Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1899-02-07
FARmsmc IN COLORADO.
(sprRrrv. Colo. Jan. $, 1SoQ

III PaWXlN6 IN C0AOt0<OO.
0REKIKs. CoLo., Jan. ., lsse.
Eslifor Dvmocrsf:
II How f<shsons change - The years rp|
Fcaud. There was time not 90 man.
, years ago When no mAu Was suppose'
TO have . really flue COW unlcss be had
Jersey. She might Be nervous an
: hlgh-styuue; she might be no large
that IN ordinary yeari'ne Durham calf
she Nigh give when freeh not more thai
three measured quarts OF milk; whe'
ready 10 turn into beef she might no
dress more than $50 pounds, bat she va
Jersey aud that Was enough.
This section OF Colorado has gone q
Wild ~ other sections about the Jersey
but now the fashion has changed. But
ter has been sold In this market recently
and IL WAS good butter, for eleven cent
a pound. strange as Il may seem, Will
feed OF all kinds rather high while bee
IL Ia very great demsnd. So now ever!
one wants beef-msking breeds Of cattle
OF these the Herefords seem to be lead
ing In Colorado, with Durhsms clos
second. know OF one large stockmaI
who has some iine herds OF mixed Deyoni
and Herefords. very hardy and heavy
Everybody wants cattle or sheep. TIT
average man follows the leadership o.
the other fellow, buying when stock !:
high and selling when II Is cheap. Some
how or other II seems to make the heat
ache 80 TO entertain original or indie
tpeudent ideas, we les some one else thins
out the problem and then we 90 his way
like flock Of sheep following their lead
er through gap In the wall.
Yes, we are all tiyed OF Jerseys nos,
and the call Is for the all-round COW, one
that gives considerable milk, say about
four times as much as the average
Jersey; one that makes plenty Of hutte'
and when turned off for beef, weighs OF
foot from 1000 to 1900 pounds. In thi.
vicinity the Durham Is getting to be ths
fsvorite general purpose cow"
Some handsome Hereford bulls were
driven through this city few days
since and three were sold st $50 each
This week thoroughbred Hereford was
sold In Denver for over $500, and acme
pedigree Durhams for sl75, while grade:
brought so each.
| So jealous are people for calves thai
almost any kind wss sold this winter for
81 and So when three days old. Men
who have government range aud An
Alfalfa farm near by reason In this way
III can put three months old steer on
grass at = cost OF $40 and In two or three
years have the BUYER come to my door
and pay me from SIS to $40, when per-
haps have not had to feed him an
ounce Of hav In all that time, that Is
good enough for me. Seey'
| We have another industry here that Is
about rs exciting as this: This is buy
ing lambs Ia New Mexico and southern
Colorado and shipping them 10 this val
ley, feeding them slfslfs and getting
them into the early Chicago market at
sometimes five cents q pound live weight
and sometimes more, land sometimes
less. IL is indeed pretty sight 10 see
the sheep-peus on some OF our Poudre
valley farms with perhaps thousands OF
sheep feeding therein. Some OF the
farmers have one or two wind-mills to
pump the water aud they and their hired
men spend all the time hauling in
alfalfa and grain and feeding II.
Here come In the MEMORABLE laws Of
| life one Of W hich is--as a msu feedeth 30
is his flock. The grocer gets private
circular from one OF our Atlantic cities
or possibly from Hamburg across the
water that kind Of moulded and groov-
ed cofiee-berry made Of bad flour and
bran aud worse molSsses (which the
manufacturer assures the grocer verify
improves the flavor and nutrition Of the
coffee can be bought for five cents a
pound. But no scheme 10 feed the sheep
sdulterated food or that OF poor quality
In sny way would be listened TO for =
moment. Adulterated foods are left for
human lambs because there win nothing
be said about IL IL that kind OF lamb does
not thrive.
But I must not get sarcastic" a.
Artemus Ward used 70 say, nor must |
depart from my original purpose to
write sort Of stock letter.
One OF the greatest things that ever
happened to Colorado was the introduce
ton and cultivation of alfalfs. This 10
the SPANS name, while lucerne Is the
European name. believe Il originally
came from Asis. and was brought by
| the Roman armies 70 Europe and intro
duced into the Spanish peninsula, and
from there carried by the Spanish arm
les under Cortez and Piztrro into South
America and Mexico, thence into Cali
foruia, snd our colonists hearing Of this
wonderful forage plant started 1t here
about twenty years ago. Now every
year sees hundreds OF thousands OF tons
OF il 10 this country. l have often
wondered IL the farmers Of Maine could
do anything with IL but I suppose II
would winter-kill, where there Ii so much
moisture. Three and sometimes four
crops season are cut and some acres
| WELD from 1--WE TO ten tons year.
| Then there was another discovery
inside. The roots penetrate tn great
depth and bring nutriment nearer the
surface. The farmer who would raise
n fiue crop Of potatoes, and Greeley
potatoes have reputation as wide as the
continent, turns over the alfalfa ground,
using at least four heavy horses. The
ground Is full Of alfalfa roots OF various
sizes, and these decaying, furnish nutri.
menr for potato crop so that 200 and
$50 sacks Of potatoes have been raised to
the acre, ia pounds 10 the average
sack. Do you wonder, Mr.. Editor, that
when potatoes some years ago were sell
| ing st 81. % snd more per cwt., many
farmers got rich and that single eighties
sold as high as $1,000? Then again there
| was heard grumbling In the potato field
when the price fell 10 twenty-one cents
per cwt. and the sacks thrown in. Farm
| ing even In Colorado Ia not all fun.
| OLIVER HOWARD.
MAINE a0vS IN ctIaA.