Bradford opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1874-1881, 1876-01-08
Vermont Horses and Dairy Cows.

T Among the many topics discus
sed ut the Meeting of tho Stat
Board ofiAgriculture, Manufacture
and Mining held at Hinesburg, De'
% and 90, Mr.. A. Chapman read
paper upon "Horses Of Vermont,
which elected considerable discu.
sion.
Mr.. Hibbard would say he though
too much attention was giving u
: raising fast horses, and he depreca'
ul this rs giving us q poor class O
animals for use, and such rs demon
allies all our youth.
Mr.. lIoslord gave his eXperienc
ia using Morgan horses he hat
just had 4 pair that died after TWEEN
ty seven years of actual service, AM
he had sent clear to Maine an,
bought q pair of Morgan mares tina
cost him q high price, but he hat
confidence that he should realize hi!
money in their use.
Mr.. Hubbard commended thu
Morgan horses, and gave rs an il
lustratiOn two horses on his owl
farm, one a type of the Morgan, tn,
other a rangy horse; the first would
do u large amount OF work and keel
fat, while the other could not bt
kept fat with all the grain raised il
Windsor county, il he did even less
work. II we wish to breed Nor
gan horses we must stick to that
breed, and by selection Of the best
stations and mares, improve our
horses. On most of our farms We
can raise u few colts by working
our breeding mares moderately, and
make the business profitable, 1t is
false economy to breed to cheap
stations. He would not breed to
unsound stations, or from uns0und
mares.
Mr.. G. s. Fasset of Enosburg,
read an able paper on the "Selec-
ton Of Dairy Cows"
The old plan that had been prac.
tised by himself and others, was an
Improbable one, and one that has
many Objectionable features. Any
COW that did tOlerably we'll had been
used without question as to her fit.
ness for tho specific purpose for
which she was kept. He had found
it necessary to institute careful ex.
periments to determine their real
value for making butter, which was
the purpose for which lie kept cows.
A neighbor of his had reduced and
changed his dairy of sixty COWS, to
one of thirty.fve, that had proved
we'll fitted for his pur-
pose after careful testing each indi.
vidual COW, and he now made as
much butter from the thirty five, as
he formerly made from the sixty.
1t would require no very great
knowledge of figures to prove lat
his profits were more than doubled
since the selection and reduction af.
ter testing these cows. Examples
we're given of extra COWS, and Of
diaries Of extra cows, thst had re.
turned great profits, proving their
great value for butter making, and
other examples of cows that had
been kept for years as good cows,
that proved upon accurate trial to
be nearly worthless for butter max
ng. The cream from some cows
milk rises much quicker than from
others. The former have large glob-
lles, the cream churns much quick
or than the latter, and by careful
he had proved that the
former would yield much larger pro
portions of butter than the latter,
Is the larger the globules; the more
perfect will he the breakage of the
sacs enveloping them, by the pro-
cess of churning.
AS to breeds, he would prefer
hat cattle should be bred for some
specific purpose, his purpose was
)utter, therefore he should choose
Jerseys, but he would consider it
to have all Vermonters
breed Jerseys only. For cheese
from his observation he
should cho Ose Ayrshi1es or Short
Horns. Test tubes should be used
% determine the value of each COW,
hey cost only rs cents per dozen,
md he thought them not only cheap.
II, but more reliable for common
than the lactometer.
These tests should be followed up,
~ careful trials in pans, and by
milk and butter. Then
rom the knowledge derived from
hese experiments, the weeding-out
Process should be continued until
zone but the best were left. But
fter this, the best profit could not
re realized unless the cows were
made comfortable by good quarters
nd constant, regular, liberal feed.
nd by kindly treatment. Raising
alves was much more profitable
han indiscriminate buying. I'm
ess you can buy from a dairy that
as been carefully bred for a spe-
ific purpose, you will do better to
aise them from your best COWS. If
hese calves are to maks the best
airy cows, it is best to develope
heir milk organs at an early age,
nd therefore he would have heif-
RS come in at two years.
Mr.. Hosford would like some one
D inform him as to the comparative
alue of good early-cut clover hay.
MI beets. He had raised beets a
argos number of years at a wear
lg cost of time and labor, and he
as sorry that he had done so so
ing, He was through with doub.
ng himself up like jack-knife all
lmmer, and scraping roots every
vening all winter.
Mr.. Chapman thought if the
eets were raised by proper means {
hey need not be raised at such a