1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
797 
cost  of  getting  fertilizers  from  the  distant  railroad  is 
314  a  ton,  and  I  am  finding  that  clover  alone  is  doing 
very  well  indeed.  The  last  year  I  have  been  getting 
a  satisfactory  profit  from  my  old  fields,  without  doing 
anything  like  what  I  might.  H.  stewart. 
TRUSTS  AND  STATE  SOCIALISM. 
In  the  American  Grocer  of  October  5  we  find  an 
editorial  on  the  subject  of  trusts  and  combinations, 
which  is  exceedingly  suggestive,  as  showing  the  trend 
of  modern  thought,  especially  among  the  immediate 
representatives  of  trade.  We  make  the  following  ex¬ 
tract  from  the  article  : 
No  combination  ever  formed  can  become  a  monopoly  without  Invit¬ 
ing  disaster.  The  very  moment  a  Trust  abuses  Its  power  It  provokes 
enmity  and  competition.  We  all  admit  that  there  are  abundant  oppor¬ 
tunities  to  abuse  power,  but  self-interest,  we  believe,  checks  the 
tendency  In  that  direction.  There  are  so  many  economical  advan¬ 
tages  arising  from  combinations,  that  their  disruption  would  be  a 
National  calamity.  What  we  want  Is  legal  regulation  and  not  annihil¬ 
ation— fair  not  destructive  competition. 
The  other  day  a  large  retailer  of  coal  invited  his  competitors  to  a 
conference.  He  demonstrated  that  they  were  all  conducting  business 
at  a  loss;  at  the  maximum  of  expense  and  risk,  and  that  by  combining 
their  yards  they  could  reduce  the  cost  of  handling  coal  50  cents  per 
ton,  of  which  the  consumers  should  have  25  cents  and  the  dealers  the 
other  half.  To  continue  as  they  were,  meant  loss,  bankruptcy  and  the 
survival  of  the  fittest.  To  form  a  combination  meant  a  profit  for  the 
dealers  and  cheaper  coal  for  the  consumers.  Competition  would  be 
disarmed  and  no  one  hurt,  but  all  benefited. 
That  Illustrates  the  case  with  all  Trusts  When  the  people  clearly 
comprehend  the  great  advantages  of  combinations,  and  get  over  their 
present  unreasonable  scare  about  Trusts,  which  is  little  less  ridicu¬ 
lous  than  the  cholera  panic,  we  shall  find  a  complete  revolution  In 
public  opinion  regarding  combinations. 
Doubtless  it  was  not  so  intended,  but  the  above  is 
one  of  the  strongest  pleas  for  State  Socialism  we  have 
lately  seen.  It  shows  what  cannot  be  denied,  that 
large  combinations  can  do  business  at  a  small  percen¬ 
tage  of  expense  and  can  hence  sell  cheaper  to  con¬ 
sumers.  It  admits,  on  the  other  hand,  that  these  com¬ 
binations  have  extensive  opportunities  to  mulct  the 
people,  but  thinks  self-interest  will  prevent  them  from 
doing  so.  The  latter  part  of  its  conclusion  has  not 
been  borne  out  by  the  facts  The  important  point  of 
the  article  is  the  statement  that  “  legal  regulation”  of 
these  combinations  is  wanted,  not  “annihilation.”- 
Any  regulation  must  be  a  regulation  of  prices,  to  be 
of  any  use  or  protection  to  the  masses.  In  other  words, 
government  authorities  must  step  in,  determine  what 
is  a  fair  profit  on  the  commodity  offered  for  sale,  and 
fix  a  maximum  price  beyond  which  the  trust  must  not 
go.  Is  the  Grocer  willing  to  take  that  position  ? 
The  writer  has  a  kindly  leaning  to  State  Socialism. 
We  all  admit  that  the  State’s  management  of  the  Post 
Office  Department  is  infinitely  better  and  cheaper  than 
the  work  could  be  done  by  private  enterprise.  There 
seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  the  Government 
should  not  step  in  and  operate  the  telegraphs  and  tele¬ 
phones.  Great  Britain  has  already  done  the  former 
and  now  gives  its  people  a  telegraph  service  at  about 
half  the  rates  we  pay.  The  telephone  is  the  most  out¬ 
rageous  and  grinding  monopoly  ever  conceived.  As  it 
now  stands,  the  General  Government,  by  its  patent 
laws,  stands  by  and  backs  up  this  monopoly  in  its 
“stand  and  deliver,”  yet  it  gets  no  share  of  the  spoils. 
There  should  be  a  limit  to  the  extortion  arising  from 
the  patent  laws.  It  was  never  intended  that  they 
should  do  more  than  to  secure  a  fair  recompense  to  an 
inventor— they  were  never  designed  for  the  purpose  of 
levying  an  annual  tax  of  millions  on  the  community. 
Both  telegraph  and  telephone  companies  pay  large 
dividends  every  year  on  many  millions  of  stock  which 
is  pure  water,  and  this  is  simple  robbery  of  the  masses. 
The  government,  forgetting  its  true  functions,  stands 
by.  It  not  only  permits  the  robbery,  but  it  enforces 
the  robber’s  claims. 
We  agree  with  the  Grocer.  We  want  “  legal  regu¬ 
lation”  of  these  vast  corporations,  and  want  it  in  the 
interests  of  the  people.  *'• 
[Every  query  must  be  accompanied  by  the  name  and  address  of  the 
writer  to  insure  attention.  Before  asking  a  question  please  see  If  It  is 
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at  one  time.  Put  questions  on  a  separate  piece  of  paper.] 
DOG-PROOF  SHEEP. 
ANOTHER  GOOD  QUALITY  OF  DORSETS. 
Breeders  are  advertising  Dorset  sheep  as  “dog-proof.”  By  this  we 
suppose  they  mean  that  Dorsets  can  fight  oft  dogs.  Is  this  true  In  your 
experience? 
I  cannot  speak  for  other  people’s  Dorset  sheep  ; 
ours  are  “  dog-proof”  and  will  not  run  from  dogs,  but 
will  always  stand  and  face  them.  w.  J.  b. 
Pennsylvania. 
I  have  had  no  positive  experience  either  contradict¬ 
ing  or  confirming  this  claim  ;  but  shall  doubt  it  till 
some  neighbor,  a  member  of  the  Grange  or  church, 
shall  solemnly  declare  that  his  experience  confirms  it. 
Still  1  have  a  little  yearling  Dorset  buck  which  I 
shouldn’t  be  much  surprised  to  see  fight  almost  any¬ 
thing.  No  Dorsets  have  been  killed  about  here  so  far 
as  I  know,  though  out  of  one  mixed  flock,  several 
other  sheep  or  lambs  were  killed,  while  the  Dorsets 
were  untouched.  The  story  is  told  of  another  neigh¬ 
bor  who  thoughtlessly  took  a  dog  into  the  yard  where 
were  his  Dorsets  with  lambs.  They  quickly  surrounded 
the  dog  and  the  consequence  was  that  he  seemed  to 
lose  all  desire  to  visit  that  yard  again.  But  the  gentle¬ 
man  isn’t  a  member  of  our  Grange.  Dorsets,  how¬ 
ever,  seem  inclined  to  face  a  dog,  and  if  sheep  would 
do  that,  even  if  they  did  not  actually  fight,  probably 
few  dogs  would  ever  attack  them.  Sheep,  like  farmers 
in  politics,  need  just  a  little  more  pluck.  A.  wetmore. 
I  have  had  different  other  breeds  of  sheep,  all  of 
which  were  housed  at  night,  still  I  always  lost  some 
on  account  of  dogs  ;  but  since  1  have  had  the  Dorsets 
I  have  not  housed  a  single  sheep  at  night,  and  so  far 
not  one  has  been  killed  or  disturbed,  but  I  have  seen 
dogs  several  times  in  the  fields,  and  I  have  also  seen 
the  sheep  chasing  them  out  of  the  pastures.  I  have 
never  heard  of  a  Dorset  killed  by  dogs,  and  if  I  did 
not  think  them  able  to  take  care  of  themselves,  I  cer¬ 
tainly  would  not  leave  them  out  at  night.  T.  s.  COOPER. 
I  cannot  say  from  actual  experience  whether  the 
claim  that  Dorsets  are  “  dog-proof”  is  true,  but  none 
of  mine  has  ever  been  injured  by  dogs.  At  one  time 
a  strange  dog  came  into  the  yard  where  some  ewes 
and  lambs  were  confined,  and  he  went  out  much  more 
rapidly  than  he  came  in,  and  the  action  of  the  ewes 
indicated  that  they  were  ready  and  willing  to  battle. 
My  conclusion  is  that  what  is  said  of  them  in  this 
respect  is  true.  w.  e.  kimsey. 
PRIZE  DAIRY  BUTTER. 
After  the  prizes  were  awarded  at  the  late  Pure  Food 
Show,  questions  were  sent  to  the  successful  contest¬ 
ants  in  the  hope  of  learning  something  about  the 
way  the  butter  was  made.  These  questions  are  given 
below  in  the  letter  from  Mr.  Bowditch  : — 
1.  From  what  breed  of  cattle  came  the  milk  ?  Guern¬ 
seys. 
2.  How  were  they  fed  when  the  butter  was  made  ? 
They  had  four  quarts  of  shorts  each,  three  of  corn 
meal,  one  of  oil  meal. 
3.  Was  the  cream  raised  in  a  creamer,  separated  by 
a  separator,  or  by  some  other  method  ?  It  was  raised 
in  a  creamer. 
4.  If  a  separator  or  creamer  was  used,  what  kind? 
The  Cooley  creamer. 
5.  Was  the  butter  made  from  sweet  or  ripened  cream? 
Ripened. 
(5.  If  from  ripened  cream,  do  you  use  Boyd’s  starter? 
No. 
7.  What  churn  do  you  use  ?  Davis  Swing  Churn. 
8.  What  butter  worker  ?  Eureka. 
9.  How  much  salt  do  you  use  to  the  pound  of  butter? 
Two  and  one-fifth  ounces.  What  make  of  salt? 
Diamond  Crystal. 
10.  Do  you  use  butter  color  ?  No. 
11.  How  do  you  determine  when  the  churning  pro¬ 
cess  should  be  stopped  ?  When  the  granules  are  about 
the  size  of  wheat  grains. 
12.  How  often  do  you  work  butter  and  what  inter¬ 
vals  of  time  elapse  between  the  workings  ?  We  work 
the  butter  until  all  the  brine  is  out  of  it. 
13.  At  what  temperature  do  you  churn  your  cream 
and  what  is  the  average  time  occupied  in  churning  ? 
Temperature  64  degrees  in  winter,  62  degrees  in  sum¬ 
mer;  average  time  occupied  in  churning,  50  minutes. 
14.  Do  you  market  your  butter  in  prints  or  packages, 
or  both  ?  In  prints.  A.  J.  bowditch. 
A  Big  Jersey  Farm. 
1.  We  keep  Jerseys  only.  2.  The  cows  were  at  pas¬ 
ture  and  were  fed  bran.  3.  The  milk  ran  through  a 
DeLaval  separator.  4.  The  cream  was  ripened  and  we 
used  Boyd’s  starter.  5.  Moseley  &  Stoddard’s  barrel 
churn  was  used,  and  Waters’s  butter-worker.  6.  We 
used  three-quarters  of  an  ounce  of  Worcester  salt  per 
pound.  7.  No  butter  color  was  used.  8.  We  are  led 
by  sound  and  the  appearance  of  the  granules  to  stop 
churning.  9.  We  work  twice — 12  hours  apart.  10. 
We  churn  at  58  to  60  in  summer  and  60  to  62  in  winter, 
and  churn  for  45  minutes.  14.  We  market  the  butter 
in  prints.  F.  w.  hawley. 
Pittsford,  N.  Y, 
The  following  account  of  our  farm  was  printed  in 
the  Country  Gentleman  : 
The  soil  is  light  in  appearance,  and  easily  worked,  but  of  great 
natural  fertility;  and  receiving  as  It  does,  on  the  312  acres  Included  In 
Pittsford  Farms,  about  100  car-loads  of  manure  annually  from  the 
Buffalo  stock  yards,  besides  the  large  quantity  made  on  the  place,  and 
other  fertilizers,  while  hardly  anything  but  butter  Is  taken  away,  it 
yields  heavy  crops  and  Is  steadily  increasing  In  productiveness.  About 
a  third  of  the  farm  area  is  In  grass,  the  remainder  (exclusive  of  the 
considerable  space  devoted  to  buildings,  drives,  groves,  gardens  and 
water)  being  chiefly  planted  in  oats,  wheat  and  corn.  B'lfty  acres  of 
the  last  named  crop  have  been  raised  the  present  year;  and  the  pro¬ 
duct,  together  with  that  of  12  acres  of  very  thrifty  German  millet,  was 
going,  on  the  day  of  a  recent  visit  that  we  had  the  pleasure  of  paying 
at  the  place,  into  five  good-sized  and  very  solid  and  handsome  silos, 
each  10  feet  square  and  24  feet  deep,  and  therefore  aggregating  nearly 
31,000  cubic  feet,  or  say  between  500  and  000  tons,  In  total  capactty. 
The  almost  sole  product  of  the  farm  for  market  being  butter  of  high 
quality  and  high  price,  every  ounce  of  which  goes  to  some  fastidious 
consumer,  It  Is  not  surprising  that  the  cattle  kept  to  produce  It  should 
be  Jerseys  pur  sang.  The  herd  numbers  at  present,  all  told,  125,  some 
00  of  which  are  cows  In  milk;  and  70  pounds  of  butter  are  shipped  dally. 
By  January  1,  It  Is  expected  that  90  cows  will  be  in  profit,  and  by  next 
September  140.  The  blood  1b  chiefly  St  Lambert,  the  Duke  of  that  ilk 
(H.  R.  10160)  standing  at  the  head  of  the  herd,  while  his  dam,  Charity 
*038,  now  15  years  old  and  of  course  past  her  greatest  beauty  and  use¬ 
fulness.  occupies  a  comfortable  box-stall  and  may  reflect  on  the 
glories  of  her  great  family  without  further  exerting  herself  to  Increase 
them.  There  are  on  the  place,  moreover,  two  younger  bulls  of  the  same 
lineage,  “the  Doge”  17889  (a  son  of  Charity,  and  both  son  and  half- 
brother  of  the  Duke),  and  Exile  of  St.  Lambert  16th  19155  (by  Exile  of 
St.  Lambert,  out  of  Bobby's  Diana  28978). 
The  cows  were  seen  to  great  advantage  In  their  broad,  very  substan¬ 
tial  and  carefully  whitewashed  stalls,  each  furnished  with  a  Smith- 
Parsons  stanchion  and  the  use  of  a  Buckley  water  tub;  about  150  of 
the  former  and  100  of  the  latter  will  be  In  operation  when  a  new  stable 
184  by  36,  now  in  process  of  erection,  shall  be  completed.  Mr.  Hawley 
has  already  \%  acre  of  barn  flooring,  but  needs  a  great  deal  more,  to 
develop  as  he  desires  the  capacities  of  the  place  for  butter  making. 
We  noted  some  50  box-stalls,  16  feet  square,  and  each  opening  Into  a 
barnyard  with  running  water.  Every  work-horso  on  the  place  (and  40 
horses  In  all  are  kept)  has  one  of  these  box  stalls  at  night  to  rest  In 
the  proprietor  wisely  believing  In  making  Ills  four-footed  servants, 
not  less  than  his  20  men— who  aro  exceedingly  well  cared  for— bb  com¬ 
fortable  as  possible  when  off  duty.  It  may  be  added  in  this  connec¬ 
tion  that  a  specially  constructed  building  Is  devoted  exclusively  to  hos¬ 
pital  purposes,  every  creature  that  seems  to  be  out  of  sorts  going  there 
lnstanter,  and  scrupulous  caro  being  observed  to  guard  against  even 
the  remotest  possibility  of  anv  Infection  spreading.  Excellent  water 
for  all  purpose  Is  everywhere  on  tap,  two  windmills  and  sundry 
hydraulic  rams  running  constantly,  and  storage  being  provided  to  the 
extent  of  6,000  barrels. 
Among  the  structures  on  the  place  calling  for  special  attention, 
beside  the  silos,  the  stables  and  the  hospital,  Is  a  granary  with  walls 
of  hard-wood  boards  an  Inch  thick  and  six  Inches  wide,  laid  fiat  upon 
each  other;  celling  and  floor  are  built  In  the  same  way  (the  boards 
placed  on  their  edges  for  horizontal  work),  and  Mr.  Hawloy  says  he 
will  give  any  rat  $100  to  get  into  It. 
1.  I  keep  registered  Jerseys.  2.  They  were  at  pas¬ 
ture  and  fed  clover  rowen  and  green  corn  fodder,  3. 
The  cream  was  raised  in  a  Cooley  creamer.  6-6.  The 
cream  was  ripened  ;  no  “  starter”  was  used.  7.  We 
use  the  revolving  box  churn.  9.  We  use  half  an  ounce 
of  Syracuse  salt  per  pound.  10.  No  butter  color  was 
used  in  the  sample  sent  to  the  show.  12.  We  work 
butter  only  once.  13.  We  churn  at  64  degrees  and 
take  from  30  to  40  minutes  for  churning.  14.  We 
market  in  both  prints  and  packages.  A.  w.  vail. 
Straw  Basis  For  A  Stock  Ration. 
G.  W.  H.,  ChUhawic,  Va. — What  is  a  well-balanced 
ration  for  milch  cows  and  working  horses,  to  be  com¬ 
posed  of  wheat  straw,  corn  meal  and  wheat  bran,  or 
of  corn  fodder  with  corn  meal  and  wheat  bran,  the 
forage  to  be  run  through  a  straw  or  fodder  cutter? 
Ans. — In  preparing  rations  for  farm  animals,  consid¬ 
erations  other  than  the  balancing  of  food  compounds 
must  be  regarded.  The  character  of  the  products  fur¬ 
nishing  the  food  is  quite  as  important  as  the  propor¬ 
tions  in  which  they  exist.  It  would  be  possible  to 
make  what  is  understood  as  a  well-balanced  ration 
from  corn  meal,  wheat  bran  and  wheat  straw,  yet 
owing  to  the  character  of  these  products  I  hardly  think 
it  would  be  generally  satisfactory  or  the  most  econ¬ 
omical  that  could  be  prepared;  because  of  the  large 
quantity  of  bran  that  would  be  required.  A  balanced 
or  standard  ration  for  milch  cows,  according  to  German 
authorities,  should  have  a  nutritive  ratio  of  1  to 
5.4,  i.e.,  the  ratio  of  the  digestible  nitrogenous  con¬ 
stituents  to  digestible  non-nitrogenous  constitu¬ 
ents.  Wheat  straw,  owing  to  the  low  digestibility 
of  its  albuminoids,  has  a  nutritive  ratio  of  1:39,  corn 
meal  has  one  of  1:11;  both  of  these  ratios  are  much 
wider  than  the  standard,  hence  to  secure  a  balanced 
ration  from  the  addition  of  wheat  bran,  which  has  a 
nutritive  ratio  of  1:4,  the  ration  would  consist  almost 
entirely  of  bran.  If  no  other  feeds  are  available,  a 
good  ration,  though  not  balanced,  may  be  made  from 
10  pounds  of  straw,  6  of  corn  meal,  and  6  of  wheat 
bran,  and  this  would  be  quite  sufficient  as  a  daily  feed 
for  a  dairy  cow  of  average  weight.  An  addition  of 
three  pounds  of  good  cotton-seed  meal  would  balance 
the  ration  perfectly,  would  furnish  a  daily  feed  suf¬ 
ficient  for  a  1,000-pound  animal,  and  be  more  econom¬ 
ical  from  both  the  standpoint  of  food  and  fertility.  If 
corn  fodder  is  used  instead  of  the  wheat  straw,  a  bal¬ 
anced  ration  may  be  made  up  as  follows:  corn  fodder 
10,  corn  meal  4,  wheat  bran  6,  and  cotton-seed  meal  2 
pounds. 
For  horses  on  average  work  a  well  balanced  ration 
that  would  be  satisfactory  may  be  composed  of  10 
pounds  of  corn  fodder,  six  of  corn  meal,  and  six  of 
wheat  bran.  A  good  ration  for  horses,  that  would 
include  straw  could  be  made  as  follows  :  10  pounds  of 
wheat  straw,  six  of  corn,  six  of  wheat  bran,  and  two  of 
linseed  meal.  Linseed  meal  has  proved  to  be  an  excellent 
feed  as  an  addition  to  a  ration  for  horses,  especially 
during  the  winter  and  spring.  It  is  encouraging  to  note 
the  interest  taken  in  the  matter  of  the  economical  use  of 
fodders  and  feeds  for  farm  stock,  yet  it  must  be  re¬ 
membered  that  scientifically  prepared  rations  do  not 
take  the  place  of  good  judgment  in  feeding  and  hand¬ 
ling  the  animals,  Feeding  cannot  be  done  by  fixed 
rules,  the  principles  of  feeding  must  be  adapted  to  the 
conditions  ;  the  individuality  and  character  of  the 
animals,  their  age,  the  period  of  milk  flow,  the  kind 
and  the  quality  of  the  products  which  furnish  the 
food  compounds,  are  all  variable  factors,  and  demand 
that  minor  changes  be  made  in  rules,  applicable  in 
specific  cases.  e.  b.  voobhees, 
