Norwich bulletin., 1910-11-12

"A nGlSnpUF OI I1llue--jlP ; Il lelION
farmer, lives in the same county. be-
longs to the same Pomona grange, is
within my hello range on the telephone,
and If that doesn't make him neigh
bor" what would this neighbor of
mine has been Keeping tabs on his
dairy for the past year. He gave the
results in a recent talk to some fellow
dairymen. AS he was very explicit in
his statements and as I personally
know him to be a fair-minded ana
carefully accurate man with no espe-
cal hobby to ride, but very keen de-
sire to get at the inside facts of his
business and possessed of rather
unusually shrewd business turn. am
inclined to tie up TO his figures. Much
more inclined that way than if they
were given out by some stranger in
some professedly farm paper.
He carried during the year 25 head
of miikers-grade Gaernseys. There
was drouth which cut down the milk
yield somewhat Also the herd in
cluded five two year olds with their
first calves. Some other things hap
pened to hurt more or less. But, as he
remarked, something or other is al
ways happening. IL not one thing then
another and drawbacks Of some sort
must always be reckoned with He
was not running a fancy herd TO make
n record he was Just managing his
own everyday herd in the usual every
him. Hrs feed. including grain, hay,
silaKe soiling crops and pasture, came
20 81, 1864. Labor and interest on the
money invested in the cows amounted
10 $3.50 more. making a total of 81
1864 The Yield of milk was $500
quarts. which makes Tire 1niIk-cos to
him for the items specified little over
three and seventh cents per quart.
Darinq that very year the average
rraiA Hasrv.ra o in All The rarYiTOTV
around him for milk to go TO the city
or TO ase in the condensed milk fac
tories was several points under three
cents q quart.
Ny neighbor didn't sell his milk that
way. II he had he would have host
quite pot of noHsy.
To say that his figures for the cost
of his milk are conser xative is to use
u rlIid word For isasta nee he arrived
at the labor cost by reckoning twenty
minutes a day to milk cow-twiee.
pose-which assuming each one
was milked 292 days in year, would
amount, at s1.SS a day. to 1856. This,
you'll notice, makes no appropriation
for the labor Of feeding cleaning the
cows, or getting the manure out of the
stables. Nor does It make any account
OF the bi-daily work done in cleaning
the dairy utensils etc. etc. Did some
frf1I Of It, as yos might say? Similar
", his feeding figures are low. He
charges for only twenty tons OF hay
year to mis- twenty-five mixers, and
that at the rate Of Only SO a ton. He
must have had q bull in his herd and
Few yeaTiings TO feed, m addition to
the mixers. And I should think it
pretty close management to get say
thirty head through the winter on
tweney tons Of hay no matter how
brain HnH 6ITrfDQ
the spring when he was feeding his
$40 ton rag ] had to buy q couple OF
tons 20 carry me through and had to
pay 81 a ton for it delivered at my
baTr--coW hay. too not horse hay. /
think his figures for feed ana labor are
about as low as could be asked. Nor
does ne charge anything for the share
his COWS ought to bear in the interest
on his dairy barn. nor in the constant
repairs demanded on the same, nor in
the fencing of his pastures. nor in his
insurance on stock and buildings, nor
I'm the cost Of renewals OF his dairy
outf1t-patis and pans and coolers and
separatOrs, and the ike. Nor anything
for his own work, Of hands and head, in
planning his dairy operations and see
ing them carried through.
Nevertheless, at his exceedingly low
figures for the charges he has included
aid emitting all these other perfectly
ferred, his milk cost him more per
Quart than he could have sold it for
to the city milk dealers or TO the great
milk using manufactures.
Now. what need of Country Life
Commission" or any other sort or
commission, to find out what's the
matter wi 6h country life, when such
details as this are frotltng right up
10 sf1e surface all over the east? Milk
iE just one item IN the long and des-
perate indfckm emit which cold facts
bring against the present methods of
trade between the country producer
aud the city consumer. 7 remember
telling you OF me Missouri apple grow
ct who sold barrel of fancy fruit at
his orchard Tor y so and later bought
dozen apples FfoHH the same barrel
IN New York usty at s125 a dozen.
They're now fetEng OF the city man
Who bought a barrel Of common cook
ing apples from ATS dea2sr for 81 and
when ne reached the bottom found q
slip Of paper p'ith farmers name and
address aed this: u sold this barrel
nf eppAes for IS cents; please let me
know what you paid for IT. Down in
New Jersey careful truck gardener
has bseh for a long time keeping ac
Gouut with his products to see how
@tach Of the retail price the price a.
which they are sold in New York city
70 consumers. comes TO him. He finds
that taking the years as they run he
gets about 80 cents out of every dollar
which the eatsr pays for his goods.
That is. the man in New York pays a
dollar for a basket Of potato and
onions and lettuce and celery and can
oaEe and the like Of which dollar 35
cents goes to paT FOR fhe stuff in the
BASKET and 50 cents to pay for getting
H. from 4 Jersey garden, ffty miles
away &c his kitchen. The trucker gets
IS cents for the share that basket rep
regents e his years work his plan
n1ug- his seed, his labor, his land, his
fertilizer, HE Investment, his risk. the
other Sc ssnts goes to pay the rail
roads and the joobers aud the whole
sellers and the retailers and the de1iv-
cry man and the collectors and Lord
knows who else all OF whom levy their
tolls the basket passes.
Put IL another way; The farmer sells
a barrel of potato es-ebout three bush
els-for a dollar. The railroad takes |
out a peck and the joboer takes out
q half bushel, and the retailer takes
out bushel. and the delivery clerk
takes q peck home for his weeks use |
and the consumer finally gets for his
dollar about boshel-0ne- third Of |
what the farmer started to him. And !
men Mr. Consumer hoWis about the
k4gh prices and denounces the farmer
before gods and men as a greedy
IT, - sya