Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1889-02-25
Agrienltmrai department.
Farming that Pays.

In a talk with L. c. Fisher of Cab
OF at the dairymen's meetings, we
obtained the following interesting
facts in relation to his farming oper-
ations. He owns a medium sized hill
farm, which under his judicious sys-
tenn of management has attained to a
good degree of production. He has
put in three miles of drains and en-
plovs a regular rotation with his
crops. Has a silo and raises about
ten acres of Sanford corn annually
for ensilage. Averages some 20 tons
to the acre. Raises large crops of
hay, keeping in grass only five years
and then plants to corn and then re-
seeds. He formerly kept Short Horn
stock, which we remember to have
seen at his place several years ago,
but he has since changed to Jerseys
and makes a speciality of butter. He
obtained this stock from excellent
herds, as that of Gov. Fairbanks of
St. Johnsbury, Judge Parks of Wat
erford, etc. His animals are still
young, there being but three or four
COWS of mature age in his herd.
Last year he MIXED IS, three of
which were two years and ten three
years old. He keeps a winter dairy,
the COWS coming in milk in the fall.
During the last year he made $3.50
pounds of butter, which is within a
slight fraction Of 293 pounds to a
COW. When the age of the animals
is taken into consideration, being
mostly heifers, this may be consider
ed as an unusual yield. This sold
for $14OO, or a little over 26 cents a
pound, from which the freight is to
be deducted. This does not include
the butter used in the family.
A Boston commission firm handles
the product. Now as the question of
feed. The COWS have early cut hay,
ensilage and provender. The last
consists of four quarts of corn meal
and bran, half and half, twice a day.
This is fed during the winter season,
and one-half the amount for the re-
mainder of the year. In summer
gives one feed a day. In winter the
water is warmed for the stock.
At first made two hundred pounds
of butter to a COW, but with better
feed and management increased the
amount to three hundred pounds.
The profit on the last 100 pounds
is more than on the other 200.
Some farmers will object to this high
system of feeding and say at once
that it will not pay, and with some it
might not; but the trouble is hat
most farmers do not feed enough to
get much of any profit. They will
perhaps give just enough to keep the
cows in fairly passable working con-
dition now if they would double the
feed of grain, there would most like
" be two or three times the amount
of profit that they realize from what
they do feed.
But Mr.. Fisher does not stop here.
In connection with his dairying he
makes a large business of raising and
fattening the small breed of York
pigs. He averages to keep two
of these to each COW, and has them
ready for the market at seven months
old when they will dress from $50 to
220 pounds and bring a good price
seven and eight cents a pound, the
past year. AS one lot is disposed of
another takes its place, so that a
good many are thus fattened during
the year. Corn meal and shorts are
cooked and fed warm to the pigs,
along with the milk.
The money returned from the pigs
pays for the grain fed to them and
the COWS. This is an item worth con-
sidering, brother farmers. If by
good management the dairy alone a
be made profitable, with the addition
Of pig fattening it should be made
much mor so. Aside from the
money results, the large amount of
5he most valuable manure made by
ibis system of farming will show a
satisfactory improvement in the con
1ition of the soil.
Mr.. Fisher has a steam boiler and
with which water is warmed,
'eed cooked, ensilage cut, grain
ground, etc.
So much for MI. Fishers farming,
put we have not got through yet. He
makes sugar on a small scale, as he
tapping 100 trees. He uses a
Bellows Falls evaporator and of
has all arrangements as nearly
complete as may be. The most of
he sap is made into syrup or honey,
md marketed at a hotel in Boston at
i 80 per gallon. Near the close of
he season when the quality of the
yrup is not SO good it is made into
ugar and finds a market at the West
nd in California, at ten cents a
Further comment is unnec-
ssary First make a fine article of
roduce, and then find a satisfactory
1arket for its disposal herein is
here success is to be obtained. ,
How to Grow Tomatoes.
Because the generous nature of the
omato yields bountifully with seem I
1gly little care and attention, the |