Bellefonte, Pa., March 7 1919.
The Conscientious
Objector; or, Coming
Through Under Fire
By
Sergeant Arthur Guy
Empey
Author of “Over the Top,”
“First Call,” Etc.
“
Mr. Empey’s Experi-
ences During HisSeven-
teen Months in theFirst
Line Trenches of the
British Army in France
Copyright, 1917, by The McClure Newspaper
(Copyright, A) LB pe
“What do I think of a blinkin’ con-
scientious objector?’ answered Ikey
Honney from the corner of the firebay.
“Well, what with this bloomin’ war on
and blokes goin’ west by the thou-
sands, a pacifist or conscientious objec-
tor is one of two things, he’s either a
blinkin’ coward or a bloody pro-Ger-
man. But it’s funny the way some ©’
them blighters, with their West End
ideas back in Blighty, changes their
minds when they gets out here in the
mud, and gets their first glimpse of a
wooden cross. It's either a firin’
squad up against a wall, a bloomin’
V. C. (Victoria Cross) or a ‘rest in
peace’ sign over their nappers for
them. A strange thing it is, but true;
those blokes never go through the
trenches in an ordinary way like we
do; it’s a case of extremes, no in-be-
tween stuff.
“Next time you're on a burial party,
take a look at the third cross from the
left in the fourth row as you enter
the cemetery. You know thaf path
that leads through the orchard just off
the entrance of that big R. E. (Royal
Engineers) dugout; well, under that
cross rests a bloke who back in Blighty
professed to be a pacifist. He wouldn’t
blinkin’ well volunteer, not likely ; they
had to draft him, an’ when they did he
refused to fight, so they stuck him in
the N. C. C. (noncombatant corps) and
handed him a pick and shovel and put
him to repairin’ roads and diggin’
graves. Well, it didn’t take long be-
fore he was properly fed up with his
job, and he threw down the pick and
shovel and grabbed up a rifle an’ bayo-
net. Oh, ves, he clicked it all right
and went west. In fact he was buried
in one o’' the graves he helped to dig.
I suppose some o' those college officers
called it the ‘iron of fate,’ or some oth-
er blinkin’ high-sounding phrase, but
we knows that it was only common
ordinary luck, ’cause we all knows that
if youre going to get it, you'll get it,
no matter if you're a gentleman’s on
or a bloomin’ chimney sweep.
“You Must Be One of Them Bloomin’
Conscientious Objectors.”
“This blighter Im telling about was
in my platoon when I was in C com-
pany, an’ he used to give me the prop-
er pip with his arguments against
fighting and the likes o’ that.
“The first time I met him was in St.
Armand ; our ‘bat’ was in the rest bil-
lets awaitin’ a new draft before going
up the line again. You see we had
clicked it pretty rough at Fromelles,
an’ a platoon looked like a blinkin’
squad when it lined up for parade. I
was playing ‘house’ in that estaminet
right across from that bashed-in
church on the corner when his labor
battalion came through and took over
billets just opposite from the esta-
minet. I was sitting near a window
and watched them pass. A sorrier
bunch of specimens of men I never
saw; it turned my blinkin’ stomach to
look at them, what with their pasty
faces, stooped-over shoulders and
straggling gait. Right then and there I
admired the Germans for their sys-
tem of universal military training. If
England had of had a little more of it
there never would have been a war
and right now we would be in Blighty
with our wives and nippers, instead of
sitting here in these bloody ditches
waitin’ for a shell to come over with
our name and number on it.
“After the labor battalion took over
billets several of them came into the
estaminet and sat at a table near me.
They started to discuss the war and
voice their opinions about the ‘top
hats’ at home. This bloke I'm a talkin’
about was the loudest of the bunch;
. he seemed to have a grouch on every-
i thing in general. I listened to him a
| few minutes chucking his weight about
| until it bloody well got on my nerves.
: Chucking up my game of house—and
I had paid half a franc for my board,
~ | 01 leaned over to him and said:
. “‘You must be one of those bloomin’
conscientious objectors we reads about
in the papers, one 0’ those blighters
who don’t believe in fightin’ but is
willing to sit back in Blighty and let
us blokes out here do your bloody
fightin’ for you, while you gets a blink-
in’ good screw (salary) sitting on a
high stool in some office.’
“He turned to me and answered:
‘It’s the likes 0’ you who volunteered
far this war what keeps it goin’. If
you had all refused to go at first, there
wouldn't be any war?
“I couldn’t see it his way at all, and
went right back at him with: ‘Yes, and
if it wasn’t for us volunteering, the
bloody German flag would now be fly-
ing over Buckingham palace and King
George would be in the Tower of Lon-
don.
“He thought a minute or two and
answered : ‘Well, what of it; one flag's
as good as another, and as for the
nothin’?
“This was too much for me, that
blinkin’ jellyfish a slinging mud at our
king, so I lost my temper, and taking
my glass of vin rouge in my hand
I leaned over close to him and said:
‘When you mentions the king’s name
ic is customary to drink his health.
Perhaps he never did anything spe-
cial for me, but I have never done
anything special for him, and even
at that I've done a damned sight more
than you have for him, so take this
wine and drink his health, or I'll
dent that napper of yours so you won't
be able to wear that tin hat of yours.’
“He got kind of pale and answered:
‘Drink to the king’s health; not like-
ly. It’s through him and his bloody
Top Hats in parliament that I'm out
here. Why in the blinking hell don’t
he do his own fighting and let us poor
blokes alone?
“T saw red and was just goin’ to hit
him, when a big Irishman out of the
Royal Irish Rifles next to me grabs
the glass of wine from my hand, and
looking the blighter in the face yells
at him: ! :
“Well, if the king ain’t done noth-
ing for you English, he’s done less
for us Irish, but I volunteered to come
out here for him, and here I am, and
glad of it too, and hopes some day
to get into Berlin with the king’s
forces.
that he threw the wine into the blight-
er’s face and smashed him in the nose
with his fist. The fellow went over
like a log with the Irishman still
agoin’ for him. If we hadn't of
pulled him off I think he would have
killed that conscientious objector. The
military police came in to see what
all the row was about. I had clicked
three days C. B. (confined to barracks)
and didn’t want to get arrested, so In
| the confusion I made tracks for my
billet. .
“Thé next time I met the bloke was
when we buried old Smith out of the
Tenth platoon ip the cemetery at Le
Bassece. He waS one of the grave dig-
gers. All during the burial service
he stood looking at the Union Jack
with a queer look on his face. When
old Smith was lowered into the ground
and the dirt was thrown on him the
conscientious objector—Watkins was
his name—came over to me and said:
“¢T hear he (pointing at old Smith’s
grave) is fortyeeight years old and has
left a ‘fe and three nippers back in
Blighty. He was too old for the draft,
wasn’t he? Then he must have vol-
unteered.’
“T answered: ‘Of coursd he volun-
teered, and there he lies, deader than
h——: but I'll wager a quid his wife
and kids will be proud of him—and
that’s more than your kids will be
about you.’
“He sneaked off without answering.
Three days later I nearly dropped dead
when our lance corporal came into our
billet with a bloody nose and a beau-
tifully trimmed lamp. When I asked
him how he got knocked about he
told me that a fellow out of the non-
combatant corps mamed Watkins had
mussed him up just because he had
called him a white-livered coward.
“Watkins ducked twenty-one days
number one on the wheel, and when
his sentence was finished they trans.
ferred him to a fighting unit, and
bang! into our platoon he comes.
“Many a talk I had with him about
that pacifist stuff—he hadn’t changed
a bit in his ideas—but he kept hig
mouth shut about the king and the
Top Hats at home.
“Then we went into the trenches
and I knew his finish was near. A
firing squad or ‘rest in peace’ was to
be his lot; they all get one or the
other sooner or later. :
“After two days in, Fritz got rough
and opened up with a pretty stiff bom-
bardment.
“Watkins was in the fourth squad
in a dugout in the support trench
when a ‘Minnie’ registered a direct hit
on the roof and caved her in. Every
one but Watkins was killed. How he
escaped was a marvel, the rest of the
scuad being smashed up something aw.
ful. We collected the pieces and bur.
ied them the next day. Watkins help-
ed dig the graves.
“For two days Watkins scarcely
spoke a word, just went round with
a faraway look on his face.
“On the third night after the burial,
volunteers were called for a bombin
raid, and I could scarcely believe my
ears when I heard that Watkins had
volunteered. It was the ‘truth all
| right—he went along.
You won’t drink his health; |
well you can bathe his health.” With |
bleomin’ king what did he ever do for |
vou but make you pay taxes fo he!
could bloomin’ well sit around doing
. him to death, but he had a nasty jag
| spread, as they think it will brighten
“We crawled out in No Man’s land
under cover of our barrage and wait:
ed. Watkins was next to me. Sud
denly a star shell went up and we
crouched down in its light. I was lay.
ing so that I could see Watkins—
blime me—he had no rifle or bayonet,
I whispered over to him: ‘Where's
vour rifle? He answered: ‘I threw
it away.’ Before I had time to reply,
the signal to rush the German trench
was given and I lost sight of him.
“It was rough going in the German
trench, and we had quite a little of
hand-to-hand fighting. Star shells were
going up all around us. One of ous
biokes in front of me was just go
ing around the corner of a traverse
when a big German got him througk
the throat with his bayonet and he
went down. Something sprang pasi
me like a wildcat and closed with the
Fritz. They both went down to
gether. Just then another Germar
came at me from the entrance of g
dugout and I was busy. I managed t¢
get him. Then our lieutenant and twg
men came round and gave the ordel
te get back to our trenches. The
lieutenant stumbled over the three
bodies in front of us. One of them
groaned. It was Watkins all right
Unarmed he had sprang at the Germar
and with his bare hands had choked
ged bayonet wound in his right side
We managed to get him back to oul
irenches, but he died on the firestep,
Before cashing in he looked up at the
lieutenant and with a grin on hig
face said: ‘Tell the Lloomin’ king and
the Top Hats at ome that I died for
England, and I hope that like old
And Then He Died.
Smith, my nippers will be proud of!
their father. God save the king,
ana then he died.
“We buried him next morning. No,
my opinion of conscientious objectors
and pacifists has not changed. They
are either cowards or pro-Germans.
“You see Watkins wasn’t either; he
was a soldier of the king, and al
damned good one, t00.”
THE END.
i
1
BOALSBURG. |
Mr. Amos Straw is visiting friends |
in this vicinity. |
Mrs. Charles Kuhn, of Walnut |
Grove, spent Sunday in town. !
Mr. and Mrs. George Rowe visited |
Centre Hall friends on Monday. |
_ Miss Agnes Bain is spending some |
time with relatives in Washington, D. |
Miss Elizabeth Foster and friend, |
of State College, were callers in town |
on Saturday.
Mrs. John Zechman enjoyed a visit
among friends in Snyder county, her
former home, last week.
_The Boalsburg High school will
give a play, “Uncle Billy’s Aunt
Jane,” March 15th, in Boal hall.
Mrs. Eliza Poorman, Mrs. Harry
Markle and Mrs. Samuel Reitz and
son, of Oak Hall, spent Tuesday in
town.
Mrs. Alice Magoffin has returned
home after spending several months
among friends in the western part of
the State.
Mr. and Mrs. Miller and daughter}
and Mr. and Mrs. Earl Ross, of Spring
Mills, were guests of friends in town
on Sunday.
Edwin Weaver and Miss Geraldine
Hackenberg, of Rebersburg, visited
from Friday until Monday at the
home of A. J. Hazel.
The cafeteria supper given by the
W. W. W. class of the Lutheran Sun-
day school and a corps of assistants,
was a social and financial success.
ORVISTON.
Mrs. Harry Estright and Mrs. Har-
old Lever, of Lock Haven, have been
visiting relatives in Orviston.
Mrs. Roger Poorman, who has been
visiting friends in the surrounding
towns, has returned home and feels
that it is good to be back, as she is
far from strong.
John Bland, who has been working
in Monument for the last few weeks,
visited his Orviston friends, Mr. and
Mrs. Frank Bartlow, and the Hume
family. He is looking fine.
Mr. and Mrs. Archie Nelson, of
Lock Haven, have been visiting
friends and relatives in Orviston, but
left for home Monday. Mr. Nelson's
friends were sorry to see him looking
so badly.
Things are a little dull at the Cen-
ter Brick and Clay works, not much
doing now but repair work. However,
the managers expect to get things
booming before long and the boys will
all rejoice.
The men’s class of the Orviston
church is getting ready for a big
things up a whole lot. Our little
church is surely a hummer, from the
cradle roll, which is large, to the men’s
class. There is nothing slow about it.
! which requires immediate action
Ee ———— ———————
About Cancer.
By
Here is an authoritative article on
a largely disregarded yet ever-pres-
ent menace to the public health, and
one which particularly affects women,
since one woman in eight over forty
years of age dies of this disease. This
is part of a campaign of education
that should in time check the ravages
of cancer as effectively as tuberculo-
sis has been checked. We recommend
it to our readers to be read and earn-
estly considered.
“Can’t you give me some hope,
Doctor?” said the pale, sad-faced
woman. “The children need me here
so much. My husband died some
years ago, and I am all they have. 1
did not know that an operation had to |
be done early. My mother had a can- |
cer, and when this lump came I:
thought I knew what it was, but I'
did not dare tell any one, or come and !
see you, because I had heard her say |
that operations did no good. I saw an
advertisement of a salve, and so I
bought some of that and rubbed it on,
but it seemed only to make things
worse. Now I come to you, and all
you say is, ‘If you had only come in
time! I did not know that a cancer
could be cut out and never come back,
if it was only done soon enough.
There has been so much in the news-
papers lately about wonderful cures
with radium. I hoped you would tell
me that I could get well without an
operation, and now you say that it is
probably too late!”
How often we physicians hear this
sad story—of delay for months and
years—oif hope that something will
happen—of fatalistic belief in the im-
heritance of cancer—of that thousand-
year-old faith in an ointment well
rubbed in, a faith that can be traced
back to the ancient Egyptians. Why
is it that there is no real public knowl- j
edge of the danger of cancer and the
only means for its cure?
PHYSICIANS MUST NOT ADVISE.
I am afraid that the blame for much |
of this lack of information must be
laid at the door of the physician him-
self. The binding code against adver-
tising affects the honorable man—not
the quack. The source of the medical
knowledge of the masses today is still
the charlatan and his newspaper ad-
vertisements, and it is time, indeed,
that the public receive accurate infor-
mation from those who know the sit-
uation.
The remarkable fall in the death
rate from tuberculosis during the last
few years is due to the widespread
publicity given by physicians, both as
individuals and as members of the
Association for the Study of Tubercu-
losis, to this simple fact; that the dis-
ease can easily be cured, if taken in
time. Similar campaigns of publici-
ty have been carried out by the life
insurance companies and the mutual
benefit societies, with equal success.
The cure of tuberculosis, however, is
a relatively simple matter, requiring
chiefly rest, good food, and fresh air;
the cure of cancer, on the other hand,
is unfortunately more difficult.
Cancer is a disease which, especial-
ly when it is internal, is often hard to
recognize, and, moreover, it is one |
if
good results are to tollow. This im-
mediate action, in the vast majority
To some people the words “highly
trained” and “skilled specialists” |
bring chiefly the thought of a heavy |
bill; but it must be remembered that
in hundreds of hospitals and dispensa-
ries throughout the land, especially |
in the larger cities, the advice of such |
specialists can be obtained on the pay- |
ment of a merely nominal fee, and
that at any price the services of a
man who knows are less expensive
in the end than those of a quack.
THE BEGINNING OF PUBLIC EDUCA-
TION.
A beginning in public education
about cancer has, indeed, been made
by the American Society for the Con-
trol of Cancer, an organization form-
ed to spread accurate and authentic
knowledge concerning the disease
among both physicians and the pub-
lic: such, for instance, as the fact
that in England cancer is the most
frequent cause of death among wom-
en after the age of forty-five; that in
the United States one man in four-
teen and one woman in eight over for-
ty years of age die of the disease;
that, if taken at the beginning, the
majority of cases of cancer are cura-
ble; that the only cure is the removal
of every vestige of the disease; and
that the only sure way of accomplish-
ing this is by a surgical operation.
The efforts of this society have met
with the most cordial reception. Boards
of health, medical societies, insurance
companies, and individual physicians
have shown great interest in the work,
and have taken an active part in the
campaign to diffuse such knowledge
of cancer as everyone should possess.
What is this knoweldge? It may
be summed up in a few words: Can-
cer is not a blood disease, but one
which usually begins after middle life
as a very small lump. If this lump
can be found and cut out the cancer
will be cured. Cancer is not inherit-
ed, nor is it contagious or due to a
germ. Cancer is rather painful, ex-
cept in the last stages. While exter-
nal cancer appears as an ulcer, a sore,
or a lump, internal cancer can be told
only by its symptoms—cancer of the
stomach by dyspepsia, bloating, vom-
iting of food and blood; cancer of the
bowels by colic, bloating, and passing
of blood; cancer of the womb by bleed-
ing at unexpected times or after the
change of life; cancer of the kidney
by blood in the urine.
If everyone who showed any of
these symptoms immediately consult-
ed a physician, especially one who has
had a hospital training, and knows
how to make the modern laboratory
tests and to use the X-ray machine in
diagnosis, many lives would be saved.
Distrust the physician who does not
have a microscopic examination made
of any lump of the nature of which he
cannot be certain. Most early cancers
can be diagnosed only in this way. If
one waits for all the symptoms to ap-
pear, it is often too late to save life.
While we do not know the cause of
cancer, despite all the investigations
which have been made by scientific
men, yet we do know a great deal
about how it occurs and what is apt
I ey for the lives of others.
| nothing of going to a dentist once a
Francis Carter Wood, M. D., in Woman's Home Companion.
to precede it, and our lack of knowl-
edge as to the cause does not prevent
our being able to cure it. Many dis-
eases of which we do not as yet know
the real cause are nevertheless cura-
ble. So we find that cancer frequent-
ly begins in moles or warts which are
irritated or rubbed by the clothing or
made to bleed or kept sore by repeat-
ed injury of any sort. Such warts
and moles are perfectly harmless at
first and become dangerous only after
they have been irritated for a long
time, especially if the person is of the
cancer age—that is, above forty. It
is wise, therefore, to have such moles
removed if they are in a situation
where they are liable to be rubbed or
injured.
BEGINNINGS OF CANCER.
Physicians have noted, also, that
cancer may develop in a scar of an old
burn, or in places where a chronic ul-
cer forms, as on the lip or tongue or
leg, and it is important to see that
such injuries are healed as soon as
possible. Ulcers on the tongue or
cheek are frequently caused by the
scratching of a poor filling or by the
sharp point eof a decayed tooth, and a
few days.
I him, is most desirable.
FARM NOTES.
—The war has been the indirect
cause of a great demand for work
horses, and it might be said that even
with the introduction of tractors and
trucks the demand has not been any
less. But there is room for the im-
provement of the quality of draft
horses, and the first step to attain that
improvement is to use the best sires
in breeding. We have illustrations in
the pure-bred Clydesdale transmitting
the tlat leg; the Shire, the large frame
and heavy weight; and the Suffolk,
good action. If it is desired to have
good form, heavy weight and good ac-
tion, it is necessary that these quali-
ties be present in the sire and dam,
or both. The longer the parents have
been bred for these qualities the more
certain will be the transmitting of
them to the offspring. The value of
a pedigree is according to the length
and the quality of the ancestry. When
fixed by breeding, undesirable quali-
ties are just as certain to be transmit-
ted as are good ones. Therefore, it is
important that heed should be paid to
the quality of the colts that the horse
he contemplates buying has sired, for
a stallion that has produced good
colts, and Las a good pedigree back of
1t is worth
while considering pedigree, prepotency
i and individuality.
dentist should be consulted if a sore |
spot in the mouth does not heal in a!
| version to the early ancestors.
The first beginnings of an internal |
cancer are much more difficult to dis-
cover, because these tumors when they
it has been found that they very often |
begin in some slight inflammation or
ulceration. Ulcer of the stomach,
which is a common starting point for
cancer, is a good example; while such
ulcers are frequent in women, they
can be easily cured by suitable treat-
ment if they are taken at an early
stage. If a cure cannot be obtained
by dieting, it is now considered wise
to have the ulcer removed. Cancers
of the lower bowel, also, are not in-
frequently preceded by some sort of
chronic inflammation or ulceration,
and persons suffering from chronic
dysentery, bleeding piles or ulceration
of the bowel should consult a physi-
cian.
Cancer of the breast in women fre-
quently follows chronic inflammation,
and is not caused by a blow, as is so
frequently thought. Any woman who
notices a lump in her breast should at
once consult a physician.
THE ONE AND ONLY CURE.
Cancer cannot be cured by oint-
ments, salves or pastes. These prep-
arations are prescribed : only - by
quacks, a fact which should be known
to everyone. Caustics will cure some
small cancers of the face, but no oth-
er kind. Do not rely on radium or X-
ray; they certainly and permanently
cure only the small face cancers, and
although many deep cancers. may be
greatly improved by the use of radi-
um or X-ray, in most cases this change
is only temporary.
What radium and X-ray can do,
when we know better how to use
them, is of course, not settled, but
what we do know now is that remov-
al by operation will cure many more
cancers than will treatment with ra-
dium or X-rays. -
The only way in which the ravages
of cancer can be checked is by early
diagnosis. This early diagnosis can
be made only when the patient con-
| of cases, is recourse to operation by | sults a physician; no physician can
i highly tra ned and skilled specialists. | possibly seek out and examine people
i without their requesting it.
The peo-
ple must come to him. Many people
say that they do not want doctors ex-
amining them, though, curiously
enough, they make no objection to the
most thorough medical examination
if it is for life insurance. Why
should they object if the examination
is to preserve their own lives, and not
merely to afford means of saving mon-
They think
vear to have their teeth examined.
Why should they not go and have their
bodies examined to see if any serious
disease exists, especially after they
have reached the cancer age.
THE ONCE-A-YEAR EXAMINATION.
In the larger cities a beginning has
been made in this direction, particu-
larly by the life insurance companies,
which offer to their clients the option
of an examination, performed at stat-
ed intervals, by reputable physicians
not connected with the company.
Unfortunately, this opportunity
does not yet exist outside of the cities,
but there are everywhere plenty of
physicians who are perfectly compe-
tent to recognize early cancer, and
there are many laboratories where
specimens can be examined free if the
physician himself has not a sufficient
equipment. :
Why, therefore, should not every
person of the cancer age go te her
physician once a year, even if she has
no serious symptoms, and learn
whether a cancer is present or not.
In the vast majority of cases an ans-
wer can be given. If the cancer is
found early, it is likely to be so small
that a competent surgeon will be able
to remove it, with every hope not on-
ly that life will be prolonged but that
the tumor will never return. The re-
sults of the best modern surgery in
cancer are quite extraordinary. Can-
cer of the lip in its early stages can
be cured in ninety per cent. of the
cases; cancer of the breast, if taken
early enough, certainly in half of the
cases, and cancer of the womb in a
quarter of the cases. No other means
of treatment offers the same amount
of hope. To delay means certain
death, for cancer does net cure itself.
New Altitude Record.
A British aviator a short time ago
flew to a height of 30,5600 feet in a
British airplane, establishing a new
altitude record. The pilot and the ob-
server were both frostbitten and the
observer collapsed as a result of his
oxygen bottle breaking. Neither suf-
fered any permanent injury, however.
The highest point previously attained
was 28,900 feet. This record was
made by an American pilot of the
Wilbur Wright aviation field last
September.
Record-Breaker.
“I should call Alice a mental ath-
lete.”
“What do you mean?” ;
“She beats the record at jumping at
conclusons.”
| CTrOSS,
Keep within the breed. Crossing
breaks blood lines and there is a re-
This
in the initial
retrogression
not necessarily so
but thereafter
is
i takes place rapidly, and although the
start are found only by accident. But! P ig 5
start was made with pure-breds,
scrubs will be the result.
—1In order to sell an animal, stallion
dealers sometimes advocate cross-
breeding, but the purchaser should
not be influenced. Breed Percheron
mares to Percheron stallions, Belgian
mares to Belgian stallions, Clydes-
dale mares to Clydesdale stallions.
The majority of the stallions in this
country are Percherons; there are
very few Belgians, and still less
Clydesdales and Shires.
—Having decided upon the stallion,
the selection of the mare for good
breeding is next in order. After de-
ciding upon the breed, the individu-
ality and the condition of the animal
must be considered. Avoid, whenever
possible, coarse bones, crooked legs,
crooked feet, marrow, roach backs,
big heads and sluggish disposition.
The draft mare in weight should not
be less than 1500 pounds, and should
show fineness of bone, neatness of
limb; be broad, massive, straight-
limbed, and of a kind, active disposi-
tion.
—1It is a very great mistake to breed
mares that are unsound er have de-
formities. There should be straight
legs, well placed under the body, good
feet and a deep, roomy middle piece.
Breeding wornout and broken-down
mares will produce inferior offspring,
and, besides, they are uncertain as
breeders. A mare with foal is a
heavy eater. The colt must he kept
growing and her own body must be
properly sustained. The diet should
be oats, bran and shorts, clover, al-
falfa and timothy hay. Straw is too
bulky, and besides does not contain
the right kind of nutrients in proper
amounts to be desirable, especially as
a single food. It is possible for the
mare to go through the winter on
straw, but it will be at the expense of
the colt and her own body. No won-
der so many colts are lost every
spring.
— Mares that are not working can
be kept in fine condition and produce
strong colts on a ration of two or
three quarts of oats, or equal parts of
bran and shorts, per day, together
with 12 or 15 pounds of alfalfa or clo-
ver and timothy hay. Some straw may
be fed with such a mixture of grain
and hay, but if the grain is omitted
only the best hay should be given.
Alfalfa or clover should be mixed
with the timothy, and only half or
two-thirds of the amount they will
consume should be allowed. It is
equally bad to feed too much hay as
too little.
—1It is important that the mare have
plenty of exercise either by work or
in a pasture. If well fed and careful-
ly worked up to the time the colts are
born, mares will breed better and pro-
duce better colts. Severe pulling or
strains of any kind, however, must be
avoided. There may be more injury
coming from muddy pastures and
barnyards than from ordinary work.
Mares allowed to be idle all winter
are more apt to lose their colts when
put to work in the spring, than are
those that have been steadily in har-
ness. If they are idle all winter they
must be very carefully handled when
put to work. It would not need very
much strain under such conditions to
cause the less of the colt—less than
the average teamster would suppose.
—According to the care given the
stallion is the colt crop affected.
Many stallions are destroyed for
breeding purposes by indifferent care.
They must be properly fed, groomed
and worked every day from the close
to the opening of the breeding season.
This strengthens the power of repro-
duction. :
The hay and grain ration mentioned
for mares will also be suitable for the
stallions, giving only enough to keep
the body in good thrifty condition.
By judicious feeding and plenty of ex-
ercise, avoid excess of fat. If given
proper treatment, many so-called vi-
cious stallions now penned up like
wild beasts will change their natures
and become docile. When working a
stallion see that he has a collar that
fits, and give only a little work at
first, but gradually and carefully in-
crease the amount of work until he
becomes hardened, after which he will
be able to do as much as any horse.
—When barley is to be fed live-
stock the grain should be crushed.
Owing to the hard exterior of barley
kernels, farm animals do not other-
wise secure the greatest nourishment
from it. The single exception is In
feeding barley to poultry. When pro-
vided with ample grit, fowls derive
full nourishment from the whole
grain.
—Chopped alfalfa proved fully
equal to bran for dairy cows, in a
Nebraska Station test. The cows were
fed a ration of silage and alfalfa hay
and a grain ration of four parts
ground corn, one part oilmeal and two
parts bran or chopped alfalfa.
wn
ed