Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-05-09
Agriculture.

The action of the Australian au-
thorities in preventing or forbidding
the importation of American sheep
will be felt by Vernon merino sheep
breeders very rapidly.
A noted Western farmer, in the
spring of 1882, in preparing his corn
ground, plowed the alternate lands
deep and shallow, the one eight or
nine inches, the other only three or
four. In planting he planted across
the lands, so that there should be no
possible difference in the seed, plant
ing or cultivation. The corn on the
shallow planting came up nearly
week ahead of the other, and kept
ahead of it till near maturity, when
the other took start and shot up two
feet above that on the shallow plow
ing, and was still growing when the
frost came and gave no sound corn,
while that on the shallow blowing all
matured.
In Springfield there has been Or
ganized a Cooperative Milk-produc
ers' Association, with a capital of
SIG, 900, in 800 shares of $50 each.
The milk of one cow is pledged with
every snare, the association being
one of producers strictly. G. S.
Allen, Of Long Meadow, is President.
He makes and peddles several humid
red quarts of milk daily, and is a
successful, conservative, enterprisipg
farmer. The board of directors in
cludes several farmers of large wealth
and extended business experience. So
the association has the best founda
ton possible to start on. Il meeting
has been held to complete the organl
zation and arrange with the peddlers,
who have agreed to sell their routes
at a reasonable price. The associa-
ton peddlers will collect the milk at
night and bring it to centrally To-
Gated depot in the city. From this
depot it will be distributed by 20
peddlers on compact routes, instead
of 20 as at present.
According to recently compiled
statistics, it requires $1,000, 600 cows
to supply the demand for milk and
its products in this country. 1t re
quires the cultivation of .over sixty
million acres of land to furnish food
for this number of cows. More than
$500, 000,0 600 is invested in dairy and
machinery and implements alone.
The number of men employed in
dairy occupations is seven hundred
thousand, and one million horses.
The COWS and horses consume annual
ly thirty million tons of hay and
ninety million bushels of cornmeal,
and the same amount of oatmeal.
three hundred million bushels of
oats and the same amount of bran,
and thirty million bushels of corn, to
say nothing of the brewery grains
and questionable feed of all kinds
which are used all over the country.
The hired help engaged on the dairy
farms of the Union costs $16S, 600, 600,
or an average price of $50 per capita.
The annual yield of the average COW
is placed at $50 gallons, making the
total milk product six billion seven
hundred and fifty million gallons a
year The farmers receipts for this
milk, averaging it at twelve cents
gallon, amount to eight hundred
million dollars. To make a pound of
cheese ten pounds of milk are re-
quired, and twenty-seven pounds of
milk for pound of butter A fat
steer furnishes fifty per cent. Of bone
less beef, but it would require about
twenty four million steers, weighing
fifteen hundred pounds each, to pro
duce the same amount of nutrition as
the fifteen million cows supply with
their milk yield.