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MOOSEHEART MAGAZINE
Mooseheart Farm, a Model
By GEO. KELLER, Farm Manager
Mississippi State fairs in 1917, a son of Longfellow’s Double (209000), grand champion boar of 1915 and 1917; Successor’s O. K. (222742), a son of Lord Premier’s Successor (161500), the greatest show boar of his day and the sire of more winners than any other boar of the breed; also Kingston of Riverbank (239968), an outstanding individual with prize winners in every branch of his pedigree.
We have sold pigs for breeding purposes to Cuba, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and in fact to most of the eastern and central states.
The writer has been asked a number of times as to why we raise Berk-shires. The Berkshire hog is the most prolific of all breeds, is early maturing, an excellent forager and the best dual purpose hog on the market.
Sheep have been a recent audition to the Farm Department. We have over three hundred head which we purchased on the Chicago market last fall. They are being pastured on the grain fields, gathering up the waste from harvest and will be turned back on the market at a nice profit in about twelve weeks from date of purchase.
We are planning to pasture a number of breeding ewes on the park this year.
The Farm proper covers about 675 acres of land on which we raise crops for food for the live stock. We also raise a certain amount of small grains which are turned onto the Chicago market.
In the growing of our crops we use the latest and most approved scientific methods in order to get the largest yields at a minimum cost. In doing this we rotate crops, which means that we do not grow the same crons in the same field each year with the exception of corn and hay. These two crops are often grown on the same field for two consecutive years. In this way we help to conserve the fertility of the soil, as for instance we will grow corn in a field where we have raised clover hay during the previous year. Corn requires nitrogen. Clover is a legume and all legumes absorb nitrogen from the air which they transmit to the soil; hence the reason for following clover with corn. WPh this method of farming we also endeavor to turn down a good cover crop which adds humus to the soil. We endeavor to fo’low what is called the five-year rotation in the growing of crops which means that we grow the same crop on the same ground every fifth year.
Last year we produced 7800 Bushels oats 1270 Bushels rye 1385 Bushels wheat 4050 Bushels barley 3500 Bushels corn 550 Tons ensilage 300 tons hay 55 Tons mangle beets In addition to the above named crops we have a large amount of straw and corn fodder (which we shred) which is used as bedding for the live stock.
In the growing and harvesting of our crops we use the very best and
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as much work as a grade.
Our herd is headed by Mooseheart Pink (125281), a horse raised on Mooseheart. He is an exceptional individual in every way and is a grandson of the greatest horse of the percheron breed. As a colt eight months old he won sixth prize at the International Live Stock Exposition. A number of our brood mares are prize winners at some of the largest shows in the country. Primrose (93835) at four years of age was placed fourth in her class and was awarded ninth prize in a class of American bred mares regardless of age at one of the largest percheron shows ever held in this country.
The larger part of the work on the farm is done by the horses and also part of the hauling of building materials, etc., for new construction work.
At Mooseheart we are breeding pure bred Berkshire swine. The pure bred animal does not require any more food and in addition to the market value has an added value for breeding purposes. Our Berkshires have reached that point of perfection where we are able to go out and exhibit our herd at the various state fairs in competition with the best breeders in this country and win. In 1918 we exhibited the herd at twelve state fairs and expositions and won 9 Grand championships 19 Championships 79 First prizes 59 Second prizes 35 Third prizes 24 Fourth prizes 6 Fifth prizes.
Our herd is made up of the most popular blood lines of the breed. Our sows predominate in masterpiece breeding and our herd is headed by Double’s Climax (231990), Grand Champion boar at the Alabama and
Careme Canary Paul (274191)—-Three and one-half years old. 367 pounds milk; 14.5 pounds butter. 7 days.
Mooseheart Jessie Pieter (337383) —Two and one-half years old. 350.5 pounds milk; 15.3 pounds butter. 7 days.
Jessie Fobes Craddock Homestead (280204)—Two and one-half years old. 298.1 pounds milk; 11.8 pounds butter. 7 days.
You can readily see from the above records what the results will be when a bull of good blood lines from heavy producing strains is crossed with high record cows. Not only the milk production of the offspring is very materially increased, but also their selling value. By tracing back the records of some of the prominent dairy herds in this country, it has been found that the efficiency of the herd was increased several hundred per cent in the course of fifteen to twenty years.
In regard to the beef cattle. We purchase two carloads of feeders yearly on the market which we fatten and kill for consumption on Mooseheart. This enables us to furnish the children with fresh meat the year around.
The purpose of the poultry plan is to furnish eggs and fowl for table use. We are breeding S. C. White Leghorns and S. C. Rhode Island Reds. The Leghorns are the heaviest laying fowl and the Rhode Island Red is the best dual purpose fowl. During the heaviest laying season of the past year we got from 500 to 600 eggs daily from about 800 chickens.
We also raise a few ducks and geese for consumption during the holiday season.
Our stud consists of pure bred and grade percherons. The reason for raising a pure bred horse is that he will sell for more money and do just
Milk for the Children
The Mooseheart Farm is comprised of seven departments, namely: Garden, dairy and beef cattle, poultry, horses, swine, sheep and farm proper.
In the garden vegetables are grown which come direct from the soil to the table, as it is our aim to supply the children with fresh vegetables at all times. In order to do this it is necessary that we have a large truck garden and for this purpose we use nearly 60 acres of land on which we grow sweet corn, tomatoes, cabbage, peas, beans, beets, onions, celery, cauliflower, swiss chard, parsley, carrots, turnips, kohl rabi, etc., to be used during the season. Part of the veget-ab'es grown are stored in root cellars for consumption during the winter and a part are canned for table use.
Our dairy produces milk and some butter. The children require one quart of milk daily per capita which necessitates that we maintain a large milking herd.
We are breeding Holstein cattle and individual milk and butter fat records are kept of all animals which enables us to weed the poor producers out of our herd. There are a number of cows in the herd that will average over 10.000 pounds of milk yearly. A cow giving this quantity of milk will furnish one quart of milk daily for thirteen children for the period of one year. Ten thousand pounds of milk is the average production of the herd and there are some individuals giving much more than this. We have one cow that will furnish one quart of milk daily to twenty-eight children for ore year.
It is our aim to produce cows that will give the maximum quantity of milk and believing that this phase of the work would be of interest to the readers of this article, I will endeavor to explain our breeding operations and show our ultimate aim.
One of the most important things to be considered in the raising of a good dairy herd is the selection of herd sire. He should come from the best milk producing blood lines. Our herd is headed by Iowana Pontiac Waldorf No. 108766, whose dam has a record of 24,000 pounds of milk in one year as a four-year-old. She js now being run on official test and will make around 30,000 pounds of milk this year. She produced 1,117 pounds of butter in one year; 34 pounds of butter in seven days; 739 pounds of milk in seven days and over 3 000 pounds of milk in thirty days. Among our matrons are daughters of some of the best bred bulls in the country and we have been able to make the following records:
Concordia Netherland PieterD'e (202355)—Four years old. 433.6 pounds milk; 21.5 pounds butter. 7 days.
Sethje Beets Hengerveld (186678) —Six years old. 476.3 pounds milk; 18 pounds butter. 7 days.
Glen Rose Beets (197898)—Seven years old. g25.6 pounds milk; 19.7 pounds butter. 7 days.
Verbelle May Colantha (248509)— Four years old. 501.7 pounds milk; 17.5 pounds butter. 7 days.
Meta Belle Columbus (261512''— Four years old; 445 pounds milk; 13.0 pounds butter. 7 days.
One of the big milk producers of Mooseheart’s herd.