The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-09-22
The Scrub Farmer and the Pure
Bred Animal.

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some professional calls, and my mind is
upon what 1 saw. l first called at a
farm, the owner of which knew to be
a good fellow and kind neighbor. An
accident had befallen one of his ami
mails and my attention was called to it.
This man was discouraged; be was a
hard working man; was up early and
worked late, but some how he was al
ways having bad luck, as he called it,
and as l looked about the premises 1
little wondered at his bad luck. His
COWS were all well bred animals, and
high in quality. Part had been de-
horned and part had not, with the re-
suit that those with horns were con-
stantly fighting those with none, one of
which had been well nigh ruined in
consequence. 1t would have cost only
dollar to have had all made hornless,
and the trouble would have been
averted, but 1t was not done and $50
COW was ruined. Just his luck, he said.
But was it luck? Mol it was the result
of scrub management. The two days
that he and his hired man spent fishing
could have put suitable stanchions in
the stable where cows were MIXED, so
that all could have heen made fast.
But it was not done, and all Of the
cows were turned loose in the barn to-
gether, and small one at that. And
the one was ruined in consequence.
This same farmer had purchased fine
pure-bred bull, at long price, and
while it would not have taken him and
his hired man over day, and 200 feet
of lumber to have made suitable stall
for him, the farmer had not had the
time thus far to do it, and the bull had
been tied up by the head under o shed
all summer and fed upon dry hay, with
the result that bad feeding and care,
with the help of the flies had made the
bull look as If being prepared to run at
Buffalo Bills Wild West Show. This
man said that he didn't believe that the
breed was very tough or else the
breeder that he got him from beat him.
My opinion was asked and frankly
told him that all the bull needed was
proper food and stable 80 made that
it could be made dark and keep the flies
from constantly worrying the life out of
him. He said that he had been trying
to build place for him, but the times
were so COMPOUNDED hard that he
couldn't raise the money to buy the
lumber; yet, to my knowledge, he went
to show twenty miles away Gust to
take the children, you know and paid
I out more money than would have
bought twice the lumber needed. But
on looking around l saw enough old
lumber lying about to have twice built
the stall. This man had also invested
in some pure bred chickens, and had
started to build hen-house; that is to
say he had got the frame up two years
ago, when it rained for nearly week
and the job was abandoned, and he had
not yet found time to finish it.
His hens roasted under a COW shed
on the reaper and wheel rake and many
of them were dying with some strange
disease. My advice was asked and
wished to see the fowls. Thinking
that one could be caught on the roost
we went there. When got near the
rake mentioned the cause was plainly
to be seen. Thousands, and perhaps
millions of little hen mites were upon
that roost, ready to suck the life blood
out of the poor hen when she went to
her roost. Was it any wonder that
some of them died and none of them
laid well. He said also that his hens
were mighty poor sitters and generally
left the nest after sitting from one to
two weeks, and those that did sit and
hatch out chickens did not have any
luck with them. The "darned"
chickens most of 'em died. He frank
ly said that there was no luck for him
in raising chickens, and l said yes,
there will be no luck as long as you
don't provide place for them and keep
the lice off them. As l passed along
the road another man hailed me and
said that he was having the worst kind
of luck with the Jerseys that he bought
at closing out sale last spring. They
were having caked udders; nearly every
day one or more of them had trouble,
and it looked as though two of them
would lose their udders entirely. He
further said, "if you have time tie your
horse and will send the boy up to the
pasture and drive them down." He
then called the boy and whistled for the
dog and away both went, and the next
saw was the COWS coming over half
let-dOwn pair of bars and the boy YELL
ing "sic" to the dog and the dog yank-
ing at the tail of one of them for dear
life. Was it any wonder that the I'D
ders of those Jerseys caked. The scrub
cows, with udders the size Of quart
SuPs SoNiN osohN ASs buo thO
nervous Jersey, with well-developed
udder can't do it. AS l journeyed
homeward my mind drifted to other
farmers that are yearly having bad
luck, as they call it, and yet as /
thought of their management in one
way and another with their animals, 1
could, in nearly every instance, trace it
to their own ignorance or heedlessness;
gates and barn doors being left open,
horses left united and run away, cattle
getting in the meal bin, and hundreds
of other things that produce sick and
injured animals; bad luck the farmer
calls it; bad management is the proper
name for it. At Farmers Institute
heard speaker say the curse of the
land was scrub animals, but from my
standpoint still greater curse to the
country is the scrub man, and by far
too many of them are engaged in try
ing to farm, or rather live upon farms.
In this there is wide difference in
men; some live on farms who are
farmers, and their animals show it;