Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1879-02-08
CHEESE FACTORY.

To THE EplroR OF The CLARKE CoU-
RlER. The short communication pub
iished in your paper recently, relating
10 the profits of my dairy enterprise,
seems to have awakened considerable
thought aud inquiry Oh subject of
prime Importance To our farming COM
muuity at the present time. Objection
has, however, been made 10 the state
rnent because the expenses were not
published also. ! didn't give the ex-
penses because I did ut keep an accurate
account of them. Aud here let me say,
I have never fed my COWS heavy on
grain or mill stuff. / am very careful
in saving my fodder in nice order, and
I aim to give my mich cows al! they
will eat of it-no more and no less; IN
addition to thst give them little
meal or bran. ] am now using meal
Ground from the corn aud cob crushed
nn together, and an feeding rather
stronger than ever did before. l can
therefore approximate the expense OF
last year Ly the cost of feeding now. .
I am still feeding IS COWS; some OF
them ere entirely dry, and don't get
much meal; those that are fresh receive
more. We use one bag Of meal day;
the bags are phosphate sacks. and will
hold about 2 l , bushels. In messur-
ing corn on the cob We give two bush
>eIs for one: SO we use / IA bushels or
meal per day. Estimating the corn at
* carts ner bushel-which is above the
market price, and the feed costs 43 81
cents per day. will probably feed for
six months or $50 days; and tor that
length of time it will amount to S7o.15,
or sc. O5 aud fraction TO each COW.
As to the cost of milking aud hand
ling the milk aud butter, l cannot make
any definite calculation, but really 1t is
very inconsiderable. The time occupied
about it is so short that it interferes
very little with the regular farm work,
and r having charged the grain, the
SKINNED milk and the Improvement to
my land will, in my opinion, very near
" compensate tor the labor.
Before closing this article, let me
make few suggestions-very simple
but very important. Many cows are
MIXED in the barry ard, where all the
cattle of the farm, the horses, and the
hops are congregated. Tie mud is
often ankle deep, and the milk maid or
boy. has to follow cow some distance
before getting her to stand; and then,
PERHAPS, before she is halt MIXED, a
mischievous colt, or a stronger cow,
starts her of again. No wonder the
milking is imperfectly done, and the
business regarded with dislike, or real
disgust $3.50. ..t :,
-. NV arrangements are very simple and
cheap: any farmer can have as good or
q better one. / have adjacent 10 my
harvard snail lot, about 20 yards in
length and Is in width, fenced Oft ex-
pressly Tor my mich COWS and nothing
else. Iuto this lot they are put the
year round, to be MIXED. On the west
side of this lot l have good shelter,
covered well with straw, and fodder,
and closed up on the west side; under
this shelter is my trough, and the COWS
i'll; order to get TO it, must pass their
heads through stanchions which are
then closed, and each one is thus kept
in Der particular place, until all are
MIXED; aud there is no running about,
or fighting each other.
"A fresh COW or weak one may have
more meal than her next neighbor, and
she is allowed TO eat it quietly, without
fear of being hooked or driven away.
The milking all done, the COWS are
released from the stanchions, and h6er-
ally supplied with fodder scattered in
front of the shelter. The fresh corn
stalks on the surface keep the yard dry
aud nice
We have little stools to sit on and
with a nice, comfortable place, and the
cows. quiet aud well behaved, the work
is not disagreeable but quite pleasant.
J..R. MUM.
The members of Potomac Lodge NO.
"a, LOG. T., are requested to meet