THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



245 



merous hilly slopes, deserted fields, unused 

 spots in creek bottoms and on slopes about 

 the farm and house that can be used for 

 this purpose. The money value of a place 

 will be enhanced a hundred fold in a short 

 time by the systematic planting of nut 

 trees, whose profits may be counted as cer- 

 tain as the seasons come and go. 



JOEL SHOMAKER. 



BUILDING UP A DAIRY HERD. 

 A good dairy herd cannot as a rule be 

 bought. It must be built up by the owner 

 through careful breeding, selecting and 

 feeding. Excellent dairy heards can be 

 ruined about as quickly as anything else 

 in this world. In the hands of a man who 

 does not understand the animals, and who 

 fails to appreciate their good points, the 

 herd will degenerate so that within two 

 years their value is lower by one-half than 

 at first. On the other hand, many an 

 otherwise apparently poor herd can be 

 brought up to a high point of efficiency 

 through the skill and sympathy of a good 

 breeder, feeder and selecter. There are 

 latent points in most herds which require 

 the appreciative eye of an expert to detect 

 and bring out. I have time and again 

 found in what looked like scrub cows most 

 excellent breeding and dairy qualities, but 

 these had been so overcome and lost by 

 general neglect that the animals appeared 

 to be nearly worthless. I make it a point 

 to examine the individual cows of different 

 herds for sale, and in this way I am often 

 enabled to make selections that are worth 

 considerable to me. but nothing practically 

 to the owner. The lack of appreciation in 

 some owners is shown by the way they will 

 praise the qualities of some particular ani- 

 mal in the herd, which for some reason 

 appeals to them with considerable force, 

 but which in reality possesses far less act- 

 ual merit than some unworthy looking 

 scrub. Now it is the height of skill to be 

 able to go through a herd of scrubs and 

 barnyard cows and pick out here 



and there animals that possess unusual 

 qualities. Yet every herd, no matter how 

 poor apparently in material, has one or 

 more such animals. If the dairyman un- 

 derstands his business let him go around 

 the country and pick up his material. He 

 must first understand his business thor- 

 oughly and not be misled by appearances. 

 If he can make his selections with unerr- 

 ing skill he is bound to find the work profit- 

 able. Such cows only require the right 

 sort of feeding, care and breeding with/ 

 good bulls to make their progeny excellent 

 dairy cows. Building up the dairy herd 

 in this way is both profitable and interest- 

 ing. One feels that he is getting some- 

 thing for nothing, or rather that he is re- 

 ceiving pay for his skill and knowledge in 

 judging animals. A. B. Barrett in Min- 

 nesota American Cultivator. 



THE FARMER'S WORKSHOP. 



Every well equipped farm should have 

 a shop which can be warmed, where much 

 repairing of farm implements, harness, etc., 

 may be done. The man handy with tools 

 will be able to make many conveniences 

 for the household if a place is provided 

 where such things may be done at "odd 

 moments," when outdoor work is not ad- 

 missible. Such conveniences greatly facil- 

 itate the work both in the house and at 

 the barn, and are not provided because 

 there is no suitable place in which to make- 

 them or leave them in the partially-finished 

 stages. To purchase them outright is of- 

 ten not to be thought of on account of 

 limited means. 



The workshop will enable one to put all 

 implements in readinesa for use, and the 

 time to prepare for war is in time of peace. 

 The tools needed for farm repairing will 

 be better cared for if a place is provided 

 for them and for using them. Than, too, 

 in such workshop the boys may be taught 

 lessons of thrift, economy and industry, 

 and it gives them an opportunity to expend 

 their activities on stormy days. This fea- 



