The herald., 1897-06-10
{Edited by Prof. A. J. Cook.)
Dairying Profitable

other article produced on the 1arm Is
more profitable than butter. Surely
nothing but eggs bring higher price in
proportion to the cost 1t must also be re-
membered that butter removes nothing
from the soil. Butter is one of the hydro
carbons-that Is, it is composed only OF
oxygen, hydrogen and carbon, and the
plants get these substances entirely
from the atmosphere. Thus in produc-
ing butter the farmer returns nearly
everything back to his soil. This is not
true of any other crop, If we except beets
and sugar cane grown for purposes of
the manufacture of sugar. Even in this
case the pulp of the beets and the refuse
of the cane must be returned to the soil.
1t has been estimated by competent
authority that a tor of grain removes
81 worth of fertilizer from the soil, and
we know that it sells for about SIS. On
the other hand, ton of butter takes al
most nothing from the soil, and it often
sells for from $400 to 5000. There is this
to be said, however: the work of dairy
production requires special care and en-
ergy to make it in the highest degree
profitable. There is perhaps no branch
OF agriculture that requires more intel
ligence, study and ability to achieve
the highest success than the production
Of the dairy products. 1t is also true
that dairying is very laborious busi
ness, and really gives no rest. Even
Sunday is very much trespassed upon,
of necessity, by the requirements of this
industry. Any one who has ever worked
In the dairy knows that the business is
no snap. The large profits, however,
and the very quick returns, which are
seldom equaledi in any business of the
farm, go far to make amends for the
arduous labor required.
Many parts of California and this fact
is well Illustrated in our own county,
are remarkably we'll adapted to the busi-
ness Of dairying. The low lands about
Compton and Downey make it possible
to secure very large amount of the
very best feed for the dairy. A farmer
at Clearwater once said to the writer
tn. i.e could secure two large crops of
corn from his land each season. At the
ti:ls4s Of this remark we were looking
one of the finest stands of corn that it
was ever my pleasure to look upon.
When We take into consideration the
fact already referred to, that this busi
ness, properly carried on, removes moth
ing from the fertility of the soil, and
when we also remember that the fertility
of the California soil is rarely, if ever,
excelled, it surely may make us all long
to enlist in the dairy business right here
in our own Los Angeles county.
These same regions produce tre-
mendous crops of alfalfa, which
Is also one of the best crops for
the dairyman. 1t is true, however, that
not every one is qualified to become a
dairyman. Governor Hoard once said,
in lecture at an institute which I at
tended, that the COW Should be treated
with as much Difference and respect as
a woman. Governor Hoard knew what
he was talking about There are men
that have not the delicacy and refine
ment of character that will make this
possible, and such men should not have
the care and management of cows. 1t
is also necessary to have the neatness
of a woman in order to care for the
milk cream and dairy products as it
should be done. We hardly need say
that all people are not neat. AS re-
marked above, it is also important that
the dairyman have Judgment culture
and energy; these are qualities which
are not always found in our farmers.
THE COOLER
Every householder knows how i'm
portant it is to be able to keep articles
of food in a cool place. This not only
does much to preserve the food, but it
also enables the housewife to set very
much better table. Cool milk, cool wa
ter and cool fruit are luXuries which we
all prize. or course people in cities and
of liberal means can have their refrig-
rators and ice, which at once solves
this whole question of keeping the food
in the household cool and in the best
condition. In the east the cellar or pos
sibly the we'll enables the housewife to
keep the food in fairly good refrig-
orator without any other special provi-
sion. In California, however, we have
not the cool cellar and in very few
places have we the we'll. 1t therefore
becomes necessary to provide some
other means to keep the food products
in the household at the desired low tenn
perature.
In Claremont, large number of our
people have built what are called cool
ers, usually in connection with their
kitchen The cooler is a thick-walled
apartment, either made of stone or
up outside leaving space an inch or
two between the boards and the wall
This room is we'll ventilated, and the
ventilators are so arranged that they
can be quickly opened and closed. At
nightfall the Ventilators are all open
and our beautiful, cool California nights
lower the temperature of the cooler to a
remarkable degree. In the early morn
ing the ventilators are all closed and
thus the room is kept cool for the. entire
day. Water and milk kept in such a
room are always palatabe and berries
and other fruits are always cool and de-
lcious.
1t is best to have the cooler on the
north side of the house, though in the
house in which 1 now live the cooler is
on the southwest corner, which would
seem to be the very worst place, and yet
this cooler is very satisfactory. In this
case the sheeting Of the house entirely
surrounds the cooler, leaving an air
space between it and the wall as already
referred to. 1t is not an expensive thing
to build "a cooler. One of our professors
took small portion of last summers
vacation and put first-class cooler into
his house, which adds immensely to the
comfort of the whole family. The writer
has frequently had occasion to ask for
drink from this cooler and has always
had reason for the hearty gratitude