Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-07-20
4 WOMAN'S BIG DAIRY
Wins Fortune and Honor by Hard
Work and Good Sense With
Her Cows.
(By A. D. Burhans.l

.A1OT long ago visited the Fern
dale Jersey dairy farm, owned
and operated by Mrs. R. w.
Thomas, in Missouri. Seven years ago
she secured two very good Jersey
cows, and as she lived in good sec
ton OF the suburbs near city Of 1907
900 Inhabitants, her neighbors dis
covered that she could supply them
with choice milk.
They would come to her door and
hand her a SIS bill, telling her to ask
for more when that was used up. She
kept accurate account of each remit
lance for good milk and tried to give
good measure and clean milk.
The little industry grew. Cows were
needed to supply the demand the
pure milk created. The very best were
bought from time to time as needed.
Eleven head only have been pur-
chased. The remainder of the cows
In the herd have been bred and raised.
She kept only the very choicest. find
ing them too valuable to sell. Breed
ers never sell the select animals Of q
herd.
At the end of few years public
sale was held, as the herd had In
creased to about sixty head. Nearly
half were sold. After the sale &C
counts were balanced and the enter
prise had made $4,000 in clear money
and there was a herd of crack mich
cows left.
Mrs. Thomas gets s cents per quart
for whole bottled milk delivered
Physicians who want milk from GER
exin cows with a certain percentage
of butter fat in 1t recommended that
milk be obtained from the Ferndale
cows, because Mrs Thomas has built
tip a reputation for good service along
this line. If doctor advises milk con-
tanning 4.S per cent butter fat this
farm can generally supply 1t.
II more fat milk is required, they
can have it for the asking. When
COW has been supplying a special milk
to children for a certain length OF
time and Mrs Thomas finds it there.
after unsuitable, the recipients OF Il
are notified that it cannot be contin.
ued owing to an advanced period OF
lactation. The farm receives 10 cents
per quart for this special milk. The
demand is far greater than the supply
A word about the feeding. Pas
turage, alfalfa and other tame hay
bran, corn hearts and the fines
ground corn meal form the princtpa
part Of the rations. AS the farm Il
closely located to the town and neces
sarily small, all feed must be pur
chased. Bran costs $40 per ton. al
falfa hay SIS per ton. corn hearts an
meal about S22 per ton.
The son of Mrs. Thomas told M
that alfalfa hay could be bought a
cheaper figures than those he quoted
but that it was not good. He ha
been working with his mother TO
three years and takes to the details 0
the work and general management
like a duck to a pond.
The profits are good, or they woul
not be steadily enlarging the workin
herd with top notcher cows of thei
own breeding.
Bull calves consume too much hig
priced milk to make them proftabl
to raise unless they be from certai
cows in the herd whose records max
them valuable and in demand.
Mrs. Thomas sold four fine ANNA
to the government of Cuba, and at We
rious times has also disposed of goo
Jerseys to others. She has exhibite
at the st. Louis Worlds Fair, wheI
her herd won seventeen ribbons whic
included one over the famous Thoms
w. Lawson herd of show Jerseys.