Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1903-01-21
THE FARM SEPARATOR.


The farm separator, while unques-
tionably a most practical and useful
invention, Is still raising the very mis-
chief with the established creamery in
terests of many parts Of the west. 1t
goes without saying that only by unit
ed and cooperative effort Of all the
dairymen Of a given community can
the success Of a creamery be assured.
1t is absolutely indispensable that all
patrons of such a creamery shall work
along the same methods and lines. No
creamery in existence gets too much
patronage. The larger the product the
less the cost of production. Hundreds
Of creameries work at disadvantage
In not being able to command sufficient
raw material to fully employ their
capacity. In most of the creamery Sec
lions, after more or less tribulation,
the creamery separator plan, which in
wolves the hauling of the milk to the
| creamery, has become the established
rule, and under it a very large meas
ure of success has been attained. Now
comes the farm separator presenting
some advantages over the old system
viz, greatly improved quality of
skimmilk for use on the farm and a
material saving Of expense in the mat
ter of hauling the milk to the cream
cry. 1t thus happens that many dairy
men are induced to try the farm sepa-
rator, with the result that the estab-
lished order Of things is broken up,
and the success of the creamery jeop-
ardized. with the advent of this farm
separator appear the representatives
Of centrally located butter making es-
Establishments offering to buy this farm
separator cream to be shipped by rail
anywhere from 100 to 300 miles. Now
we have word to say right here. We
believe it to be wholly against the
best interests of the farmers to en-
courage any proposition which will de-
stroy their successful home co-opera-
tive enterprises and that until the time
comes when it may seem proper for all
to make at one time a change to the
new plan they should let the farm
separator alone where the creamery
separator plan is in use. An organiZa-
ton in this matter simply means ruin
to the dairy interests.
FORTY ACRES AND SIX IN FAMILY.
A reader of these notes in central
Illinois wishes to know how his forty
acre farm may be operated so as to
support family Of six and pay off
small mortgage which there is upon it.
The land is level and good and located
within three and a half miles of
thrifty town of 5000 people. 1t may
be said that any of the old methods of
farming could not be made to accom-
plish the result desired. Something
new must be tried, and 1t must be in
the line of an intensive and diversified
agriculture. There should be ON this
farm six cows of the strictly dairy
type, capable of producing 325 pounds
of butter each per year; there should be
not less than 800 hens, Plymouth Rocks
recommended; there should be a small
silo with a capacity Of seventy or
eighty tons; there should be two or
three brood sows well bred. The farm
should be divided into four fields of
ten acres each, the boundary lines be-
ing fruit trees Of varieties suited to
that latitude. Ten acres should be
kept in pasture, twenty acres in field
crops, such as corn, potatoes, clover,
millet, sorghum, oats, peas and alfalfa
If 1t will grow. The remaining ten
acres will include the homestead, u
small fruit garden of five acres devoted
to blackberries, raspberries, strawber-
ries, currants, and the remaining three
acres to be devoted to pieplant, aspara-
gus, celery, beans, onions, sweet corn
and other salable vegetables. This
family of six will find all the work
they want to do, and more, too ON this
small tract of land thus operated. Thus
conducted there will not be a day in
the year when some product or other
of this farm may not be taken to town
for sale, and if intelligently operated
upon the foregoing lines, proper atten-
ton being paid to the items of crop ro-
tation and continuous and heavy fer
tilization of the soil, we would almost
guarantee a good living for the family,
an early payment of. the mortgage and
the steady building up Of comforta-
BILE bank account. This not only looks
good on paper, but 1t is essentially
good in practice.
Il