Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1863-04-11
farmers Department.
SHALL WE KEEP SHEEP OR
alt. COWS

's,t- COWS1
snaWe know a farmer who has recenty
sold all his cows, with the intention Of "co.
ing into tile sheep business" We think
he made mistake. Shesp now are AL
the rage. They have undoubtedly been
very profitable the past year, and couse-
quently everybody wants to keep sheep.
It is the old story repeated for the hunIrgth
time.
A few years ago farmer told IA ho was
going to buy sheep. We advised him not.
"Why," said he. "everybOdy is buying
shesp." "That is the very reason" we re
piled, "why you should not buy, In
less than eighteen months he remarked
You saved me $500 by that advice.
Wool was again low, and everybody want
ed to sch their sheep. Those who did so
would have made money had they held on
to their sheep but they were too fckle
minded. They will probably buy at this
time, and pay double what they sold for
then.
We would ro' be understood as inti-
mating that vol growing will not be
profitable. We think those who have
sheep will realize handsome profits from
them. But to sell cows at a low price,
and buy Sheep at high figures, is not wise.
We believe COWS Will prove quite as pro-
ftable as sheep-especially to those who
purchase sheep at the present high prices.
Butter and cheese command high prices
and are likely to do SO as long as the pre-.
sent high premium on gold cont uos.--
Everything that can be exported will bring
gold, and consequently high prices. If
gold falls, SO will butter and cheese-and
o, we believe, will wool But assuming
that gold will continue as high as at pres
ent, butter and cheese will continue to
bring high prices, and will be among the
most profitable products that farmers can
raise. There can be DO doubt on this point.
The freight on them,as compared to value
is comparatively light, and there is, and
will continue to be, a ready market for
them in Eng and. Persons who wish to
send money abroad, are now buying up
everything that can be exported, rather
than pay the enormous premium on ex'
change. A few days ago an English gen
tleman wroteae US from New York to iu-
auirs the price of bran. He is a large
manufacturer, aud had collected some
S40,0 900 in this country, which he wishes
to take home with him. The premium on
exchange was frightful, and he was deslr.
GUS Of putting the money into something
that would fell on the other side. Bran
is the last thing we would lave thought
OF, on account of its bulk, and the incident
shows how eagerly every thing is purchased
that can be exported. now, as We have
said, butter and cheese can be exported
with less expense than auy other agrcu-
tural product, and consequently we may
expect niger prices.
We say nothing against wool growing.
1t may continue for some years, as it is
now, highly profitable. But aside from
wool we know OF nothing that promises to
be so remunerative as the Manufacture o.
cheese. There are few farmers in this
State that have made more money than
the cheese makers in the northern counties
even at old prices, and Al the present
price OF cheese their profits must be much
larger than ever before.
The cost of going into dairy business i,
not large. Tho press, cheese vat, and
utensils cost mparatively little, aud will
last for years. In no other country has,
mechanical ingenuity does so much TO les
sen the labor of cheese making as in the
United States. With one of our easily
worked presses and one of Rowe's West
ern Reeerve Cheese Vats, cheese making,
as compared with the old fashioned Eng
lsh plan, is pleasant pa'tme If the
farmer provides clean COW house, his
wife and daughters will not object 10 help
in milking at least occasionally, and there
need be little money paid out for hired
help.
1t may be asked, "would you recon-
mend making cheese on grain farms 7?
In certain circumstances most decidedly,
we would. If there is land enough on the
farm for both purposes the two systems
can be combined with great advantage.
Less land will be sown to grain, but this
will prove all advantage in the end, as the
manure fron the CONS will cause it to pro
duce greater yield per acre. We have
no doubt that a properly kept dairy on
our largo grain farms would soon enable
us to raise as much wheat from 20 acres
as we now do from 30 acres. And few
farmers realize how much more the p,ofrS |
are from 60 than poor crop. The