Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-02-03
More in the Man than in the Method
DAIRYMEN WHO EARNED ON PAPER.

II
IN aerator and four or five commercial
feeds, especially bran, he would be hope
lessly behind the procession in the begin
ming, and would have no chance of
success. But say, young man, if you
can make it at all, you can make it with
out all the modern appliances.
\ / will relate some facts of what two or
three of these farmers who farmed on
paper were able to accomplish when it
came down to facts instead of figures.
About Is or 20 years ago, when the silo
was first exploited in Wisconsin, one of
these farmers used to call me to one
side, and with pencil and paper try to
convince me how easy it would be to
make money with silo, and some
registered cattle to go with it. This is
the way he would figure: A good cow
ought to give 40 ID. of milk per day, if
she only got balanced ration; so ID. of
ensilage and ) ID. of bran would be full
days feed. With bran at 80 per ton
that, he said, was as high as it would
ever bel and ensilage 81 per ton, and
that was high too, as it was easy to grow
20 tons per acre, the cost of feed would
not be over or 10 cents per day, while
the income would be at the least 40 cents.
Even at 81 per hundred he intended to
keep 40 cows, for he figured that two
men and their wives would be able to
milk that number, and do the other
work easily. should have stated that
/ this man was a successful merchant, but
with pen and paper he figured he could
make money easier by scientific farming
and raising registered cattle and horses
and hogs; so he disposed of his store and
| merchandise and invested in a farm,
built silo, hog-pen and cattle barns, and
bought his registered cattle (never mind
what breed) and commenced business.
But he soon found out it was easier to
make cows give. 40 ID. of milk on paper
than to make them give 40 Id. in the
pail and the price of bran went up while
the price of butter went down. and in
stead of having an income of Sl6 per day
it averaged nearer So; and what with
abortion and milk fever and garget
Registered cattle of any breed are sub
ject to these diseases, believe, the same
as scrub cattle), he found that facts and
figures were two different things. After
eight or nine years of farming, he made
up his mind that farming was not all fun.
Now this man was success as mer-
chant, and he honestly thought that he
would make q successful farmer if he
had all the modern feeds and fixtures,
but he made a miserable failure as q
farmer, nevertheless, although he worked
hard and did his best.
Farmer No. 2 worked it a tritle differ
entity. He also was an enthusiast on
t,lA
fairly good farmer and had some very
good scrub cows. He lacked, he thought,
silo and registered bull TO make
perfect success of dairy farming; so he
bought bull and built silo, and COM
menced business. He had succeeded in
raising some scrub cows that had given
rs high as so 10. of milk per day on dry
feed in the winter, and he told me he
intended To have twenty cows that would
average so 10. of milk per day when he
got them improved with his registered
bull and had silo, reservoir bran bin
and everything perfect. / thought he
had quite big job on his hands, but he
did not seem to think SO, and so he spent
about $1,000 in building a just-right barn
silO and reservoir bran bin and buying a
bull. He tried for seven years to make
a success of scientific farming, but as
matter of fact, he never succeeded in
raising another cow that gave 80 ID. of
milk per day, let alone raising twenty,
and he said it seemed as if the higher he
poorer the milk became. As for eusilage
some people might like it, but he had
stomach full of it, and did not want any
more in his life.
Farmer No. tried it trifle different
ly. He also believed in the new methods
of farming, and as he was in debt, he
thought that these new methods would
make money faster for him than the old
way. He did not purchase any register
ed livestock, but he rebuilt his barn,
built silo, and bought a cutter and
engine to run it; changed from summer
to winter dairying, and commenced to
make money. He found out the first
winter that enSilage did not make the
milk that grass did; the second winter
he tried ensilage and bran, and still grass
came out ahead. The third winter he
tried a balanced ration and still grass
came out ahead. This, he said, was
enough for him, and instead of getting
out of debt, he kept getting in; so he
sold his farm and stock and retired-not
because he wanted to, but because he
had to.
Now here are three cases which have
come under my observation where farm
ers have made miserable failures of
scientific farming, and can name plenty
of others, notwithstanding the fact that
we hear so much said nowadays that
there are very few failures in farming
and also, as L read in a dairy paper the
other day, that there were not three
slices in Thousand that were failures.
Now l know of more than this number
of slices in Jefferson County, Wis, that
have not been filed for five and some of
them for ten years, and l doubt if they
will ever be filled again by the present
owners; and know that there are far
from 1000 slices in the entire country.
This is not written to condemn ensil-
age and bran entirely, for | have fed
both for 20 years; but, | have come to
the conclusion that bran is almost worth
less as grain ration, and that ensilage
is far from what some people would like
to make US believe. What disgusted me
most with ensilage was that one year,
while filling my silo, selected several
ears of corn which would have made
perfect seed corn. This | placed in the
center of the silo, and when | fed the
ensilage out and found these same ears
of corn, and dried them out, and COM
pared them with the same kind of ears
| had saved and dried for seed, it was
like comparing bad eggs with good ones.
Since then, have concluded TO put my
good corn in the crib, or in a good hog,
and think | am better off financially.
Do not think you will be sure to succeed
if you only follow the modern methods,
for if the man is not built for the
business he is in, no method (old or new)
will help him; and when you read, young
man or old one either, for that matter,
that there are very few failures in farm
ing, do not believe.
One more incident and / shall close.
This Farmer No. was the owner of 200
acres of not very good land, in fact some
of it was decidedly poor, and consider
able of it was not tillable. He was
dairyman and very good one too. He
made his boast that he was able to pay
his hired help and all expenses, and at
the enc of the year to have $1,000 for his
pay. This may not seem large to some
owners of 200 acres, but I think you will
find it above the average. As he had no
help of his own, and found it hard to hire
he concluded to let the farm for cash
rent and come TO town. He considered
5000 as cheap as he could afford to rent
Il il and he soon found a tenant who agreed