Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1889-04-05
AGRICULTURAL.
THE MODEL BrrrER cor

ager OF the Frederick Billings farm makes
a very strong showing of the merits Of the
Jersey COW, and presents with great force
some of the essential points in profitable
dairying. Many farmers will hardly agree
with Mr.. Aiken ON the sinfulness Of color
ing butter. There are two sides TO this
question The deep color in the butter Of
the new milch Jersey may be just as harm
tul, and no more So than the same color in
the carrot and in many other vegetable sub
stances There is a similarity, il not an
identity, in the chemical nature of similar
colors in vegetation, and from these the COW
gets the natural coloring material for but
ter. If she does not get in enough, the
practice of supplying it artifcially will prob.
ably continue as long Is customers are will
ing to pay from five to ten cents per pound
more for the colored butter The artificial
coloring material is not necessarily poison
GUS or harmful Yet we acknowledge that,
for private use, we should prefer white but
ter to that which is artifcialy colored. and
that coloring butter, if not quite fraud as
Mr.. Aitken calls it, is at least in some eases
intended a deception
We invite especial attention to the clos
ing paragraph in Mr. Athens article in
which he says that, having had experience
in making butter for the markets of Bos-
ton, New York, Philadelphia and London,
he believes that Vermont can make the best
favored butter that can be found in the
world
The butter COW is the most important of
all the domestic animals in this butter max
ing state of Vermont In fact, she is the
basis of all agriculture and the model but
ter COW must combine all the elements nee
essary for producing a first class article of
butter at the lowest possible price. But the
efforts of nearly all breeders ever since the
testing of cows for butter commenced, have
been directed to the production of a COW
capable of producing the greatest amount
of butter in a week, month. or a year.
without taking into account the amount of
feed taken, or the cost at which the butter
was made, and we are apt to look upon the
cow that will make the greatest amount of
butter in given time as the model COW. and
large prices have been paid for such cows
and their descendants
But 1t does not necessarily follow that
because COW may give twenty, thirty or
forty pounds of butter in a week that she
is the best butter COW, or that she will be
certain to transmit great butter qualities to
her offspring, for it has been pretty well
demonstrated that one COW may make TWEEN.
ty pounds of % cent butter at cost of
nearly % cents per pound. while another
COW may make only ten pounds of 30 cent
butter at cost of 10 cents per pound. and
1t ought not to take us long to decide which
of the two cows we could afford to keep
Now | do not wish to be understood as
trying to depreciate the value of these large
butter vielders, for | am well aware that
most of the large yields have been made at
a decided profit over the cost of production.
| simply wish to draw attention to the fact
that COW may give large yield of butter
for short time after calving, and vet not
he profitable COW to keep The first quail
itication the model COW must have is the
ability to make butter profitably. In order
to do this her digestive organs must be thor
oughly developed, so that she is able to ex
tract the greatest amount of nutriment from
the food consumed. Careful. observant
dairymen know that there is vast differ
ence in cows in this respect | have known
two cows of the same breed and nearly the
same weight and age. one of which would
make 10 pounds of butter week from sew
en- pounds Of grain a day, while the other
required 20 pounds of grain a day to make
the same amount. both being fed the same
quantity of hay. Then again a COW, rna,
be able to extract the last ounra If ,,,tr;.
ment from her feed and convert il into hnt.
ter but if the butter is Of inferior nnaIit,.
the value of the COW is materially decraas,
ed and every dairvman knows mr. OUGHT
to know, what difference there is in the
flavor of butter made from different COWS
having exactly the same kind of food Tn
fact, have found this to he one of tba
greatest obstacles in the way of makipe, a
first class uniform article of butter and I
have tried a great many axner;,na,,s i,
feeding in the hone Of ovarcor,ine, Iii tro,
BILE. but with rather moor success
Another thing in which cows differ mate-
rally is the coloring of their butt. 60
cows being able 70 imnart a rich r,oldor coI-
or to their butter at ali seasons of rho vear
while others will make buttar slr,ost os
white as lard. This is a problem which dai.
rymen will he called nm IN 10 sol,., i, tL,
near futura for II car+oi,I, iii 40. H.,
many wears bafore the artiG,iol In, ~
butter will he nrobihitad b,. Ia,, ~, l;',,,,
of the times already ,o;,t Tim, ,,.,.,. - ~
honest dairvmen 6urht IN ,y.I.on,a s,'.i,
laws. for there is mn lo,I,t tbat art;G',iai
coloring Of butter is a. ,nncb nJ,i+ar,t;n,,
and AS much fraud as mixino, rorai,,n j.,
gradients with any other article If food T.
enables the moor dairvman 70 n,oLa he
goods look as well as those NJ the e,ood dai
rvman who j. tbaraL,. ,,1 -. u
benefit of his GOOD uanapamant md LIN
and is ploced on a levaI 9th tho - ~
inferior Goods | hone rho tina ;s ,,nt rar
distant when Wa must aitl,a,. To-, - 80.
mon feed or feed that u;II ,,ala III aJ+Io
butter from common ,ov,s To,,5o 49,.
may he canobla Of ,naLir,, a la,.,,e ,r,.,,,,,,
of first class biyb- coloraI bntta, fra,,, tbo
smallest possible amount of fol anJ ,,at
tn NV mind She would NOT IN. a Ill ~
tar COW rnlass sba ,,.as olIo IL, ,,,,,,,.I,
mated IN transmit the o,aiitioFr - I, -
offsnring W -e'
The etraates+ nrobla,,, oo,,s,.,,.i,,,. .,...,.
breeder of imnroved stocl, is .Lat e 49,!
able 10 duplicate at viii tbe anir,aI ba has
chosen for his modal and NOT mil 40 ,,.],
dnce a cow combirinq, ali - ',,,aI;tr;,l
can we conqratulata onrseI,ss an 5a,,;,,l, .
model butter cow
Nov Lot ms considar bo,, Nc. ara ., mo
duca sucb a COW Shall ,,.a 49,. e.,
the common scrub or hv crossir,, so,,,, ~
tLe imnro,,ad braads or st,u ', 9J Ilii.' u
If the innrorsd braeds and l,,.,, IT,, r
the scrnh untiI we baya crossad ,ba 49, snr' Ui
ali ont If existence "r will ,Ss taL ,ne Snaa4
that has for iest ty, q Lse
bred for tbe verI' nurtosa CO.. 49, ,s,a
want onr model cow, "''''" VIZ
I hone tbera is ana f,rr,or ,,raso,,+ ,,.h,
,vouId answer the frst ,I,,astio,, il, tba a.
native vet bo,, man. fa,,or, IN
go, 10 connt.,. - Iii l.,,,' -, -.
after vaar raisipf, sct,,b st,cL Co. H. -
,,han not ono in 3 b,,,,drad LII Ia 49,.
15O rounds Of hntter in ,.aar 81 InnL ,5
quality that it viii NOT sell for mich inch P pveI