48 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ March, 1877. 



LIVE STOCK. 



Care of Dairy Cows. 



John B. Tomlinson, of Fountain farm, near New- 

 town, writes as Ibllons: "I have seen in your paper 

 a eooil d^al about irilt-efiseJ butter and cleanliness 

 anJ other things connected with the dairying, but 

 nothins: about lieepin^: tlie cows clean. Mv method 

 is to grade the stable floor a little back from the 

 manger; put one plank lengthwise under the hind 

 feet of the cows, one foot wide, and fill with clay up 

 to the manger, having a drop of five inches at tlie 

 plank. Then plank the remainder to the back wall, 

 having tlie rear a little the highest so as to throw all 

 the wet toward the drop plank. Then you have a 

 dry walk behind the cows, and the stables are easily 

 cleaned. My cattle in the yard do not look as if they 

 had been stabled at all. In very cold weather I do 

 not let them out at all, hut, water them in the stable. 

 In the monn'ng as soon as ^ve can see we give all, 

 milkers and dry cows, a little meal; a little hay and a 

 sheaf of corn-fodder after breakfast; toward noon, 

 two bushels of chaff and more corn-foJdcr, and at 

 ni^ht hav and meal again. The milkers have four 

 quarts of meal twice a day. When the weather is 

 mild they pick the chaff, straw and fodder in the 

 barn yard, and go into the stable as full as ticks. I 

 stable all my stock and think it pays." 



Leading a Colt. 



Put on the war-bridle, and place yourself at the 

 point against his hips, but six or eight feet out, and 

 say, "Come here !" so as to be distinctly understood. 

 Give a sharp pull on the ox war-bridle which will 

 cause him tn step towards you. Then say, "Whoa !" 

 and caress him, which is the same as saying to him 

 that he did all you desired of him. Change from 

 side toside, repeating the movements until he answers 

 the word of command without the pull on the cord ; 

 he will soon learn your desire and act accordingly, 

 and you must bo satisfied with even a step towards 

 you, and be sure to pet him evey time he answers 

 your call. Repeat this from side to side until he will 

 follow anywhere you desire, punishing his mouth at 

 any lime with a light yank of the war-bridle, if he 

 stops or refuses to follow you when you start off and 

 say, "Come on, sir !" 



In this way, if patience, carefulness and persever- 

 ance are practiced a colt may be taught to follow any- 

 where the same as a dog and to mind your word of 

 command the same as an ox or a yoke of oxen. — 

 Jo/m M. Tuttle. 



Value of Roots for Stalks. 



The following views of Mr. Willard, of the Rural 

 New Yorker, on this subject, are sound ones. He 

 says : 



"In comparing roots with other kinds of cattle 

 food, like corn, bran, etc., we get better results, 

 practically, from the roots than analysis would seem 

 to show. That is to say, a bushel of roots— though 

 containing a lower percentage of nutritive elements 

 than a bushel of corn — may be so fed in connec- 

 tion with the corn as to give as good results as when 

 the same quantity of corn is fed in place of the roots; 

 but from numerous experiments at the manger, the 

 roots always show a better result than their analy- 

 sis would indicate. Roots assist digestion and pro- 

 mote a more thorough assimilation of other food. 

 They improve the health of stock in winter whendrv 

 food is the chief dependence; and as the improved 

 health of stock is an important element in dairy man- 

 agement, the dairyman will find it of advantage to 

 grow roots for his stock." 



A Queer Calf. 



Mr. James McManus.a resident of Fool's Hill, Ne- 

 vada, who is engaged in mining, owns a cow, which 

 eight months ago gave birth to a calf. The calf was 

 kept up so as to induce the mother to return home 

 in the evening to be milked and suckle it. About six 

 months after she gave birth to the calf, failing to 

 come home as usual, Mr. McManus instituted search 

 and found her, she having just given birth to an- 

 other calf of a queer species, not being larger than a 

 young fawn. With the exception of its ears being 

 small, its head, legs, and tail are those of a deer, 

 the body and hair covering it like that of a calf. It 

 was quite spry, and the mother seemed to be very 

 fond of it. There has been no trouble so far in rais- 

 ing it, and it is now two months old and thriving 

 splendidly. It is beginning to show signs of horns, 

 which are covered with velvet, like a deer's. A good 

 many persons have been to see this really remarkable 

 cur.osity, and it presents a problem for the scien- 

 tists to solve. 



A connESPOXDENT of the Lv'e Slock and Farm 

 Journal, mentioning that a Jersey heifer fifieen 

 months and eighteen days old, had just dropped a 

 handsome calf— the ediicr remarks that this early 

 maturity is not unusual with the Jerseys, and says ; 

 "In this community, the Jersey heifer, Nellie Curtis 

 (3,371) has been in the dairy since she was 1-t 

 months of age, although she calved a little prema- 



turely. If properly cared for, early maternity ap- 

 pears favorable to the development of the lacteal or- 

 gans." The following is a statement made by Mr. 

 J. Milton .\Jackie, president of the American .lersey 

 Cattle Club, in 1-70 : ".My yearling, Hebe 4th, out 

 of Hebe 1st, dropped a calf last month, when she 

 was only 14 months and J days old. She calved 

 without trouble, l)ehaved well in every respect; has 

 given six quarts of milk per day. She is thrifty, and 

 I don't think the labors and duties of maternily, so 

 early imposed upon her, will injure her giowih in 

 the least. The calf is of fair size, thrifty and hand- 

 some." 



Domesticating the Buffalo. 



A correspondent of the Tjirf, Fiehl and Farm 

 sends some interesting facts regarding the domesticat- 

 ing of the buffalo in Nebraska. He began with two 

 cows and a bull, which he kept with his tame stock. 

 In the spring the cows calved, and in three years the 

 calves became mothers, yielding an average of 14 

 quarts of the richest milk daily, for an average of 

 five months. The buffalo strain now extends through 

 a large part of Howard county, in the above State, 

 and of the half and quarter beef animals are found 

 to be very hardy. 



Our contemporary adds, that sufficient experiments 

 have been made in crossing the buffalo with native 

 and grade short horned cattle, and have been at 

 tended with such successful results that the most 

 skeptical people cannot fail to be satisfied as to the 

 advantages and value of the intermingling of breeds. 



Rearing Lambs by Hand. 



S. M. T. writes to the Pradicnl Farmer : As I 

 have raised numbers and had good success, I give my 

 plan of feeding them. If old cow's milk, I dilute one 

 pint of milk with half a pint of water and teaspoon- 

 ful of West India molasses ; but if new cow's milk I 

 give it just as it comes from tne cow, and feed two 

 tablespoonfuls once an hour through a patent nurs- 

 ing bottle, or a common bottle with rubber nipple. 

 As the lamb increases in strength, I give a larger 

 quantity and not so often. I have in this way raised 

 lambs that at three months weighed fifty pounds. 

 At two or three weeks old I have taught them to 

 drink. 



Keep Good Cows. 



There is no use in trying to disguise the fact that 

 there is no profit in the dairy without good cows. 

 Look at the difference. One cow will make 150 

 pounds of butter during the year, worth 8.5 cts., 

 $36. .50. Another will make -SOO pounds, worth §7 i. 

 The first yields no profit whatever, and all that you 

 make comes from the good cow. It would be much 

 better to keep one cow, and keep her well. It is the 

 same loose method which makes all our farming 

 operations so fruitless. As a general rule, two acres 

 are tilled to get a crop that ought to grow on one. — 

 Practical Farmer. 



LITERARY AND PERSONAL. 



At the last meeting of the Academy of Natural 

 Sciences; a resolution was adopted authorizing the 

 officers of the Academy to sign a memorial to his Ex- 

 cellency the President of the United States, recom- 

 mending Dr. John L. Le Conte as Commissioner of 

 Agriculture, on account of his eminent scientific at- 

 tainments and executive ability. 



We clip the above from the Public Ledger of the 

 8th inst. This is as it ought to be. We feel that this 

 appointment would reflect credit upon any admistra- 

 tion that made it, and any country that sustained it ; 

 and, would also be a practical recognition of those 

 claims of natural science which are so often ignored 

 in public appointments. Dr. Le Conte's executive 

 abilities would bring to the support of the depart- 

 ment, as aids, the elaborations of the best minds of 

 the country, and secure it from imposition. We 

 know whereof we speak. 



Benson & Burpee's illustrated manual and de- 

 scriptive catalogue of imported and thoroughbred 

 live stock; also, Benson & Burpee's priced catalogue 

 of reliable seeds — including field, garden and flower 

 seeds, trees, plants, implements and. fertilizers, for 

 1^77, are on our table. This enterprising firm of im- 

 porters and dealers, are the successors to W. Atlee 

 Burpee, and their agricultural warehouse and live 

 stock office, is located at 2,B Church street, Phila- 

 delphia. We call the attention of our readers to 

 their advertisemenl in the columns of this journal; 

 and for full particulars in relation to the details of 

 the articles they deal in, we would recommend them 

 to send at once for their catalogues, and consult them 

 thoroughly belorethcy look elsewhere. Illus'rations 

 and specific descriptions ol the finest of this slotk 

 will appear in the columns of the Lancaster Fanner. 



OuK FOLIOS.— Among the folio exchanges which 

 have regularly reached our table are many that are a 

 credit to the country, the age, and to agricultural 

 journalism, many of them being of such a high order 

 and such essential institutions, that uo progressive 



farmer will consent to be without one or more of 

 them, and therefore they may be considered as estab- 

 lished in their affections, and their continuance and 

 and prosperity assured. What farmer having fairly 

 tried them, can dispense with the Ofrtnantuien Tele- 

 graph; the Prairie Farmer ; the Farmers' Uuion ; 

 the i\>iti York Rural; the Country Gentleman; the 

 Massachusetts Ploughman ; and a number of others 

 which will receive attention as the months move on- 

 ward. Besides the claims of agr culture are recog- 

 nized more or less by all the folios in our own county : 

 the Examiner and Fx/ire-'s ; the In/iuircr ; the Man- 

 hei/n .Sentinel ; the A't-/" Holland Clarion; the Colum- 

 bia fferalii ; the Jllarietta Register ; the Lancaster 

 Intelligencsr, and others, of which more anon. 



Catalosue of one hundred and seventy p^ire Jer- 

 sey cattle, imported and bred by William B. Dins- 

 MOiiE, Of Staatsburg, Duchess county, N. Y. number- 

 ed to correspond with those in the American Jersey- 

 Cattle Club Herd Register; issued Jan. 1, 1877. All 

 communications in reference to the herd should bead- 

 <ires6ed to Timothy Hcrrick, atthc aLovenamed place. 

 This is a 12 mo. pamphlet of .3 pages, but between 

 its covers is a record of stock as valuable as a gold 

 mine. Some of these cattle are not now for sale, but 

 one hundred and fourteen are marked for sale, of 

 which a few are already sold or were sold a few 

 weeks ago; and the prices range from §75 00 up to 

 §.500.00, but fully two-thirds are" from $200. to $i00; 

 short descriptions, as well as pedigrees and names, 

 are given of each animal. Therefore if any of our 

 patrons desire good Jersey stock, they should avail 

 themselves of the opportunity immediately. 



Swine. — Notwithstanding the adverse views of the 

 physiologists, hygeists, and sanitarians, in regard to 

 the use of swine as human food, perhaps there has 

 not been a period in the domestic history of our 

 country, in which more money has been invested in 

 swine breeding and swine slaughtering and packing, 

 than at the present time; and never before has it 

 produced finer stock of that animal. The Berk- 

 shires, the Yorkshires,, the Chester Whites, the Po- 

 land Chinas, and the ISssex, are prominently brought 

 before the public through the various agricultural 

 journals of the country. The first prizes at the Cen- 

 tennial Exhibition of Swine, were awarded to T. S. 

 Cooper, "Linden Grove," Coopersberg, Lehigh 

 county. Pa., for a Berkshire sow and boar. Between 

 the 20ch of November 1875 and the 1.0th of Novem- 

 ber 1-7H, that distinguished breeder sold two hun- 

 dred and three Berkshire pigs, which netted, in the 

 aggregate, ^i0,70-', averaging g 00 .-50 per head. 

 In several instances he realized 81,000, lor a single 

 pig. The lowest price was 5-5.00— the largest num- 

 ber from .$100 to S500. 



We call the attention of our readers, and especi- 

 ally those out of employment in our community who 

 dt'sire to make an honest livelihood, to the advertise- 

 ment of Geo. Stinson & Co., art publishers, Port- 

 laud, Maine, which they will find in another column 

 in this issue of the Lancastek Fakmek. It aflords 

 us pleasure in being able to say, from occular de- 

 monstration, that the works putjlished by this com- 

 pany are of the highest artistic order, and such as 

 would be likely to find a ready sale among people of 

 any appreciative intelligence and refineraeut what- 

 ever. 



Mnsic CHART. — We admonish professors of vocal 

 and instrumental music, and also school boards and 

 school teachers, that Prof. J. B. Harry, of Chambers- 

 burg, Pa., has invemed a chart which he recently 

 exhiijited to us, embracing the fundamental principles 

 of vocal and instrumental music, in a very compre- 

 hensive and yet simple manner; and which seems 

 destined to atlurd a greater aid in imparting a tho- 

 rough kuowledge of the scientific priuciples of this 

 accomplished art to pupils, than anything that has 

 yet appeared before the public. This chart is over 

 four feet by over five feet in size — intended to be 

 hung up in the school or class room— and embraces 

 the whole musical "score," from the highest alto 

 to the lowest bass, illustrating the scales of the 

 human voice and tlie different kinds of musical in- 

 struments, and the relations they bear to each other. 

 Teachers, keep an eye on this chart. 



We invite the attention of our readers— farmers 

 and housekeepers especially— to the announcement 

 made this week in our columns by Mr. J. G. 

 Koehler, of 50 J North Second Street, Philadelphia. 

 Air. Koehler is the patentee and manufacturer of an 

 improved Butter Tub, with Cooler attached to each 

 end, the latter consisting of removable tin chambers, 

 thus f.icilitatiiig the removal of ice, water, etc. 

 These tubs vary in carrying capacity from to 200 

 pounds. Constructed of white cedar— well seasoned 

 —and bound in galvanized iron and brass hoops, 

 their whoic appearance indicates that they have been 

 substantially constructed, as well as neatly finished. 

 They are guaranteed to keep or carry butter in the 

 hoitcst weather, in prime condition. For particulars 

 send for circular as above. 



We wish to call the attention of our readers to 

 the prospectus of that valuable monthly, The Ka- 

 riojAa/.ii/'c .Siyc'i: /o'(rj/«/, which appears in this is- 

 sue of our paper. We will furnish The Journal with 

 our paper lor $..50 per year. 



