166 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



grazing countrj^, we have established farms in Barre in 

 Worcester County, whose hill pastures are hard to equal ; 

 but this experiment has not been carried far enough to give 

 results, except in one particular. We lease one farm of 

 about 200 acres, having on it a large barn, the floors of 

 which we utilized with pens holding from 3 to 5 yearlings 

 each ; and on the product of this farm we carried last year 

 85 heifers and 2 bulls, at a cost practically as follows : — 



Rent of farm, $500 00 



Cost of manuring, plowing, planting, cultivat- 

 ing and putting in silo 11 acres of corn, . 220 00 

 Commercial fertilizer, ..... 42 00 



Putting in hay, 150 00 



Two-thirds wages of man 200 days in winter care, 150 00 



One-fifth cost of silo, 60 00 



Additional pasture, 100 00 



Incidentals, say, 63 50 



Total, $1,275 60 



or $15 each for the 85 head, including cost of carrying 2 

 bulls. The items for incidentals may be a trifle small, but 

 we had between 12 and 15 tons of hay remaining in the 

 barn in the spring, of which I have made no account, and 

 which would more than oft'set this. 



Taking this as cost of carrying for the year, from 1 to 2 

 years old, what is the cost of carr3dng for the first year, 

 and for the additional 7 months required to bring them to 

 31 months, — the average age of calving? As to this, I 

 have as yet no definite figures. The first year is, of 

 course, most expensive, inv^olving, as it does, more labor, 

 and co.st of milk (fresh and skimmed) and grain, to bring 

 them up to six months old ; but it is safe to say that our 34 

 heifers would cost us at 31 months of age not more than 

 $40 each, against $61.50 for the cows bought. 



Among the heifers are probably 5 or 6 Avhich we shall 

 not consider good enough to keep, but this percentage is 

 no greater than with the cows bought ; and in the compari- 

 son of figures above made I have included, as before stated, 

 the product of every one, including those which are un- 

 profitable, thus materially reducing the average. 



