Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-02-20


the best young bull in America.
Another very noticeable animal was the
COW, Rose of Sharon. This COW shows
what can be accomplished by skilful breed
ing in securing size, fat and milking quail
ties combined She is four years old and /
has had three calves. She was pastured, |
wit hout any other feeding, all last summer, |
giving from &c to 40 pounds of milk day. |
This winter she has been fed two pounds of |
grain, twenty four. pounds of hay, and a
peck of roots daily, has given Il fine quaint
ty Of rich milk right along, to within six
weeks of calving, and is now fit, weighing
between 1900 and 1900 pounds Among the
other cows exhibited was the splendid COW
.'Ursulinc 3rd' from a celebrated tribe o t
milking ShOrthorns, the white cow Con
stanta" with a snow-white calf three days
old May Rose, 4th, whose pedigree shows
fifteen crosses of the best strains Of Sh ort-
horn blood, and others. Among the bulls
brought out were Kirk Lexington Lc-
Grand, three years old, one of the highest
Kirk Lexington" one year old and weighing
9lS pounds the fine Guernsey bull Glover"
imported by Col. Cannon, from the best
blood on the Island bull calf from ''Rose
of Sharon" of high promise. The 22d
Duke of Airdrie and other bulls were ex-
amined in their stalls.
Assembling in Col. Cannon's office, the
visitors listened to explanations by Col. Can
non and Mr. Taylor, of the methods of
breeding and feeding, in use on the farm,
and a statement of the results, as shown by
the last weighing, the figures showing a gain
of from 80 to 95 pounds per animal, in 30
days, and an average gain of "A. pounds in
that time, or two pounds day, for ten of the
growing animals weighedthe day previous.
Col. Cannon has now about eighty superior
animals, mostly Short-horns and Guernseys,
on his Stock Farm and it is hardly ncces-
sary to say that one might go the rounds of
a good many county and State yards with
out finding any such collection Of high-bred
and famous specimens The stock was ex-
I
and their appreciation of the results reached
was freely expressed While realizing that
| few farmers can afford to go extensively
into thoroughbred stock, the opinion was
repeatedly expressed that they could not af-
ford to disregard the advantages offered TO
the farmers Of Vermont by the opportunity
| to improve their stock by mixture of these
superior strains Of blood and the wish that
our farmers would club together more and
purchase some of the young blooded bulls
/ (for sale at reasonable prices for the COM
mon improvement of their stock, found fire.
quent expression.
After two or three hours thus spent at the
stock farm, the party returned to the station
and took train for Burlington. The rain in
the latter part of the afternoon and the juicy
state of the roads and weather. generally,
was of course something of drawback on
the afternoons experience but all who had
not previously visited the farm allowed that
they were well repaid, and all expressed high
qualification at the courtesies extendedto them
by Col Cannon and the Shelburn farmers.
EVENING SESSION.
Prof. Atwater was the first speaker con-
tinuing his remarks on the desirability of
raising more corn in Vermont. The soil is
adapted to it and it ought to be n great sta
pie Some farmers think that it costs too
much to raise and that it is cheaper to buy
Western corn Now a fair quality of timo-
thy hay is worth 80 cents per hundred or
about so ton. New England yellow corn
is worth on that basis $50 ton. But if we
raise on one acre 50 bushels of corn we get
$50 in shelled corn and also two or three
tons of stalks worth about So ton. Fifty
bushels of corn are equal to two tons of hay,
but from the latter we get $50 and from the
former SAG. 1t seems TO me that Vermont
farmers will do much better to raise their
own corn \ mixture of superphosphate
and potash costing 80 an acre has produced
in number Of experiments, on poor soil, 90
bushels of corn, worth SIG as compared
with hay at $40 That corn will contain Il
great deal Of matter that can be taken back
to the soil as a fertilizer There are three
things most frequently lacking in
our soil, which give value to the COM
mercal fertilizers we use-nitrogen, phos-
phoric acid and potash. Your corn crop will
contain besides some of the last two, nitro
gen that would cost in the commercial fer
tilizers $40 or Sl2. If you raise. your so
| bushels of corn and fl4..l ont Ito .t!i!hs You
=. n..,k enough TO cover the cost of all the
fertilizers YOU bought. But if You use half
stable manure and half commercial fertilizers
you make a further saving of some So. If
YOU buy Western corn your money is paid
out in advance and you get only the grain.
But corn can be utilized further than this,
for the stalks fed with bran or cottonseed
meal will give better results.
Prof Atwater closed with expressing the
hope that this meeting would incite thought
and study The land is going out from the
possession of the native stock into that of
those of foreign birth. We must improve
our farming. We must put brains into it.
On motion of Mr.. S. II. Weston a vote of
thanks was rendered Prof. Atwater for his
able, learned and practical suggestions.
Mr.. \. Taylor then spoke of the methods OF
feeding in use At the stock farm. The idea
has been to feed economically and at the
same time keep the stock in first-class condi
ton. 1t is one of our aims to keep all
the animals in uniform condition.
The cows are fed at a cost of IA cents
days pounds of grain at % cents, IS
pounds of hay ut 9 cents and peck of roots
at 81 cents Most of our farmers greatly err
in not keeping similarly accurate accounts.
Col Cannon said that three growing
animals had been weighed to-day. and it
appeared that in precisely 40 days one had
gained ll3 pounds and two an average of
So pounds, at an expense for feed
of 13J cents Il day-the first being fed on
milk and the others on hay. linseed cakes and
roots. We claim to carry minimum growth
of pounds a day
Col Cannon continued / went into farm
ing by an accident and don't profess to
know very much about it. | resolved to de
vote my farm to thoroughbreds lexpec.ed
to lose money. but | hope TO benefit the
farming interests of the State. In sheep
breeding Vermont has gained an unparallel-
ed success, AMI it is about the same in horse
breeding. Why, then, could not the same
excellence be attained in stock raising 1t
is surprising that our farmers do not raise
that stock that put on fat and give milk at
the same i.e In England all the farmers
tenant farmers-make it prime point to
have Il first Glass thoroughbred bull. Farm
ers say 10 me, You can afford TO keep such
stock as YOU do" | might reply, Perhaps
might afford to keep such stock as yours
but can you:" Col. Cannon then compared
thoroughbreds with ordinary cattle at some
length, and continued There are three or
four rules that are absolutely essential in the
care of cattle. They are : kindness-no
blows and no harsh words to your cattle;
absolute exactness in feeding and milking
ventilation and cleanliness. We are anxious
that others should take hold and sup
port us. Farmers generally have much
more land than they can cultivate
and have too little working capital. 1t
is much the same rs if merchant
should build Il great store and then not have
capital enough to more than one-half fill IT.
There are many economies that might be
practiced would never build big barn
for hay Keep it in ricks. Have large
shed for cattle. The prospects for agrlcul-
ture with proper tillage are far more inviting
in Vermont than in the West. Labor costs
less and the value of produce is greater
Mr. Taylor explained his method of con
struc,ing hay ricks.
President Buckham explained that it was
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