1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
529 
A  Woman’s  Jersey  Dairy. 
THERE  IS  MONEY  IN  GOOD  MILK. 
“When  a  Woman  Wills  She  Will.” 
When  we  bought  a  little  place  just  far  enough  out 
of  the  village  to  be  called  “in  the  country,”  I  began  to 
talk  about  keeping  a  cow.  Dick  (that’s  my  better  (?) 
half)  opposed  me  dreadfully  ;  but,  you  know,  a  little 
opposition  sometimes  makes  one  more  determined.  I 
had  set  my  heart  on  it  and  “when  a  woman  wills  she 
will.”  The  last  time  I  had  talked  with  him  about  it 
he  shook  his  head  very  decidedly  and  said: 
“  Nell,  it  won’t  pay  for  us  to  keep  a  cow  this  year. 
We’ve  no  pasture,  and  couldn’t  get  any  for  less  than 
$30  for  the  season.” 
Now  any  well-behaved  and  dutiful  wife  would  have 
given  up  and  allowed  her  “liege  lord”  to  have  his 
way  ;  but — well  I  guess  I  don’t  belong  to  that  class. 
At  any  rate,  I  was  like  the  man  convinced  against  his 
will,  “  of  the  same  opinion  still.”  I’d  lived  with  Dick 
long  enough  to  know  that  it  was  best  to  drop  the 
matter  and  let  him  think  he  was  having  his  own  way 
about  it  for  the  present.  However,  in  the  meantime, 
I  kept  watch  of  the  market  for  prices  of  good  milch 
cows.  One  day  the  butcher  came  along,  and  as  I 
waited  for  him  to  weigh  a  piece  of  meat,  I  remarked 
that  when  we  moved  on  the  hill,  I  would  like  to  keep 
a  cow  ;  and  I  asked  him  if  he  knew  of  a  good  one  for 
sale. 
“  Yes,  Mrs.  White,  I  do  know  of  one  that  would  just 
suit  you — a  Jersey,  four  years  old,  as  gentle  as  a 
kitten,”  he  answered. 
“  And  how  much  would  her  owner  want  for  her  ?” 
“  Probably  $50,  and  she  is  worth  it.” 
“  Well,  I’ll  see  you  again  if  we  decide  to  buy,”  I 
said  as  I  turned  to  go  to  the  house  with  my  meat,  say¬ 
ing  to  myself — $50  !  Dick  would  lift  up  his  hands  in 
holy  horror  at  the  mention  of  it  ;  and  for  reasons  best 
known  to  myself,  I  held  my  peace  for  a  while  longer. 
Figuring  on  a  Cow’s  Cost. 
One  evening,  some  time  after  my  conversation  with 
the  butcher,  we  were  making  some  plans  as  to  what 
we  would  do  with  our  four  acres  when  we  were  moved 
and  settled  on  the  new  place;  and  somehow  the  cow 
subject  came  up  again.  I  saw  that  Dick  was  as  much 
against  it  as  ever,  and  as  we  were  figuring  out  other 
matters,  I  determined  to  see  what  figures  would  do 
for  me  in  this  case,  so  I  said: 
“Now,  Dick,  suppose  a  good,  young  cow  costs  $50” — 
“  No,  I’ll  not  suppose  any  such  thing.  Do  you  think 
I’m  so  far  bereft  of  my  senses  as  to  pay  $50  for  a  cow?” 
“  Well-er,  no,  but  just  call  it  that  for  convenience,” 
I  said,  pushing  the  paper  and  pencil  toward  him.  He 
rather  reluctantly  made  a  figure  5,  and  the  0,  then 
looked  up  as  much  as  to  say,  “  What  next?” 
“  And  now  directly  under  the  $50  put  $20  for 
pasture.” 
“Yes.  That’s  $70.” 
“  Now,  on  the  other  hand,  our  butter  costs  us  $30 
and  milk  about  $35  a  year.  That’s  $05  isn’t  it  ?  ” 
“  Yes,  and  a  loss  of  $5  you  see.  besides,  you  haven’t 
counted  the  cost  of  wintering  her.  I  told  you  it 
wouldn’t  pay.  When  we  have  our  own  pasture,  I’ll 
talk  with  you  about  it,”  he  said. 
“But,  Dick,”  I  persisted,  “I  have  counted  the  cost  of 
keeping  her  next  winter.  You  are  going  to  seed  down 
two  acres.  Wouldn’t  the  oats  cut  from  that  be 
enough?  Then  another  year,  we  shall  have  pasture 
and  a  cow,  too.” 
“1  can’t  see  where  you  are  going  to  make  anything” 
argued  Dick,  not  willing  yet  to  give  up. 
“  Well,  then,  let’s  figure  it  another  way,”  I  said. 
“  Suppose  a  good  cow  gives,  on  an  average,  eight 
quarts  of  milk  a  day,  for  300  days.  That  would  be 
2,400  quarts.  At  five  cents  a  quart,  what  would  that 
amount  to  ?”  It  didn’t  take  Dick  long  to  figure  that 
out,  but  I  wish  you  could  have  seen  the  look  of  aston¬ 
ishment  when  he  saw  that  it  read  $120. 
“Now,”  I  said,  “  ‘to  make  assurance  doubly  sure,’ 
we  will  call  it  an  even  $100.  Deduct  $70  and  there’s 
a  balance  of  $30  in  favor  of  the  cow.”  He  began  to 
look  more  and  more  convinced,  so  I  ventured  to  make 
this  proposition: 
“You  buy  the  cow  and  I’ll  agree  to  pay  for  her  be¬ 
fore  the  summer  is  passed.”  He  didn’t  accede  to  this 
very  readily,  thought  we’d  better  wait;  but  I  persisted 
bringing  up  the  subject  at  every  opportunity,  until  he 
promised  to  inquire  around  among  the  farmers  for  a 
good  family  cow.  Imagine  his  surprise,  when  I  told 
him  I’d  been  on  the  lookout,  and  that  Mr.  Cook,  the 
butcher,  knew  of  a  fine  young  Jersey  cow  that  he 
thought  would  be  just  what  we  would  like.  The  price 
was  $50. 
“  Well,”  he  said,  laughing,  “  It’s  no  use  trying  to 
resist  any  longer.  I’ll  go  and  see  her,  but  I  won’t  pay 
$50,  Jersey  or  no  Jersey.” 
Now  Dick’s  word  is  as  good  as  a  bank  note,  gener¬ 
ally,  but  before  he’d  found  time  to  take  a  look  at  the 
cow,  the  owner  came  to  see  us.  After  telling  of  her 
many  good  qualities,  he  offered  to  lead  her  down  to 
our  barn  and  we  could  judge  for  ourselves. 
She  Didn’t  Make  a  Big  Impression. 
I  laugh  now  when  I  think  of  the  poor,  little,  insig¬ 
nificant-looking  animal  that  meekly  walked  into  our 
yard  the  next  day.  Dick,  our  12-year-old  Ned,  baby 
Helen  and  myself  filed  out  in  a  procession  as  inspect¬ 
ing  committee.  I  could  see  the  corners  of  Dick’s  mouth 
twitch  under  his  moustache,  and  there  was  a  merry 
twinkle  in  his  eyes,  but  I  put  on  my  gravest  “  mean,” 
as  Josiah  Allen’s  wife  says.  This  was  no  time  for 
mirth  or  trifling.  The  man  seemed  to  know  by  the 
way  we  looked  and  acted  that  we  were  not  wonder¬ 
fully  prepossessed  in  her  favor,  for  he  began  to  apolo¬ 
gize  for  her  ;  said  she  had  been  fed  on  corn  stalks  all 
winter  and  hadn’t  had  much  care. 
“Well,  well,  what  will  you  do?  To  buy  or  not  to 
buy,  that’s  the  question,”  said  Dick  Something  in  the 
almost  human  expression  of  her  eyes,  as  I  stood  pat¬ 
ting  her  head,  made  me  answer  : 
“I’ll  buy  her,  if  she  is  as  good  as  he  says  she  is.” 
“  I’m  so  sure  that  she  will  prove  the  truth  of  my 
statements,”  said  the  owner,  “  that  I  will  let  you  have 
her  for  8>40,  if  you  will  agree  to  let  me  have  her  back 
again  one  year  from  now  at  the  same  price.” 
The  little  “bossie”  was  eating  from  my  hand  then, 
and  I  said  : 
“  No,  I’d  rather  give  $50  now  than  have  her  taken 
away  after  we’ve  become  attached  to  her.” 
So  the  $50  were  counted  out,  and  I  or  rather  we, 
owned  a  cow.  I  sent  Ned  to  the  hardware  store  for  a 
milk  pail,  and,  as  he  always  believed  in  getting  the 
worth  of  his  money,  he  came  home  with  one  that  held 
14  quarts. 
Such  fun  as  we  had  that  night,  when  Dick  went  out 
to  milk  for  the  first  time  since  he  was  a  boy,  but  he 
hadn’t  forgotten  how.  And  weren’t  we  proud  of  the 
milk,  too,  though  it  was  advised  that  we  “  buy  a  spy¬ 
glass  to  go  with  that  milk  pail  to  find  the  milk.” 
Figures  and  Feeding  Facts. 
This  was  in  March  1887.  How  well  I  remember  the 
first  quart  of  milk  I  measured  out  to  sell.  Ned  and  I 
spent  one  evening  making  tickets  out  of  pasteboard — 
quarts  and  pints.  We  found  plenty  of  customers,  and 
at  the  end  of  the  year  my  account  read  : 
Milk  sold,  2,2DG  quarts  at  five  cents . $114.80 
Calf  sold .  10.00— $124.80 
Price  of  cow .  50.00 
Pasture .  20.00—  70.00 
Actual  profit.  .  $54.80 
No  acount  was  kept  of  the  milk  used  in  the  family, 
but  it’s  safe  to  call  it  $25,  which  ought  to  be  added, 
and  this  swells  the  profit  to  $79.80.  And  this,  re¬ 
member,  was  from  a  four-year-old  Jersey,  that  never 
gave  over  15  quarts  a  day.  Well,  to  say  that  Dick  was 
surprised  would  be  putting  it  mildly  ;  but  to  prove  to 
you  that  he  was  convinced  that  it  did  pay,  if  you  could 
use  my  eyes  as  I  am  writing,  and  look  over  in  the  lot 
across  the  way  you  would  see  five  as  fine-looking  speci¬ 
mens  of  the  bovine  race  as  you  would  wish  to  see. 
Selling  milk  from  them  ?  Of  course  we  are,  and  have 
to  hire  pasture  at  $18  a  cow  for  the  season.  That 
means,  with  us,  from  the  middle  of  May  till  November. 
Dick  keeps  account  of  everything,  and  as  he  figures 
it,  it  costs  10  cents  a  day  to  keep  a  cow  in  the  pasture 
and  20  cents  a  day  to  keep  her  in  the  stable.  Of  course 
as  prices  of  hay,  grain  and  pasturage  vary  in  different 
localities,  this  would  not  be  the  rule  everywhere.  It 
takes  about  2%  tons  of  hay  to  winter  a  cow.  Dick 
suggests  that  I’d  better  tell  you  our  winters  are  six 
months  long.  When  the  cows  are  in  the  stable  we 
feed  twice  a  day  a  mixture  of  bran,  middlings  and 
cotton-seed  meal  ground  fine.  Last  winter  we  found 
that  it  was  better  to  scald  it  and  let  it  stand  till  nearly 
cold ;  so  Dick  fixed  a  big  tub  and  into  this  he  puts  the 
feed,  pouring  over  it  the  boiling  water  and  stirring 
until  every  particle  of  it  is  wet.  The  cows  are  never 
let  out  in  extremely  cold  weather,  or  when  it  is  storm¬ 
ing.  They  have  roomy  stables  and  are  never  tied. 
How  do  we  keep  them  in  their  stables  ?  By  chains 
fastened  at  one  side  and  hooked  over  to  the  other. 
Last  winter  they  were  never  out  of  the  barn  from 
November  till  the  middle  of  May,  when  they  went  to 
pasture  ;  and  if  it  wasn’t  as  good  as  a  circus  to  see 
them  !  Such  jumping  and  kicking  !  The  barn  is  so 
warm  that  it  is  necessary  to  keep  the  windows  open 
for  ventilation.  We  keep  a  thermometer  hanging  in 
the  coldest  corner  and  it  never  registered  below  40 
degrees  last  winter. 
Our  cows  are  never  sick  and  never  come  out  “  spring 
poor.”  They  are  all  pets  and,  at  feeding  time,  Dick 
always  stops  in  each  stall  long  enough  to  talk  to  the 
occupant  and  pat  her.  They  know  him  and  will  stand 
as  still  as  mice,  licking  his  hands  or  rubbing  their 
noses  against  him.  Sometimes  he  will  put  an  ear  of 
corn  in  his  coat  pocket,  and  you’d  laugh  to  see  them 
work  to  get  it  out. 
We  still  own  “  Bessie,”  the  little  Jersey,  and  if  you 
should  come  now  and  lay  a  crip  new  $l()0-bill  on  my 
table  in  exchange  for  her,  I’d  tell  you  to  put  it  back 
in  your  pocket.  She  is  not  for  sale.  The  owner  did 
not  overestimate  her.  Why,  she  really  knows  more 
than  lots  of  people.  And  such  milk  !  As  yellow  as 
gold !  Now  1  have  asked  Dick  for  some  figures  to 
prove  that  we  are  not  losing  money  in  selling  milk  : 
Receipts  for  the  year  ending  January  1,  181)2 . $782.45 
Hay,  grain  and  pasture .  227.07 
405.88 
Add  to  tills  50  loads  of  manure  at  $1 .  50.00 
$455.38 
Now  as  “  figures  won’t  lie,”  I’ll  tell  you  what  our 
best  grade  cow  did.  She  was  milked  375  days  in  suc¬ 
cession.  “You  mean  305  don’t  you?”  No,  I  do  not.  I 
know  it's  10  days  over  a  year,  but  she  actually  did 
that,  and  she  gave  9,890  pounds  of  milk.  Allowing 
two  pounds  to  a  quart,  it  was  4,948  quarts.  Multiply 
this  by  five  cents  a  quart,  and  you  will  see  whether 
she  paid  or  not.  We  have  another  that  gave  nearly 
as  much.  I  don’t  think  you’ll  need  any  more  proofs, 
but  you  may  want  the  secret  of  our  success,  and  I  can¬ 
not  explain  it  to  you  better  than  by  telling  you  what 
one  Irishman  said  to  another  as  they  stood  looking 
over  into  the  yard  where  Dick  was  milking  one  morn¬ 
ing  last  fall.  After  commenting  on  their  good  qual¬ 
ities,  one  said.  “  Indade  Mike,  an’  it’s  the  kapin.” 
Montgomery  County,  N.  Y.  Nellie  s.  white. 
The  English  Fruit  Markets. 
The  English  do  not  grow  fruit  enough  for  their  own 
consumption.  They  might  readily  do  so  if  they  would, 
but  they  don’t,  and  America  profits  by  the  failure.  In 
1Si90  we  exported  fruits  of  all  sorts  to  the  value  of 
$4,031,1)81).  Of  this  $2,470,118  represents  the  apples, 
green  and  dried,  and  England  took  a  large  share  of 
them.  We  are  liable  to  largely  increase  this  export  trade 
and  also  to  develop  a  large  trade  in  tomatoes,  unless 
the  English  farmers  change  their  methods  and  largely 
increase  their  production.  They  are  not  likely  to  do 
this  rightaway  if  we  may  believe  what  is  printed  in 
the  English  agricultural  papers.  Here  are  samples 
from  the  Farmer’s  Gazette  : 
Hear  what  Mr.  John  May,  one  of  the  largest  fruit  growers  in  Kent, 
has  to  say  on  this  subject.  “I  have  seen  the  trains  with  our  fruit 
pushed  on  one  side  while  the  eontlnental  trains  go  by  to  deliver 
their  fruit,  which  Is  all  In  the  market  and  sold  before  ours  Is 
In  at  the  station.  And  not  only  that,  but  It  Is  carried  for  a  great  deal 
less  money.  I  live  In  the  neighborhood  of  Farmlngham,  and  I  know 
very  well  that  fruit  carried  from  -Holland  Is  delivered  In  the  London 
market  at  a  charge  which  Is  less  than  that  for  fruit  sent  from  my  sta¬ 
tion.”  Irish  and  Scottish  fruit  growers  are  similarly  handicapped 
Foreign  fruit,  landed  at  Leith,  for  Instance,  Is  carried  through  to 
Glasgow  at  lower  rates  and  with  quicker  despatch  than  fruit  from  the 
Clyde  Valley.  This  Is  not  as  It  should  be,  and,  If  no  other  remedy  can 
be  found,  the  farmers  and  fruit  growers  of  the  United  Kingdom  will 
do  well  to  Insist  on  the  government  acquiring  all  the  railways  and 
using  them  for  the  benefit  of  the  nation.  *  *  «  One  day  last  season 
an  English  fruit  grower  wrote  to  the  newspapers:  “  I  have  some  live 
or  six  bushels  of  Morello  cherries  absolutely  rotting  on  the  trees  In 
consequence  of  the  very  low  price  offered  by  the  middleman.  *  *  * 
Some  Morello  cherries  I  sent  up  to  Covent  Garden,  after  paying  ex¬ 
pense  of  carriage,  left  me  the  sum  of  Id  a  pound,  which  did  not  pay 
me  for  the  growing.”  It  Is  useless  to  complain  of  such  abuses  In  mar¬ 
keting.  The  only  way  to  reform  them  Is  for  those  interested  to  go  at 
It  In  a  business-like  way  by  establishing  a  fruit  growers’  exchange  to 
protect  themselves. 
It  seems,  then,  that  this  “eternal  railroad  problem” 
is  about  as  bad  “  over  the  water”  as  it  is  here.  Unless 
the  English  farmers  cooperate,  they  will  not  be  very 
likely  to  cut  down  the  big  fruit  bill  that  is  paid  by  the 
English  nation.  At  the  same  time,  unless  the  Ameri¬ 
can  farmers  cooperate  and  send  over  a  uniform  and 
excellent  class  of  fruit,  they  will  get  but  a  small  slice 
of  what  they  might  get ! 
Business  Bits. 
The  advertisement  of  the  Fltzwater  pear  appears  in  this  issue. 
E.  R.  Haudy,  of  Abingdon,  Ill.,  thinks  this  Is  the  time  to  be  looking 
after  an  overcoat  of  Galloway  fur. 
The  Forest  City  Wood  Ash  Co.,  has  removed  Its  headquarters  for 
the  New  England  branch  of  Its  business  from  South  Sudbury,  Mass, 
to  102  State  Street,  Boston,  Mass.  This  Isa  good  firm  to  do  business 
with. 
The  New  England  Farmer  is  authority  for  a  statement  that  the 
Condensed  Milk  Company  of  Newport,  Me.,  has  commenced  opera¬ 
tions  and  is  paying  three  cents  per  quart  for  milk.  It  will  need  a  large 
capital  for  its  business,  if  that  Is  true.  Its  competitors  are  paying  two 
cents  or  less -a  difference  of  50  per  cent. 
A  whiter  in  the  Kingston  Freeman,  under  date  of  July  18,  In  a  re¬ 
view  of  the  situation,  Intimates  that  spraying  with  the  Bordeaux 
mixture  Is  valueless— that  no  rot  had  been  found  in  unsprayed  vine¬ 
yards,  while  plenty  of  it  has  appeared  in  those  where  spraying  had 
been  done.  The  exact  opposite  of  this  would  be  nearer  the  truth. 
Probably  there  Is  no  one  thing  in  the  whole  domain  of  horticulture 
more  firmly  established  than  the  value  of  the  copper  solutions  as 
fungicides— in  warding  off  mildew  and  rot.  We  hope  no  grower  will  be 
misled  by  the  mistaken  article  In  the  Freeman. 
Shall  we  Buy  Flour?— Shall  farmers  sell  their  wheat  and  buy 
Hour  or  have  It  made  for  them  at  the  mill,  paying  toll  in  Uour  and 
bran  ?  The  Delaware  Farm  and  Home  says:  "  In  Delaware  the  gen¬ 
eral  practice  we  believe,  Is  to  adopt  the  latter  plan.  Whatever  may 
be  the  true  case  with  wheat,  many  farmers  will  find  it  practicable  and 
profitable  In  the  near  future  to  grind  their  corn  and  other  grains  at 
home.  Often  with  a  good  windmill  one  can  grind  corn,  oats  and  peas 
with  less  time  and  trouble  than  that  required  to  take  them  to  the  mill. 
Also  by  the  aid  of  such  a  mill,  bones  and  various  other  substances 
can  be  ground  at  an  advantage.  The  use  of  both  windmills  and  grind¬ 
ing  mills  could  be  greatly  extended  on  the  farm  with  satisfaction  to 
the  farmer  and  with  favorable  Influences  upon  his  bank  account.” 
