The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-05-08
NOTES OF THE FARM. +;
By w. F. MASSEY, of A. & M. College,


and not a general purpose animal Of
a Jack-at -all-tradeS COW. One man.
who reads no farm paper. keeps
herd Of ten COWS which average JS
pounds OF butter each per annum,
while another successful dairNman.
who studies his business. has a herd of
20 COWS which average 315 pounds of
butter annually each. The first man
would be better off without any COWS
at all. while the second one is max
ing money. There are many sections
OF Western North Carolina where the
dairy could be made a source of great
profit if the right kind Of COWS is kept
1t is hard to understand the desire
which many farmers have for d gen
eral purpose COW. They want a COW
that Will make big veal calves and
that will make 4 good beef herself af
ter she is too old for milk, and at the
same time they want good milch
cow. Now YOU cannot get Il general
purpose COW that will be good all
around. If your interest is in the
dairy. then get COWS that have been
bred especially for the dairy. If on
the other hand. you can do better by
selling calves and beef cattle. get Il
beef bred animal and let the milk be
Il secondary matter. But do not imag-
inc that YOU can make Il profitable
dairy with COWS that carry flesh and
make big veal calves. Cows cannot
carry their food into the formation
of fat on their bodies and fat in milk
at the same time. The COW IS kept by
intelligent breeders for one Of the
other Of two distinct purposes. either
for beef or milk. She is Il machine
for transforming good food into good
butter. If bred .t,r the dairy. but if
bred for beef. she has Inherited a ten
dency to lay on flesh. and to diminish
III milk production. \ COW that looks
sleek and fat while giving milk is
never Il good milch COW. 1t will never
pay to keep a COW year after year at
4 loss in milk product merely because
at the end Of her career she will make
more beef than a cow that would have
given profit in milk all her life.
Western North Carolina is intended
naturally to be Il cattle and dairy
country and ought to he the source
of supply for a large part of the coun-
try South and East for the best Of.
butter and beef. And vet in the Pied
mont section there are thousands of
acres that have been washed away IN
the clean culture Of cotton that would
De ItTIilc lGtIN n:u a tidiIN OF the
beef animal been the object instead or
competing with the cotton country
proper Today it is Il curious fact
that i'm the best cotton sections Of the
State the level coast plain. where cot
ton is more naturally the money crop.
there are men doing more in the dairy
than in the upper sections where the
dairy is the more natural object. and
we know of one man in the East who
has fed the past year 6GO beef cattle.
and thereby made over Z bale OF cot
ton per acre last season bad as it WAS.
while there are hundreds of men III
the upland red claN country. which is
we'll adapted to cattle who keep no
stock and make less than Il third OF Il
bale of cotton per acre. and still keep
on washing away their hills in cotton
culture in Il country where the cattle
ON their hills should bring plenty and
fertility. While the feeding Of stock
and the growing Of feed for them
lie at the very foundation Of good
farming in all parts Of the State. they
are especially the thing that the Pied
mont farmers should Of all others
make an object The feeding Of eat
tie and sheep is becoming more and
more profitable annually. as is also
the breeding Of good horses and
mules The great depression in the
breeding OF horses has passed away
and they are again profitable.
And vet there are cotton farms all
over the cotton growing section Of
North Carolina where no animals are
kept but mules. and as there are no
breeding animals on these farms the
owners must of necessity take some
Of their cotton money to buy mules.
| met last winter. in the cotton cOun-
try. a man whose sole business is the
bringing in Of mules from Kentucky
into a section where mules can be rais-
ed as proftabIy as anywhere. but
where the farmers buy all they need
| though they could raise them with
! out feeling the expense. The cotton
crop is taxed with all this expense. as
| well as the many other expenses Of
! growing the crop and feeding the
teams and men who make 1T. While
! specialization is . good thing. single
! cropping never makes community
F.! permanently prosperous. 1t IS diver
| Sifed farming that makes homes,
! school and churches in community.
/ 1t is the country home made bcauti-
/ ful with trees. shrubbery and flow
| ers and attractive to the young people.
| with animals Of all kinds. and di-
yersificd interest that makes Il home
! where the boys want to stay. and
| where the best of Christian graces
| have full opportunity for develop
ment. The most valuable crop on any
! farm is the boys and girls that grow
ND on if. and they can be made better
men and better women in q real cOun-
! fry home than they can in Il place
| where cotton or tobacco absorb all
the attention. and where the beau
tiful things Of this life are neglected.
where no farm papers are read and
only grinding drudgery prevails all
the wear through. For your children $
ual,. farm in Il diversified WAY and
make home q real home and not a
mere house in cotton field.