344 ANNUAL. REIPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



picking them up iu such great numbers that he could stand 

 on the pyramid of this grand and noble State and view this coun- 

 try, would tind the glitterings of pebbles as numerous as the stars 

 ill the Jieavens. 



POSSIBILITIES OF A SMALL DAIRY. 



By Jt'etek B. Coavan, Brookville, Pa. 



These few remarks at this time are from the farmer's standpoint 

 and not from the dairyman's. By the term, dairyman, 1 mean 

 those who are in the business as a business and not as a sideline, 

 like the majority of farmers. There are thousands of farmers all 

 over this great Commonwealth who keep a small dairy, consisting 

 of from two to four cows, solely for home consumption, and few 

 there are who produce enough beyond the home needs to make it 

 attractive from a money point of view. In my judgment there is 

 no one thing more responsible for the boys and girls leaving the 

 farm than the improper handling of the small dairy, with the un- 

 sanitary surroundings of the stables, the ill-kept condition of the 

 cows, the inconveniences for -handling the milk and butter; the 

 lack of system and the scanty returns, are enough to cause any 

 ambitious boy or girl to desire something more pleasant and re- 

 munerative. Go with me, if you please, and view the surroundings 

 of the small dairy, and see the large per cent, of them that are 

 not the most desirable place to eke out an existence. My observa- 

 tions, when coming in contact with these surroundings and condi- 

 tions, have led me to the thought of the possibilities of the small 

 dairy. Most of our lectures and literature on the subject of dairying 

 treats of it as a separate business, with all the modern improve- 

 ments for handling the products and the improved methods of 

 feeding with the silo attachments, etc. There is no question of 

 the good they have done v^^hen we look at the advancement along 

 the various lines of dairying, but with the small dairy these im- 

 provements are slow to be adopted, and it is a question whether the 

 adoption of many of Ihem would be advisable or profitable to the 

 farmer keeping from two to four cows. 



The farmer should aim to make the most out of everything and 

 to have his labors bring him good returns. He should also aim to 

 have all the conveniences necessary to make the labor of himself 

 and family not only pleasant but profitable, and nowhere is this 

 more true than with the small dairy. 



The small dairy has many advantages to recommend it if it is 

 properly handled. Among them, is the possibility of doing away 

 with the middleman's profits, by selling the products direct to the 

 consumer. This may not always be desirable or possible, but in 

 a very great majority of cases it is. This plan not only brings the 

 producer in touch with the consumer, but gives him a chance to 

 cater to bis tastes and thus remove any undesirable traits in hns 



