888 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



3VSE 17, 1§35. 



^ ^ 3IS; a ^ W IL li" W m S a 



tFrom Transactions of the Essex Agricultural Society^ for 1834. 

 REPORT ON MILCH COWS AXD HEIFERS. 



The Coiniiiittc'ti ou Mi'rli Cowhand Iluiters, beg 

 leave to siibiiiit the following report; 



When it is considerefl how great a portion of 

 our food is furnished by the cow, from infancy to 

 old age ; how much of the quick and ready profits 

 of the farm arc depcnrlcnt upon her, it cannot 

 certainly be a matter of indifference what quali- 

 ties she ]iossesses. 



It is sometimes suggested that the pecuniary 

 interest alone of every farmer will naturally lead 

 him to the best selections of stock. This is un- 

 doubtedly true when he knows them. This So- 

 ciety is calculated to greatly assist him in his 

 resolution, and bring the best stock immediately 

 in his way, and to have a tendency, even, to force 

 them upon the careless and inattentive. 



Your committee are of ojiinion that the exhibi- 

 tion of cows and heifers today docs great credit 

 to the county. They have found it very difficult 

 to decide upon those best entitled to iiremiiims, 

 while all were so good. 



They have awarded the first premium for cows 

 to William Jewett of Nevvbiu'yport, for his red 

 cow four years old — ten dollars. 



They have awarded the second jn-emium to R. 

 Augustus Merriam of Topsfield, for his white 

 faced cow five years old — seven dollars. 



They liave awarded the third premium to Gyles 

 M. Jaques of West Newbury, for liis speckled 

 cow eight years old — five dollars. | 



There were some other valuable cows exhibited 

 by William MacKinstry, Charles Nelson and 

 David Rogers. 



They have awarded the first premiums for 

 Heifers to Hector Coffin of Newbury, for his three 

 year old heifer " Fairy," — seven dollars. 



They have awarded the second jiremium to 

 Anthony Chase of Haverhill, for his red two year 

 old heifer, five dollars, which constitute all the jire- 

 iniums offered by the Society. 



There were many other very valuable heifers 

 exhibited which did not come within the rule, 

 and which we hope will be competitors another 

 year. We will name some of them, Gyles M. 

 Jaques' two heifers together with his cow consti- 

 tuted a very rich pen of animals. 



Aaron Crumby's heifer was very superior. 

 Jesse Shelden, Moses Colman, Sanniel Hood, 

 Thomas B. Spoffbrd, exhibited very ])romising 

 heifers. The account handed to the coinmittee 

 by Hector Coffin of the pedigree of his heifers is 

 very commendable, it evinces a deep interest in 

 the cause, which we arc happy to witness. 

 Respectfully submitted by 



R. A. Meeriam. 

 Jeremiah Colman. 

 Amos Shei.den. 

 JoH.\ Gage. 



JVew Rowley, SepL 21, 1834. 



BECTOR coffin's STATEMENT. 

 To the Committee of the Essex .Igricultural Society on 

 Milch Cows and Heifers. 

 Gentlemen — I jiresent to you for premium 

 my three year old heifer " Fairy" out of my good 

 native cow Daisy from a good selected native Bull. 

 Fairy out of" Daisy," (11 years old) was calved 

 April 20th, 1831. 



At three weeks old she had all the milk she 

 wanted or would suck, and had a trough of In- 

 dian meal and another of cut potatoes, rack of 

 good hay,and water always by her ; at four weeks 

 old she was reduced one teat ; at five weeks old 

 two teats ; at six weeks old three teats, and at 

 seven weeks old was entirely weaned and put to 

 ]iasture, continuing to have meal and potatoes a 

 week or ten days longer. 



After which, she remained in ];asture till hous- 

 ing time in the fall, when she was fed with the 

 best meadow and salt hay ; and the two last win- 

 ters on common meadow and salt hay ; being 

 regularly carded daily and kept dry and clean, 

 and during the simimer in common pasturage with 

 the other animals, having had no grain or jrov- 

 ender of any description since she was a calf, ex- 

 cepting the week after calving when we gave her 

 a quart of cob corn meal once or twice. She 

 calved a large fine heifer calf the 27th of May 

 last, which was taken away from her the 11th of 

 June. The first milking was five hours after 

 calving, and after the calf had sucked what she 

 would ; appearing large to ray man, he measured 

 it before giving it to the hogs and found it exceed- 

 ing six quarts. Not thinking of exhibiting her at 

 the cattle show till w ilhiii a day or two, have not 

 measured her milk. She has given a very large 

 mess of milk through the summer when the fei;d 

 was good ; and this week, since thinking of send- 

 ing her for exhibition, have measured her milk 

 and find she gives rising two gallons per day, of a 

 rich and excellent quality. 



I also send for your examination only, my two 

 year old heifer Venus, out of Violet, by " Young 

 Bolivar," a three-quarters improved Durham short 

 horned bull of first rate pedigree. Violet, a first 

 rate native cow remarkable for her progenj' and 

 beauty as well as milking properties. I have not 

 time to go into further detail, except to say, she is 

 impregnated so as to come in with her first calf 

 the 1st of June next, with the hojie that the grass 

 with the aid of her great milking ancestrj', will 

 stuff out her yoting udders and will make her 

 worthy of her parentage. Her grand sire, Col. 

 Powel's Bolivar, of Philadelphia; her great grand 

 sire Coelebs, lately belonging to Major Jaques of 

 Chariestown, near Boston, of first blood on the 

 English herd books. Should she receive your 

 fiivorable remarks, it will gratify, gentlemen, your 

 obedient servant. Hector Coffin. 



R. A. MERRIAm's statement. 

 To the Committee of the Essex JIgricultural Society, on 

 Milch Cows and Heifers. 

 Gektlemen — My cow was raised in Canter- 

 bury, N. H- is five years old i)assed, is perfectly 

 gentle and docile, allowing any one to milk or 

 handle her. She will go peaceably against any 

 appearance of a fence. She has had three calves 

 coming in when she was three years old. Her 

 last calf was sold the first of June last at 3J cents 

 ])or pound, amounting to between five and six 

 dollars at five weeks old, a season when veal is 

 the most plenty. She had during the season 

 nothing but common grass feed, entering ujion 

 fall feed, so called, about the first of the present 

 month. 



The average quantity of milk per day for the 

 last four months has been twentysix and a half 

 pounds ; she has given seventeen ipiarts in a day. 

 The quality of her milk is thought to be exceed- 



ingly good. S1.3 has been kept for family Use, 

 and her milk used freely, six in the family, and 

 without any reference to this exhibition, besides 

 which she has yielded eight pounds of butter, of 

 the first quality, in a week. 

 Recapitulation : — 



Peaceable, kind, and docile. 



Greatest quantity of milk per day 17 qts. 



Average, - - - 26i lbs. 



Quantity of butter per week, - 8 lbs. 



R. A. Merriau. 



Topsjidd, Sept., 25, 1834. 



WILLIAM JEWETt's STATEME.NT. 



To the Committee of the Essex .Agricultural Society, on 



Milch Cows and Heifers. 



Gentlemen — The Cow I present for your in- 

 spection I bought at two years old with two heifer 

 Calves by her side, which were six weeks old 

 July 4th, 1832. She has had ordinary keeping 

 and no other. She brought me her third calf 

 March 12th, 1834, which sucked till July 5th ; 

 in June I milked one hundred and fifty gallons of 

 milk from her, since that time we have not been 

 ]iarticular to measure, until last evening, I milked 

 eight quarts, this morning six quarts. 



Yours, William Jewett. 



JVeicburyport, Sept. 24, 1834. 



This shall certify that I have measured ten 

 quarts and one pint in June when the calf suck- 

 ed, for morning milking. Eliza Jewett. 



REPORT ON THE DAIRY. 



The Committee of the Essex Agricultural So- 

 ciety, on the Dairy, consisting of Daniel P. King, 

 Uriah Bailey, John Adams, Daniel Putnam and 

 Benjamin G. Metcalf — 



That they consider a well managed Dairy one 

 of the most valuable sources of a farmer's rev- 

 enue. Our pro'ximity to large towns and manu- 

 facturing villages insures a ready market and fair 

 prices. The product of a good cow, for a single 

 season, in milk, bulter, cheese and the unsaleable 

 refuse, may be estimated at more than thirty dol- 

 lars. The same food consumed by other stock 

 will hardly yield to the farmer half that sum. 

 Oxen and horses are necessary, but economy 

 seems to indicate that no more should be here 

 kept than are required for labor. Young cattle 

 may generally be purchased for less money than 

 it would cost to raise them : a promising two 

 year old heifer may be bought of the drover in 

 the fall for about 12 dollars; the butcher pays for a 

 well fatted calf a month old, nearly half the 

 money, and fodder and feed must be abundant 

 and chcaj) when the farmer can afford to keep 

 such an animal two winters and three summers 

 for six, eight or even ten dollars. 



Like every other part of the farmer's business, 

 the dairy requires attenlion ; the cows iriust have 

 a constant supply of nutritive food, and pure 

 watcrand salt occasionally ; the dairy room should 

 be clean and sweet and used exclusively for that 

 purpose ; the ])ans and other utensils should be 

 carefully scalded, and neatness and order should 

 pervade the whole department. We forbear to 

 give particular directions for making butter and 

 cheese, referring you to the annexed statements 

 of the competitors, whose success in obtaining 

 the Society's premiums is the highest recom- 

 mendation of the method pursued by them. 



Although the dairy is comparatively profitable, 



