330 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



APRIL. :ei. l-i41. 



COWS NOTICED IN THE TRANSACTIONS 

 OP THE ESSEX AGRICUL. SOCIETY. 



The committee to award the premiums offered 

 by the Slate Society, awarded, tor tlie best cow of 

 native breed, to Albert Johnson, of Lynn, the first 

 premium of $15. The committee of the County 

 Society on Milch Cows and Heifers, awarded the 

 first premium of $10 to Charles F. Putnam, of Sa- 

 lem, and the second of $0, to Albert Johnson, of 

 Lynn. We believe that Mr Putnam's cow was 

 not entered with the committee for awarding the 

 premiums offered by the State Society. The third 

 countv premium was given to Hobart Clark, Esq., 

 ofAndover. The committee say: "The exhibi- 

 tion of cows was unusually large, and several of 

 these animals possessed remarUable excellence. — 

 Your committee were embarrassed in relation to 

 the best cows, by the fact that Mr Putnam's calved 

 in October, and Mr Johnson's in March ; thus bring- 

 ing the best milking time of Mr Putnam's cow in 

 winter — a season less favorable for a large yield 

 of milk than the summer. Mr Johnson's cow gave 

 more milk per day during some months of the year, 

 than Mr Putnam's ; but in the seventh month of the 

 milking of Mr Putnam's cow, she gave 24 quarts 

 more than Mr Johnson's in the sixth month of her 

 milking — rendering it probable that Mr Putnam's 

 cow would yield the larger quantity in a year. — 

 Another fact was embarrassing ; the statements 

 of Messrs Putnam and Johnson give us the yield 

 in milk, while Mr Clark gives his in butter ; con- 

 sequently it was difficult, if not impossible, to make 

 a satisfactory comparison. Two other cows, one 

 owned by (Jeorge Spofford, of Georgetown, the 

 other by Josiah Crosby, of Andover, were very 

 good." 



To e.thibit with some distinctness the difficulty 

 which this committee may be supposed to have met 

 with, we copy the statements of Messrs Johnson, 

 Putnam and Clark, and shall add our comments. 



ALBERT JOH.NSOk's STATEMENT. 



To the Committee on Milch Cows : 



Gentlemen — I present you a milch cow which 

 I bought of Mr Draper, of Danvers, April 22, 1839. 

 He said she was then five years old. She had a 

 calf with her, which Isold when twentyone days 

 old, for eight dollars. We used all we wanted in 

 a. family of eight persons, and sold one hundred 

 and twentyfive dollars' worth of milk, at five cents 

 per quart, from the 2^d of April, 1S39, to February 

 12, 1840. 



The present season she calved the 27th day of 

 March. I then commenced keeping an account of 

 her milk, and the result is as follows : the calf was 

 taken from her when nineteen days old, and weigh- 

 ed twentyfive pounds per quarter — sold for six 

 dollars. 



Lbs. 

 From March 27 to May 



The milk sold for five cents per quart, making! 

 an income from the milk for six months, of $136 80 

 From sale of calf, G 00 



$142 80 



The largest quantity any one day, fiftytwo lbs., 

 or twenty (jts. one and a half pint. Her pasture, 

 until the drought came on, was good, after that I 

 gave her some hay and one bag of shorts. Her 

 milk makes the very first rate of butter, as also a 

 large quantity : the milk is rich and good. 



ALBERT JOHNSON. 



September 30, 1840. 



This may certify, that I milked the above de- 

 scribed cow this whole season, and that the amount 

 is correct and truly stated. 



NEHEMIAH JOHNSON. 



May 



June 



July 



Aug. 



Sept. 



1 to June 1, 31 

 1 to July 1, 30 

 1 to Aug. 1, 31 

 1 to Sept. 1, 31 

 1 to ' 28, 28 



1, 33 days, 1103^ 



1397 



1337 J. 



1145 



998^ 

 859^ 



6,840 



Qts. 

 441 

 569 

 535 



458 

 399 

 344 



CHARLES F. PUTNAm's STATEMENT. 



To the Committee on Milch Cotvs : 



Gentlemen — The cow offered by me for pre- 

 mium this day, was raised in Vermont, and is six 

 years old. She calved the 2,)th of October, 1839, 

 and the calf was taken away November 14th. Her 

 feed, from the 15th November to May 15th, has 

 been English hay and one and a halfpeclv of sugar 

 beets per day. From May 15th to this date, she 

 has been in a very poor pasture, and has had two 

 quarts of Indian meal, or three quarts ground oats 

 per day, with hay at night. I have kept an exact 

 account of the milk taken from her at each milking, 

 since November 15th, and shall furnish you with a 

 copy ; I shall also furnish the expense of keeping, 

 with the amount of sale of milk. I should be pleas- 

 ed to continue the account to complete the year, 

 if it meets the views of the committee. 



The cow is remarkably gentle, and her milk is 

 of very superior quality. Mr James Holt, of Dan- 

 vers, sold me the cow; she was considered supe- 

 rior for butter, havinsj made in one week 10 lbs. 

 3 oz., with her second calf. She has had three 

 calves, and will calve again in March. 

 I am, very respectfully, yours, 



CHS. F. PUTNAM. 



Salem, Sept. 26th, 1840. 



33$} quarts at 6 cents, $199 98 



881 " " 5 " 44 05 



Gross amount of produce, $244 03 



Costs of keeping: 



2 1-2 tons of hay at $15, 37 50 



68 1-4 bushels sugar beets, 13 05 



6 bushels ground oats, 2 88 



8 bushels Indian meal, 5 20 



Pasturage and driving, 11 00 



Milking, estimated Gets, per day, 21 90 — 91 53 



Net produce for the year, $152 50 



CHS. F. PUTNAM. 

 Salem, December, 1840. 



Note. — I have compared the foregoing with Mr 

 Putnam's book of original entries, made daily, and 

 find it to be correct. It forcibly illustrates the 

 importance of selecting animals of the best quality. 

 The diffi'rence between keeping good animals and 

 poor ones is, that one are profitable and the other 

 are not. J. W. P. 



[Note. — J. W. P. is Secretary of the Essex Ag- 

 ricultural Society.— Ed. N. E. Far.] • 



Gentlemen — Having kept an accurate account 

 of the milk obtained from my cow, for which a pre- 

 mium was awarded at Georgetown, I submit it to 

 be used as you may think proper. 



Total, 184 6,840 2,736 



or, 3 tons, 840 lbs. ; averaging, within a fraction, 

 15 quarts per day, without any estimate of the 

 quantity that the calf took, which was all that he 

 wanted. 



From 1839, Nov. 15 to Dec. 14, 



' Dec. 15 to Jan. 13, 1840, 

 ' 1840, Jan. 14 to Feb. 12, 

 ' ' Feb. 13 to Mar. 13, 

 ' ' Mar. 14 to Apr. 12, 

 ' ' Apr. 13 to May 12, 



' ' May 13 to June 11, 



' ' June 12 to July 11, 



' ' July 12 to Aug. 10, 



' ' Aug. 11 to Sept. 9, 



' ' Sept. 10 to Oct. 9, 

 ' < Oct. 10 to Nov. 13, 



Qts. pis. gills. 

 433 1 

 5J5 1 2 

 405 



375 1 

 370 1 3 

 342 1 3 

 368 1 1 



376 

 302 1 

 275 1 

 205 1 

 273 1 



|4214 

 being nearly an average of 12 quarls per day for 

 the year. 



This milk I value as follows : 



MR CLARK S STATEMENT. 



To the Committee on Milch Cows : 



Gentlkmen — The cow which I offer this day 

 for exhibition, is ten years old. I purchased her 

 from a drove when a yearling. She calved the 

 present season on the 28th of May, and her calf 

 was taken from her when three weeks old. The 

 milk of tliis cow, the first week, produced fourteen 

 pounds of butter ; the second, twelve and three 

 fourths. Her first week's produce is present for 

 your inspection. She has had nothing during most 

 of the season but common grass feed. The ave- 

 rage weight of her milk now is twenty pounds. 

 Her calf is present with her. Her age is four 

 month.i and three days. 



I am, with respect, 



Your obedient servant, 



HOBART CLARK. ^ 



Andover, Sept. 30, 1840. 



The above statements show that the cows are 

 uncommonly good. We notice that Mr Johnson 

 presumes that 2 lbs. 8 oz. of milk make a quart. 

 But we believe that milk is seldom found to weigh 

 less than 2 lbs. 9 oz. per quart. Milk must be ex- 

 traordinarily rich that weighs only 2 lbs. 8 oz. We 

 presume that Mr J. was entirely honest in acting 

 upon his presumption, and we intend distinctly not 

 to make the slightest imputation of any thing wrong. 

 But if our belief is well founded, that it takes 41 

 oz. instead of 40, to make a quart, then the state- 

 ment is too high by 66 qts. We should therefore 

 substract $3 30 from the $142 80, which the milk 

 and calf were stated to be worth — then there will 

 remain $1.39 50. This is a very great income to 

 obtain from one cow in 184 days. The cow we 

 have been informed, would calve again in April. 



Mr Putnam's statement contains a very valuable 

 account of the expenses of keeping a cow. His 

 cows are kept in the city, and every thing that they 

 consume is weighed and measured. We presume 

 from our knowledge of his habits, that every thing 

 in tlie statement is accurate. His measure of the 

 milk, we understand, is that by which he sold to 

 his friends and neighbors. Evfjry reader will per- 

 ceive that his cow was more profitable during the 



