PROGRESSIVE FARMING. 27 



Now to show what is possible, I will give the result of obser- 

 vations made a year or two since for the purpose of ascertain- 

 ing the difference in income from different cows. I selected 

 three cows from my herd, one of which had been kept upon 

 the place several seasons and was thought to be fully an average 

 cow ; the other two were superior. The quantity of milk pro- 

 duced by each was carefully noted each week for a year. The 

 result showed, that while the average cow produced only 

 twenty-one hundred quarts per year, one of the others pro- 

 duced thirty-one hundred and the other thirty-five hundred 

 quarts, in the same time There was no perceptible difference 

 in the cost of keeping. Now if one could obtain a stock of 

 dairy cows which would produce three thousand quarts per 

 year, milk could be furnished the consumer at a less price and 

 a good profit to the producer. Any farmer who can procure 

 a herd of such cows can make money with them. 



There is no doubt but that the production of stock of a 

 quality equal to this, is entirely within the range of possibility. 

 The practical question is, How shall we get such animals ? And 

 this I regard as the most important point for every farmer who 

 intends to make milk-raising a prominent part of his business. 

 In the present condition of stock-breeding, it is impracticable 

 for him to go into the market and purchase them, because such 

 cattle are the exception, and those who own them do not often 

 offer them for sale. The only way in which we can improve 

 our milk stock seems to be to raise it ourselves, and perhaps 

 the greater value of such animals will pay for doing it. 



These are some of the points which an enterprising farmer 

 must consider, and decide, if he expects to meet with success 

 in his calling. But after he has decided on the most judicious 

 plan of management for his peculiar circumstances, he will find 

 new difficulties confronting him. Our hard lands of New 

 England will not produce paying crops without a constant and 

 large application of fertilizers. The source from which they 

 shall be drawn will be to him a never ending perplexity. 



The two principal sources of supply are stable and commer- 

 cial manures. Our proximity to large towns enables many of 

 the farmers of this county to obtain the former, and where this 

 is practicable there is nothing which can supply its place. It 

 is idle to attempt to carry on a farm profitably, keeping up the 



