Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1916-04-07
Continued from March II.

Continued from March II.
To summarize some of the impor-
tant changes both in methods and
practice, dairying illustrates how rad
ical these changes have been. Old
Brindle dropped a calf at about the
time the grass began to grow on the
hillsides. She gave milk enough to
feed the calf and slight surplus for
domestic use. 1t was not uncommon
when the calf had reached the age of
a few weeks to put it on a separate
pasture and a diet of skinned milk
While the grass continued rich and
green old Brindle gave a varying sup
ply of milk. carrying a normal per-
centage of butter fat. The house.
wife, without theorizing or reasoning
why. learned at an early day that the
heifer calf that was made o family
pet, receiving numerous extras In the
way of vegetables, green corn. and
later on the nubbins at husking time.
developed greater capacity for turn
ing food into milk than either her
mother or grandmother. frequently
giving twice as much milk as was
necessary to feed her calf; and such
exceptional mixers became the fam
lily COW and lived to q good old age,
and all her female offspring were
made family pets. Butter and cheese
were manufactured by the housewife
to supply the family table. and II
there was any surplus during the
days of rich pasture in midsummer.
1t was packed away in Jars or tubs
for winter use.
The next step in the evolution Of
deirying came when the herd had in
creased in numbers so that this sur
plus became an important factor in
the farm products, which found its
way to market as cured cheese and
packed butter.
The labor of the dairy fell largely
to the women folks, who did the milk
ing, skinned the milk and churned
the butter, or made cheese.
Some sixty or seventy years ago
came the first movement looking to-
ward cooperation in dairying. when
the farmers in given district would
employ special cheese maker and
would pool their milk. Butter. how
ever, for another quarter of cen
fury, retained its individual charac-
ter, and it's quality was as variable
as the character and conscience OF
its makers, the country store being
the assembling point where the but
ter was gathered for shipment to
some central market. Then came
the cooperative creamery, where 100
or more farmers pooled their milk,
to be manufactured into one kind of
butter. The skimming was done by
large centrifugal machines and the
farmer carried home the skinned
milk to feed the calves and pigs. This
method quickly standardized the
creamery product and proved salts
factory to both the producer and the
consumer. 1t also stimulated inter-
est in the improvement Of dairy stock,
to the Introduction Of purebred ami
mails that for many generations had
been selected, bred and fed for dairy
purposes. But even thirty years ago
the COW that produced 500 or 600
pounds Of butter fat per year was
considered phenomenon. Today we
have many cows that are capable Of
producing twice that amount. Farm
ers have learned the lesson that the
COW which drops her calf in the fall
or early winter will. other things
being equal. give Is or 80 per cent
more milk during the milking period
than when the calf is dropped in the
spring. This has necessitated the
growing of a greater variety Of feed.
more intelligent feeding, better care,
more continuous income, and a bet
ter understanding of the value Of in
dividual selection. testing and sorting
of dairy herds.
One single illustration. and we
have thousands of q similar charac-
ter. In a herd of ~ cows, by the use
of a Babcock test, scales and a milk
record, by Intelligent selection. sort
ing and breeding, one man improved
his herd in ten years so as to double
the annual production and reduce the
cost of producing one pound of but
ter fat so per cent.
In the past 25 years the average
age of hog going to the packing
house has been reduced more than a
half and at the same time greatly
improved the quality. Almost equally
radical has been the change in beef
production.