St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1895-06-08
FARMER AND PLANTER.
INDUSTRIES THAT PAY
And Which Southern Farmers Should Ia
More Attention To.

And Which Southern Farmers Should Tay
More Attention To.
There are two things to which the
f;rners Of the south ought to have
their attention turned more closely,
and when they do prosperity will he
a much more common thing among the
tillers of the soil than it is now.
The first is dairying. 1t is lament
able fact that the cows Of the south are
among the poorest of the country.
This may not be a palatable state
ment. but it is true and must be
faced.
The major cause of this is lack of
feed. The greater number run wild
the year round and pick up such feed
as they can find. Sometimes they
range for days without returning to
bc MIXED, and often the milk is so bit
ter from the eating Of weeds that it
can not be used.
A dairy to Ice profitable must have a
pasture for the cows and young heifers
well seeded To grass; good feed of
bran, cotton seed or corn meal twice a
day, water and salt when they need il.
and all the hay they want in the
winter when vegetation is dead.
The cows must be well sheltered ut
all times of the year during the night,
and MIXED regularly.
The calves should be well fed or 9TH
erwisc they will become stunted in
growth, and not give the h ghcst salts
faction as cows.
But | did not start to Erumblc about
the southern farmer or dictate how he
should act; what l wanted to do was
to tell him how one thing has helped q
small place of which know.
This is the creamery business.
A number of men of the small town
bought an old two-story building
which in former years had been used
as cheese factory, bat for a long time
had been in disuse. and in this they
placed the necessary machinery,
separator, butter worker. etc. and a
small engine for power. They hired a
man to run it. with an assistant.
The cream is collected from the farm
ers at stated intervals by men hired for
that purpose.
They furnish two horses and n stout
wagon, and the creamery concern place
at their disposal large carriers" or
wooden tanks lined with metal and
having a packing of ice around an inner
can or tin.
The milk at the farms is kept in tall
tin cans, with a faucet at the bottom
through which the skim milk is drawn
leaving the cream in the can. These
cans are kept in a spring, well or ice
chest.
The creamery company pay certain
sum per inch for the cream and settle
once a month. The butter finds a
ready market in the cities at high
price.
This method of butter making leaves
the housewife free from the care and
labor of the work. and pays big profit
to the farmer. For instance, one farm
err who owns seven cows received a
check of fifty dollars for cream sold
during one month, while he had all the
skim-mils 10 feed to calves and pigs.
He seldom receives less than twenty
dollars per month. He raises his own
hay, therefore his profit is very salts
factory.
The company is not 4 cooperative
one but is run by men for their own
profit: and while they make a good
thing for themselves, they help the
landowners of four townships by fur.
nishing a market for their chief pro-
duet.
One item which the reader will al
once perceive is of considerable impor
lance, is that the producer is not
obliged to take the time from his farm
work to market his butter, and this
alone would commend it to many
even il there We're no other advan
tages.
The canning industry has been Z
great benefit TO the farmers of New
England.
In many and many 4 town one vii
find what is termed in country par
lance 1.-The corn shop" This is run or
the same principle as the creamery
business, only it requires more capita
and more hands.
In the spring. an agent of the firm
calls upon the farmers and draws NJ
an agreement with them to plan
sweet corn and vegetables for the
canning shop. The farmer agrees Il
plant SO many acres of sweet corr
and deliver the ears in the husk to the
shop for which he is to receive a Ger
tain sum per hundred weight.
The shop is opened when the corn j:
ripe, and the country hands swarm il
to work, girls to husk, mel
to tend the machines, t,
cook and to pack. the season
of several weeks is busy and at tn,
end the boys and girls rejoice over ;
pocket full of change and the farmer
over his pay for the crop.
OF course, l realize the difficulty
with southern corn crop for packing
would be the corn worm; but peas
beans and tomatoes are not to be de
spiscd, and an advantage of early crol
is to be reckoned in, for by the tim,
the northern vegeta blesare half grown
the southern packer could have hi
output sold and count his profit.
The southern soil is rich and full o
possibilities of big crops, SO let tn,
farmer do his best. and may success at
1 <.c.l Il; Ea,,t