1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



197 



then gave an account of the disease as it appeared 

 among the cattle of Mr. Curtis Stoddard, of North 

 Broolifiekl, from a calf he had purchased from Mr. 

 W. W. Chenery, of Belmont, to its spread to New 

 Braintree, and the death of some 25 head of cattle, 

 and more being sick. 



Ho said that great excitement existed in these 

 towns and those surrounding, in consequence of 

 the apparently infectious nature of the disease, and 

 he urged immediate action to check it. He thought 

 that the only means would be to destroy the cattle 

 afiected, and that this should be done at the ex- 

 pense of the State, as, if done by the towns, he was 

 fearful the authorities might pursue a temporizing 

 course. Money, he urged, should not be an ob- 

 ject when there is a prospect of the disease, 

 spreading over the whole State. He suggested 

 that the Board of Agriculture might have charge 

 of the matter, and take action as soon as possible. 

 He hoped that economy in this case would not be 

 allowed to cripple efficient legislation. 



Dr. LoEiNG, of Salem, spoke briefly of the dis- 

 ease now prevalent among cattle, and said that it 

 was either in the pleura and stomach or in one or 

 the other, and he did not see how it was to be de- 

 cided by discussion. In discussing the question 

 of the evening, we ought to consider what are the 

 most important kinds of cattle to be introduced. 

 Our necessity, said he, is for dairy purposes, and 

 we must look at it in this light. He said he had 

 recently visited a farm in Barre, a cheese-making 

 farm, where 22 cows were kept, and he had never 

 seen 22 cows on any farm in jNIassachusetts look 

 so well. They were Short-horns or grades, and 

 the owner said they did very well indeed. Before 

 I left, said the speaker, he asked me if I could fur- 

 nish him with a good Ayrshire bull, and on my 

 asking him why he wanted it, he said his cows 

 were too large for his dairj-. Mr. Loring spoke 

 at length of the good dairy qualities of the Ayi-- 

 shire cattle, and said they had been bred expressly 

 for the dairy. In this part of the State, said he, 

 we want cattle of a moderate size, cheaply kept, 

 and that yield a great profit for the feed consumed, 

 and he contended that the AjTshire was without 

 doubt the very best for this. 



Mr. Howard and Mr. Flint both spoke of 

 the importance of vigorous measures being taken 

 to stop the disease among cattle, as now it is 

 known to be confined to a small arena, while if 

 prompt action is not had, it would be difficult to 

 tell the results. 



It was announced, that the subject for discus- 

 sion, at the next meeting, on Monday evening, 

 would be, "WJiat are the most ijrqfitable crops 

 farmers can raise on Massachusetts farms ?" 



Pet Birds. — Caged birds are the source of 

 much pleasure, and while they give great happi- 



ness if they are kept in good healthy condition, 

 seem to enjoy life nearly, if not quite as well, as 

 their mates in the bush or the wildwood — espe- 

 cially if, either from lack of memory, or from bliss- 

 ful ignorance, the caged birds do not know what 

 pleasure they lose. "Where ignorance is bliss, 

 'tis folly to be wise." One of the great drawbacks 

 to the happiness of birds, and to the pleasure of 

 keeping them, is lice, and having recently learned 

 of a safe and sure way of removing them, we give 

 it to our readers. The Michigan Farmer says : 



"Lay a piece of Canton or cotton flannel over 

 the cage at night, several nights in succession, 

 taking it off at daylight. Multitudes of the lice 

 will be found upon it, 'vvhich are easily killed. Af- 

 ter a few days all will be removed. A case in 

 which this was very successful, has just been 

 brought to our notice ; from a pair of bob-o-links 

 hundreds of these parasites were removed in this 

 way." 



JFor Ihe New England Farmer. 



SELLING MILK COMPABED "WITH 

 MAKIIxTG BUTTER. 



Mr. Brown : — As I am among the number of 

 those who are not perfectly assured that they are 

 getting rich by selling milk at the present prices 

 paid to the farmer in Concord, I am naturally in- 

 clined to find some more profitable way to dispose 

 of it, if possible. Fpr the above reason, after 

 reading Gov. BoutAvell's statement in the Farmer 

 of the 4th inst., and without any intention of 

 sending them to you for publication, I was led to 

 make some estimate on the subject, adapted to 

 this locality, and for the whole year, instead of 

 for the five months best adapted to butter-making. 

 In the first place, I suppose the cans mentioned 

 in the Governor's statement to be what v>'e call 

 eight-quart cans, as they contain about 2 pounds 

 more milk than the seven-quart cans which I use. 



The average price per can, of that size, for the 

 last and present six months, in this place, is twen- 

 ty-four cents, at the door. Now, I take a dairy 

 which furnishes 8 cans of milk per day, or 2920 

 cans per year, from which I make the following 

 calculation, viz. : 



Db. 



To 2920 cans milk, at 24 cents $700,80 



To making 2330 lbs. butter, at 5.i cents 128,48— $829,28 



Ck. 



By 2336 lbs. butter, at 24 cts. at the door $560,64 



By skim milk from 2920 cans, at 8 cents 233,50— $794,24 



Balance against butter $35,04 



It will be seen by the above, that I allow one 

 and one-fourth cans of milk for one pound of but- 

 ter ; the Governor's average is one and twenty- 

 seven-one hundredths. 



Now let us caiTy the matter a little fiirther ; I 

 have allowed eight cents per can for the skim 

 milk ; now, as I have no market here for that arti- 

 cle, except in the hog's trough, let us see if those 

 customers will pay us the price that we have al- 

 lowed the butter for it. In the first place, let me 

 say, that I think no farmer will disagree with me 

 in the statement, that a shoat taken at the weight 

 of one hundred pounds, and kept one year, on an 

 average daily allowance of one can of skim-milk 

 and two quarts of corn meal, cannot be made to 

 weigh more than four liundrcd pounds, and that 

 ten loads of manure, worth one dollar, per load, is a 



