The National tribune., 1890-12-04
OUR RURAL TOPICS,
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
BREEDS or POULTRY.

BREEDS or POULTRY.
We believe in improvement, in progress In
| poultry aud poultry breeding We believe ths.
| rs much has been accomplished I'm the past. so
much will lie dure in tie future. But we be-
/ lieye and desire to impress this belief upon
/ others, that every variety of thoroughbred
/ fowls which we now possess has inertia pc
culiar TO itself Jt would be we'll if fsuciers
would recognize this fact
The Dorking is a better table fowl than the
| Leghorn, but the Leghon will lay more eRgs
than the Dorking. The Brahina is a better
fowl for the villagcr, but Il lacks the beauty of
/ the Game. The Hamburg Is d wonderful layer,
/ but its eggs are smaller and its body lighter
than the Plymouth Rock. And so we might
/ proceed, comparing variety with variety, find
| ing in each some quality which the others lack,
some point In which it il the superior OF al
rivals.
Some fowls may possess moro desirable quail
ties than others, but all have some and the fowl
with the fewest may have Just the qualities
which make it desirable TO limited circle Of
men. The fact that it has the one or moro
qualities which no other fowl possesses, or pos
sesscs in less degree, makes It the fowl OF all
others for certain people, They desire just
these qualities, and ii they were eliminated
/ they would no longer caro- for the fowl. ATgu-
ment with them would he useless. The fact
that ninety other varieties were really superior
TO their one would not convince them. They
know, or think they know, which amounts 10
the same thing, just what they wish, and unless
they can have that they will have nothing
Poultry World.
TREES
The farm that has no trees upon IL is desert
| looking place. When people Of the East 20 into
the new settlements on the treeless Western
/ plains the fret thing that strikes them with
something of terror is the lack Of trees. Yet it
/ is fact that on many farms that are old enough
/ TO have trees, evan ~ the East, there is a VOC
/ full lack Of them. Perhaps il will never be
! possible 10 induce the vast majority OF people TO
! plant trees which they will never enjoy. that
4 pOsterity may enjoy them. IL 10 probable,
! therefore, that there mover will be a universal
planting OF the pest trees on our farms. But we
heartily wish that if people will not plant such
trees they will plant the rapidly growing ads.
| We nave often spoken OF the cottonwood It
! grows 10 be considerable Of a tree in four or
! i've years. lt makes handsome tree, and while
there arc objections 10 IL. as Wa have frequently
said, it Is s good many per cent better than 40
! tree.-He5terH Rural.
MILK YIELDS.
Your correspondent, Mr.. Stewart In discuss.
| ing the great improvements in dairy cows,
says that while the animprOved COW, or COW in
a state OF nature, gives very little milk, and
that containing but or per cent. OF fat some
Of the best Jerseys have given milk containing
10 and even II per cent. OF fat, and have at
/ tanned as high n seven pounds Of butter in "a
| hours. i mover SAW any analysis Of milk from
a wild COW. That they give but little, "a com
pared with the best dairy animal, and that
! little for a comparatively short period. would
seem to be true But as 10 suiliccs to raise a
calf and often to keep 1t fat. it must be of good
| quality. Its richness, however, probably re-
suits from a large proportion Of total solids
/ rather than nigh PEI cent OF the one element
\ fat. Bet where does Mr. Stewart get his other
| " fac!s"t So far SIS ] am informed, no milk
| from a COW IN normal healthy condition has
been analysed that contsined 10 per cent. Of
] fat 20 say nothing 81 ~ per cent DIR. Bah
( cock, chief chemist &C tho Wisconsin Station,
and one Of the best-inlOTmei authorities on tine
subject, says lie has 20 knOwled &c 81 any ahaly-
I els showing over Q -Jeg cent OF fat when the
COW VS. giving as much az Is pounds Of milk
| per day.
The richest milk ever Analysed IN England,
20 far As reported, was obtained from the great
Jersey cow, Earon's Progress. Que Of her
Inilkinas showed. by analysis 50 per cent. Of
| fat; and her total yield, 2.93 pounds, was the
! largest ever obtained from q hours milk Of
any Gov. am aware that come Of tho Ten
nessee Jerseys claim yields or milk showing a
much higher per cent. OF fat than the figures
above, but none Of these so-ealled tests COM
| mand the confidence OF wcll-infOrmed people.
| In no case Of this sort did the chemist making
| the analysis see the COW MIXED, and take his
4 own sample; nor was IL done by any ono spe.
eiaiy selected by him for that purpose, so that
he would stake his reputation that the analysis
was nm accurate representation Of the milk
! given. In all the cases which have come % my
knowledge, where analysis showed lat exceel-
/ ing 10 per cent, or even reaching that, the
| chemist merely anaiy Zed sample which WAS
/ sent him for that purpose. Where or how the
ample MAS obtained ho could not know except
| from what was told him.
Such exaggerated reports DO great deal OF
harm. When people talk Of 80, 40, IS pounds
Of butter week from = single COW they are
4 simply telling fairy stories. No cow ever gave
seven pounds OF butter from "a hours milk;
| nor SIX, nor five. nor four Not ono Of these
4 great yields Is supported by evidence that
would be accepted in a court Of law. Ii is owl
| deucc which satisfies the partisan advocates Of
the breed, but no intelligent person who is
| familiar with accurate methods. Chemistry il
/ the science which has for It's object the deter
! mlnatiOn OF the component elements in COM
| pound bodies, or the prCpOrtionate elements in
| mixed substances which arc not capable OF
/ mechanical separation. IL is accepted as the
| only accurate method for this purpose. Every
/ Experiment Station in the country Is engaged,
| more Or less, in Analysing commercial fertiliz-
| Crs, aud publishing the results as an accurate
| indication OF their several valuable cDns,itu-
| enis and the proportion Of each. No one
| thinks Of questioning the results in any OF
| these cases, IL tie work IS properly done; but
| when you come to determine the Tat ia milk
! OH tnAt is a d iierent thing. We should ignore
| the progress Of Thousand years, and 20 back
| 10 the methods Of our primitive ancestors. Not
one Of tine phenomenal yields referred TO by Mr.
| Stewart and which ars constantly duplicated
! IN reports published IN our dairy papers, are
! based on a chemical analysis of the milk and
| IN some the services OF competent and disin-
| tcTested chemist were absolutely declined
| Whyp Why do the people who claim these
| extraordinary yields so carefully avoid the only
| accurate method known to determine the fat
in the milky IL is not 10 avoid expense There
| can be but one ansWeT-because the owner
| knows OF believes, that the report Of the
| chemist would not sustain his claim. The
| largest yield Of fat over obtained from "a hours
| milk Of one COW. As determined by analysis is
| that referred TO above In England. The milk
| of this extraordinary c0w, whilo averaging for
the two days OF the test but 30 pounds a day,
contained 29sp pounds Of tat This would midi
cato possible yield Of standard butter--SO per
cent. iat-if all could DC recovered ia the churn
| (which it never isl, Of 3.72 pounds. The next