The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1882-10-12
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Weed Tham Out.
/ The value q close comparison, good
iudgoTnen, and selection In connection
9Th many farm matters Is beginning to ht
lrroperiy appreciated. There vas time
when one potato OF kernel q corn vas con.
sidcrci as good as another ior planting
one vino Or tree as good ~ another for
fruit. at least 10 sell Until very lately
weigh, vas the only requirement for but.
ter a, the country store, and pound Of
this delicate commodity bad It's price iisea
for the time being, regardless Of color.
age Or quality. Only the few who have
lor several years pmcticed the careful We
lection ana breeding Of farm seeds fully
realize the importance Of this work and
the possibilities Of the future; bot the sub
ice, is commanding general attention, ai
leas, among the readers Of the RmYa
Fruit aud butter are now closely graded
10 almost every market, and We are almost
ready to sell eggs by weight, thus diserim,
mating at once in favor of size and fresh
ness. A few farm phrases still lack clear
ness A 'load Of manure, and "a day =
work are spoken Of as fixed quantities.
when as uncertain in value as "a piece OF
chalk is in size. A closer discrimination
is. however, fast forcing itself upon the
farmer.
Nowhere is selection more important
than among the live stock. This is espec.
tally true In regard 10 COWS if one wants to
bu'ld up good dairy herd There are u
few things admitted by every dairyman.
which nevertheless need TO be constantly
repeated and emphasized. One Is the very
great difference in cows. We are told
there was time when cattle were all Of
like valne, and COWS passed as currency in
Germany and Rome. That must have
been long ago, for we now have one COW
that dries in three months. and another
that gives her own weight in milk every
month in the year; one which yields 500
pounds OF butter in twelve months, and
another whose milk may be "set" or
churned in vain.
II is hard TO understand why 30 many,
otherwise good farmers, breed and feed
inferior cows. One third of of all the
milch cows in the country are probably
kept at an actual loss. We assume that a
COW which fails to give 500 gallons Of milk
per year on an average for four years after
first calving does not pay her way, and
that COO gallons year may fairly be taken
as the least yield that can give profit, I'M
less the milk is very rich, but $50 gallons
year is a greater yield than the average
OF the million and half cows in the great
dairy state of New York. Thousands Of
COWS do much better than this. They can
be found in every township, and often
whole herds average 800 gallons per yeai
and some even 1000 gallons and more. IT,
then, there are so many cows SO much bet
ter than the average and SO profitable to
keep, how many must there be kept at O
lossl The estimate of one third the whole
number is none too great; 400, 900 to 800
600 COWS in New York state alone do no'
pay the cost of keeping-ten times that
number in the United States Where are
these poor cows that eat up the profit Of
the better ones? Alas some can be found
in almost every herd A satisfactory ay'
erage yield from the whole herd may be
very deceptive. The only safe way is to
make daily record of the milk yield OF
every COW. This seems great deal Of
work, but really it is not. 1t is easily and
cheaply done if only tried, and it pays ev'
cry time. Such record brings out the
difference in COWS with great clearness,
and it leads the way to a steady improve
ment in the herd. know two dairymen
who began with common stock, COWS that
would average about 1875 pounds OF butter
per year. without any purchases except
now and then one OF good bull calf, but
by keeping a record, and making careful
selections they more than doubled the pro
auctions of their herds. In ten years the
herd of one averaged 250 pounds of butter
to COW per year, and that OF the Other
now averages over 800 pounds. The old
lesson cannot be too often repeated. Fol-
profitable dairy, do OF buy cows, but
raise them. Keep careful record OF ey
cry milking and make frequent tests OF the
butter quality Of every COW S milk. Raise
the heifers Of only the best third OF the
herd, not the ,fdrortte cows, but those Of
the best record. Use only good bulls
the bull is half the herd. Dispose OF two
or three cows, or, preferably, of one fourth
OF the herd, selecting the poorest cows by
the record every year. This is the vital
point-to make the dairy pay, Gull the
herd Henry T. Atro,d
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