Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-11-04
QUESTION AND ANSWER DEPARTMENT


were bred at the right time so as to
have milk and butter for sale at the sea-
son of the year when these products
bring the highest nrice.
To manage a dairy herd successfully,
the owner must give 1T his personal
attention. just as the manager of a
bank does his. If he has herd OF
considerable size, IL is not always nee
the cows and do other work which may
be distasteful to him, but it Is essential
that he watch the herd with the keenest
interest and look after every detail of its
management himself. 1t is not surpris-
ing that the average farmer who keeps
anywhere from two to ten cows should
say the business OF dairying Is unprofit-
able 1t is not surprising that many
so-called dairymen who conduct their
operations on a larger scale should fail
for their heart is not in the work, and
they have not a proper appreciation Of
the character of knowledge essential to
success. The many failures Witnessed
have. of course, prejudiced many against
the business, and II is now hard to
stem the opposition to it and make the
younger generation in particular realize
the wonderful opportunities it offers to
them for acquiring a competency.
In spite of all that may be said, dairy
ing offers great opportunities even TO
the man who has to start under most
unfavorable opportunities. Probably the
greatest difficulty facing the novice is
the establishment of the herd. This is
indeed a big undertaking, but IL can
be accomplished with less difficulty than
many suppose. The Jersey cattle are
quite widely disseminated throughout the
south. and though many of the animals
available for dairy purposes may not
be highly bred. ii is surprising to find
that many OF them milk freely and yield
a product rich in butter fat. As an
evidence of the foundation stock which
may be picked up In almost any COM
munity. IL is only necessary to cite the
records OF one or two animals purchas-
ed in the vicinity OF the State College
Of Agriculture at a cost OF from so
to SS7 head. The man who had bred
these cows thought they were selling
them at a good price and securing their
full value; yet one of these animals, a
grade Jersey, costing s35, produced 5,g76
pounds Of milk in her first lactation Pc
Rod The cost of feeding her was $SS. %
and the net profit on the milk at 80 cents
a gallon, SI64.62- Another grade Jersey
purchased at. cost of 81, yielded 6, 1855
pounds of milk in her first lactation
period at a cost for food of 5000, and
with a net profit from the sale OF milk
at 80 cents a gallon OF s1SaI7. No ac-
count is taken of the labor in either
instance. nor are the animals credited
with the manure. The astonishing re-
turns secured from these cows, however,
with milk selling at 10 cents below it's
normal price in many OF our southern
towns and cities, indicates that the
foundation stock for establishing a dairy
herd may be secured without as much
difficulty as has been anticipated by
many and at a very moderate cost No
doubt these COWS were not worth more
than the price paid for them, for the
owners were neither feeding nor caring
for them in a way to insure their max
ing a large profit. This was not the
fault Of the cows. however. as is clearly
shown by these figures, but to misman-
agement on the part OF the owners.
THE BEST TIME TO SUBSOIL LAND.
G. C RI. Hartwell, Ca. writes: In US
ing dynamite for breaking the clay for
crops. should IL be done in the fall or
spring? About what per cent of available
phosphoric acid should be used to get
the carbon out of the sand and other
plant food from the ground? Do you
think il would be wise TO use nitrate of
soda on cotton Just after cotton has
been thinned. or wait until It has several
leaves on it7
This year I used 900 pounds of guano
containing IA per cent OF available phos-
phoric acid on land that had been very
badly treated before. / plowed to ethe
clay every time. and during a six or
seven weeks drouth this summer my cot
ton. shed but very little.
II would be best to use dynamite for