Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-02-02
THE FARMERS INSTITUTE,
State Board of Agriculture at
Putney.
Report Of the First Days Meeting,
Tuesday, January 30.

Owing to inclement weather the Farmers
Institute was rather sparsely attended
Tuesday morning, and by a vote of those
in attendance the opening exercises and
scheduled themes were postponed until af-
ternoon in the hope that there would be
larger attendance. There was, however an
interesting talk on tuberculosis among cat
tie by G. M. Winslow of Brandon, secretary
of the state board of agriculture. He held
that tuberculosis was really consumption
and could generally be detected by the rullle
condition of the hair, coughing, etc. such
animals are ordinarily called "piners' and
should be killed or isolated from the herd,
as there is not only danger of contagion
| but such animals materially iniure the APP
pearance of the whole herd. If all the
farmers would eXer Use care in this direc-
! ton a long step would be taken toward the
elimination of this disease throughout the
state. Care must be taken, however, to
I distinguish between the coughing atten-
| dant upon tuberculosis and bronchitis.
/ J. o. Sanford of Stamford thought it es-
| sential to the prevention of disease that
| the stables be warm and thoroughly venti-
lated so as to retain as little odor as posi-
| Bile, that the food should be wholesome
and that as far as possible, the cattle en-
/ Joy such comforts as does man. He did
not believe in imbTeeding as this tended to
weaken the stock.
In the afternoon c. w. Kimball was
/ elected chairman of the meeting and made
an address of welcome. He said it took
not only muscle but brains to carry on sue
cessful farming, and the agricultural brains
of Vermont were represented by the state
board of agriculture
Vermont Horse Breeding.
The "Outlook for horse breeding was
discussed by c. NJ. Wnslow of Brandon.
He said in part: Vermont has always
been noted tor its good road horses and for
their intelligence, and, ever since the time
of old Justin Morgan and old Black Hawk,
it has furnished horses to every state in
the Union, as it is the best state in the
Union for horse breeding. Horse breeding
should be attempted only by those best
adapted to it, as the horse will not thrive
under the care of an inexperienced hand.
Our horses are small, and western horses
are brought here to undersell us, but they
are not so intelligent and do not give such
satisfactory results on a farm. There is
much to consider, however, in crossing to
increase the size of our horses. The stock
| must be such as will harmonic and be
bred for several generations, or poor horses
are the result. The French coach horse be
ing a large horse is brought here, but the
different soil, climate, and other surround
ings cause it to breel differently. In the
case of Shetland ponies our feed is so diff
ferent that they grow large upon it, and in
order to keep the size small it is necessary
to return 30 the Shetland islands and bring
over small stock. More money is made in
breeding horses that are fifteen to sixteen
hands high, and are fearless and kind, as
the public demand that kind of horse more
than any other. The fault of Vermont
men is that they breed largely for speed,
regardless of size. A large horse, if not
too large, can travel as fast as a small one,
and is much better adapted for any road,
and will sell much more readily. 1t is not
necessary to hunt up a purchaser for a
good animal.
The important thing in breeding is the
foundation stock, and that is the mare.
She should have large, full and pleasant
eyes, which are indicative of good charac-
ter, great nerve power, so that it is not
necessary to carry whip in order to keep
her in motion, large lung power, large nos
trils, strong back, strong loins, strong
legs of bone and sinew, with joints per-
fectly hard and sound. The sire should
possess as nearly as possible the same
qualities. The colt should be trained ear
", before he becomes strong and vicious.
He should be weaned at the age of four or
five months and the mother and colt should
be hitChed where they can see each other,
! Teach the colt to eat bran, oats and skim
med milk. In breaking a colt it is abso-
utely necessary that the trainer have self
control and uuceasing kindness, patience
and good judgment, or the colt will get
mad and it is impossible to break a mad
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and then hitch to a two-wheeled gig. He
should begin work at four years of age, Nc
matter how fast he is as it keeps his body
healthy and his legs perfect, and he vii
sell much quicker that if left to kick hi,
legs to pieces on the sides of the stable.
Look out for iockies. They will bea'
you every time.
An Address for Dairymen.
"The breeding and the care of the dairy
cow was the topic of H. W. Vail of Pom
fret. He said "Darying is on the in
crease throughout the state and the demand
for cows at the present time is such as wa
never known before: but if we dairy at al
we must dairy well, There is much more
difference between good and bad COW
than we realize. For good butter the cow
should be crossed by a Jersey male anC
cross in. Sires oftentimes have the powe
of transmitting peculiarities, therefore W,
are obliged to look to the male to improy,
our stock. While we are obliged to selec
males with a view to pedigree we neve
know what we have got until we have test
ed their offspring. We should be very gen
lie in caring for the Jersey COW. We hav,
not learned just why COW should not b.
disturbed during the milking period, but i
is known that the milk is composed of $
per cent water and the solid part is tn
dissolved meat of the COW, which is secret
ed during the process of milking, and if tn
COW is agitated the Matchmaking organs re
fuse to work and we say "she holds up he
milk even though the agitation is bu
rhing Changing mixers lessons the Hoy
| of milk for the same reason, 1t is bust
ness that cannot be delegated to hired mel
. and lead up TO a success. Our diaries ar
TOO large. More profit comes from SINAI
+ dairy which is under the owners persona
supervision. As to feed, clover and after
math are best. Corn-fodder should be &C
companied with grain. Barley raised afte
the hay crop is good and the frost will no
/ niure it. Cows are ordinarily kept on tn
!, meadow too long. The frost bitten gras
ooses its nutrition and the cows dry up
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