2i68 Farm Bureau Circular No. 6 



is applicable to this county and that the practice will spread rapidly. 

 Farmers may be able to save many thousands of dollars in their future 

 fertilizer purchases. Those who tested the plan this past season have 

 already declared in favor of the phosphorus alone. 



cow TESTING 



Last year 1200 cows were placed on monthly tests in order to determine 

 their yearly production of milk. This year about 1000 more have been 

 added. Records of 28 herds have been completed for one year's work. The 

 following figures are rather startling : Sixty per cent of the cows failed to 

 show a profit. There were 6 herds in which every cow was a " boarder; " 

 18 herds in which more than half the cows were " boarders;" 2 herds in 

 which every cow more than paid her board. 



Such resiilts should cause every dairyman in the county to study his 

 own situation in order to determine just where he stands. Without 

 question, such a study will furnish the most efficient basis for increasing 

 farm profits. This has been found true for all sections of New York 

 State. Many, if not the majority of the 5000 farmers of this county, 

 are kept from making a substantial yearly income by a few poor cows. 

 " Boarder " cows are fit only for the butcher. 



ORCHARD renewal 



This county has many good orchards, which, when properly cared for, 

 are capable of producing good crops of liigh-grade apples. In order to 

 demonstrate what could be done, seven orchards in four different sections 

 of the county were trimmed and sprayed under the direction of the farm 

 bureau last spring. Each orchard produced large crops of good fruit. 

 It is gratifying to notice the manner in which farmers in the neighborhood 

 of these orchards have taken notice of the results. Requests for help 

 have come in from them already. One orchard is especially noteworthy. 

 It consists of twelve acres of middle-aged trees that had not been known 

 to bear for twenty years. Many farmers said it could not be made to 

 do so, yet this first year's work resulted in an especially fine crop of Kings 

 and Hubbardstons. The whole crop was purchased on the trees and put 

 into cold storage for winter delivery. 



the producer-consumer movement 



The fourth of the projects has been the development of a healthy pro- 

 ducer-consumer movement. We have not had funds with which to push 

 this work as could be wished, but we have succeeded in placing 277 bushels 

 of apples and 151 bushels of potatoes in Syracuse cellars. The business 

 totaled $313.35. This is a very fair beginning, and by another fall it 

 should be greatly extended. But it is difficult and slow work. The 

 consumer wants a fine quality of produce at a lower price than he would 

 have to pay at his grocer's. The farmer must agree to deliver a uniformly 

 high quality of goods and should be paid for his delivery. The pripe should 

 be, therefore, somewhere between the retail and the wholesale price. This 

 is economically sound. That these apples and potatoes were put into 

 consiimers' cellars with general satisfaction to the consumers, is encouraging, 



