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Purchase a hydrant with a yard or more of pipe attached, and lay a 3/4-inch plastic waterline from your home or well to the barn or area near your coops, sheds, etc. or out in a field, if you wish-where it will be most convenient to serve your stock with water. Attach the plastic pipe to the hydrant and you're all set. The unit has a lever on top which you lift to start the flow and lower when the container or pail is filled.

I've had four frost-free hydrants for many years and have never spent a dime on repairs in all that time. Even when I bought them, however, these excellent devices cost $25.00 each (complete but without pipe) so start saving your pennies. You'll never regret the investment.

QUESTION: I have a hammermill and a small feed mixer on my farm, and-since the price of livestock rations is so high now1'd like to make my own grain mix for horses and cattle. the brand I've been buying contains corn, oats, and molasses, and I've been told that peanut shells are suitable for feed. Is like to know what other substances I could use for this purpose.

ANSWER: You can feed your grown horses whole shelled corn and whole oats, half and half provided both grains are "clean" (that is, free from dust and mold). Weanlings don't like to deal with whole corn, and should be fed straight oats Keep a block of trace mineralized salt where the animals can get it. You might also give each horse (young or old) two tablespoons of dried brewer's yeast daily as an excellent vitamin supplement.

(Some authorities prefer to grind the grains for better absorption, and to add a protein supplement. See MOTHER NO. 26 for a further discussion of equine nutrition by R.J. Holliday, DVM.-MOTHER.)

As to cattle: It makes a difference whether you're feeding calves steers, young heifers, or milk cows. Cows and growing stock like their grain ground coarsely. I'd give the latter a mix of 40 pounds of ground oats, 40 pounds of ground corn, and 20 pounds of soybean oil meal (which is dropping steadily in price and now sells around here for $8.00 per 100 pounds). Peanut shells-if they're available at low cost can be put through the mill and combined with ground oats and corn. This, with the addition of 10 percent molasses, will make a good maintenance mixture for growing cattle or steers (but not for horses). Again, be sure the animals have access to trace-mineralized salt. Let me know exactly what type of cattle you want to feed, however, and I'll make up a specific formula for them.

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