The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 16, 1920, Page 5

P e s . farm @nd those for the hogs. . ‘it “mud splashing,” as - BY F. B. SWEET OGS, alive, have rather an 'unsavory reputation ‘and are not brought into polite society, but dead they are given a place of honor at our tables in the form of bacon, Smithdeal hams and 3 other dainties. Wherefore we should give them some little consideration during life, in these modern days of universal cons1deratlon Like most children, Mr. Hog likes a mudhole; but instead of calling with children, Mr. Hog’s delight is a-wallow. So to improve the giver of bacon and Smithdeal we turn, among other things, to the wallow. Hogs will wallow as 7 long as hogs are hogs. It’s nature in them.. There- fore the thing to do is to let ’em, but let ’em do it where the wallowing will do ne harm, while it does the hogs good. That 1s, build a hog heaven—a concrete wallow. One swine grower has made three of them, which are a neighborhood object lesson. - A visiting neighbor asked him: “Are you sat- isfied that a concrete hog wallow is just as good as the old mudhole at the corner of the barn? And Cross section i w111 hogs use the up-to-date wallows?” .other, and almost filled with water. .noses he judged that 14 full-grown shotes were in . “These questions, and any others the visitor m!ght have had as to the advisability of concrete -"'wallows, were answered by the hogs themselves. * . A short distance back from the hog barn, on the shady side, the visitor saw a concrete pit 12 by 20 feet; 9-inches deep at one end and 13 inches at the From the the water; only the noses were visible. *While they were watching, other shotes came in from the pasture and plunged into the water with as much haste and apparent delight as a boy when he leaps - from the springboard at the old.swimming hole. -~ “The advantages,” finally said the owner. “Well, there are two kinds of advantages—those for the For the farm, it does away with the old stagnant mudhole, and also keeps .-the hogs from wallowing out ditches that wash badly. “The advantages for the hogs are fewer deaths from heat in hot weather; I haven’t 105!: a single of wallow. lemg the Hog a Chance to Keep Clean e Concrete Wallow; and l]-slowf’It‘l;)ey é&lre 113u11t—Users Say Even : wine Benefit by Cleanliness hog since I made‘concrete wallows, and I used to lose a hog or two every summer. There is less danger from disease, for I can keep the pit clean. I clean it every two weeks, and sometimes more frequently. 'The huzs are cleaner and sell for a higher price. 'Wiien the hogs become lousy 1 pour some commercial (dip or crude oil on the surface of the water, and it’s goodby vermin.” Water for filling the pit is pumped from the well Notice location of the drain. .which furnishes drinking water for the hogs. A small movable gasoline engine furnishes power for pumping all the water for the stock. A supply pipe leads to the concrete wallow. A discharge pipe for emptying the pit is imbedded in the concrete. “My neighbor has put in a simpler arrangement for filling the wallow in his lot,” said the owner. “He has no engine, and so he pipes the -water from the barn roof into the pit. A tile drain carries off the water when it reaches a certain height. The pit is refilled only whenitrains; but-at that it beats: the old mud- hole.” Now, about the con- struction: The diagrams herewith show the di- mensions of the “wal- lows on the farm; the = s size, of course, can vary according to the size of the ‘herd. The farmer explained that the ex- cavation was made just the size of the outer di- mensions, the sides cut down straight, and the forms were made of old lumber. The earth ;4—-—14& ~——>§< wall was used for the outer part of the form. A 10- inch foundation of cinders, broken stone, brickbats and broken tile was well tamped down. A 1-2-4 con- crete mixture (one part cement, two parts sand; four parts gravel) was used for the floor and walls, the floor being six inches thick. If they were wider at the base, the slope being on the inside of the pit, cleaning would be easier. Two weeks should elapse before the wallow is used. This will give time for the cément to harden. As the concrete is laid, imbed woven wire in it one inch from the bottom. A glance at the diagram will show the dimen- sions of the wallow. There is a four-foot “take- off” at one end, and a corrugated slope taking up two feet of the length of the wallow. The deepest end is 13 inches deep at one corner and 15 at the other to make draining easier. The wallow should be filled with water within six inches of the top. Locate the wallow in a convenient place near to the water supply. A level, well-drained spot, where mud will not wash into the wallow, is best. “The concrete wallow means cleaner, healthier hogs and bigger profits,” said the farmer, as the visitor was leaving. ‘“And all these are worth while, don’t you think?” And the visitor answer-" ed: “Yes.” What would you have said? CRAN O Looking: at the wallow from ahove. - Potato Growers of anesota Form a Selhng Organization =] RELIMINARY steps toward the or- ganization of the Minnesota Potato exchange at Little Falls, Minn., Jan- uary 26 and 27, are expected to rev- olutionize the marketmg of 30,000,- 000 bushels of Minnesota potatoes yearly and save the grower 25 cents per bushel. By co- operatmg “with' similar organizations- of infinancing the operations of _the centre_l» exchange, farmers in Michigan, Wisconsin and North: Da- “kota, the Minnesota exchange expects to work to- ‘ward the time when farmers will be able to set their own price on their own potatoes. Officers and directors ‘'of the Minnesota Potato - exchange were elected at the meeting in Little Falls by delegates representing 75 potato growers’ associations. Bylaws were adopted and as soon as 30 associations ratify the action:ef their dele- ‘gates and form their local” orgamzatlons the central exenange will be incorporated. " The Minnesota Potato exchange expects to handle the 1920 potato crop and may get going soon: 'enough to market that part of the 1919 crop now in the hands of the producers. Under the plan adopted at the Little Falls meet- ing not less than 30 local potato growers’ associa- tions must affiliate with the central exchange and = agree to market a certain amount of potatoes through the exchange. Each local is required to buy one share of stock in the central exchange, - ~ costing $100. In addition each local must turn ‘over to the central organization a ‘note for $5600, payable on demand, which will be used as collateral ‘and serve as a protection- to. the exchange against violations. of contract _with individual - locals. Membership in the local orgagizations will con- sist of potato growers, each of whom must own not less than one nor more than 10 shares of stock - i the local. Stock in‘the local is $10 a share and no stockholder can have more than one vote. Every “~*member-of a local is required to sign acontract” to sell his potatoes through the co-operative or- ganization, and in the event he breaks his agree- ment penalties are provided. To protect the local every member must give a demand note for $100. . Though not generally realized, the belt in which are grown sound potatoes with good keeping quali- ties is more restricted in area than that of oranges. ‘The best potatoes aré grown in northern Minnesota, northern North Dakota, northern Wisconsin, the north part of the southern peninsula of Michigan, the northern New England states and certain parts of the nonirrigated sections of Montana and.Colo- rado. “The-Minnesota Potato e*zebanger'wxll ‘be-in-a’ posl-:: tion ‘to learn the number of potatoes produced in these districts and then determine the fair price. There will be no repetition of the present condition, consumers being forced to pay around $4 a bushel, though farmers around Elk River received only $1.50. per hundredweight in September. Veteran Poultryman Boosts the Guinea Fowl I am sure if every poultryman and farmer feal- ly knew the value of the guinea there would be few poultry ranches without them. 'In the first place they prevent loss to poultry by giving an - alarm. The hawk is a constant menace and it is commonly known that a hawk will never disturb . a place where guineas. are kept I do not know the ~reason for this, but think it is because they are frightened by the harsh, shrill cries. A guinea * usually prefers to roost in some tree or other high object during the night and at the first sign of any- thing wrong will' wake the soundest sleeper. They are somewhat wild by nature but will al- ~ways stay around the rest of the poultry, eating the sane food They hke nothmg better than to on PAGE nvn ' S 'worms off the vegetables. spend the day in the garden picking tugs and This they do without harming the garden, as they never scratch. - Ahother point in their favor is the delicate flayor of their meat, being much the same as pa!tndge or pheasant, thus prov1dmg an excellent substitute: for either. Their eggs, too, are beginning to be considered a rare delicacy by many people. They come in two leading breeds, the pearl and pure wiite. I like the pearl best because to my notion they grow a little larger than the white and I think they are prettier., I would not think of keepmg poultry w:thoui ‘the aid of these barnyard police, as they are called Mohawk, N. Y. FLOYD E. ACKLER.