Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1886-12-24
FRIDAY MORNING. DEC. "a. 1885.
THE FARMERS INTEREST IN
THE CREAMERIES OF AU-
GUSTA,

THE FARMERS' INTEREST IN
THE CREAMERIES OF AU-
GUSTA.
The Importance of the two creameries
which have been started at Fort Defiance
and Waynesboro, to the farmers of Au-
gusta, cannot well be overestimated. They
afford them the first opening to escape
from the loW-priced western wheat which
has been SO depressing TO their interests.
It has been easy enough to tell the farmer
that he must stop raising grain and that
the competition of the west is grinding
him into powder; he knew that already.
He knows that the statistics of this coun-
try for the last twenty years have been
steadily pointing out the death of the
grsaL producing interest in the sAtlantic
sEates. IL 1865 the grain produced in the
United States was thir6y-two bushels to
each man, woman, and child; in 1885 it
was fifty two and one-half bushels year,
again of sixty per cent. The increase has
been steady; dividing the twenty years iuto
four periods, the yield has been thirty -:wo,
Will " posOAs W. W -SAShUs eshN hhoT-oWos
With this increase of yield the decrease in
the cost of transportation has been equally
great; In 1866 it cost So IS to move a bar
rel Of flour from Chicago to New York;
in 1885 it only costs sixty-eight cents The
decrease in freights from the West to the
Atlantic has been as steady as the increase
Of crops. So far from the Augusta farmer,
3r any other farmer in the Atlantic States,
having any prospect OF easier mpetltion
With the Western grain in the future, the
hand Of experience points with inexorabie
steadiness to harder. These facts our far
ners have felt the force of. even il they
aid not have the figures at hand to explain
them. The only question with the intel
iigent farmers Of Virginia, especially the
younger of them, has been, what are we to
raise, what are we to do? To the inbsbi-
.ants of the fertile grass lands of the Val
ley of Virginia these questions are already
being answered, answered in the most ell
couraging results, and the answer has come
from the creamerles.
The answers have been practical and
made by men here at home who can be
questioned for their verification. The OPEN
Ing weeks of the operation of the Waynes-
boro creamery have elected the following
accurately stated results, from the actual
personal experience of those who delivered
milk to it:-Geo. K. Xoiner's cows at the
price he received at the creamery for their
milk yielded him $50 per COW, per year;
Marion Koiner's cows yielded him 500
yielded him $70.08 per cow per yearl That
S asctuai personal experience of we'll
+ a1uown citizens Of Augusta who are selling
milk 80 the creamery. Now the average
yield of wheat to the acre in this county
is fifteen bushels. which, at the price of
wheat ruling for some time past, so cents
per bushel, means. $12 from an acre, not
.ledncting the cost of fertilizer and mark
citing, and promising that there is season
good enough to produce an average crop
avery year. 1t is now known from actual
and prolonged experiment that with the
advantage of eilos, COW may be carried
rear on two acres of land. Mr.. A. F.
Eithrow, prominent farmer of our
seighbor county Of Bath, has wintered
,welye cows on the ensilage taken off one
nd half acres Taxing the two acres
If land, a liberal. not to say extravsgant
allowance. from the wheat land for the
Use of one COW and we find that while it was
wheat it yielded less than 1924 and with
The COW on it. it yields between $40 and
596. And besides that, If it is eyer turned
lack to the use of grain. it is finely ferti-
iized and greatly improved in value from its
Use by the cow. Another advantage OF
Ehe cow, and one which all our farmers
Tiil appreciate, is that the milk brings in
IN income of 30 much cash every week
ne creameries settling that way. Ard
till another is that everything taken from
The soil is returned to it and the land be-
ONES rich without expanding a dollar
Or fertilizer.
1t is only a question Of time and infor-
nation to the farmers, when they will go
% q naasse to the creameries instead of
raislng grain. With $35 from an acre of
and instead of $12; with the drudgery of
nandling the milk Of the farm removed
,om the other burdens Of the wife; with
certain cash income every week from the
COWS paid in hand at the creamery; with
&1e constant Improvement of the land in
srtility and value by this system; with
fresh green food for his stock all the year
round at rs cents ton. cost ascertained
y Mr.. Withrow, of Bath, from actual
experiment., and with the rest the new
ndustry gives the master and mistress of
ie farm, there can be little doubt that in
a.ugoass. grain raising will soon give
vide place to milk raising. But soon, is
an Indefinite word and much profit may be
lost to our farmers while it is being de-
ined. Now, Is better word and it is to
ippTesS the importance of that word on
our farmers that we have gone to the
trouble to gather the facts contained IN
4llis article. The two creameries now es-
tsbllshed should bring Still others, and
Ill, but we don't like to knoW that, while
= ugusta could furnish fresh cows without
lumber, and enough to push both cream
cries up TO their highest capacity. the
augusta creamery, located at Fort Def
&c, has to buy a portion of it's cream
\Rocklngham, and the Waynesboro
is buying cows by the Car load
county on its own account,
Sem out to be fed In South
look like our Augusta
Toe proper apprecia-
hese new enter.