosive at the center must be bored into the stump. The hole should be bored so deep tliat the center of the charge will be at or near the center of the taproot. (Fig. 1.) The hole should be started into the stump from 6 to 10 inches below the surface and should slant downward at an angle of about 45°. When stumps are blasted in this manner most of tliem will be broken off below the plow line. (Fig. 2.) Fig. 2.— Result of blasting a longleaf-pine stump by placing a charge within the stump. Boring these holes by hand with a l|-inch or 1^-inch auger is heavy work and in some cases will require two men when a ship auger is used. POWER OUTFIT FOR BORING STUMPS. Several turpentine companies who are using the stumps of the longleaf pine for distillation purposes have assembled outfits for boring these holes by means of electric drills, with power supplied by a dynamo run by a gasoline engine and mounted upon a wagon. The outfit . — The outfit consists of the following: One 5-horsepower horizontal gasoline engine, one 3-kilowatt dynamo, all mounted on skids or a wagon and drawn by a team (fig. 3); two electric drills using H-inch augers of the required length (fig. 4), together with the necessary cables for connecting. Augers 30 inches in length are commonly used, although it is often desirable to drill to a greater depth. For this purpose a supply of augers 4 feet in length is kept on hand. The longer augers break more frequently than the shorter ones. BORINc; TAPROOTEL) STUMPS FOR BLASTING. 3 The crew . — It requires a crew of six to run this boring machine, as follows: An engineer and driver, four drill men (two for each drill), and a cable man or boy. METHOD OF OPERATING. After the engine and dynamo have been securely mounted upon skids or a wagon, as shown in figure 3, the outfit is taken to the stump field, the engine is started by the engineer, and the drills are supplied with current from the dynamo. Each drill is operated by two men and can be used on opposite sides of the outfit for a distance of about 100 feet. The cable boy keeps the cables from Fig. 3. — Outfit for boring taprooted stumps for blasting. fouling on the stumps, logs, and underbrush. He also keeps them from kinking, which would cause the copper wires to break. When the hole is bored to the desired depth (see fig. 4), the drill is removed and a handful of chips put upon the top of the stump to show that it has been bored. An outfit of this sort drilled 500 stumps a day on an average during the month of May, 1913. The average cost per stump for fhe holes drilled was slightly less than 3 cents. This cost takes into account repairs, depreciation, and interest, as well as operating expenses. An outfit of this kind could be utilized for boring the stumps for burning by the method described by Ferris.^ Although the companies operating these machines do not usually attempt to blow the stumps from far enough below the ground surface for agricultural purposes, it is estimated that digging away the soil 1 Ferris, E. B. Clearing pine lands. Miss. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 159, 12 p., 4 fig., 1912. 4 FARMERS^ BULI.ETIN (K)(). iioar tho stump to permit ])oring from 0 to 10 inches below th(5 surfaces will not cost more than 2 cents per stump. RESULTS OBTAINED IN A TEST. In a test conducted by one of th('. companies operating a boring outfit similar to the one described, the dirt was thrown away from one side of the stump to a depth of 12 inches and the hole boreal into the stump at least 10 inches below the surface. Of the 100 stumps so blasted, 97 were broken off bedow plow depth. The roots of the remaining 3 stumps were easily cut out low enough to permit cultiva- tion. Slightly less powder was used upon these stumps than where Fig, 4.— Boring a longleaf-pine stump with an electric drill. A 30-inch hole has just been completed. the holes were bored at tho surface of the ground. The total aver- age cost for digging, boring, and blasting was 22 cents per stump. This cost does not include the disposal of the stumps, as the tops and roots were used for distillation purposes. Average cost per stump for digging, boring, and blasting. Digging hole $0,020 Doring stump ' 030 Cap and fuse 025 Powder (using an average charge) ' 145 Total 220 BOEING TAPROOTED STUMPS FOR BLASTING. r GRADE OF POWDER TO USE. It has been found by tliose engaged in blasting the taprooted stumps that the lower grades of nitroglycerin powders are most economical. The higlier grades have more of a disruptive effect, tending to shatter the stump, but tliey do not throw it out of tlie ground as well as the lower grades of powder. There is very little difference in the effect secured by using 20 per cent and 25 per cent powder. The 20 per cent powder is clieaper and is generally con- sidered the most suitable for stump-blasting purposes. COST OF THE OUTFIT. The following prices for an electric stump-boring outfit are f. o. b. distribution point, and freight cliarges should be added to the place wliere used. Necessary eqiiijnnertt for haring stumps, V'ith cost. 5-horsepower gasoline engine $115 3-kilowatt dynamo 185 2 electric drills 80 6 augers, assorted lengths 25 200 feet of cable 20 Skids ■ 10 Tools 25 Total 400 CONCLUSION. By using one or more electric boring outfits it is possible in a very sliort time to bore a large number of stumps for burning or blasting. The number of longleaf-pine stumps per acre tliat liad to be bored in the tests varied from 20 to 70. As an average of about 500 stumps a day can be bored, from 10 to 20 acres can be covered in one day, the maximum number of borings being possible where the stumps are thickest. Tlie cost of clearing land with this outfit and the use of nitrogycerin powder will range from $5 to $18 per acre, provided the wood from tlie stumps and roots can be sold for enough to pay for tlieir disposal. o UNlVEKSITr OF • AUG 3 1 1916 INDEX. Farmers’ Agricultural Outlook ^ Agriculture, study, collection and preservation of plant material used, bulletin by H, B. Derr and C H. Lane Alabama, grasses, natural and others suitable for beef production. . . Alfalfa — hay crop for South, note hay, value for fattening calves hog pasture, value Andrews, Frank- Argentina- corn production — acreage, importance, etc exports, quality, etc prices, etc exports, meat animals and packing-house products Arizona, Salt River Valley, growing Egyptian cotton, bulletin Arsenate of lead — application to tobacco plants, directions, dosage, strength, etc. . application to tobacco plants, effects of different methods, seasons. Artichokes— eradication growing for hogging off, management, value, etc. Bark disease, chestnut, extent and spread, preventive measures. Barley — beardless — crop, world’s, acreage, production, 1911-1913, by countries. . hogging off, management importance of crop, international trade, uses, etc seed, preparation for spring planting Barnes, Will C., bulletin on “Stock-watering places on western grazing lands” Beef- production, Southern, bulletin by W. F. Ward and Dan T. Gray. 96735—15 2 1 No. Page . 580 17-18 [581 1-50 l584 1-22 590 1-20 l598 1-21 586 1-24 580 2 580 4 580 ■ 8 599 12, 18, 26 578 5 593 8-14 581 6-9 581 17-18 590 3-7 581 30-40 581 31-34 581 2, 5, 6-12 581 9-12 581 6-12 581 35-38 577 1-8 595 5-6 595 3-5 595 5-6 595 1-8 595 2-3 599 16-17 599 16 599 22-23 588 16-17 577 8 582 1 599 24 599 15 581 18-21 599 8-9 581 18-19 584 7 584 2, 15 599 23 592 1-27 581 30-31 581 30-40 580 1-20 2 FARMERS^ BULLETINS, NOS. 576-GOO. Beef cattle — Bees — colonies, outlook, etc., May 1, 1913, 1914 destruction by skunks number of colonies, condition and outlook. May 1, 1914. Beet pulp, use for silage, note Beet sugar. See Sugar, beet. Farmers’ Bermuda grass- Blasting — stump, placing the charge, importance, taprooted stump, outfit for boring Brick and stone silo, note. “Brown hay,” cause. . . . Bulls— California crops — condition, April 1, 1914 condition. May 1, 1912, 1913, 1914. Calves — buying and raising for feeders, sug cost of raising — demand for veal, effect on prices of stocker and feeder cattle. fattening in South, discussion, experiments, etc Canada, oats — Capital, farm, nature, use, acquirement, etc . Carver, T. N, bulletin on “How to use farm credit”. Cattle — buying and selling methods, importance to cattle raisers, sug fattening- feeder- feeding- cost, methods, etc., changes. in No. Page. . 580 15-20 . 578 19-23 598 17 587 9 598 8-9 578 5 598 9-11 591 16 . 577 2 580 4 . 600 1-2 . 600 1-5 . 585 1 . 591 16 - 578 20 - 587 18-19 . 589 •4 - 579 5 . 588 3-4 . 678 16-17 . 590 10 * . 598 14 . 588 16 . 588 3-5 . 580 6 . 588 5 . 580 6-8 . 581 14, 15 . 581 18 . 591 16 . 578 5 . 593 1-2 . 584 6-7 . 593 1-14 . 581 32 - 579 7 . 580 15-20 . 588 5-6 . 588 3-5 . 588 15 . 580 13-14 . 580 14 . 588 2-3 . 588 2-3 . 588 1-2 . 588 7-10 . 588 1-2 , 588 1-19 . 588 9-10 INDEX. 3 Cattle — Continued . feeding — Continued, on high-priced la tjilage finishing for market. . losses, 1913 Farmers’ raising, range, < South, tick, eradication, work of Government. wintering for summer fattening on pasture, cost, management, etc., experiments Cattle-feeding States, advance in prices of feeds, labor, land, etc Cattlemen, buying and selling cattle, study of market, etc., sug- gestions Cellar, incubator, requireme.nts Cement — preparation, formula Chalazae, function in eggs Chestnut — bark disease, nature, extent, preventive measures, etc . timber, killed by bark diseases — characteristics, manufacture, etc uses. trees — Cheviot sheep — breeders’ association, address of secretary description, points of value, etc Cliickens, raising, hatching eggs, natural and artificial methods, bul- letin by Harry M. Lamon Cholera, hog, epidemics, 1886-1913, losses, etc Clearing land, outfit for boring taprooted stumps for blasting,. . Clover and rape, hog pasture, management Clover — rotation crop with wheat, corn, and oats, treatment, yield, etc., experiments use for silage, value, time for harvesting, etc Clover, crimson — seeding late and early varieties, advantages utilization, bulletin by J. M. Westgate See also Crimson clover. Coastal region, grasses, natural and others suitable for beef produc- tion Cobb, N. A., cotton grading investigations, note Concrete — silo — advantages, construction, cost, etc... construction, directions, illustrations. etc. in No. Page. 588 12-13 578 14- -17, 19-23 580 6-9 590 7 . 588 6 588 14 580 5-6 592 4 588 8 , 588 19 578 20 580 14 592 2-3 /580 8-9 1588 14-15 ’ 580 12-13 , 588 1-2 . 588 5-6 . 585 9 . 592 26-27 . 592 19 . 589 20-21 . 585 1 . 582 1-2 , 582 6 582 3 , 582 24 , 582 1-24 . 582 7-23 582 2 582 4-6 576 10 576 9 585 1-16 590 2 600 1-5 599 19-20 599 12, 18 599 18 596 4,5 578 5 579 1 579 1-10 580 2 591 7 589 24-25 589 20-24 589 2,3 589 9-30 , 582 18-20 4 FARMERS^ BULLETINS^ FTOS. 576-600. Corn- Farmers’ crop- failure in Western States, effect on consumption of wheat rotation crop with wheat, oats, and clover, treatment, yield, etc., experiments Corn, Argentine- Cotswold sheep- Cotton- colonial- Egyptian — grade — names, grades — United States official, establishment, personnel of commit- tee, authority, etc grading — growers, knowledge of cotton grades, acquirement, usefulness, etc 1 No. Page. 588 1-19 578 4 581 5-6 598 4 581 1-6 581 1-6 581 2 580 4 581 8-9 578 4 589 1 579 9 578 4-7 599 8 581 6 599 24 581 7-8 596 4,5 584 4-5 584 1-2, 13 580 11-12 578 2-4 599 15 581 11-12 581 9-12 581 10 581 11 580 8 576 11 576 10-11 598 13 591 1-23 581 40^2 581 40-42 591 5-6 577 1 577 8 577 1-8 591 11-12 591 13-16 591 2 591 9 591 3-7 591 11-12 591 7-9 591 9-10 591 8 591 1-2 591 7 591 1-2 591 1 INDEX. 5 Cotton — Continued. Farmers’ growing — Bulletin No. Page. advantages for weed-infested land, Salt River Valley 577 2 Salt River Valley, importance of early cultivation and irri- gation 577 4-5 Salt River Valley, selection and preparation of land 577 1-4 half grades, European and American standards, comparison 591 10-12 impurities present, influence on grade 591 3-4 picking — Arizona, labor supply, daily average, wages, etc 577 8 separating grades, wages, etc.. Salt River Valley 577 7-8 production, world’s, 1870-1913, by countries 581 43 sampling for grading, directions 591 7 standards, European and American, comparison 591 10-12 thinning 577 5-6 values of different grades, relative 591 16-18 Cotton, J. S., and W. F. Ward, bulletin on “Economical cattle feeding in the corn belt” 588 1-19 Cottonseed — cake, feed for fattening steers on summer pasture 580 13-14 hulls — feed for fattening cattle, experiments 580 10 feed for fattening steers, comparison with corn stover, sorghum, and Johnson-grass hay 580 11-12 value for fattening cattle 580 8, 9 meal — feed for fattening cattle, experiments 580 10 feed for cattle, value 580 4 value for fattening cattle 580 8, 9 Cover crop — use of wheat, note 596 6 value of crimson clover 579 10 Cowpeas — hay crop for South, note 580 4 use for silage, note 578 5 Cows, dairy, feeding silage, advantages 578 2 Crab grass, hay crop for South, note 580 4 Credit — conditions, improvement by farmers, suggestions 593 7 farm — amortization tables 593 8-14 objections 593 2-3 use, proper and improper, bulletin by T. N. Carver 593 1-14 Crimson clover — danger to horses and mules from hair balls 599 2, 5 fertilizing value, comparison with barnyard manure and other fertilizers 579 8, 9 hah’ balls, danger to horses and mules 579 2, 5 hay, cutting, harvesting, etc 579 2-5 hay, feeding value, comparison with other feeds, experiments. . 579 5 pasture, advantages, management, etc 579 6-7 utilization, bulletin by J. M. Westgate 579 1-10 value as cover crop 579 10 value as green manure, management, etc 579 7-9 value for hay and forage 580 4 Crop- estimates — sources of information, several countries 581 48-50 systems of foreign countries 581 43-50 production, value per acre, 1866-1913 584 11,21-22 reporting systems, foreign countries, sources of information, etc. 581 43-50 statistics, foreign countries, reporting systems and sources of information 581 43-50 Crops — condition reports, basis 598 13-14 hogging off, advantages, management, etc 599 5-10 spring-sown, plowing and planting, condition. May 1, 1914 598 7 world’s (barley, rye, potato, flax), article 581 18-30 6 FARMERS^ BULLETINS, NOS. 576-600. Farmers’ Crossties — Bulletin No. Page. chestnut, durability, requirements, demand, etc 582 16-18 dead chestnut, value, etc 582 3 Oucurza, name for corn in Servia, importance, note 581 3, 5 Curing, crimson clover hay, effect of rain, etc 579 2-5 Dairy cows, silage as feed, rations, etc 578 14-15, 17 Dark-tobacco districts, destruction of hornworms by means of arse- nate of lead, bulletin by A. C. Morgan and D. C. Parman. 595 1-8 Daugherty, Charles M. — article on “Other world crops” 581 18-30 article on “The world corn crop” 581 1-6 paper on “ Crop -reporting systems and sources of crop information in foreign countries ” 581 43-50 Dean, W. S., and D. E. Earle, bulletin on “The classification and grading of cotton ” 591 1-23 Delaine Merino sheep, description, points of value, etc 576 14 Derr, H. B., and C. H. Lane, bulletin on “Collection and preserva- tion of plant material for use in the study of agriculture ” . . 586 1-24 Devon cattle, characteristics, adaptability to South, etc 580 19-20 Diplumbic. See Arsenate of lead. Dorset Horn sheep — breeders’ association, address of secretary ^ 576 9 description, points of value, etc 576 8-9 Drag — construction for cotton planting, directions and value 577 4 road, and how used, bulletin 597 1-15 road, purposes 597 2 split-log, construction and management 597 2-5 Drags, road — construction from sawed lumber 597 5 two types, construction, illustrations, etc 597 2-7 Dry-land farming, increase, effect on supply of feeder cattle 588 2 Duck eggs, incubation period 585 3 Durham cattle, polled, origin, characteristics, etc 580 16 Duvel, W. J. T., article on “Argentine corn” 581 9-12 Earle, D. E., and W. S. Dean, bulletin on “The classification and grading of cotton ” 591 1-23 Eastern United States, winter-wheat culture, bulletin 596 1-12 Egg— composition 585 1 structure, study 585 1 containers for mailing, construction, illustrations, etc 594 5 hatching — care, selection, and packing 585 1-3 in incubator, moisture and ventilation requirements, sug- gestions 585 12-14 natural and artificial, bulletin by Harry M. Lamon 585 1-16 mailing — equipment, wrapping, cost, etc 594 9-11 for hatching, care 594 9 postal requirements 594 5-6 marketing by mail, contract between parties, suggestions 594 13-14 packing for shipment, directions 585 2-3 preservatioQ in water glass, directions 594 4 selection, care, and handling, for shipment by parcel post 594 2-4 shipment by parcel post, bulletin by Lewis B. Flohr 594 1-20 shipment by parcel post, experiments 594 2 shipping, methods of packing 585 3 testing, directions 585 14-15 weight 594 9 Egyptian cotton — growing in Salt River Valley, Ariz 577 1-8 See also Cotton, Egyptian. INDEX. 7 Farmers’ Bulletin No. Page. Elevator, silage, types 578 8 English rye-grass, hog pasture, value, management 599 14 Europe, corn cultivation, production, area, etc 581 2-3,5- Ewes — cross-bred, imperfections as lamb producers 57() 16 feeding silage 578 24 Explosives, use in clearing laud, bulletin by Harry Thompson 600 1-5 Farm — animals, numbers, monthly variation 590 8-9 credit — amortization tables 593 8-14 objections 593 2-3 use, bulletin by T. N. Carver 593 1-14 labor — hours required, different sections, detailed statement, etc. . 584 9-10, 19 wages, different sections, increase, detailed statements, etc. 584 7-9, 16-19 products — price trend 584 10-11 price trend, April 1, 1914 590 12-20 prices to producers. May 1, 1913, 1914 598 18-20 prices, trend. May 1, 1914 598 7-8 yield per acre, condition June 1, 1914 598 21 sheep raising, breeds suitable 576 10-16 Farming, systems to maintain soil fertility, remarks 588 12 Fattening — cattle, use of silage 578 21 steers, management, cost, etc 580 13-14 Feed— crimson-clover hay, value 579 5 dry, for cattle 588 15 silage — composition of different kinds 578 13-14 making and feeding, bulletin by T. E. Woodward 578 1-24 succulent — importance in ration 578 14 winter, for hogs. Pacific Northwest 599 15-16 Feeder cattle, decline in supply 588 2-3 Feeding — calves, for market 580 6-8 cattle — cost in corn belt, determination, etc 588 7-10 for market 580 6-9 in corn belt, economical, bulletin 588 1-19 margins 588 9 lots, paved, advantages 588 9-10 skunk 587 18 Feeds — advance in prices in cattle-feeding States 588 1-2 production in various regions of South 580 3-4 winter, for hogs 599 15-16, 21-25,26 winter, for hogs in irrigated districts 599 26 Fence posts, chestnut, advantages, utilization of dead timber, value. 582 21 Fertilizers, use in wheat gro\\dng, suggestions, experiments, etc 596 3-5 Flax — crop, world’s, acreage and production, 1910-1912, by countries.. 581 26-30 production, historical notes 581 26-27 seeding for fiber and for seed 581 26 straw, utilization 581 26-27 Flaxseed — preparation for spring planting 581 7 production, industry of several countries, notes 581 26-27 8 FAKMEES^ BULLETINS^ NOS. 570-000. Fleece- Farmers’ Florida crops — condition, April 1, 1914 condition, May 1, 1912, 1913, 1914 Forage, South, crops suitable for beef production. Fungi, specimens for study, preparation and preservation. Fur — moleskins, value, London market, etc skunk, handling Fur-bearing animals— ‘ Furs, skunk- Grading cotton — Grain — crops, growing for hogging off, time for using, etc. crops, hog pastures, arid land crops, Pacific Northwest, for hogs (and pasture for hogs), bulle- tin Grains, specimens for study of agriculture, collection and preserva- tion 4 _ Granoturco, name for corn in Italy, production, and importance... Grasses — Gravel, selection for concrete Gray, Dan T., and W. F. Ward, bulletin on “Beef production in i the South” Hampshire sheep- breeders’ asso 1 No. Page. 570 11 570 9 570 13 570 7 570 12 570 11 570 8 570 16 570 12 570 5 570 4 594 1-20 590 10 598 14 580 3 592 2 581 45-47 581 8-9 580 21-24 583 10 587 20-22 587 1-2 587 1-2 587 14-15 587 14 580 18 581 23-24 577 8 585 3 591 1-23 591 9-10 599 14-15, 25 599 27 599 20 599 14-15 599 1-27 584 6-7 584 3-4, 12-15 584 1-2, 12-15 586 9-17 581 3,5 580 4 580 2 589 21 580 1-20 592 1-27 581 47-48 579 7-9 591 13-16 585 3 589 3-4 579 2,5 570 7 576 6-7 INDEX. 9 Farmers’ Bulletin No. Page. Hartley, 0. P., article on “Preparing seed corn for planting” 584 4-5 Harvesting — crimson-clover hay v 579 2-5 wheat, cutting, shocldng, and stacking 596 10-12 Hatching eggs, packing and shipping 585 2-3 . Hauling, silage corn to cutter, management 578 6-7 Hawaii, sugar campaigns, 1911-1913 598 12 Hay- alfalfa, value for hogs 599 21 amount fed on farms where grown, 1914, by States 598 16 condition and outlook. May 1, 1914 598 6 conditions, forecast, stock on hand, etc.. May 1, 1914 598 16 crimson clover, spontaneous combustion, cause, instance 579 4 crops. South 580 4 Johnson grass for fattening steers, comparison with cotton-seed hulls 580 12 making, crimson clover 579 2-5 Hen — eggs, incubation period 585 3 setting, directions, suggestions, etc 585 4-6 Hens, sitting, care 585 4-7 Herd — breeding, feeding silage 578 20 grading up for beef production in South, method 580 5-6 Hereford cattle, characteristics, adaptability to South, etc 580 16-17 Highways. See Roads. Hog cholera. See Cholera, hog. “Hogging off” crops, advantages, management, etc 599 5-10 Hogs — feeding, crops suitable for pasture and hogging off. Pacific North- west 599 10-27 following cattle, suggestions 588 17-19 grain ration while on pasture, advantages 599 3-5 ' losses, 1913 590 1-3 pasture and grain crops in Pacific Northwest, bulletin 599 1-27 pasturing, management 599 1-3 winter feeds 599 15-16, 21-25, 26 Holmes, George K. — article on “Argentine beef ” 581 30-40 article on “ Colonial cotton ” 581 40-43 Honey plant, crimson clover, note 579 1 Honeybees. See Bees. Hoops, stave silo construction, requirements, adjustment, etc 589 38-40 Hornworm, tobacco, destruction, use of arsenate of lead, dark-tobacco district, bulletin by A. C. Morgan and D. C. Parman 595 1-8 Horses — feeding crimson clover, caution, etc 579 2, 5 feeding silage 578 17-19 losses, 1913 590 8 water requirements, daily 592 2-3 Hudson, E. W., bulletin on “Growing Egyptian cotton in the Salt River Valley, Arizona” 577 1-8 Hulls, cotton-seed, feed for fattening cattle, comparison with corn stover, sorghum, and Johnson-grass hay 580 11-12 Hunter, Byron, bulletin on “Pasture and grain crops for hogs in the Pacific Northwest” 599 1-27 Imports, corn from Argentina, by months, 1913 581 6 Incubation — eggs, periods for different species of poultry 585 3 hens’ eggs, natural and artificial, bulletin by Harry M. Lamon. . 585 1-16 Incubator — cellar, requirements 585 9 lamp, care and management 585 11 operation, and management, directions 585 9-12 selection, considerations, etc 585 8 96735—15 3 10 FARMERS^ BULLETINS, NOS. 576-600. Farmers’ Incubators — . Bulletin No. disinfection and storage 585 types, descriptions 585 Indians, Arizona, Papago and Pima tribes, relation to cotton indus- try, remarks 577 Insecticide, arsenate of lead, use against tobacco hornworms in dark- tobacco district, bulletin 595 Insects, injurious, destruction by skunks 587 Interest rates, importance in farm credit 593 Irrigated lands, crops for hogs 599 Italian rye grass, value for coastal regions 580 Japanese sugar cane, feed for cattle in South, note 580 Johnson grass — eradication, value of cotton growing 577 hay crop for South, note 580 hay, fattening steers, comparison with cottonseed hulls 580 Page. 15 7-8 8 1-8 10-12 3-4, 6-7 25-27 2 4 2 4 12 Kafir, value for forage and silage, note 580 4 Kale- hog pasture, value, management 599 18-19 thousand-headed, winter feed for hogs 599 15 Labor, farm — hours required in different sections, detailed statement, etc 584 9-10, 19 wages in different sections, increase, etc 584 7-9, 16-19 Lambs — feeding silage 578 24 “hot house,” production, value of Dorset Horn ewes 576 9 marketing, cooperative, note 576 2 Lamon, Harry M., bulletin on “Natural and artificial incubation of hens’ eggs” 585 1-16 Lamp, incubator, care and management 585 11 Land, clearing, outfit for boring taprooted stumps for blasting 600 1-5 Lane, C. H., and H. B. Derr, bulletin on “Collection and preserva- tion of plant material for use in the study of agriculture ” . . 586 1-24 Lantz, D. E., bulletin on “Economic value of North American skunks” 587 1-22 Lead arsenate — use against tobacco hornworms in dark-tobacco district 595 1-8 See also Arsenate of lead. Leicester sheep — breeders’ association, address of secretary 576 12 description 576 12 Leighty, Clyde E., bulletin on “The culture of winter wheat in the Eastern United States” 596 1-12 Legumes, use for silage, value and objections 578 5 Lespedeza, hay crop for South, value 580 4 Lichens, specimens for study, preparation, and preservation 586 24 Lincoln sheep — breeders’ association, address of secretary 576 11 description, points of value, etc 576 11 Live stock — losses, 1913 590 1-8 numbers, monthly variation 590 8-9 water requirements, daily, for various animals 592 2-3 watering, advantages of warm water 592 3 western grazing lands, watering places, bulletin 592 1-27 Loans, repayment, duration, rates of interest, etc ' 593 5-7 Louisiana, sugar crop, 1913 590 11-12 Lumber, chestnut, uses, grading rul^, yield of trees of different sizes, etc 582 12-16 Manure — barnyard, care 588 10-12 green, value of crimson clover 579 7-9 INDEX. 11 Farmers’ Bulletin No. Page. Mares, brood, feeding silage, supplementary feed, etc 578 18, 19 Marketing farm products, use of parcel post 594 1-2 Marshall, F. R., bulletin on “Breeds of sheep for the farm” 576 1-16 Maynard, C. J., remarks on domestication of skunks 587 12 Mealies, name for corn in Africa, production, importance, etc 581 4, 5 Meat animals, losses, 1913 590 8 Meat — demand, increase, effect on prices of stocker and feeder cattle. . 588 5 imports, October, 1913-January, 1914 581 39 Melilotus, hay crop for South, note 580 4 Merino sheep — American, description of different types, points of value, etc.. 576 13-15 breeders’ associations, addresses of secretaries 576 14-15 Mexico, corn production, acreage, etc 581 2, 5 Milho, name for corn in Portugal, production, and importance 581 3, 5 Milo maize, value for forage and silage, note 580 4 Mine timbers, chestnut, requirements, remarks 582 22-23 Mining tunnels, waste water of, use for range stock, management. . . 592 20 Minks, destruction of poultry, method 587 8 Mississippi, grasses, natural and others suitable for beef production. . 580 2 Mixing board, concrete, requirements 589 23 Molds, silage, cause, preventive measures, danger to horses, etc 578 17-18 Mole — common, breeding habits 583 5 common, description, habits, damage to vegetation, natural enemies, checks, bulletin 583 1-10 common, eastern United States, bulletin 583 1-10 eastern United States, economic status 583 9-10 nests, construction, location 583 2-3 . Moles — common, description, habits, etc., bulletin 583 1-10 damage to vegetation 583 6 destruction, methods 583 7-9 food, investigations 583 5-6 runways, location, system 583 2-3 species, distribution 583 1-2 Moleskins — London market 583 10 value 583 10 Morgan, A. C., and D. C. Parman, bulletin on “Arsenate of lead as an insecticide against the tobacco hornworms in the dark-tobacco district ” 595 1-8 Mosses, specimens for study, preparation and preservation 586 24 Mules— feeding crimson clover, caution, etc 579 2-5 feeding silage, danger from mold 578 17-18 Nellis, J. C., bulletin on “Uses for chestnut timber killed by bark disease” 582 1-24 Northwest — ■ hog raising, advantages 599 1 Pacific, pasture and grain crops for hogs, bulletin 599 1-27 Oats — Canadian, imports, prices, production, etc 581 17-18 crops, acreage and production, 1911-1913, by countries 581 15-16 production, exports, imports, 1906-1913 581 17-18 rotation crop with wheat, corn, and clover, treatment, yield, etc., experiments 596 4,5 seed preparation for spring planting 584 6 stocks on farms. Mar. 1, 1914, comparison with 1912, 1913 584 2, 14 Oil, skunk, uses, note 587 15 Oklahoma, pools, construction, cost, advantages 592 22 Orchards, cover crop, crimson clover 579 10 Ostrich eggs, incubation period 585 3 12 FAKMERS' BULLETINS, NOS. 576-600. Farmers’ Bulletin No. Page. Owls, enemy of mole, note 583 4-5 Oxford sheep — breeders’ association, address of secretary 576 8 description, points of value, etc 576 7-8 Pacific Northwest, pasture and grain crops for hogs, bulletin 599 1-27 Packing, egg, for mailing 594 8-9 Painting, stave silo inside 589 43 Parcel post — means of marketing farm products, discussion 594 1-2 shipping eggs by, bulletin by Lewis B. Flohr 594 1-20 zones, rates, measurement limits, etc 594 14-18 Paris green, use on tobacco plants, injuries 595 2 Parks, K. E., Helmer Rabild, and A. K. Risser, bulletin on '‘Homemade silos” ^ 589 1-47 Parman, D. C., and A. C. Morgan, bulletin on “Arsenate of lead as an insecticide against the tobacco hornworms in the dark-tobacco district ” 595 1-8 ■ Pasture — crop, crimson clover, advantages 579 6-7 crops for hogs, growing in Pacific Northwest 599 1-3, 17-20, 24, 26 lands, South, nature, area, etc 580 1 Pacific Northwest, for hogs (and grain crops for hogs), bulletin. 599 1-27 Pastures — condition and outlook, May 1, 1914 598 7 condition. May 1, 1914, by States 598 16 hog, management in Pacific Northwest 599 1-3, 17-30, 24, 26 Pasturing, wheat, in fail, management, caution 596 10 Peafowl eggs, incubation period 585 3 Peas — field, hogging off, management 599 7-8 field, unthrashed, winter feed for hogs, value, management. . . . 599 23 sowing with wheat or oats for hogging off, advantages 599 15 “Peelers,” cotton, application of term 591 16 Pelts, skunk, grades, effect of climate on pelage, etc 587 2-5 Pheasant eggs, incubation period 585 3 Phlegethontius quinquemaculata. See Tobacco hornworm. Piedmont region, grasses, natural and others suitable for beef pro- duction 580 2 Plant material for study of agriculture, collection and preservation, ^ bulletin by H. B. Derr and C. H. Lane 586 1-24 Plant specimens, mounting for study of agricultitre, directions 586 4-9 Planting — cotton. Salt River Valley 577 4 spring, condition. May 1, 1914 598 7, 17 Plowing, spring, condition, May 1 598 7, 17 Polecat. See Skunk; Skunks. Polenta, Italian dish from corn, importance in dietary, note 581 3, 5 Poles — chestnut, cutting, marketing, demand, etc 582 9-12 dead chestnut, value, etc 582 3 Porumb, name for corn in Roumania, importance, note 581 3, 5 Potato crops, world’s, acreage and production, 1910-1912, by coun- tries 581 23-25 Poultry — destruction by rodents, remarks 587 8-9 raising, hatching hens’ eggs, natural and artificial methods, bulletin by Harry M. Lamon 585 1-16 Prairie — grasses, hay crops for South, note 580 4 lands, black, grasses, natural, and other, suitable for beef pro- duction 580 2 Preservative, water glass for eggs, use 594 4 Prices, farm products, trend, April 1, 1914 590 12-20 INDEX. 13 Farmers’ Bulletin No. Page. Rabild, Helmer, a. K. Risser, and K. E. Parks, bulletin on “ Homemade silos” 589 1-47 Rack, silage hauling, construction 578 7 Rambouillet sheep — breeders’ associations, addresses of secretaries 576 16 description, points of value, etc 576 15-16 Rams, community ownership, suggestions 576 2 Range lands, western, insufficient water supply 592 1 Ranges — watering places, natural, improvement, etc * 592 4-9 western, need of water supply 592 1-2 Rape — and clover, hog pasture, management 599 19-20 hog pasture — in rows and in mixtures, value 599 12-13 value, management 599 18-19 Ration, fattening calves for market 580 8 Rations — dairy cows 578 15-16 hog, suitable for various conditions 599 4-5 silage as base, for cattle 578 21-22 Rats, destruction by domesticated skunks 587 11-12 Reservoirs — construction in range country, water supply for stock 592 10-15 construction for water supply for range stock 592 18-19 Red clover, hay crop for South, note 580 4 Red Polled cattle, characteristics, adaptability to South, etc 580 18-19 Risser, A. K., Helmer Rabild, and K. E. Parks, bulletin on “Homemade silos” 589 1-47 “Rivers” cotton, application of term 591 16 Road drag — history, and value 597 1 use, bulletin by A. C. Morgan and H. C. Parman 597 1-15 Roads — drag, maintenance, cost 597 12-14 earth — essential features 597 10-12 use of drags 597 1-12 hard surfaced, mileage in United States 597 1 public, mileage in United States 597 1 Rodent, mole, eastern United States 583 1-10 Rodents, destruction by skunks 587 11-12 Rommel, George M., article on “Silage for horses” 578 17-19 Romney Marsh sheep — breeders’ association, address of secretary 576 13 description, points of value, etc 576 12-13 Root crops, winter feed for hogs 599 16, 22-23 Rotation, crop, wheat growing in Eastern United States 596 5-6 acreage, condition, prices, etc.. May 1, 1913, 1914, by States 598 15 condition and outlook. May 1, 1914 598 6 crop, world’s, 1911-1913, by countries 581 21-23 Rye grass, English, hog pasture, value, management 599 14 Sand, selection for concrete 589 21 Scalopus aquations. See Mole, common. Scheffer, Theo. H., bulletin on “The common mole of the Eastern United States” ‘ 583 1-10 Seed bed, cotton, preparation for irrigation 577 4 Seed corn, preparation for planting 584 4-5 Seeds, collection and preservation, for study of agriculture, direc- tions 586 9-17 Seeps, development for watering places for range stock 592 8 Serum, antihog-cholera, use, directions, cautions, etc 590 3-7 Shaw, E. L., article on “Silage for sheep” 578 24 14 FARMERS BULLETINS^ XOS. 576-600. Farmers’ Sheep — Bulletin No. breeds for farm, bulletin by F. R. Marshall 576 classes, characteristics, and descriptions of types, etc 576 crossbreeding, suggestions 576 farming, suggestions, cooperation, etc 576 feeding silage 578 fine-wool class, characteristics and value of types 576 long-wool class, characteristics and value of types 576 losses, 1913 590 middle-wool class, characteristics and value of types 576 water requirements, ‘daily 592 Shipping — eggs, by parcel post, bulletin 594 skunks, management 587 Shingles, chestnut, durability, disadvantages, prices 582 Shorthorn cattle, characteristics, adaptability to South, recommen- dations 580 Shropshire sheep — breeders’ association, address of secretary 576 description, points of value, etc 576 Silage — advantages as a feed 578 composition of different kinds 578 corn — feed for fattening cattle, experiments 580 hauling to cutter, management 578 value for fattening calves 580 cost 578 cost of harvesting and filling silo 578 covering in silo 578 crops — preparation, nutritive value, etc 578 suitable in South 580 cutting, management 578 depth for given capacity and diameter 589 feed — for dairy cows, advantages 578 for horses 578 for sheep 578 feeding value, rations, etc 578 frozen — danger to horses and mules 578 feeding 578 loss of food material in silo 578 making and feeding, bulletin by T. E. Woodward 578 moldy, danger to horses and mules 578 packing in silo, watering, etc 578 rack, construction 578 supplementary feeds 578 value to stock farmer, discussion 578 winter feed for cattle 588 Silo — capacity, relation to size of herd for winter and summer feeding, tables 589 concrete — advantages, construction, cost, etc 589 construction, illustrations, etc 589 foundation, construction 589 doors, arrangement, construction, etc 589 filling, cost 578 location, suggestions 489 modified Wisconsin, advantages, construction, cost, etc 589 stave, advantages, construction, cost, etc 589 Page. 1-16 3-16 16 1-2 24 3, 13-16 3, 10-13 7 3-10 2-3 1-20 20 20-21 16 5 4-5 1-2 13-14 10-11 6-7 8 12- 13 11-13 11 2-12 4 7,9 7 2 17-19 24 13- 17 18 16- 17 13 1-24 17- 18 10-12 7 14-15, 16 23 14- 15 5-6 2,3 9-30 31-32 8-9 11-13 4-5 3 2, 3, 30-43 INDEX. Silos— Bulleti construction, requirements history, increase in use, etc., remarks homemade, bulletin by Helmer Babild, A. K. Risser, and H, E. Parks types, descriptions, advantages, cost, etc Skins, skunk, grades, effect of climate on pelage, etc Skunk — farming — Skunks — North American- scent sacs- Soil— Hagerstown loam, value for wheat growing, description. Sorghum — feed and silage crop of South, importance fodder, feed for fattening steers, comparison with cotton-seed hulls Sorghums— South- Southdown sheep- Soy beans — Springs — 15 )rs’ No. Page. 589 4-9 589 1 589 1-47 589 2-4 587 2-5 587 10-12 587 10-13 587 20 587 16-22 587 15 587 14-15 587 6-7 587 6 587 18-19 587 7 587 14-15 587 11-12 587 7-12 587 . 5-6 587 1-22 587 2-5 587 2-5 587 1 587 13-14 587 16-22 587 * 20 587 19-20 587 20-22 587 11-12 587 15-16 581 34-38 588 12 596 2 579 7-9 579 5-6 596 2-3 580 4 580 12 584 7 599 24 578 4-5 580 1-20 580 1-2 576 4 576 3-4 578 5 580 4 597 2-5 592 6 592 7-8 592 4-8 16 FARMERS^ BULLETINS^ NOS. 576-GOO. Farmers’ Bulletin No. Page. Squash, winter feed for hogs, value, management 599 15 Stave silo — advantages, construction, cost, etc 589 2,3 construction, directions, illustrations, etc 589 30-43 Staves, silo building, lumber suitable, requirements, etc 589 33-37 Steers. See Cattle. Stockers, feeding silage 578 20 Stock-watering places on western grazing lands, bulletin by Will C. Barnes 592 1-27 Stover, corn, fattening steers, comparison with cottonseed hulls. . . 580 11-12 Straw — flax, utilization 581 26-27 wheat, value as fertilizer, composition, etc 596 12 Stubble, wheat, pasture for hogs, value, experiments 599 20 Stump-boring outfit, operation, cost, tests, etc 600 1-5 Stumps — tap-rooted, boring for blasting, outfit 600 1-5 uprooting by use of explosives, outfit, etc 600 1-5 Suffolk sheep, note 576 10 Sugar — beet, production, 1911-1913, per acre and per factory 598 9-11 crop, Louisiana, 1913 590 11-12 production, Hawaii, campaigns, 1911-1914 598 12 supply, sources, domestic production, etc, 1911-1913 598 11-12 Swamps, improvement for watering places for range stock 592 8 Tannin extract, use of chestnut timber, tannin content, prices, etc . 582 21-22 Teachers, instruction for collection and preservation of plants for use in study of agriculture, bulletin 586 1-24 Tenant farming, cause of decrease in cattle-feeding business 588 2 Tester, egg, construction, value 585 14 “Texas” cotton, grade characteristics 591 16 Texas fever tick, eradication, work of Government 580 14 Thompson, Harry, bulletin on “An outfit for boring tap-rooted stumps for blasting ” 600 1-5 Thrashing, wheat, note : 596 12 Tick eradication, work of Government 580 14 Timber — chestnut, killed by bark disease, uses, bulletin by J. C. Nellis. 582 1-24 dead chestnut, strength, comparison with green-cut timber 582 2 Tobacco — growing, use of insecticide, necessity and advantages 595 1-2 hornworm, destruction, use of arsenate of lead, dark-tobacco dis- trict, bulletin by A. C. Morgan and D. C. Barman 595 1-8 hornworms, distribution in United States, maps 595 1 insecticide, use of Paris green, injuries 595 2 worming, cost per acre 595 2 Tortilla, food from parched corn, Mexico, note 581 2, 5 Trails, construction to inaccessible watering places, management, caution, etc 592 9 Trap, skunk, construction 587 20 Trapping, skunk, management 587 15-16 Traps, mole, types, management, etc 583 7-9 Trough — cement, construction, cost, advantages for western range stock. 592 23 log, construction, cost, etc 592 20 metal, cost, advantages for western range stock 595 22 plank, construction, cost, etc _ - 592 20-21 Troughs, construction and cost of different kinds, watering places for range stock 592 20-25 Tunis sheep- breeders’ association, address of secretary 576 10 description, points of value, etc 576 10 Turkey eggs, incubation period 585 3 Upland cotton, grade characteristics 591 13 INDEX. 17 Farmers’ Bulletin No. Page. Veal, demand, increase, effect on price of stocker and feeder cattle. 588 5 Velvet beans, forage crop for South, value 580 4 Vetch, hog pasture, alone and in mixtures, value 599 13-14 Wages, farm labor, different sections, changes, detailed statements, etc 584 7-9,16-19 Ward, W. F.— and Dan T. Gray, bulletin on “Beef production in the South” 580 1-20 and J. S. Cotton, bulletin on “Economical cattle feeding in the corn belt” 588 1-19 article on “Silage for beef cattle” 578 19-23 Water glass, use for preserving eggs, directions 594 4 Watering places — artificial, for range stock 592 9-25 range lands, location notes 592 3-4 Weasels, destruction of poultry, method 587 8 Wells— raising water for stock in range country, methods 592 17-18 water supply for stock in range countries, sinking, management, etc 592 15-18 Westgate, J. M., bulletin on “Crimson clover: Utilization” 579 1-10 Wheat — cultivation 596 10 farm supplies, accuracy of estimates 584 2-3 fed to live stock 598 3-4 foreign, 1914, outlook 598 4-6 growing — experiments at Ohio agricultural experiment farm, results. . 596 4 fertilizers suitable 596 3-5 pasturing in fall, management, eaution 596 10 preparation of land and seed, sowing, etc 596 8-10 rotation systems. Eastern United States 596 5-6 harvesting 596 10-12 hogging off, management 599 7 pasture for hogs 599 24 rotation crop with corn, oats, and clover, treatment, yield, etc.. seed, preparation for spring planting 584 6 soils, descriptions 596 2-3 stubble, pasture for hogs, value, experiments 599 20 unthrashed, winter feed for hogs, advantages, value 599 23 use as cover crop, note 596 6 use as feed for stock, estimates, 1913-14 598 4 use as nurse crop, management 596 6 value for hogging off 599 14 winter — acreage, condition, prices, etc.. May 1, 1913, 1914, by States, 598 15 condition and forecast May 1, 1914 598 1-3 culture in the Eastern United States, bulletin by Clyde E. Leighty 596 1-12 forecast, April, 1914 590 10 humid district, map 596 1 summer pasture for hogs, value, management . 599 18 Windmills, use in raising water from wells and canyons in range countries 592 17-18 Winter — feeding cattle, management 588 14-15 wheat — acreage, condition, prices, etc.. May 1, 1913, 1914, by States. 598 15 condition and forecast. May 1, 1914 598 1-3 culture in the Eastern United States, bulletin 596 l-] 2 forecast, April, 1914 590 10 humid district, map 596 1 summer pasture for hogs, value, management 599 18 18 FARMERS^ BULLETINS^ NOS. 576-COO. Farmers’ Wisconsin silo — Bulletin No. modified, advantages, construction, cost, etc 589 modified, construction, directions, illustrations, etc 589 Wood specimens, preparation and preservation for study of agricul- ture 586 Woodward, T. E., article on “Making and feeding silage” 578 Worming tobacco, cost per acre 595 Yearlings, cost of raising, in South, profits, etc., experiments 580 Page. 3 43-47 18-20 1-17 2 6 O