1877.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
375 
which for a two-year-old heifer is good enough. He 
found another cow or heifer, which he liked, in the 
herd of rather a prominent breeder — one who 
might be called a professional breeder. To him he 
wrote a pleasant letter, asking if a similar test 
might be made, and the reply which he got would 
have been amusing, had it not been almost insulting. 
If a cow be offered for sale, without pedigree, 
and without any claim for her that she is worth 
more than she shows for, she will bring $35 to $60 
—if she has a fair udder full of milk, and is more 
or less well formed and healthy. A cow worth no 
more intrinsically, will readily sell for $10 to $40 
more, if she have the appearance of a full blooded 
Jersey. If a pedigree, presumably true, be present¬ 
ed, showing more or less careful breeding, this adds 
to her value. If the same be in the Herd-book, this 
establishes, in the minds of many, her claim to 
thorough breeding, and still further increases her 
market value. However, as a butter co.w, her value 
is not for beef or milk, hut for cream and butter. 
Her thorough breeding, if she do not make much 
and good butter, is against her, rather than in her 
favor, for who shall say that the not yielding of 
butter is not inherited from her direct ancestry, un¬ 
less there be records to the contrary. 
When a man wishes another to pay him three— 
four—five hundred dollars for a cow, he is in honor 
bound to show that she is worth the money, or, if 
he sells, he has a fool for a customer. 
We are gradually working towards milk, cream, 
and butter tests, as establishing the value of Chan¬ 
nel Island, Ayrshire, and Dutch cows, but en¬ 
counter the difficulty that each man, so to 6peak, 
“ holds the watch ” on his own cow, and men of the 
most elastic consciences have the best story to tell, 
the best figures to show, and very likely, for a time, 
get the highest reputation for their stock, at least 
in certain quarters. The number of customers,who 
wish “ somebody to hold a watch ” on cows they 
buy, is increasing, and it will give sellers trouble 
to satisfy them, but still greater not to, I reckon. 
The Tilden herd were, and are, systematically 
tested by weighing the milk of each cow, on one 
day in each week, morning and evening, and hav¬ 
ing one or two cows tried for butter every week, 
by setting the milk by itself for seven consecutive 
milkings, 6kimming all but the last, which, when 
it is 12 hours old, is churned with the cream. The 
butter obtained is that for half a week, and the ex¬ 
periment is sometimes repeated the same week, 
and with the two results one is more likely to 
come at the truth, than from any single result. 
It is much more important, in a simply money 
making point of view, that every owner of a herd 
should know just how much milk each of his 
cows gives, and how much butter she yields, than 
that the indefiniteness of his knowledge, and his 
favorable estimates of their prospective performance 
should enable him to get higher prices from de¬ 
luded customers, than he otherwise could. 
Talks on Farm Crops—No. 8. 
By the Author of “ Walks and Talks on the Farm," 
“Harris on the Pig," etc. 
“ Seasons,” said the Doctor, “ vary, but the cli¬ 
mate does not change. We have what we call wet 
seasons and dry seasons, early seasons and late sea¬ 
sons, cold seasons and hot seasons, good seasons 
and bad seasons, but the climate of a country does 
not change. It may be modified in some slight de¬ 
gree by the growth or removal of belts of trees, or 
by draining, but 6till the great fact remains, that 
the climate is practically and essentially the same 
year after year, and century after century.” 
“ You make a distinction,” said the Squire, “ be¬ 
tween-season and climate.” 
“ Yes,” said the Doctor, “ and it is one which 
should be borne in mind. In sailing for a series of 
years across the Atlantic, you will have good 
voyages and bad voyages. You will have storms 
and calms, favorable winds and unfavorable. But 
no one supposes that the Atlantic is more danger¬ 
ous now than it was in the days of Columbus. The 
annual voyage of the farmer is sometimes favorable 
and sometimes unfavorable. In other words, he 
experiences good seasons and bad seasons, but the 
climate is no better and no worse than it was when 
the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. The farm¬ 
er sets sail with a crop of wheat. He hopes for a 
good voyage, but if he is wise and prudent, he pre¬ 
pares for a bad one. He knows from experience 
where the danger lies. Drouth at seed-time keeps 
him becalmed for days or weeks before he has fair¬ 
ly reached the ocean. And when the rain comes, it 
may come with a flood and threaten to swamp him. 
If his land is drained, or properly furrowed, he can 
weather the storm. It will drive him on his voyage 
and he will have plenty of sea-room before winter 
overtakes him. This part of his voyage, during the 
winter and early spring, is not unattended with 
danger. He may have too much snow or too little, 
but he has thought of this and taken all practicable 
precautions. Then the warm days and cold nights 
of early spring, the blowing and the freezing, the 
thawing and the heaving, assail him. The winds 
are sometimes contrary and again favorable. Dur¬ 
ing this part of the voyage he is seldom long be¬ 
calmed. He makes rapid progress. It may be 
backwards or forwards, a6 the winds are favorable 
or unfavorable. If favorable, the warm days and 
genial showers of spring will 60 on come to cheer 
and strengthen him. The hot sun will not find him 
lying like a log on the ocean, with ‘ water, water 
everywhere, but not a drop to drink.’ He is well 
on his journey, and can 6tand a calm or a drouth.” 
“ All very fine,” said the Deacon, “ but yet, even 
when within 6ight of land, or just as the wheat is 
ready to cut, a hail-storm may prostrate hi6 crops 
and blast his prospects, or when just entering the 
harbor and his arrival has been signaled, and the 
newspaper writers and editors, and the Chief Clerk 
of the Department of Agriculture, one and all, have 
become jubilant over the unprecedented harvest, 
a week’s warm rain may spoil the whole cargo 1 ” 
‘‘True, Deacon,” said I, “but yet, to continue 
the Doctor’s rather mixed metaphor, the chances 
of a good voyage are just as favorable now as they 
ever were—in fact, better, because improved agri¬ 
culture, like steam on the ocean, makes us less 
dependent on the winds and rains and weather. 
“In 1855, we had a good crop of wheat in this 
section, but just as we were commencing harvest, 
it began to rain, and rained more or less, but princi¬ 
pally more, for a whole fortnight, until the wheat 
sprouted in the shock, and as it grew, standing in 
the field. 
“ In 1856, our wheat crop was comparatively a 
failure. The seed sown was poor and came up 
weak, the weather was unfavorable, and the crop' 
poor and late, and the midge did serious damage, i 
Farmers were greatly discouraged, and it was gen¬ 
erally thought that wheat culture in Western New 
York must be abandoned.” < 
“Yes,” said the Doctor, “I recollect it well. 
They thought the ‘climate'had changed.’ And yet 
that same year, when many farmers did not get 
much more than their seed, E. S. Hayward, who 
had been in the habit of drawing manure from the 
city, and had got his land in high condition, had a 
noble crop of white wheat, averaging 35 bushels 
per acre. He had begun to use steam, and was no 
longer entirely dependent on sails. Like others, 
he experienced bad weather, but he got his 6hip 
safe to land, and hi6 cargo found a ready market.” 
“Now,” continued the Doctor, “ we have just 
harvested a noble wheat crop in Western New York, 
and farmers think the climate has changed for the 
better. Not a bit of it. We have simply had a 
favorable voyage. We shall have good voyages and 
bad voyages as in the past, and no farmer should 
be tempted to set sail without due precautions. 
There are farmers who must continue to de¬ 
pend on the wind alone, availing themselves of all 
that science and experience have shown to be favor¬ 
able to safe and rapid progress. There are other 
farmers who can use steam.” 
“What do you mean by using steam?” asked 
the Squire. “ It is cheaper to use wind and water.” 
“Exactly,” said the Doctor, “but they cannot 
always be depended on. They are good in a favor¬ 
able season. What I mean by steam is anything 
which makes us less dependent on the weather. 
It may consist of 
1st. The better preparation of the land. Such as, 
a, underdraining; b, thorough working of the 6oiI 
before and after sowing and planting. 
2nd. More and richer manure. This means, a, 
better stock and the use of extra food, such as bran, 
malt-sprouts, grain, oil-cake, cotton seed, etc.; or, 
b, artificial manures; or, c, and better still, both 
extra food and artificial manure. The two to¬ 
gether are often better than either alone. 
“ Underdraining, the thorough preparation of 
the land, and the use of plenty of manure, will 
furnish steam for the agricultural ship.” 
“And now,” continued the Doctor, “ when we 
have converted the sailing vessel into a steamer, 
the question comes up, how shall we use the steam¬ 
er so as to pay for the extra expense ? What kind 
of freight shall it carry ? A steamer can rarely be 
used exclusively to carry coal, iron, stone, bricks, 
guano, and other heavy articles, that will keep for 
any length of time. She must be used to carry 
fruit, meat, and valuable articles of merchandise— 
something, in short, on which the shippers, in con¬ 
sideration of the extra saving in time and risk, can 
well afford to pay higher rates of freight.” 
“ And so on the farm in high condition, where 
the soil is drained, and clean, and mellow, and 
heavily manured, must we use the land, at least in 
part, we must raise the more valuable class or kinds 
of produce, such as a, improved stock, for the 
double purpose of meat and manure ; b, choice 
fruit; c, good vegetables, such as onions, cab¬ 
bage, peas, beans, sweet corn, tomatoes for can¬ 
ning, etc. ; d, the best varieties of wheat, barley, 
oats, peas, beans, potatoes, etc. ; e, clover and 
grass seed, or seeds for the farm and garden.” 
“There is no law,” continued the doctor, “ com¬ 
pelling a farmer to raise nothing but standard 
crops. This is a free country. There is room 
enough for enterprise, and many opportunities to 
engage in new and profitable branches of farming.” 
“All very true, ’’.said I, “but for a few years 
past those farmers who have raised what you call 
standard crops, have made more money, or at any 
rate lost les6, than those engaged in market garden¬ 
ing and seed-growing. Henderson’s ‘ Gardening 
for Profit ’ has done much to increase the number 
and skill of our market gardeners, while the general 
depression in business has greatly lessened the de¬ 
mand for their produce, and reduced the profits.” 
“That may all be,” said the Doctor, “ but it does 
not affect the question. The real point with the 
farmer, who has made up his mind to raise a cer¬ 
tain crop is, how to raise it at the least cost, and to 
the best advantage. Now, if we are going to raise 
corn, it might not pay us to buy manure for this 
crop. But if we are going to raise onions, we cer¬ 
tainly will not get a profitable crop, unless we make 
the land unusually clean and rich. And so in re¬ 
gard to cabbages. You raised this year 10,000 Early 
Wakefield cabbages. You sold what you could, and 
fed what you could not sell to your stock, and you 
have a lot of late cabbages that you will use in the 
same way. It looks to me, as though it was a pro¬ 
fitable branch of farming. But you certainly could 
not adopt it, unless you made or bought a consider¬ 
able quantity of manure. Then take your Northern 
Spy apple orchard as another illustration. A few 
years ago you had a good crop, when most orchards 
failed, and you sold the crop from four acres for 
over $1,200. You have had fair crops every year 
since. You had a crop last year, like all the rest of 
us, and you have a crop this year, when few other 
orchards are bearing. And the only reason for this 
is, that you manure the orchard very liberally. In 
other words, you use steam, while the Squire still 
sticks to the good, old-fashioned sailing vessel. He 
had a big crop last year, but this year not. And, if 
I mistake not, your apples this year will bring in 
far more money, than all the manure you have used 
on the orchard for the last ten years has cost.” 
“Yes,” said the Deacon, “and you have had a 
grand pasture for your sheep besides.” 
“ True,” said the Doctor, “ and that is not all. 
This pasture has been green, when all the other 
pastures on the farm were burnt up. When the 
sailing vessels were becalmed, the steamer held its 
