The Somerset reporter., 1895-06-27
\ Skowhegan Farmer.

J. ". Packard of Skowhegan Is one OF
he substantial farmers and dairymen Of
that apparently prosperous town. lie
has a farm Of 80 aeres situated Oh Big
Glow Hill" very elevated ridge Of land
extending for quite Il distance through
the town and comprises several farms
which are among The best in town.
Mr.. packHrd.s buildings are situated
near the highest point Of this ridge.
which Is said a.. he By actual survey. 80
feel above Tire leyel Of tie -ea. From
Hi, elevation magnificent view Of the
surrounding country Is 10 be bad inelud-
ing aholamic XjeN Of seven cities and
villages. Mr. Paekards farm is largely
composed of woodland, only about 5
acres being actually under cultivation.
1t has been in his possession 10 years
and during that time the business Of
dairyng in some OF its phases has been
carried on with satisfactory results In
years past quite business has been done
in the manufacture OF cheese, which Was
all sold to a regular trade at a stated price
and quite a demand for this particular
make was created and still exists. But
Mr.. Packard has been obliged. on account
of the extra labor incident 10 its manufac
tuIe, to limit its production to a small
amount each year, and his cream has
largely been taken By the Skowhegan
Creamery for the last two years. The
cream is bought at this factory by the
inch, averaging in Mr. Packard's case
/ 0 ! , cts. per inch III 1893 and 9 IL cts.
in 81, yielding him revenue IN 1904,
with seven COWS. OF $4,000, besides Sl8.-
90 received for calves and So 90 for cheese,
and six heiler calves were raised.
Mr.. Packard has herd of 10 COWS, all
high grade Jerseys and very fine animals,
and that they are cared for and handled in
a creditable manner, one has only to see
them and their surroundings, notice their
sleek and glossy coates and general thrifty
appearance, to be at once convinced. We
were much pleased, on going into the pas
ture to look at this herd, to see them all
come to him at his call, though a long
way Oft, and with the utmost confidence
and familiarity stand to be petted and
handled. showing conclusivly that they
know no such thing as fear, which in our
opinion reflected great deal OF credit up
on their owner. In addition to this herd
of COWS Nh Packard has seven heiiers
which in due time will augment his herd
Mr.. Packard grows mixed grain con
sisting OF oats, barley and peas, which is
ground and fed to the cows with the adj
dtion OF corn meal and ground wheat in
equal parts. Hay is fed in three feeds,
morning. noon and night, Mr.. Packard
contemplates building silo in the near
future, when corn will be grown eXten
sively for silage, Five of this herd OF
COWS were taken to Skowhegan fair last
fall, also two heifers, and premiums were
awarded amounting in all to S5I.oo
The fact was mentioned above that
cheese making bad been in years past
something of a specially, and that quite
demand fer the same existed even now.
We omitted, however, to say that We
had the pleasure OF sampling Mrs. Pack
ards cheese at her dinner table, and could
readily understand the cause of such de
mand and could but think that if such an
article as that was manuiat tured, to al
most any extent, the demand would still
exist and any reasonable price for
the same would hardely be questioned.
The idea also occurred to us that il help
could be procured and the manufacture
of this desirable product mace a special
y, it would be much more remunerative
than butter making or cream selling
Inn ram IND II5U2t.