Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1889-03-15
DAIRY COLUMN.
What is True Deiryman"?

This is an age of specialties, and
it would astonish the readers of this
Column if they knew how thousands
of people make living of some de-
spised apparently unimportant little
specially; an observant stroller i'll
any large city will meet evidence of
this fact everywhere.
1t is quite natural, therefore, to
make the important industry of
dairying a speciality-that is, if the
highest success is to be obtained
While-as for instance-a few large
firms have made success of enorm-
Gus large stores, where everything
from paper of pins and pound
of sugar up to piano or wedding
trousseau can be had, there is no
doubt in the mind of any who have
tried it, that if he wants the best
groceries he should go to the man
who is milking speciality of it.
Who will deny that, for instance,
loard's Dairyman, being special
paper, is better dairy reading than
any of the otherwise excellent agri-
cultural papers published? As /
take it, the Dairy Column, though
limited in space, should hold is ban
ner high even for the true and special
dairy farmer, leaving the rank and
file to follow as best they may. Let
the banner with the word Excelsior"
be it for milk or butter, be planted
at the highest point, and the true
dairyman will always have his eyes
fixed on it. am no advocate of any
special breed of cattle, and | believe
that a man-to make success
should elect the breed he has fancy
love for, and then 90 ahead and by
judicious selection and breeding
prove his choice to be the ri ght one.
Some men have a special call to pro-
duce beef and if you give them the
,-pick of heard of Holsteins or ,Jer
seys, they will do it with the Short
horn standard in their minds eye.
These men will never be true dairy
man; they may produce milk and
butter and make money at it, but
true dairyman they will not be, any
more than the man, who tries to be
lawyer and doctor at the same time
will ever be a true lawyer or a true
doctor. They may be "dairymen,"
growing beef as side issue, if they
lay the main stress on milk or but
ter, or they may be "beef growers"
if they lay the main stress on beef
with milk or butter as side issue.
A true dairyman should only have
the one purpose in view and never
diverge from it: he should never fail
in the strlctest attention to all the
littla details--a gift Q call it gift
though it may partly be obtained by
training) which only a minority pos
sess.
The combination of beef and dairy,
seems to me should be more success
full in the east, in Europe, where the
value Of beef is higher and that of
transportation lower; indeed it is un-
usual to see any farmer in Europe
who makes speciality of dairying.
The beef is nearly always consider
ed and in some cases the main issue;
yet, even in England, there is of late
a growing tendency towards the
special dairy. Now into the western
states, where the small farmer has to
compete in beef growing with the
large ranches, where labor is high
and transportation out of all proport-
ion high on beef as compared with
butter, it seems to me, that If a
farmer wants to produce butter,
beef should count as very little.
1t is the same work to milk COW
giving $50 lbs. of butter as one
giving 800 lbs. and | doubt if any
herd of % cows in which the beef
points have been considered can be
produced that will average much
above $50 lbs. of butter; certainly
one average 800 lbs.
While the hints IS to manipulating
milk, cream, etc, i'll the Dairy Col
umn hold good for any kind of dairy
man, hope those hints about breed
ing and feeding cows will be con-
fined to the standard of true dairy
men. am not crank on any breed.
The best COW | ever MIXED was a
grade Shorthorn, which gave 80 lbs.
of milk per day months after calv-
ing; but soon found out that | could
not rely on her heifer calves, as 3
.>out of four "threw back" on her
beefy ancestors. Hence the danger of
those breeds, even if selected" for
the dairy.
Most western farmers who wish to
change into dairying ca mot afford TO
sell their herd aud buy new one,
and my advice is to pick out the best
cows of whatever breed, buy a bull