Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-04-20
FARM AND ORCHARD.
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO ALL
PRODUCERS.
They Should Write for the PAPERS
Talks About Cattle, Soil,
Fruit and Poultry.

knowledge they acquire by experience in
the growing of their crops to the end that
all may be benefited thereby. The REC
oRD-UNIoN will tie pleased to publish in
this department letters upon anything
connected with the farm, orchard, vineyard
Or household. 1t needs no argument to
convince any thinking man of the assist
ance farmers can be TO each other through
such letters.
STANDING BY THE JERSEYS.
have little fear of the future, near or
distant, of the American jersey breeder
The most interesting feature of the pres
ent condition of the jersey market. how
ever, is the evident absorption by the
farming and dairy interest of the large
majority of the Jerseys sold to-day. Thew
are going just where breeders want them
to go-into the hands of those who buv
largely on their faith In the capacity and
practical usefulness of the jersey in the
butter dairy. OF course breeders would
like to get better prices, as the reward Of
their intelligent efforts in breeding: vet
there is no field which the legitimate
breeder more confidently seeks for the sake
of the Jerseys reputation than that OF
practical service in the dairy. 1t would
seem to be work of supererogation to
speak of the merits of the jersey at thi:
late date, suffice it to say that unoues-
tionably the Jersey will produce more
butter ON the same amount of feed thar
any other breed known. The Guernseys
come nearer than any others, but they
have not been so carefully developed
for superior production Farmers NAV
rely on the truth of this assertion.
know that the large udders of the Hol
stems are very attractive. / have seer
specimens OF the breed that were
very superb models in form, externally. O
the mich cows;but let a farmer buy one O
these 80 quart COWS and place her along
side of Is quart Jersey for competitive
test, and | venture the assertion that the
quantity of hay and grain necessary to en-
able the Jersey to produce twelve pound.
of butter week would, if fed to the Hol
stein, cause her yield to fall in three
months to 10 quarts, with a butter capac
ity of probably six pounds week. Farm
ers must not lose sight of the fact that the
most profitable butter COW is the one tha
will make pound of butter at the loves
for feed. | once took three quarts of pure
milk of well-bred and splendidly formed
Holstein and set it for cream | also tool
quart and pint of Jersey milk, tc
which | added little amount of water
and set the mixture for cream. The
adulterated Jersey milk showed fifteenth
more cream than the Holstein milk. There
can be no question that for profitable pro-
duction of butter the Jersey cannot be
equalled, much less excelled, and so | am
pleased to see farmers investing in JERSEYS
l know of many farmers buying high
grade and pure Jerseys for the butter
dairy, and | never knew of an in.
stance of their being discarded when
once thoroughly tried On the Other
hand, l have heard them say they were
worth as much again as the ordinary COW
of the country for butter production
There never was a time when SO good a
grade or quality of Jerseys could be bought
as to-day. In the past ten years the breed
ing community has been educated to ap.
preciate the inestimable value of the bull
In all breeding problems Every breeder
has striven to have as the leader of his
herd the very best bull he could afford to
pay for, and with the use of such bulls the
offspring of comparatively poor cows have
been, so to speak, graded up to a higher
level of merit, and the average intrinsic
value of Jerseys bred in this country in
the last five years is probably 100 per cent
superior to that of animals ten or fifteen
years ago. Hence it is good time for
farmers to buy. | know that in the prac.
teal test of actual performance in the dairy
the Jersey cow will not disappoint, while
by the time that farmers shall have built
up their herds to fullness that seeks a
market for their surplus stock, they will
find demand at prices that will soon re.
imburse them for their outlay-G. W. Far.
lee IN Country Gentleman.
PULvERIzE THE SOIL.
A soil reduced to a fine condition and
with proper depth, holds like sponge the
surplus water Of rains and gives it to grow.
ing plants as they require it. This, how.
ever, is but one of the advantages of fine
culture. A hard, compact soil is easily
flooded with heavy shower and becomes
too dry in its absence. Actual expert.
nents furnish the most satisfactory and
convincing proofs of these different inAu.
ences. Some years ago the Country Gentle.
man published a number of statements
bearing on the subject. Among Others. w
F. Brown stated that in locality where
farmers had nearly given up wheat raising
on account of the poor crops, a young
farmer concluded he would try once more
on small scale, and give up sowing wheat
II he failed. He put in two acres on trial,
and resolved to do his best. He plowed
early, dragged and rolled, and made the soil
like garden. The consequence was that
he obtained fifty-eight bushels of excellent
wheat from the two acres although the
season was a bad one. Subsequently,, he
sowed seven acres then twelve, twenty
and thirty, and none of the crops averaged
less than twenty-five bushels to the acre.
under the improved treatment given.
Other experiments were equally successful,
and several correspondents reported nearly
the same management with the same re-
suits, one of whom described his course in
"going several times over the ground.n
in which the harrow, roller, plank drag
and common harrow were used in connec-
ton with blowing; and the conclusion
was drawn that one dollar an acre with
such implements will add from five to ten
bushels per acre to the wheat crop.
SALT FOR DAIRY cows.
Salt ought at all times to enter into the
food of the dairy COW, says the South Afri-
can Agicult,1'ist, and it should be kept
where she can partake of it in any guam
tity desired. Salt enters largely into the
mineral elements of milk, and, as these
elements are in scanty proportion in
young grass, it is therefore most needed in
the spring and the early part of summer.
Both the quantity and the quality of
milk are considerably affected by with
holding salt until the COW gets hungry for
it. Cows in full-milk require more salt
than at other times, and those which give
the most milk require the most salt. In
some experiments it was found by letting
cows used to getting salt go without it for
five days that they fell off in their milk 2
per cent. in quantity and per cent. in