The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-02-06

and old cows calves, potatoes, hogs, pigs,
ETC., were sold that brought over $500. He
planted Is acres corn, 10 of oats, had 20
acres of pasture and woodland, Is of
meadow, % in roots, of potatoes. He
sowed acres of stout-growing oats thick
on ground specially prepared, to feed green.
He sowed acres of turnips broadcast
weeds having been nearly annihilated) the
last of May, to feed with tops in August
and September. He planted acres of
sweet corn and 10 of field corn in check
rows, and the last of July sOwed in turnip
seed. He had one-half acre of carrots, ~
acres sugar beets, l acre swedes, acres
mangolds, acres more turnips. He cut
his oats quite green, and took care of 1t as
he would his hay. Straw and stalks were
all sweet and under cover. He cut and
wet linking in sliced roots, oat meal, corn
and cob meal and little oil meal and salD
most of his feed in winter. He prepared
his box of feed some II hours before feed
ing 1t. The first four weeks his cows were
dry they were fed the mixed feed minus
the oat and corn meal, but as calving time
was approaching grain enough was added
to give them a full udder None were
MIXED before they calved All had some
of the first mess and ate of the placenta if
they wished. The calf was generally left
with the COW until she had cleaned-from
four to eight hours. Salt never for
gotten and he never forgot that cows dry
or nearly dry were not very tender crea-
ever SO pure but it was purer outside. He
allowed his dry cows to go 50 rods to
spring in the hollow rather than to give
Them their water in the barn yard. The
weather had to be severe for them to stop
at the water in the yard. If all herds were
like this one, one cow doctor in Wisconsin
would be plenty. No garget-no nothing to
distress or annoy-in this herd 1t is need
less to add that he much Chris
tan among his COWS and horses as at
church or Sunday school. "Do unto others
as you would be done by he believed,
and he included even his pigs.
But the maximum number of cows that
can be profitably kept on S0-acre farm
adapted to dairy purposes is more than 20
or IS, when we become exact and high
class farmers. My neighbor, the late Hon.
Hiram Smith, declared the time would
come when one good would be well
fed from every acre of land on our best
farms
An official statement from the British
parliament tells of man who had 4 acres,
who raised in one year AZ bushels of wheat,
go Of potatoes and 10 of barley, and kept
cows and pigs. The cows We're kept
good and nothing bought during the year.
They reported that five persons and two
cows were sustained on three acres Of
land. He had one-half an acre of pasture
one-haf an acre and eight rods in wheat,
one-quarter acre in oats. The rest was
mangolds, turnips etc. During the winter
he fed roots and straw, and they did very
we'll
The committee further stated that 30
cows, horses. l bull and calves were
fed all summer from 15-acre pasture of
clover. The field was irrigated with liquid
manure, diluted with water and each COW
gave an income of $95. OF course the
clover was cut and fed So we see it is
difficult to say how many cows can be kept
well on an S0-acre farm. If l could be kept
along was Adam Methuselah in good
shape for business, l would see if | could
not yet keep PIG cows on my ZIG acres.
The Old and the New.
E. c. Bennett, of Iowa, who is prac
teal dairyman and a very interesting
writer on dairy TOPICS writes about the old
and new ways of dairying in the February
number of the Epitomist. He says:
ECONOMICAL BUTTER PRODUCTION.
One of the most successful dairymen in
this locality, years ago, followed method
directly opposite to the teachings of dairy
writer's. And yet he successful. When
his son took charge of the farm he changed
right around, and he, too, was successful.
1t was wise in the father to do as he did,
and wise in the son to do as he did A
change in conditions called for a change
In management and the son had the good
sense to quit doing his father had done
and adopt methods suited to the changed
conditions.
THE OLD METHOD.
The writer called upon this farmer late
in the fall to see how he managed. In an
swer to inquiries, he said that his cows
paid hrstrate better than aything else
How many are you milking now?
Not any; l don't milk in winter
His cows all calved in the spring and
dried with the grass when frosted. He
made 100 pounds of butter per cow, and
called that good yield. 1t was all sum-
mer butter. How can such dairying be
profitable? 1t can't How could it ever
have been profitable?
Firstly, it cost but little more than moth
ing to keep cattle year. The writer has
hired steers kept at S. a year. The open
range was good Pasturage was absolutely
free, and would keep stock from early
spring until winter Then the wintering
was done at the straw pile, and the little
hay that was fed was worth but 81 per ton
for that could be obtained for the cost of
making 1t. The expense to the farmer for
food for the COW was less in dollars than
could be counted upon the fingers of one
hand, for straw had no value pasturage
was free. and hay could be had for simply
moving 1t on the bottom lands. Grain the
cows did not get. When she went dry
for lack of it she stayed dry until spring.
then gave milk for few months and went
dry again. hundred pounds of butter
and calf represented the income Let US
compare this with the expenses-the latter
being scarcely anything.
The butter packed in firkins holding
100 pounds each, and sold in the fall at 25
cents pound This was S25 per cow The
farmer with 20 cows made $500 in five
months, an even 500 month, and he and
his little boys did the milking as Chores"
and the wife made the butter. In winter
they all lived at their ease. It was a
woodchuck life; work in summer hole UP
all winter.
But this will not answer now. That kind
or butter would not net over 10 or Is cents
pound, and there is great risk that about
cents would be the average price of it,
while the expense of making it would be
much more than it would sell for Cost of
keeping cows has increased, and the butter
market has become critical The old-style
butter is not wanted.
THE NEW WAY
The son interested himself in the erec-
ton OF a farmers cooperative creamery
FOrty-three neighbors signed bond and
the creamery was built without a dollar
being paid by any one of the patrons
The bond obligated the creation of sink
ing fund of five per cent, and this sinking
fund wiped out the debt (about So. OOO) and
now the farmers own it free of debt and
have every cent there is in the business.
The sinking fund was made by simply
keeping back five per cent of net receipts
every month for butter sold. and using
this for paying the debt The 43 patrons
keep an average of Is cows each, and ar
part in the fall, so that the creamery runs
t1o