The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1891-01-21

lage grown on eleven acres of land with ne
other feed except grain. Butter made fron
the milk of these cows had the color Of June
butter. Desiring to try his experiment on
larger scale, he built six silos, lining be-
tween the boards with coal tar. The result
was correspondingly good. The manure
from cows fed on ensilage had more fertil-
izing power Can Vermont farmer afford
to do without silo2 Ensiage cost him
81 .9S per ton, which was much more eco
nomical than hay at $40 per ton. Governor
Smith gave some instances where butter
made from milk given by cows fed on ensi-
lage brought higher price than any other.
He believed that corn meal was better than
any other kind, but 1t was a question how
far cows could safely be crowded by feeding
them corn meal There is an oil in corn
which imparts an aroma to butter worth
| two or three cents pound. This aroma dis
| appears when butter il carried a long dis
! lance, and right here Vermont farmers have
an advantage in being near the great mar
ket centers, like New York and Boston.
| GOVERNOR SMITH spoke of the reciprocal
| relations between the farmer and the rail-
| way. The farmer, as rule, sells his but
! ter to the middle-man. If lac does not sell
! it, he sends it by express and has no deal
| ing with the railroad. The railroad carries
| the butter for five mills pound, doing truck
| ing and handling at both ends of the route
ard making the loss good in case of accident.
! The middl man gets from two to five cents
a pound for standing around and looking
on while the railroad employees do the work.
The farmer can not hitch up the old mare
and carry his butter to Boston, while on
! the other hand the railroad is in a large de-
| gree dependent on the farmers cooperation.
| The officials of the road will gladly hear any
complaint that any farmer may have to
| make.
DR. c. II. SHoLEs of East Dummerston
! spoke on tuberculosis in cattle. He claimed
! that while the government had taken steps
! to close the back door by appointing an in
| speCtOr at ST. Adams there was danger at
| the front door on the southern border of the
state. The disease is difficult to detect; il
| creeps along slowly; it is surely transmitted
! from one generation to another, it exists in
many "gilt-edged - dairy in this state; be
on your guard; don't buy cattle of strangers;
Pennsylvania and Ohio are hot beds of
tuberculosis. The speaker would rather
have the opinion of farmer who lived with
| his cattle every day as to whether they
were diseased or not than that of any ex-
pert who might look at herd for fifteen
minutes. Milk from a suspected COW should
be sterilized by boiling. If the animal has
only lesion Of the lungs and in good con-
dition otherwise, the meat will be good
enough to eat These are some of the
symptoms of tuberculosis in cattle; a short
dry cough after physical action; lowering
the general temperatures pale condition of
| the mucous membrane wherever exposed
and also of the hide; rough, dishevelled
siipation to relaxation; moaning; small
nodules on the trachea and difficulty of
breathing; swelling Of the joints watery
and sunken appearance OF the eyes These
are the first premonitory symptoms, fol-
lowed by ageneral cachectic condition Of the
animal.
Awards were made to the Vermont Farm
Machine Company, Bellows Falls, for the
largest and best exhibit of dairy utensils
and machinery and also for the best exhibit
OF butter packages; to the Mosely & Stod-
dard Company, Rutland, second premium
on butter packages, and for surface self
acting cream skinner.
THURSDAY EVENING.
At the evening session discussion was
had over the cause of the death of seven
cattle belonging to j. b. Sanderson of
Highgate. DR.. Moran of Swanton attributed
their death to rotten ensilage, but Sander
son said four OF the cows had eaten no en-
silage. There was the disagreement usu ii
among doctors, war of words, little infor-
nation and much amusement for the crowd.
j. Il. DODGE, statisticiau of the agrcul-
tural department of the government, said
that the sheep and horse had had their day
in Vermont, and now the cow was having
her inning. Butter took the lead in the
number OF pounds exported until 1912, when
cheese stepped to the front and has ever
since remained there. The exports of but
ter and cheese, especially the latter, have
fallen off greatly in the last five years. The
largest yearly exports of butter aud cheese
were made in 1881, when the average price
for butter was the highest, 1913 cents. The
highest price for cheese was in 1888, liz
cents. The exports amounted to 81 $50 $50
and 147,99j,6l4 pounds, respectively. The
smallest exports of butter were in 1883,
! 0ijJ,65l pounds and of cheese in 1887
81, 25j,9W pounds. The lowest price paid
for butter was in 1890, III cents, and the
lowest price paid for cheese was in 1886, S.3