No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 147 



THE SILO AN ECONOMIC. 



By THOMAS J. PHILIPS, Atcilen, Chester county, Pa. 



The wonderful development and change of the present generation 

 is as apparent in the country as in city or town. The passing from 

 scythe and cradle to mower and self binder marks a new era as dis- 

 tinctly as the trolley ear or arc ligli't. The rich virgin soil of the 

 prairie offers its produce in our own markets, cheaper and better 

 than we could produce them a few years ago. And we owners of 

 the older and worn-out acres feel the competition keenly, and are 

 forced to direct our attention to something that will yield income 

 without further wasting our resources. The dairy has become al- 

 most universal in this and neighboring States. The general purpose 

 cow of our fathers has hid herself in the mountains, and a new 

 butter making machine has taken her place. The merit of this new 

 machine being recognized, her food and environment required at- 

 tention. The quality of her product being established, the pro- 

 gressive dairyman directs his attention to quantity, and through his 

 ability to feed into this machine crude products cheaply depends his 

 success. The number of pounds of dry matter she can assimilate 

 has been calculated to a nicety, also the proportion of food necessary 

 to build up the waste in muscle, fat and energy, and at the same time 

 furnish the greatest possible amount of butter-fat, is a never ex- 

 hausted subject at .a Farmers' Institute. 



When the produce of our own soil or that purchased from other 

 farms, can be transformed into milk in quantity and quality at a 

 price that will afford a profit on the money and labor invested, the 

 business is a comfortable one; therefore, it is equally important that 

 the cost of the food be reduced to the minimum, as it is that the fin- 

 ished product shall command the highest possible price. If you 

 will indulge me a few minutes I will try and explain from the stand- 

 point of a Chester county farmer. Though only an hour or two from 

 the great cities of the east, our goods sell upon their merits, in 

 competition with yours and every other dairyman. If we have the 

 advantage of cheaper rates of freight to market, we are handicapped 

 by the increased cost of our feeds, higher priced lands, more ex- 

 pensive living and decreasing fertility, or what amounts to the 



