558 



NEW ENGLAND FARIVIER. 



Dec. 



heifer one year old. The daily food was as 

 foUows : 



Milk Dairy Statistics. 



132 lbs. husks and straw at $8 pf r ton $0 53 



44 lbs. oats, (cut in milk,) at $13 per ton ... . 29 



1 bushel shorts 27 



1 bushel corn and cob meal 5U 



i4 bushel oat meal 27 



130 lbs. dry hay at $16 1 04, 



3 bushels mangolds, 15 cts 45 



$3.35 

 Hay and straw cut and mixed — boiling water used. 

 Feed to stand 10 or 12 hours before feeding. 



In the winter of 18G2 I fed 27 cattle, to wit : 

 20 cows, 1 two year old, 1 three year old bull, 

 and 5 calves. Daily food. 



240 lbs. oats cut in milk, and hay. 

 18 lbs. shorts. 

 40 11)8. corn and cob meal. 

 ICO lbs. dry hay. 

 Mixed thoroughly, wet with boiling water, and allow- 

 ed to stand aboiU 10 or 12 hours before foeeding. 

 Value in 1S62 at Barn. 



340 lbs. hay and oats, at $12 per ton $2 04 



18 lbs. shorts 18 



40 lbs. corn and cob meal 48 



$2.70 



In 1861 and 18G2my cattle were in fair con- 

 dition, equal to that of farmers' cattle gener- 

 ally. At present, however, I feed better — say 

 to the amount of 20 per cent. This, added to 

 the cost in 18G2, would make $3.24. Esti- 

 mating the stock as equal to 24 cows, the cost 

 would be about 13^ cents each per day. Add- 

 ing 20 p3r cent, to the quantity, and estimat- 

 ing the value of the provender at present 

 prices, the account will stand thus : 



418 lbs. hay and oats at $20 $4 18 



22 lbs. shorts at IJ cents 33 



48 lbs. corn and cob meal, at \% cents 84 



$5.35 

 To which should be added 4 bush, roots at 20c., 80 



24 cows • $6.15 



Each cow 25 



In these estimates no account is made of 

 labor or fuel required in the business of feed- 

 ing in the manner set forth. The manure is 

 the only return that a farmer can expect to 

 get. 



The annual cost of keeping a cow is then — in win- 

 ter, 183 days, at 25 cents $45 75 



In summer, 182 days, at 10 cents 18 20 



$63.95 



In 1861 I kept 14 cows through the year, 

 and they yielded an average of 4002 pounds 

 of milk. Half of the animals were between 

 two and four years of age. 



The amount of milk is not large, but it is 

 equal to the (juantity obtained by farmers gen- 

 erally, especially in the country, where the 

 business of feeding is not well understood. 



Upon the basis of the quantity of milk ob- 

 tained in 1862, and the cost of feeding in 1867, 

 every hundred pounds of milk would now cost 

 $1.60, or about 3 1-5 cents per quart. It did 

 not, in fact, cost but about half tiiat sum in 

 1862. 



In 1866 I milked 15 cows through the year, 



6 of them being less than four years of age. 

 The 15 cows and heifers yielded 74,140 pounds 

 of milk, being an average of 4942 pounds. 

 Upon the basis of the cost of feeding at the 

 present time, (Sept., 1867) each hundred 

 pounds of milk cost $1.29, or 2 3-5 cents per 

 quart, wine measure. 



Quantity of Milk from Jan. 1, 18GG, to Jan. 1, 1867. 



Name. Age. Breed. Quantity in fcs. 



Diana,... 7 years, ^^^^^^ 7357 



Nellie, ... 7 years, Ayrthire, 6300 



Fannie, . . 7 years, j If ^^^j^^' 6175 



Topsy. . . 8 years, j J '^S,? ^^^^ 



Mattie, . . 10 years, Ayrshire, 5425 



31,242 



Pounds per cow 6248 



Each cow had a calf during the year. Feed 

 during the summer, pasture only. In winter, 

 ha}', straw and corn-fodder cut, with corn and 

 cob meal added, and all cooked by steam. 

 Also a small quantity of roots. 



If other correspondents woidd furnish state- 

 ments as accurate as these, valuable results as 

 to the prolits of stock-growing and dairying 

 might be attained. Henry F. French. 



Concord, Mass., Aug. 29, 1867. 



EXTE.ACTS AND REPLIES. 



TO PBEPARE STRAWBERRY PLANTS FOR TRANS- 

 PORTATION. 



A friend of mme, now in Oregon, wants me to 

 send him a tlioui-and strawberry plants. They will 

 go liy Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express, and Ly vvater, 

 and will be about thirty days on the way. Now I 

 would like information in regard to the best way 

 of preparing them for their journey. I suppose 

 the l)et-t tinic for taking them up will be in March, 

 when the vital forces of the plant are all inactive, 

 and just as soon as the ground has thawed sufQ- 

 cicntly. Also, that the large, outside leaves should 

 be removed, leaving, perhaps, the small growth 

 from the centre of the root. These outside leaves 

 would take up considerable room, on which ex- 

 press must Ijc paid to get to San Francisco, at the 

 rate of ^1.80 per cultic foot, in gold. Then, how 

 should they be packed, loosely or closely ? Should 

 they be packed in damp, or wet moss, and should 

 they be in a very tight, or in a ventilated box ? 

 Whoever will give the necessary information, and 

 correct whatever wrong ideas I may have ex- 

 pressed, will receive my most sincere thanks. 



Franklin, Mass., Oct. 7, 1867. F. 



Remarks. — In reply to the foregoing inquiries, 

 we are very happy in being able to present the fol- 

 lowing suggestions from a gentleman of greatei 

 experience, pioliably, as a florist, seedsman, and 

 nurseryman, than any other individual in the fl 



State. There is considerable inquiry among farm- 

 ers and others as to the means of obtaining and 

 methods of cultivating strawberries, and a great 

 many of our readers will join with "F." in thanks 

 to Mr. Brcck for his prompt and full reply. 



Strawberry plants are the most difficult of almost 

 any other to transport with safety when they are 

 kept out of ground a long time, especially when 



