1857. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



231 



the pastures, with plenty of pure water. When 

 these failed by reason of drought or any other 

 cause, recourse was had to the corn-field, and the 

 stalks were cut and greedily devoured by the cows. 

 I have heard some say that corn fodder would not 

 produce milk ; but my old mother Pickering used 

 to say that it was not possible that the sweet juice 

 of Indian corn should not be useful for milk cows. 

 We found it good for them. 



The feeding of swine naturally follows the oper- 

 ations of the dairy, for much that is useful for little 

 else may aid much in fattening swine. Swine are 

 also very useful on a farm if rightly employed. 

 Every swine raised on a farm will make more than 

 his own value in manure, if you keep him well sup- 

 plied with the material to work upon. There is a 

 reciprocal action between what you do for a crop 

 and for your swine ; and there is no better way to 

 make manure than by the aid of the hog. 



Col. Newiiall, of West Newbury, was called up 

 by some appropriate and well deserved allusions 

 to his experience and acquaintance with the subject 

 for consideration. He thought some kinds of 

 grasses were better than corn for producing milk; 

 and he thought corn should be permitted to have 

 considerable growth before it is fed. Cows for a 

 dairy would do better not to be milked more than 

 nine months in a year. He had had cows that gave 

 milk three years in succession, and had calves an 

 nually. Much judgment should be exercised in 

 selection of cov/s according to the purpose for 

 which they are wanted. Those that give most milk 

 are not generally best for butter. Indian meal he 

 considered good feed for producing milk. Oil meal 

 he did not think desirable as a constant food; 

 feeding freely with meal will sometimes destroy 

 cows. He had no doubt that many cows were 

 good for butter and not for cheese ; therefore it is 

 important to consider whether a farmer wishes to 

 make butter or cheese, or sell the milk. He had 

 found that it required a gallon of milk to make a 

 pound of cheese ; and he could not make more 

 than a pound of butter from two gallons of milk. 



Mr. Howard, of the Cultivator, inquired of Mr. 

 Newhall if he was satisfied as to what proportion 

 the value of milk for cheese would diminish by 

 taking off the cream. 



Mr. Newhall said it would not diminish in prO' 

 portion to the amount taken off for butter. The 

 weight of the butter and cheese combined would 

 be greater than that of cheese, if cheese only were 

 made. 



Mr. Forbes, a member of the Board of Agricul- 

 ture from Maine, being present, was invited to give 

 his views. He said that five years ago, he went on 

 to a farm of twenty-five acres, so poor that from 

 the whole he could obtain only about six or seven 

 tons of hay ; now he cuts from thirty-five to forty 

 tons. He plowed the land to the depth of twelvei 



inches, six inches lower than it was ever stirred be- 

 fore. He was now making an experiment, by feed- 

 ing a cow with low- land grass and meal for one 

 week, with clover and meal for the next, and with 

 herds grass and meal the next; and after keeping 

 a correct account of the results, he thought he 

 could decide the relative value of the different 

 kinds of food, which result he should publish. So 

 far as the experiment had now gone, he found the 

 clover much better than the lowland grass. Mr. 

 Forbes urged the importance of farmers keeping 

 accurate accounts of everything connected with the 

 operations of the farm. Who can tell the most 

 economical feed for stock for different purposes ? 

 He had not been able to find out the most econom- 

 ical kind of feed for swine. One of his neighbors, 

 being asked what he thought would be the expense 

 of keeping pigs when eight weeks old, said he sup- 

 posed it would be about twenty cents a day. He 

 was a man who had always been a farmer, but he 

 could not answer that question. Mr. F. told him 

 he would keep his pigs at that age for four cents a 

 day, and he knew just what it would cost, because 

 he kept an account of everything fed to them. 

 Who knows how much it has cost him to cultivate 

 an acre of potatoes ? The state of agriculture in 

 Maine was then referred to. He thought much 

 progress was making here, but there was room 

 for much improvement, especially in making butter. 

 They had as good land for pastures for cows as 

 there is in the country ; but it must be admitted 

 that the Maine people have not learned to make as 

 good butter as is made in most other parts of New 

 England. There are also some good animals, re- 

 cently introduced into Oxford county, where, until 

 recently, stock has been proverbially poor. The 

 Hereford and North Devon stock are best liked; 

 and for swine a preference is given to the Suffolk 

 breed. They make hogs that weigh nearly three 

 hundred pounds at eight and nine months old. 



Mr. WExnERELL characterized the desirable 

 qualities in a cow, as first, a tendency to secrete 

 milk ; second, she must be vigorous ; third, docili- 

 ty is required. The next question is, how shall she 

 be fed ? A gentleman in Warren, who furnishes 

 milk for the Boston market, realizes about fifty dol- 

 lars a year from each cow. His feed is principally 

 grass, his farm being natural pasture land, and the 

 pastures were never plowed, but have plaster ap- 

 plied to them. Many say there is no nutrition in 

 fatty substances. If so, it may be a question 

 whether that kind of milk which will make the 

 most butter is best for calves. He thought that 

 calves would thrive best on the milk of cows which 

 were not good for butter. 



Mr. Forbes said he had never produced so 

 much milk with any kind of feed as a mixture of 

 oats and potatoes ; the milk was also of good qual- 

 ity. 



