178 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



KINGSCOTE AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION, 



lu coneequence of the usual day of holding the Monthly 

 Meeting' of this Association falling oa Christmas Daj', it was 

 held OQ the following day (Wednesdaj-), at Hunter's Hall, and 

 taking into consideration the holiday season and the severe 

 state of the weather, was wdl attended. The president (J- 

 T. Harrison, Esq.), from detention at home, not having arrived 

 at the time of commencing the business of the evening, Mr. F. 

 Burnett was called upon to take the chair. The subject for 

 discourse was on " The relative merits of Grazing and Dairy 

 Farming," the introduction of which had been kindly under- 

 taken by Mr. Savage. After the minutes of the previous 

 meeting had been read, the Chairman remarked, the subject 

 for consideration was one iu which the members of the Vale 

 district of the association were more directly interested and 

 connected, than those of the hill, and he was much pleased to 

 see so large a number of them present. From his scanty 

 knowledge of summer grazing, he could not himself enter into 

 the merits of the subject ; but he doubted not, however, Mr. 

 Savage was prepared, and would do so most ably; and from 

 the number of practical persons he saw around him, he felt 

 certain a very interesting and profitable discussion must fol- 

 low. He would, therefore, without any further preface, call 

 upon Mr. Savage to give his views on the matter, which he did 

 as follows :— 



In appearing before you to-night (remarked Mr. Savage) 

 to read the paper I hold in my hand, I must beg you to recol- 

 lect who and what I am, a tenant farmer, totally unaccustomed 

 to publicly addressing a meeting of this kind, but endeavour- 

 ing by perseverance to gain an honest living, and at the same 

 time, so far as I possibly can, improve the land I hold, and 

 the quality of my stock. If I had the ability of many of the 

 gentlemen I see present, the few remarks I am about to make 

 would come in a much better form, but you must take the will 

 for the deed, aud excuse all my errors, for I assure you, no 

 man can possibly have a greater desire for the extension of 

 agricultural knowledge than I have, whether it be in the cul- 

 tivation 0.' the soil, or the improvement of stock ; and after the 

 very many excellent examples we have had set us in this 

 neighbourhood, by the late Lord Ducie, Colonel Kingscote, 

 and other large landonners, and also by many tenant farmers, 

 I do think we should be something worse than dunces if we 

 did not put our shou'dersto tlie wheel, and help, with all our 

 might, the good cause ; for, depend upon it, there are very 

 few soils but will yield an abundant return for the labour 

 bestowed upon them ; and he that increases its produce is a 

 great benefactor, not only to his neighbourhood, but the 

 country at large. Having made these few remarks, I will now 

 proceed to give you my views as to the Relative Merits of 

 Grazing and Dairy Farming. The chief end of all business is, 

 of course, the acquisition of profit, aad it matters not whether 

 we are farmers or tradesmen, if we wish to succeed in our un- 

 dertaking we must have a thorough knowledge of our busi- 

 ness, sufficient capital to carry it on, and a willingness to ex- 

 pend it, in a liberal, yet prudent, manner ; to this must be 

 added great industry and perseverance. To a company like 

 the present I need hardly say how important it is, in purchasing 

 stock, to select animals most suitable to your soil and situation 

 of your farm, nor of the necessity of providing shelter for them, 

 and giving them careful attendance, and the best nourishment 

 your land will produce. Whether our farms will pay us best 



as graz'ng cr dairy farms depends vastly upon its quality ; but 

 in the examples I am about to give, I take the average grass 

 lands of our own neighbourhood. Doubtless the very rich and 

 fertile soils of some of the midland counties are best suited 

 for grazing ; whilst, on the other hand, much of the land of 

 this county, being of a lower quality, appears more adapted 

 for dairy purposes. I will now proceed to give you my calcu- 

 lations of the cost aud produce of three beasts, the first two 

 being grazers of a higher and lower quality, and the third an 

 average dairy cow. I will begin with the better-claes grazer. 



Grazer bought the 1st of February, at £14 17 



Keep on hay, from 1st Feb. to 19th May, 14 



weeks, at 4s 2 16 



At grass, from 9th May to 3rd Oct., 21 weeks, 



at 43 4 4 



Keep on hay, from 3rd Oct. to 18th Dec, 11 



weeks, at 23 12 



Roots, &c., not produced on the land, but given 



during the last eleven weeks, at Sa 4 8 



Attendance 13 



Risk from sickness or injury 15 



Ten months' interest on first outlay 012 



Making a total cost of £30 7 



Sold the IBth December, 



We will now see what she will produce, which will be aboat 

 as follows : — 



We will call her 8^ cwt., at 70s. per cwt £29 15 



Allow for rough keep left on the land 1 



And as she has been eating artificials, I reckon 



the manure made to be worth 10 



31 15 

 Deduct expenses.,. 30 7 



Leaving a nett profit of £18 



By these figures you see, I make a charge of 83. per week for 

 the last 11 week", for roots, meal, &:c., not produced on the 

 grazing lands ; this I think only fair, in comparing her with 

 a dairy cow, as by my system the latter does not consume 

 artificials; on the other hand, I alUw £1 for the rough keep 

 'eft on the land, as the animal is stall-fed from the 3rd Oct. 

 I also allow £1 for the manure, as having been eating oilcake 

 meal, &c., it must be of that value. Let us proceed to what 

 I shall call a second-class grazer : — 



Grazer bought the lat February for £9 



Keep on hay, from 1st Feb. to 9th May, 14 weeks, 



at 43 2 16 



At grass, from 9th May to 3rd October, 21 weeks, 



at 3s ..,., 330 



Attendance 10 



Risks from disease or death 10 



Eight months' internist on first outlay, at 5 per cent. 6 



.£16 5 



Sold the 3rd October, call her 6 cwt., at 6O3 £18 



Allow for rough keep left on the laud 10 



18 10 

 Deduct expenses 16 5 



Leaving a nett profit ,... £2 5 



Or a balance of 179. in favour of the animal entirely fed on 

 grass, and disposed of early. We now come to the dairy cow, 

 costing £18, to calve the Ist March ;— 



