VERMONT DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 41 



PRIVATE DAIRYING. 



Mrs. Carrie J. Nelson, Ryegate, Vt. 



Mr. President, Members of the Dairymen's Association, But- 

 ter and Cheese Makers' 1 Association. Ladies and Gentiemen: 



The subject allotted to me is in my line of business. The 

 private dairy if rightly managed will make a product that will 

 compare favorably with that of the creamery and will usually 

 command as high a price in the market. I do not wish to be 

 misunderstood as every private dairy is not rightly managed. 

 Some are not particular enough in breeding; therefore their 

 dairy is not up to the standard for gilt-edge butter. Others 

 are not neat enough in their stables. If it is cleaned only 

 once in twenty-four hours the cow cannot be otherwise than 

 filthy and the milk from such a stable will be the same; but if 

 the stable is cleaned, swept and the cows neatly bedded, there 

 is less chance for taint in the milk. The quality of the butter 

 is to some extent in the hands of the milker and feeder. The 

 milker should thoroughly brush the udder before milking as 

 any particle falling from the cow will taint the milk. We all 

 know that some feeds hurt the quality of the butter. I will 

 give you a little of my experience on this point. In August 

 some five years ago or more my butter dealer wrote me two or 

 three different weeks that the butter was off on flavor. The 

 cows were at that time in a newly top dressed field and when 

 that was close enough they were changed to the pasture and 

 while there I took two first prizes on my butter; he also wrote 

 that the butter was all right. During this time the corn was 

 harvested and the grass ground top dressed in another large 

 field, then the cows were turned into that piece. The next 

 week he wrote the butter was off on flavor again. At that 

 time I had never heard of top dressing affecting butter but 

 could see no other cause for the sudden changes and since then 

 have top dressed but little while the cows were in the fall feed. 



At every dairy meeting I have attended since 1892 nearly 

 all the speakers have advised using cotton seed meal, gluten 

 meal, etc., to form a balanced ration for the cow. While at- 

 tending the dairy conference at Portland, Me., in December, 

 1898, I was asked what grain I used to produce an average of 

 329 pounds to the cow. My reply was "corn meal and bran." 



