Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1877-03-16

S'fihNSeAoh WIN NdAS S'sNAACi III = nd
/ have performed my supposed duty
well, according to my understanding
of the programme, is clearly demon
strated by the sound, able and prac.
tical address to which you have been
treated by him this afternoon.
1t is now nearly twenty years
since some of you voted me out of
town; and taeitly, perhaps. declared
by your act that | was better adapt
ed to some other kind of business
than farming and dairying; and~re-
membering the old Latin maxim, l
accepted your opinions and actions
as not being far from right. Since
that time, while | may have given
the subject under consideration to-
day casual notice, practically it
has received from me bHt little at
tention, so that in what l may say
to you here, / must draw upon the
reserve knowledge acquired twenty
or more years ago.
l have been well pleased with the
remarks of Col. Harris upon the
point of dairy COWS. [ am prepared
to endorse his utterances on this
branch of the subject as orthodox to
the core.
All correct breeding is based upon
the principle that ''like begets like"
and if the dairy men are to attain
the highest success possible to their
pursuit, every part of the business
must be prosecuted in accordance
with known natural laws.
| do not wish to set up as an "old
fogy''-an unreasonable stiekler for
old things and old ways; but 1 am
very thoroughly persuaded in my
own mind that our fathers of forty
and fifty years ago, had better
practice for supplying themselves
with valuable dairy cows, than their
sons of to-day.
They adopted and followed the
correct principle of breeding; and
the result was, l firmly believe, a
class of COWS very much superior to
the average now to be found on our
dairy farms.
For several years, when l lived
With you and worked with you as
''tiller of the SOIL" had a dairy of
twenty cows, from which l used to
obtain a yield of cheese exceeding
six hundred pounds per COW. Near
ly all of these cows had been raised
upon the farm by my father and my
ALPHABETICALLY by my father. Tie
best COW we ever owned l once ex-
hibited at the Ashtabula Agricultur-
aI Fair as a dairy COW. The rules
Of the society required that the
quantity of milk given by each COW
offered to compete for the premiums
should be verified by the affidavit of |
some disinterested party who had |
MIXED the COW, and weighed the |
milk for the time that the trial was
20 be made, which was, if l remem-
Der correctly, the second week in
June. The average yield for a week |
vas to be the test. The affidavit l |
submitted to the society showed an
average yield of sixty-tbree pounds
,er day for the period of the trial. l
lad to take up with the second pre-
mum, my COW being beaten by
,ow exhibited by Hon. Abel Krum,
hen keeping large dairy in the
ownship of Cherry Valley. 1 speak
rom bare recollection in this matter,
lot having seen the records of the
agricultural Society for many years,
tut l have the impression that Mr..
lrum's COW beat mine by about one
alf pound of milk per day, or three
nd one-half pounds for the period
f the trial.
l have read with considerable in
crest the reports of the various
)airymen's Associations throughout
be country, as they have been
lade through the public press; but
have thought the discussions and
lvestigations have, in a measure,
allied to touch the key note of sue
essful dairy farming. If you will
lvestigate the records of the Ag- /
cultural Society of Ashtabula
,ounty, you will find that thirty
ears ago many of our leading
Aries were producing in ordinary
ears an average yield of more than
20 pounds of cheese per COW. l
ow recall to mind dairy of 11O
ows that produced an average per
ow of something over 600 pounds
f cheese.
Mr.. Jayne, of Lenox, here inter-
1pted Mr.. French, saying Il think
know who you refer to, and the
eported yield was 646 pounds of
heese per cow"
Mr.. French, resuming: My friend
ays 646 pounds per COW for the
ngle season. | did not remember
le exact figures, and l did not de-
re to overstate the yield. | know
" friend Mr.. Jayne has a good
lemory, and l have no doubt he
as given the figures correctly. l
ad occasion to 60 over this dairy
lrm few years ago and l found it
as then keeping only 48 COWS, and
ut little other stock, less than one
alf the number that it was able to
airy 80 years ago. l give it as my
Dinion that on that farm there are
,res, ten of which would not pas
Ire a COW so as to make her
,urce of profit to her owner.
l see in the audience a friend who
ent over the farm l refer to with
e; and l ask him to rise in his
lace and controvert the opinion l
ave set forth, if he thinks my judg-
ent in the matter is in any way
arped, or that my statement has
the truth.
Mr.. Woodruff, of Morgan
'e stating the case as it is-gO on"
Mr.. Chairman: | do not refer to
lis particular farm because it has in
Y opinion declined in productive
sss more than other farms around
that have been put to the same
nd OF husbandry. The fact stands
1t clear and distinct, so apparent
lat che that runs may read" that J
If system of dairying, as it has
zen conducted heretofore, has re- !
.I,oI =, -, ola.,.,,.,. II. &c ?