Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1883-04-26
uNPR0gITABlE COWS.

According to one of the census bull
letins, the average yield of milk per
COW, i'm gallons, in some of the counties
in New York is as follows: Orange,
400; Herkimer, 344; Madison and o.
wcgo, 267; Oneida, 256; Jefferson,
PA; st. Lawrence, 1854; Otsego, 100.
According to this showing, cows kept
in Orange county pay their owners
almost four times ms much as those
kept in Otsego county. The cost of
food, protection, and labor is about
the same in both counties. If it pays
TO keep cows to give milk in Otsego
county, they must pay very hand
somely in Orange county, famous the
world over for the excellence of the
butter il furnishes. 1t is not likely,
however, that it does pay TO keep cows
for milk when they furnish ON an aver
age but l09 gallons of milk per year.
Henry Stewart, nm authority on dairy
subjects, SAYS: "A good COW is one
that will Weld not less than twenty
quarts per day when fresh, and will
hold Oh TO her product SO long that
her yearly yield viii not be less Than
three thousand quartz AT present
the wholesale price of milk in New
York is three cents per quart. This
would make the milk given by good
cow" worth $50 in the course OF a year
at the present rate. Many milk pro-
ducers in the West make their cows
pay much better Than this Last year
the report of a herd kept in jefferson
county, Wisconsin, was published in
this paper. Their milk sold at cheese
factory for over 500 per head. and
the price was one cent per pound.
The instances where individual cows
produce milk during season that sells
for over 500 are quite common. They
certainly deserve TO take a prominent
rank among good cows"
The majority of farmers who keep
cows do not know whether their milk
pays for their keeping or not. They
keep no account of their milk or the
butter and cheese made from il. They
are engaged in mixed farming and
stock keeping. IL is the custom TO
keep cows on farms aud they follow
the prevailing custom. The cows are
OF the general-purpose sort. They
raise calves, give some milk which the
calves do not consume, produce some
manure and eventually furnish beef.
Their owner keeps the cows in con-
pection with other stock. raises grain
and fruit and manages "to hold his
own" or TO lay up some money.
Whether his cows yield gain or pro-
duce loss can not be easily deter
mined. Some farmers keep such AN
account with their cows that they are
certain they are profitable. They are
convinced the herd pays. They are
uncertain, however, about the profit
ableness Of individual members of il.
No record is kept of the yield of each
COW. Ii is known that some cows
give much more milk than Others, and
possibly the owner may be able TO
arrange all his cows in the order of
their value as milk producers. They
are not able, however, "to draw the
line" between the cows that are prof
liable and those that are not. Some
OF them may lent their heads Off"
every year and the owner be in entire
ignorance of the fact. One COW NAV
pay the cost of her own keeping and
half the cost Of the support of another,
but the owner is not certain in regard
TO the matter. He knows how many
bushels of each kind of grain are pro-
duced per acre on each field he Guilt
Yates, how many pounds each hog he
sells weighs, how much wool each
sheep produces, and how fast each of
his horses can trot. He never, how
''tf- W. tlt
of milk given by each of the cows he
keeps, and accordingly he has no way
of estimating their value.
Much has been written about the
advantages that have been derived
from associated diaries. Ii has been
shown that they have reduced the
labor required to take care of and
manufacture milk that they have i'm
proved the quality of butter and
cheese; that they have rendered the
marketing of these products easier and
advanced the price of them. Perhaps
they have been of even greater value
in causing improvements in dairy
cows. The yield of milk per COW is
much greater in portions of the coun-
try where dairying is leading pur-
suit than in those where il is not. A
farmer who keeps twenty cows and
disposes of their milk at cheese or
butter factory wishes to receive as
much money every payday as any |
farmer who keeps an equal number.
If he does not receive as large an |
amount he looks for the cause of the |
deficiency. He asccrtains how the
farmer who receives the most money |
for the milk of q certain number Of
cows feeds and takes care of them,
and follows his example as far as prac-
ticsblc. If his yield of milk does not
largely increase he concludes that some
or all of his cows are naturally very |
poor mixers. He accordingly keeps
an account with each COW, and deter
mines whicl. are worth keeping. lie
then engages in "wceding out" the in
ferior mixers. lie supplies the places
Of those he has disposed of with heavy
mixers, though he is obliged to pay a
high price for them. lie raises the
female calves of his best mixers, and
thus insurcs excellent milking stock.
Pride as well as the love Of gain serves
TO stimulate the patrons of the same
factory to see who can bring in the
most milk from given number of
cows. Farmers who manufacture the
milk OF their cows on their own places,
or who send IL to city market, will
find il 10 their advantage TO follow the
example Of the patrons of butter and
cheese factories in the formation Of
dairy herds.-Ch Chicago Times.
MAKING An APPLE ORCHARD.
II has been truly said that if more