Connecticut western news., 1914-02-26
COWS WITH RUBBER LININGS
Julian Sterling Writes of Abe Gard
 ner's Dairy.

ner's Dairy.
 Julian H. Sterling, the well.known journalist, writes as follows in the Bridgeport Farmer of February 20:
 Chapinville. Feb. 90. - The widest l dreams of the old original Goodyear Rubber Comany never approached the 1 possibilities or limitations of rubber as exemplified in the vitals of a COW. It was only last summer when the atoms of rubber began to disturb the environ ments of Chapinville, and the first thrifty farmer to discover the rubber mlcrobe was no other than Abraham Gardner, we'll known to all those who have camped for the last 40 years on the island at Twin Lakes. s... '' MT. Gardner's farm is on the upland overlooking the lakes and his meadows stretch along both sides of ths highway | for half mlle or more. He keeps a large herd of Holsteins, good milkers, and he conducts profitable milk busi- ness. Last summer the season was unu- sually dry. No rain fell for weeks and weeks and the farmers had to draw water from the lakes to supply their stock for miles round about.
 The highways were 8 mass of powder | ground up by the unusual rush of the summer tourists in automobiles. Thou. sands passed the Gardner homestead, and the wind blew the dust over the door yard and fields in all directions. Mixed with the dust was lnfinitesimal particles of rubber ground off the auto mobile tires, and this compound of rub Der and dust was thickly distributed all over Mir. Gardner's pastures. The COWS devoured grass, dust and rubber, and MT. Gardner noticed that they became unusually thirsty.
 He and his son, Charlie, hauled hogs heads of water for the herd and at even- tide Charlie noticed one two-year-old heifer chewing her cud with some diff. culty. He opened the heifer's mouth, thrust in his hand, grasped the cud and drew 1t out, to find that the cud was done up in an elastic band. He showed it 10 his father, and he said, "Oh. 1 guess that's and old garter Jennie has thrown out"
 However, Uncle Abe (as he is usu- ally called, by General Henry Bishop and his other familiar-), is philoso. pher, and that evening he sat long time thinkiDg-after the family had re- tired he went out to the cow barn and got second milking from that two-year old heifer and placed 1t in row of small bottles. Then he went to bed. He arose at cock crow and to his amazement on top of each bottle was rubber nip pie.
 These he placed in Fred Gordon s store in ChapiuvIlle and they sold like hot cakes. To make them ready for baby all cue bad to do was to puncture the rubber nipple with hat pin and there you are. There is always q good supply of babies in Chapinville and the rush for these Holstein rubber nipple nursing bottles as delivered exclusively by Uncle Abe began to grow to enor nous proportions.
 However the scene changes. when rain fell. because it washed the clover clean and there was DO more rubber for the cows to eat, ,and the babies had to turn to other fountains of supply. Time roll ed on through the fall to winter. When the cold snap came it was time to 'klll critter for home consumption" Mir. Gardner selected COW for the family altar, and she was accordingly dressed and hung up in quarters" in the ice house. Now If there is anything more than another good old-fashioned farmers love it is trlpe. This is where trouble began. The tripe was carefully prepar- ed and cooked according to Jennie GarG- ner's best receipt, but when she and Charlie began supper both of them and MT. and Mrs. Gardner and Walt Olm. stead found chat their jaws flew open faster than they could close them.
 They all sat around with their jaws fly ing back until Uncle Abe got mad and said, Ut s that-rnbber again" It got into the cows stomach last summer. He seized all the tripe there was in the rash CT, took the lantern aud went out to the wagon shed, where Walt found him h. ter mailing the tripe to the axles of bis farm wagon. "There," said Uncle Abe. i've been wanting to reinforce those springs for long time, and this rubber tripe is just tine thing" Then turning to Walt he said, Come in here. want to show you something" he led the way into the tool house. Here" he said, II found this in that critters stomach when dressed her. It's a rubber ball as hard as a rock. Fine for baseball. I'm going to give it to Clint Roraback, so he can whang out home runs next summer when the Canaan nine play the Lakeville team.
 Walt scratched his head and said. "If you want Clint to make home runs, you better give the ball to the Lakeville club and let Clint swat 'em." MT. Gard her is so impressed with his success In the rubber business instilled through his COWS Into marketable product that he has doubled the number of his herd for next seasons rush.