The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1918-03-14
MN, WOMEN
AND THINGS

through '<AlapaIna 10 size UP the sl1@n
/ ton.
Now bear in mind he had no ak to
grind no scheme to promote, but vas
talking to me, not as newspaper man,
but as a citizen who was interested In
the possibilities and opportunities in the
cattle industry in the state to Offset the
ravages of boil weevil.
This man knew the cattle business
through and through, but his love vas
for the dairying breeds, and therefore
his song was in praise of the dairy type,
and what could be done with dairy cat
tie and dairies If properly controlled BY
men who knew both cows and the right
methods OF marketing dairy products.
| happened to know that the man who
was talking to me had an income of
more than $4,000 year and got $50
day and travelling expenses to go over
the country to size UP and appraise cat
tie investments and test out the food
values of the numerous feeds used in
fattening beef or increasing the milk ca
Ipaeity of herds used in dairying.
He surprised me by saying that al
though he was around 60, he would want
nothing better than to move to certain
parts of Alabama where alfalfa had been
tested out and settle ON 100 acres and
show what could be done with bunch
of good registered mich cows. AS he
visioned it his eyes glowed and his man
ner was enthusiastic THE people or
your state he said to me, are asleep
on the profits that can be made by
wise investment in milk producing cat
tie"
I know how easy it is to let a lot OF
promoters come into a state and organ
ze creameries and skim the milk and
get away and leave lot of investors
wiser, but disillusioned. 1 saw it done
at one time when living in Tennessee.
1t wasn't the fault with the lands abiI-
tyi to- support the cattle. or the oppor-
tunity to market the creamery products.
It failed because frequently the men who
organized the creamerfes wene mere
stock spectators, and those who pat
their money into them were unacquaint-
ed with the dairy business.
I saw the statement made sometime
ago that cattle rank second only to
horses in market value in the United
States. For all l know, they may now
be worth more The last figures I saw
| M
100000 dairy COWS, or probably at present
one to every four people in the country.
I am not here interested in beef cattle
or calves. The war has taught us to
think in billions. Well, the dairy cattle
in this land of ours is in the billion-dol-
lar class.
In 1915 each of six states, Wisconsin,
New York, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and
Texas, had more than million
dairy COWS: and four other states, Penn
sylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Missouri,
had three-quarters of million each.
These 10 states furnished more than 50
per cent of all our dairy cattle. These
facts ought to stir us up here In Ala
ment is on record as saying that cattle
|can be raised cheaper than in any
lother state in the union.
Now, do not want to create the idea
that dairying is bonanza, and ought
TO be thoughtlessly entered upon. Like
|matrimony, it should be carefully con-
sidered, for there is chance that the
novice will soon be divorced from his
money. There is no gainsaying the fact
that dairying is now one of the leading
industries in America and is growing
|by leaps and bounds, but it has been
ESTIMATED that one-third of the dairy
cows in the United States are kept at an
actual loss. AS one authority quantity
but APPLY puts it, Twice every day there
are MIXED some 100000 cows, mere
boarders, that not only return no profit,
but use up the profit from good cows.
do not want to be impertinent, but,
Mr. Farmer how many of these profit
less cows are you feeding?
It's A to the cattle fancier, but it
may be news to some Of my readers that
dairy and beef cattle present two rather
distinct types as to form, or build, and
appearance. One is bred to take on fat
while the other is raised to produce
milk The good dairy cow is spare OF
flesh, for the surplus food must be
turned into milk and not into fat. She
appears somewhat loose jointed, but the
muscles are we'll developed. I remember
being at the Troy fair with my friend
Bateman when a stock exhibitor saw me
looking at one of his Jerseys. I thought
the poor thing had been grossly neg
lected, for she was as poor as rail. To
show interest 1 asked her price. ana
came near faintng when he said he had
refused $500 for her. He then grabbed
her sides and showed me how loose her
skin was. in my ignorance had set 1t
down as a fault but he expatiated Oh II
until he won me to the point where !
was ready to concede that the proper
wear for Jersey was motner hub
bard instead of skin-tight suit of hair
| You may reasonably ask where I am
getting lot of this COW dope. I do not
| mind admitting that most of it is out of
books. l am not taking a correspond
ence course in cowology," but am read
ling the best authorities on the subject,
and as one of the speakers in the food
n at t,r1ro 4