Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-11-18
pAIRYING ADVANTAGES.

DAIRYING ADVANTAGES.
j. w. Newton, Stowe, Vermont, a
practical dairyman. speaking of the
advantages of dairying over other
branches of farming. says: "The first
advantage of dairying is that 1t takes
less fertility from the soil than other
branches of farming, sugar-making
alone excepted. Authorities differ
but the following figures are approx
mately correct, round numbers being
given. A ton of each product men
toned below takes fertilizing material
from tho soil as indicated by the fig
ures: Corn, Sc; oats. $3.50; nay, SO;
clover, so; potatoes,S2; fat oxen, $12;
milk, $3.50; cheese, sci; butter, Scots.
"A ton of wheat takes seven dollars
out OF the farm and sells for less than
sixteen dollars. A ton of butter takes
fifty cents worth of plant food from the
farm and sells for from four to six
hundred dollars. Comment is useless.
'Second.-Butter is a condensed pro-
duct. Nothing can be made or grown
on the farm which brings as much per
and communities far from railroad can
send butter from the farm or creamery
with the least possible expense. Hard
ly any other far product can be loaded,
hundred to thousand dollars worth
at time, upon wagon and drawn to
a shipping point so readily as butter.
The dairyman can condense tons of
fodder and crops grown on the farm
into dairy products, and send them 70
market in compact and portable form.
Third. Is finished product.
1t is made ready for the consumer
either In the private dairy or the local
factory or creamery. The only excep-
tion is where cream is sent long dis
tances to central station from skim
ming stations scattered over large
section of country. But this exception
only proves the rule. Much that is
produced on the farm is raw material.
and must be manufactured or other
wise prepared for use after leaving the
farm.
Fourth Darying brings In con-
slant income. The man who sells crops
Of any kind has to wat until he can
market his crops once a year. There
is little satisfaction in this. 1t is
unbusiness like to go without cash fif-
ty-one weeks and then have a lot of
money come in at one time. The dairy
man has an income nearly or quite
fifty-two weeks in a year.
"Fifth.-Dairying gives constant re-
munerative employment The grain
or potato grower must spend a large
part of the year in enforced and de-
moralizing idleness. but the dairyman
finds profitable work through the year
and his work is most profitable in the
winter time.
"Sixth.-On the dairy farm the work
Is better divided. The grain harvest
comes so close to haying that it often
gets mixed up with it to the detriment
of both; but where corn is grown and
put into the soil for dairy feed and not
so much or no grain raised, the har-
vests are several weeks apart Then
in winter dairying, there is a let up in
the dairy work at the busiest season
of the year on the farm. while the dairy
hSSuo VIC hioot WOIh WHtu OlucT ldTu
work Is lightest.
"Seventh.-Skill and brain work get
better pay in darying than in any 9TH
er branch of farming. To produce fine
dairy products requires something be-
sides hard work. The dairyman must
have knowledge and skill and exer-
else great care. These are required in
breeding and feeding dairy cows. and
in handling dairy products. And the
care bestowed and the skill exercised
get pay in hard cash as they do in no
other branch of farming.
"Eight.-There is more room at tho
top. greater opportunity to improve.
than in any other farm work Cows
produce from150 to 5OOpounds of but
ter per year, and butter sells from ten
cents to one dollar per pound. No
other branch of agriculture shows any
thing like this, or gives such chance
to rise"