The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-04-04
FARM AND GARDEN.
Figures by a Practical Farmer.

farmer of Lamoille' county, publishes
the following in the Ne,oS and Citizen.
Mr.. Smith is practical farmer, and his
communication will be of interest to all
farmers, so we publish it entire. The
WAToHMAN will be pleased to hear
tiers:
GAS have been criticized a good
deal for my extravagant methods of
farming, aud as there are some men in
town who would hesitate to pay my
enormous feed bills for the products of
my dairy, will give the figures from
January l, 1898, to January l, 1894. l
keep separate account of feeds bought
for different kinds of animals. l paid
out 1914 81 for feed. OF this amount
the horses have had-in addition to oats
raised on the farm-$115.47; the pigs
have had S54 SO; oxen, 1874 Sc, and
the cows, including heifers too young
to give milk, 1860 40.
"I keep daily record of each cows
milk through the year. l had thirty
four cows and heifers, eight of them
being two-year-olds and five-year-olds.
They gave during the year, $685.
pounds of milk, an average of 1872
pounds each. Twenty-seven of them
averaged over 6 900 pounds, and four
teen over 1000 pounds, the largest
being s 54lI pounds each. Each cows
milk was Tested about once a month
with a Babcock tester. In figuring the
number of pounds of butter fat each
COW gave, probably have given some
cows credit for little too much, while
others have not credited enough. l
tested single milkings, which would not
be quite as accurate as composite test;
also in the first part of the year did
not understand how to use the Babcock
machine that | might always get perfect
tests, some of them being little cloudy.
This year l shall take composite test
for week, when each COW has been in
milk four months, and call that the
average test for the year. Our expert
ment stations have found that at this
period the milk will test with the aver
age for the year. l think l can get it
more accurate with a good deal less
work than to test and figure each month
separately. AS figured it, they gave
10,420 pounds of butter fat. l sold
IL 1872 pounds of butter. The average
of estimators add one-sixth to the but
ter fat, for water, caseine., etc., to get
at the number of pounds Of butter.
find by adding one-siXth to the butter
fat, as have it, it overruns the butter
sold just about enough to equal the
milk, cream and butter used in the fam
lily. In figuring out the number of
pounds of butter each COW made, find
quite difference in the profit. Some
of them gave me $50 more net profit
than others. Twenty of the best ones
averaged 400 pounds of butter each;
ten averaged 442 pounds, and six aver
aged AGA pounds. The butter sold
averaged 341 pounds each. This
brought S90.35, and as the feed pur-
chased averaged $40 20, l have S7065
left from each COW. This get rid Iof
easily enough in paying interest money,
hired help, taxes, DOCTORS bills, buying
new machinery, repairing buildings.
buying blooded colt or heifer, phos.
phate, new pair of shoes for the baby,
and thousand other ways.
eft is quite important to have the
right kind of implements to take care
of the milk. l think We should not
have sold over 300 pounds to COW had
we not had baby A good many
Vermonters think every farmer should
raise his own grain and not send money
to the western states for it. If | should
do that, / should have to reduce my
number of cows so much, my net re-
ceipts would be much smaller than now.
Besides that about four-ffths of the
fertilizing value of the feed bought
goes to improve the farm. Also the
extra cows enable me to keep more
pigs, which bring me profit in pork
produced, and add to my bank stock
or, in other words, food for the land.
What are the prospects for the
future? We cannot raise beef at a
profit in Vermont. The sheep indus
try has been stepped on; horses are
drug on the market. Dairying was the
only feature of agriculture that was
profitable to the farmer last year. do
not see anything else that offers much
encouragement for this year, even if
butter is lower. 1t is all the more i'm
portant that we use the best imple-
ments and make all we can. | know
tuberculosis is threatening our cows,
and oleOmargarne is destroying the
market for honest butter; but we, as
farmers, should be united; we should
join the grange and educate ourselves
into working order, so our influence
may be felt; so we may have laws en-
acted which shall prevent any moneyed
monopoly from running our business;
80 we may send men to our state leg
islature who shall enact laws to give us
equal burdens to bear, instead of double
taxation, and to enact laws that will rid
our state of cattle diseases, instead of
our present law, which tends to cover
up and spread disease. In New Hamp-
shire they enacted law providing for
the appraisal of tuberculous cattle upon
basis of health, of which amount the
owner received one-half from the state
treasury. This law was enacted with
the object of inducing owners having
such animals to have them destroyed
by the state authorities for the protec.
ton of the public. During the year
1893 they inspected 221 herds, from
which they condemned and destroyed
115 head. The state paid 81 1926 80 for
these an AVERAGE of S1h ~ each Tn