The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1905-08-01

last season for hay. Have fine stand
and will be able to tell you more about
pastures in the future.
My brother writes me from Vermont
that the man that brought his cows up
TO average 600 pounds butter a year,
cut his hay six times. | would watch
the hay closely and just as soon as 1t
will do put it into stack.
don't know much about alfalfa.
but | do know that the other grasses
clover, timothy, etc., can be put in
pretty green, and be the better if
tnere is some water in it-yes, a great
deal better than having it all dried
out. | do not believe that it is econo
my to milk COWS on hay alone. Gull
them, to have only good ones. Keep a
small number, and feed at least eight
pOunus of grain. Wheat and oats
ground together are among the best
of feeds; so is barley. A small per
cent. of rye added is the best of all.
At st. Charles all the farmers take
their milk to the factory, or used to.
They largely bought their cows fresh.
They fed them heavy so that when
they stopped giving milk they were
fat and then they were sold In Cnlca-
go for beef One time when was there
they told me of two farmers coming to
the factory. One says to the other,
How is it you have so much more
milk than | do? l know / have just
as good cows as yours" The reply
was That's right, how much do you
feed?" Eight quarts of corn and
oats" was the answer. The other
said. Feed twelve quarts and seel
what that will do" He did so, and
as a result had as much milk as the
other. The point is, it takes so much
to support the COW. II it took four
quarts then there would be four lett
to make milk, when with the twelve
quarts there would be as much again
to go to make milk.
TO milk the COW put her into good
stancheOn on a plank floor with gut
ter behind her with little nice straw
for bedding. Keep her clean. When
we get the milk we use No. 2 Empire
separator and a No. barrel cnurn,
and like them. Keep the cream In
cool place but don't let it freeze. In
cold weather we churn but once a
week. AS it gets warmer, more often,
until in the warm weather, twice a
week. With a good churn and cold
water, by churning early in the morn
ing. you can make butter all summer.
If YOU wish to make nice butter, stop
the churn when the butter granules
are the size of a wheat kernel, wash
twice, salt one and One-half ounces to
the pound. Do not work it too much,
for you spoil the grain and it always
seems to me as if the nice, nutty fla
vor goes if it is worked too much, and
becomes just balls of grease. Then is
the time to sell it-never so good
again. One of the best restaurants in
Chicago has it's cream shipped in from
st. Charles every night and the butter
for the day is made every morning.
What to do with the butter is a
question, for the home market is al
ready glutted. l am not prepared to|
state, but am of the opinion that we
can ship cream to Portland. 1 have a
good many communications from the
Hazelwood Creamery Company. While
| did not pay much attention to them
| am sure they said they had cream
shipped from longer distance. than
this. 1t should not cost very much to
ship to Portland. That would put it
into the best of factories and the best
of markes, fresh.