Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1879-02-25
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.


WILL A VILLAGE Cow PAY?-"Win
it pay to keep Cow, in Village or
City?n asks a reader of the American
Agricult,vist, professional man, living
in village. He "has stable, can get
pasturage during six summer months at
373 cents a week a boy will drive the
COW to and from pasture, and milk her
night and morning, and feed and milk
her in winter for One-sixth of her milk.
Hay costs $l2 q ton bran II cents per
lb. | can buy milk at cents per quart,
or sell any surplus to neighbors at the
same price," A fair COW ought to aver
age 10 quarts day, 270 days in the year,
or 200 quarts. Deducting one-sixth,
or, say, 500 quarts, for the boy, leaves
1900 quarts, at cents, equal to $sS.-
Six months pasturage, $40; about 8 tons
of hay, $36; 1000 lbs. bran, or lbs. a
day for six months, $13. Total cost, $58.
Profit, $50. The value of the calf, and
especially of the manure, should be
worth much more than the risk and any
depreciation in value. At these figures
of cost, the cow would pay $S profit,
reckoning the milk at only 5 cents per
quart. The best profit would come thus:
Buy in spring fresh milch.cow, fair
milker of common breed; keep her from
breeding; milk her 6 to months, or
until she ceases to give quarts or more
a day /; then dry her quickly, feeding a
few bushels of corn meal, until she gets
in good condition for beef, and sell her
to the butcher. Farrow cows thus treat
ed, take on flesh very rapidly, and make
very good beef, if only 6 to years old.
They will sell for nearly as much far
beef as they cost in spring, and the win
ter's keep, and loss of three months
time are saved. We much prefer far
row cows milk, especially for younger
children. A fresh, good milch cow,
bought in autumn, will yield fairly DUR
ing winter, and though farrow will keep
up milk on summer pasture, and can be
beefed in autumn, or when she fails in
profitable milk-fow. We should keep
our own farrow cow, even if cem-
PEELED to reside in city, hire stable,
and feed hay, meal, and bran through
the year.-American Agricultarist for
January.
To USE UP COLD FowLs.-Take the
remains of a cold fowl chopping fine;
cover the bottom of a pudding dish with
fine bread crumbs put in the chicken,
seasoned with pepper and salt, pour
over half teacupful of gravy, cover
quite thickly with bread crumbs, and
then strew over bits Of butter; cover
and place in the oven for ten or fifteen
minutes: take off the lid and break in
enough eggs to cover the top; sprinkle
pepper and salt over, and bake until the
eggs are well cooked.
OMELET.-Allow two tablespeonsful
Of milk to each egg; beat the yolks and
whites separately; add little salt; pour
into hot skillet, in which a piece of
butter, the size Of q walnut, has been
melted The skillet should be as hot as
it can be without scorching the butter.
As the omelet bubbles and rises. run a
thin bladed knife under now and then
that. it may not burn cook two or three
minutes, or until the eggs set; fold over,
shake the skillet, turn on to hot plat
ter, and serve at once.
THEY DON'T PAY.-There are two
kinds of live stock it does not pay to
keep after it becomes old these are sheep
and poultry. A vigorous wedding out
should therefore be made each year. A
sheep attains it prime at about four or
five years, and from that time they be-
gin to decline. AS a general rule it will
be found good economy to market all
sheep at five or six years old.
SHELTERING MANURE.-While the
cost of protection can be made very
slight the loss by exposure is great. Ex-
psrience has proved that manure which
has beer Kept covered will produce fif-
ty to one hundred per cent. larger crops
than the same kind which has long been
oYn0Sn6 in yorAc
common sense both teach the same les
son.
BOILED TURKEY.-Prepare your tur-
key as for roasting; put it in cloth and
boil it slowly; if from eight to nine
pounds, an hour and half. Throw in
to the water few cloves, little black
pepper, sweet marjoram and salt. It is
to Ee served with oysters. Skim the
turkey well while boiling or it will not
be white.
THE Use OF BoNEs.-The chief val
ue of bones as source of plant food is
the phOsphoric acid and nitrogen which
they contain; and whether broken uu
or unbroken, rendered soluble or not,
bones should always he applied under.
meath the surface of the the ground.
LEAvEs.-Leaves from the woods fur.
nish excellent litter for all kinds Of
stock, but is particularly useful in hog
pens to be tramped up and converted
into manure. 1t will pay the farmer tc
90 to his woods, rake up the leaves and
haul them home.
| Kerosene lamps which are trimmed
daily rarely explode. The carelessnesl
of the housewife can be blamed for mos
Of the lamp explosions.