Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-02-21

interest in the proposed creamery and
cheese factor for this place. It is well,
of course, to investigate the business
thoroughly before final measures are
taken. and we hope the gentlemen in
whose charge the matter was left win
not let other matters crowd the cream
cry to the rear.
Some men are anxious to see the
enterprise under way. not because they
are interested any more than every
other citizen of the city or county, but
because they ks,oW there is nothing, no
industry or manufactury we can COM
mand at present, that would distribute
more money where money is most
needed, i. e., among the farmers. than
would creamery.
A writer in the Kansas Farmer of a
recent date says some things concern
ing the western part of the state that
are applicable to Barton county as well,
and are well worth considering. After
speaking of Elk Gov. Clicks recent
article on sugar factories. he says:
"But leaving the sugar industry for
those better acquainted with it, / will
give my views of the country west OF
Pawnee county and line across the
state running through that county.
Stock-growing and dairying should be
the chief object of the inhabitants OF
all that portion of the state west of
said line land am not shure but even
farther east). The country is princi-
pally covered with buffalo and gramma
grass, which make excellent grazing
except when covered with snow. We
have now in our herd Of stock cattle
about $50 head that have not been fed
| 100 pounds of feed this winter so far,
and they were turned wholly OH
grass last April, and not fed except
occasionally all last winter; so we have
practically over nine months grazing
in western Kansas and less than three
months to feed. We grow fair crops
of corn fodder (if we don't CORN, and
also cane, millet and broomcorn, all of
which make good stock feed for horses,
mules, cattle or sheep. Then why
should we say that stock-raising is
precluded? In the winter of 1880
stock wintered on the range without
feed and hardly shrank at all; in 81
they wintered well with very little feed;
in '82 killed and marketed beef and
mutton all winter without feeding but
very little hay or fodder and practical
ly no grain, doing wholesale butcher
business, marketing about 100 head of
beeves and about the same number of
muttons, keeping it up all winter until
it was too warm to ship fresh meat in
the spring. In 1913 I butchered until
the first of March, and then sold the
balance Of my beeves to a Dodge City
butcher, having fed only fodder and
not great amount of that.
s'But is there rot better thing for
western Kansas than even stock-grow-
ing at present prices? Let us see: At
present it takes good 3O-month-old
steer to bring $25, and a heifer SIS; so
you have to keep the dam one year and
the offspring two years for about 500,
allowing that the cows all bring equal
sexes of calves and all bring calves
with no losses, so it is not very profit
able now. Four years ago they were
worth $50 to $50, the same ages and
both sexes; then it was very profitable.
Let us figure On what might be done
in cheese-making. That is my trade
and will give the matter in a simple
way so that any one can understand it.
Suppose man has fifteen good COWS,
which one man tcan easily milk; we
will only require them to give five
quarts at a milking twice day, max
ing ten quarts per day for each cow for
six months of the year, allowing the
other six months for her to 90 dry.
This will give 20" 800 quarts per cow
for the year, or $500 pounds, which
will make, if properly handled, $50
pounds of cheese which, at the low
price of cents per pound net, would
make $500 per head from each cow,
or as much AS the cow is worth in this
part of the state to day, and $50 more
than can be realized for three years
keeping under the stock-growing plan.
You will see that the amount of milk
[ credited each Is small; five quarts per
milking. Good cows should do a good
deal better than / have rated them,
and then by making ensilage of choice
cane, corn and broomcOrn and millet
fodder that we can grow, and feeding
our cows well we can lengthen the
yield over $33 per head for each cow.
The business of cheese-msking can he
started with a capital of not over 81 600
for small plant, and upward accord