THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



179 



Oue yeai'd interest on £13, at 5 per ceut £0 18 



Keep oa hay, from lat Blarch to 10th May, 10 



weeks at 43 2 



At grasa, from 10th May to lat Nov., 25 weeks, 



atSa 3 15 



Keep on hay, from 1st to 29th Nov., 4 weeks, 



at 4s IG 



Ditto, from 29th Nov. to lat Mar., 13 weeks, at 2s. 16 



Expense of attendance and dairy work 1 10 



Wear and tear of dairy utensils 3 



Loss on casualties and aged cows 1 10 



Totalexpoase HIS 



Let us now see what she produces : — 



Calf sold at a fortnight old £15 



3 cwt. of cheese at 6O3. per Civt 9 



37 weeks' butter, at 2j. per week. ... , 3 14 



Wheyforpigs 10 



Deduct expenses 



14 19 

 11 18 



Leaving a nett profit of £3 10 



By these calculations the dairy cow appears the more pro- 

 fitable animal, and with this I perfectly agree, when the farm 

 lies compactly, and the wife or daughters of the farmer are 

 able and williug to manage the dairy ; but when the fields are 

 at a distance from the homestead it maybe prudent to try 

 grazing, if the land be of sufficiently high quality for feeding 

 purposes. On my own farm I have tried both system?, and 

 am thoroughly convinced my dairy cows ate per head a greater 

 source of profit than my grazing beasts ; and as I have before 

 said, the acquisition of profit is the main object of all business, 

 I decidedly think that object will be best obtained, on the 

 majority of our Vale farms, by keeping a useful pack of c'airy 

 cows, provided they are well cared for, and the dairy managed 

 ou the best principles. Having made these few observations, 

 I am quite willing to be corrected in any of them, as what we 

 all want i^, to arrive at the truth, and discussing the matter is 

 the most likely way to bring that about. If I have in the re- 

 motest way given any of you a hint worth your notice, I am 

 very well repaid for any little trouble I have taken, and do most 

 heartily thank you for the kind way in which you have listened 

 to my few imperfect remarks, and now beg to say, I shall be 

 happy to answer any question that may be put me, if it lies in 

 my power, and conclude by wishing you all a Merry Christmas 

 anJ a prosperous New Year. 



Mr. NiCHOLLS opened the discussion by asking Mr. Savage 

 if he considered the quantity of cheese he had stated to be 

 made per cow, and the value of tiie S8me, to be an average 

 yield and price; be himself believed both to be rather over the 

 mark, and he thought that in discussions of this kind state- 

 ments should extend over a series of years, rather than be con- 

 fined to any one particular season, and it must be well known 

 to all present that prices this year are considerably higher than 

 they have been, lie considered them at the maximum, con- 

 sequently not a safe one by which to make calculations. He 

 felt indebted to Mr. Savage for the manner in which he had 

 brought the matter forward, and agreed with him that for the 

 Vale (Berkeley), taking it generally, the dairy cow was the 

 most profitable, for although he often heard it designated the 

 rich Vale of Berkeley, there are many acres quite poor, and that 

 would not fat a beast, or produce more than fifteen cwt. of hay 

 per acre ; and of which he was quite convinced three acres 

 would not maintain a cow to yield three cwt. of cheese. 



Mr. J. Till s»id he thought Mr. Savage's statements, as 

 regards the quantity and price of cheese, not at all extrava- 

 gant ; he was satisfied he had realized £3 per cwt., taking 

 Uie average of the last seven years. Again, it must be 



borne in mind, that the price of beef this season was aUo 

 equilly high, consequently if we took this present year it 

 would not materially affect the subject under consideration. 

 Taken as a whole, probably there were, however, olc or two 

 items with which he could not exactly agree, lu the first 

 place, what Mr. S. termed a second-class grazer, realizing 

 £18 the beginning of October, could not be bought in the 

 preceding February for £9. He thought £11 nearer the 

 mark. Three acres of laud was generally coneilered the 

 quantity required for keeping a dairy cow twelve months, 

 and Mr. J.Norton he believed put the cost at £9, both of 

 which he thought high calculations. He was, liowever, 

 decidedly of opinion the grazer might be maintained at less 

 cost than the dairy cow ; at the same time he doubted if it 

 would make so good a return. There was another item 

 which he could not agree to, that of 2s. per week for maiu- 

 taiaiug a dairy cow at hay, when dry for thirteen weeks, from 

 November to March. He certainly could not keep hia at that 

 sum. He quite agreed with Mr.S. as to the means of success 

 in any business. The two under diocussion are of a very dif- 

 ferent character, and iu a great measure depending tot.ally on 

 the different heads of the establishment for success, the dairy 

 coastan'.ly requiring the attentiou and supervision of the 

 female part, whilst successful grazing employs and requires 

 the strictest attention, judgment, and foresight of the farmer. 



Mr. Harrison thought, from Mr. Savage's figures, the 

 sscond-class grazer showed as good a return as the dairy cow, 

 the grdzer being on tlie farm only eight months instead of 

 twelve, and if allowed the same extent of land, the grass left 

 mutt be worth more than lOs. Again, 403. per ten was gene- 

 rally considered the consuming price of a ton of hay, and 

 most people agreed that stock would not realise more than 

 that sum for feeding it. If so, he believed it would be better 

 to consume it in grass, thus saving the expense (which was a 

 heavy one) of haymaking. If three cwt. of cheese per cow per 

 year was au average yield, he should say it was a small quan- 

 tity, and went far to show what was oftea reittrated, that that 

 progress in cheese making and dairy management had not 

 taken place as in other branches of agriculture; he, hovever, 

 thought the day not far distant when the art of chemistry 

 would point out to us how to make a larger quantity and of 

 better quality. He coincided with the opinion expressed by 

 Mr. Till that 23. per week was not aufficieut to maintain a 

 dairy cow during the w inter season, and believed it would add 

 greatly to her profit to keep her better, and not allow her to be 

 ia idleness for so long a time as thirteen weeks. No doubt 

 some of the land in what was termed the rich Vale of Berkeley 

 was of a poor description, consequently not calculated for 

 n-razing, and many of the farms were also small, whilst at tbe 

 aime time it was celebrated for its excellent cheese ; under 

 these circumstances he should rather advocate dairying-, 

 although, in his opiniou, sutBcient had not yet been advanced 

 to show decidedly which of the two was'^the most profitable, 

 lie must admit he had rather increased his dairy stock, to the 

 diminishing of his grazing. lie, however, recommended the 

 feeding of the turned off cows. 



Mr. O. Long said doubtless much of the pasture of the Vale 

 district, either from some peculiarity of the soil or the herbage, 

 was naturally suited to the production'of cheese ; at the same 

 time others were equally suited for the production of flesh 

 In fact, on some farms; both descriptions of land existed. 

 Under these circumstances, he shouldj advise the farmers to 

 try both methods, and follow that for which by experience the 

 land seemed most calculated. He was decidedly of opinion 

 that a greater number of grazing cattle than dairy cows could 

 be maintained on a like quantity of land, tind so far aj his ex- 



