The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-07-15

SO that IN. the end the results would
be far from flattering, and It is with:
out doubt equally profitable for these
men to have an animal much inferior
to the very best. And the likelihood
is that they can make almost as much
profit out of a common animal as they
can out OF an animal developed to
the very highest degree possible, and
the same Is true relative to the COW
that has to be MIXED upon the farm.
There are many who would milk cows.
that have not studied the fundamental
principles Of handling, caring for and
feeding the dairy COW and it would be
a terrible hardship to the COW were
she compelled to Withstand the care,
feed and management that she would
receive at the hands Of these feeders,
because. as has been stated before,
she Is more or less of an artificial be-
ing, and in order to do her best work
she must be subjected to the very
best methods of management. and for
this purpose likely the so-termed dual
purpose COW is to be recommended.
She has been of wonderful service
in that she has been used as stepping
stone from beef production to the pro-
duction of milk and butter-fat- If we
look to the history of every country.
we will find that the different stages
of development are, first, grain farm.
ing, next grain and stock farming.
next stock farming, and finally stock
farming and dairying. The man who
has educated himself as feeder of
beef cattle always finds that to feed
for the production of milk Is a much
different business. He must have diff.
ferent kinds of animals, keep them un.
der different kinds Of shelter and feed
them foods of different kinds and In
different proportions, and on the whole
care for them entirely differently; and
were this man to step Immediately
from the feeding Of beef cattle into the
feding and caring for the very high
est character of dairy cattle, he would
not be pleased with the results as
feeder OF this second class of animals
Consequently, when he finds that there
are greater profits that are more Ger
tain to be found in milk production
the first step which he takes is to
begin milking the COWS that have
heretofore done nothing but produce
the calves that he has later sent to
market: and as he feeds for period
of time these cows that produce for
him regularly hardly enough milk and
butter.fat to pay for their keep, he be-
gins to wonder II there are not other
methods Of feeding these same cows
that will better their production. and In
consequence, he learns from time to
time and from year to year of the bet
ter methods or the ways Of producing
from these same COWS more milk and
butter fat and doing it more economr
ically and pro1tably.
During this period that the change
has been coming about, he has learned
to properly care for the cow and now
the time is ripe for him to 60 into
the dairy business and to use the real
dairy COW. 1t is somewhat like the
custom of the small boy who must
ride the wooden hobby horse first, later
the Shetland pony and finally he is
capable of riding and managing sue
cessfully real saddle horse. There
is no doubt but that of all the horses
the saddle horse is the best, but 1t
would be the height Of folly to give
him to the boy at the period when
he should be riding a wooden hobby
horse, or even at the time when he
should be riding Shetland pony.
When the proper time comes he will
be very successful in riding blooded
saddle horse, and it would be the ut
most folly for him to be trying to get
some place. on a wooden hobby horse
| at this time.
But, in its place. the hobby horse
has been extremely valuable in that
it has taught the first fundamental
principles of riding. and SO 1t Is with
the different degrees of efficient milk
producing COWS. Inasmuch as 1t Is
to q great extent folly for a man who
is trying to produce milk and butter
fat with the greatest degree OF profit
to be using common, Improbable COWS,
it would be almost as great folly
for the man who has never given the
matter any consideration and has prac
tically no ideas regarding the manage
ment of dairy COWS to be using high
class, expensive, pure bred dairy ami
mails because in all likelihood they
have been so intensely developed that
many Of them would become ruined
and practically worthless in the course
of a very short time under poor man
agement and would degenerate from
year to year. and instead Of the herd
becoming better as time passed on. 1t
would in reality become poorer and
his results would be far from crafty.
ing.
QUEER HABITS OF AUTHORS
Peculiar Eccentricities That Can Only
Be Set Down to the Eccentric
! tiles of Genius.