VOL. LIII. No. 2319. 
NEW YORK JULY 7, 1894. 
$ 1.00 PER YEAR. 
“Thorndale.” 
THE HIGHBST TYPE OF AMERICAN FARM LIFE. 
Part II. 
[EDITOBTAL CORBESPOXDEXCB.] 
Lessons from the Sheep. 
The figures given last -week will show that this 
great farm ranks with a manufacturing enterprise in 
the extent of business done and the many details of 
its management. Eastern farming has been so 
changed of*late that one is liable to think that all the 
large stock farms are “out West”—that somewhat 
indefinite region where we look for newer and stronger 
soil, and, consequently, cheaper stock food. It is a 
little out of order to consider a vast stock-breeding 
establishment east of the Hudson—yet that is what 
we find at “ Thorndale.” The upper part of Dutchess 
County—back from the river—has always been noted 
for its grazing. Great droves of cattle were driven 
through it—farmers selling to the drovers or buying 
animals to be fattened on the rich pastures. The 
adaptability of this country for beef-making is illus¬ 
trated by the fact that 
in earlier times “Thorn¬ 
dale ” was famous for its 
Short-horn cattle. The 
dressed meat trade has 
upset the old beef-mak¬ 
ing business, and the 
drovers have disap¬ 
peared. The point is 
that this change has 
not destroyed this coun¬ 
try’s value for live stock 
breeding and feeding. 
Dressed beef has ruined 
only the business of the 
scrub cow or of the ani¬ 
mal that could be grown 
cheaper on cheaper land 
“ Blood ” is more profit¬ 
able than meat, and the 
forced change from 
grazing to high-class 
dairying and thorough¬ 
bred sheep has been a 
good thing for the farm¬ 
ers who have adopted it. 
Of course the farmers 
who still try to raise the 
old-fashioned cattle and 
sheep in the old-fash¬ 
ioned way, are not pros¬ 
perous. “ Thorndale ” 
has changed with the times. Its hay and grain are 
now fed to Shropshires and Jerseys instead of as in 
old times, to Short-horns and trotting horses. It may 
be argued that a smaller farmer, with but a few head 
of stock, cannot compete with such a large and com¬ 
plete establishment. That is not all true. While 
such a place has its business advantages, there are, 
from the very magnitude of the operations, drawbacks 
as well. A farmer who will keep choice stock and 
follow on a smaller scale, the “ Thorndale ” methods 
will easily compete with larger herds. -Accuracy of 
accounts, skill in breeding and science in growing 
crops and feeding them, are the elements that make 
“ Thorndale ” a financial success. These may certainly 
be copied on a smaller scale. 
Pedigreed Jerseys that Pay. 
There are 130 head of cattle on the farm. All but 
five are purebred Jerseys of excellent breeding. There 
are five “scrubs” or nursing cows, which provide 
milk for the calves. The point to be made about this 
herd is that while it was collected with an eye to 
pedigree and butter record, it has been forced to stand 
or fall'on its ability'to. pay a profit'in the dairy. The 
choicest blood in all Jersey history is well represented 
here, yet as a matter of actual performance in the 
dairy, all this is forgotten, and the herd is judged 
simply from its ability to bring in more dollars than 
it costs. Many animals are sold for breeding pur¬ 
poses, but that is considered aside from the actual 
returns from milk, cream and butter. Judged from 
this standard, the typical cow in this herd is big, 
strong and healthy, with a large flow of rich milk. 
There are few large herds in the country, where the 
cows will average heavier or more rugged in appear¬ 
ance. It is a business herd, fed and handled for busi¬ 
ness purposes—with nothing of the fancy about it. 
There is nothing about the fixtures in the stables that 
has not been tested and proved by practical men. The 
cows are pastured in summer but kept stabled during 
the winter. Water is kept before them in the Buckley 
watering device, which does admirable service. The 
cows are fastened in swing stanchions, and are carefully 
brushed and carded in winter. They are well bedded, 
and the floors are kept white and sweet with plaster. 
The winter’s feed consists of hay, grain ensilage, 
stalks and straw. The straw and dry stalks are 
always cut fine and mixed with the ensilage before 
feeding. In this way, the dry food is eaten up cleaner. 
A day’s ration consists of 25 pounds of ensilage, and 
10 pounds of stalks, straw or hay, cut and mixed. 
The grain consists of 14 quarts dried brewers’ grains, 
seven quarts of bran, and IK pound of a mixture of 
equal parts of linseed and cotton-seed meals. This is 
varied somewhat, and the cows are given all they will 
readily consume of it. An exact account is kept with 
every cow. Each milking is weighed and recorded, 
and the whole thing is carefully figured so that it is 
possible to know just how many pounds each cow has 
given since she first gave milk ! When a purchaser 
comes here to buy a bull or heifer, he may not only 
look at the sire and dam, but also see how much milk 
the latter has given, and how the milk tested for fats. 
It is easy to see what an advantage this would be to 
one who desired an animal to introduce new blood 
into a herd. To show what these cows are doing, we 
may say that in 1893 milk, cream and butter to the 
value of $11,944.44 were sold from this herd. This 
was mostly for cream and milk, which are sent to 
special customers, such as hotels and clubs in New 
York. 
We shall reserve further discussion of the many in¬ 
teresting details of breeding and feeding at “ Thorn¬ 
dale,” until we can work them up more carefully in 
the form of symposia. They are of enough inter¬ 
est to warrant a general discussion, and wo hope to 
obtain the views of many breeders. There are also 
other matters of great interest to be worked out at 
“Thorndale.” Among others is the problem of 
Maintaining the Fertility of Grass Lands. 
Many of the “ Thorndale ” meadows have now been 
cut for a number of years. They were seeded to 
Timothy—a grass of little value in sheep and dairy 
farming, and some of them are sod bound—not yield¬ 
ing a full crop. The problem is to select a rotation 
and method of fertilizing that will get these meadows 
back to clover as quickly and easily as possible. One 
would think, at first, that with the immense quanti¬ 
ties of purchased feed and available manure, the farm 
could easily be kept up 
and improved. There 
are other considerations, 
however, which upset 
some of these calcula¬ 
tions. The meadows are 
on hillsides more or less 
steep. It is heavy work 
hauling manure to the 
top. Not only that, but 
some crops make better 
use of manure than do 
others. Therefore, it 
may be better to crowd 
the manure on to cer¬ 
tain crops, like corn, 
roots and cabbage, and 
use fertilizers on grass 
and those crops which 
cannot be hoed or kept 
clean. 
The first step will be 
to make the manure as 
valuable as possible. It 
is lacking in potash and 
phosphoric acid. The 
present plan is to build 
a large manure shed 
into which the manure 
from all the stables may 
be hauled and kept shel¬ 
tered. As it accumu¬ 
lates, muriate of potash and ground bone will be 
scattered over and through it. The liquids are to be 
drawn into a large cistern. Muriate and superphos¬ 
phate will be added so as to make a strong and soluble 
complete fertilizer which may be pumped out in the . 
spring, and sprinkled over the young grass and clover. 
Mr. Thorne will experiment with Crimson clover, 
sowing it in various ways this summer and fall. If 
this clover thrive, it will prove a wonderful help in 
his farming. It is proposed to break up large blocks 
of the sod each year and plant corn, using heavy 
dressings of stable manure—with grass seed in the 
fall and clover in the spring. Rye has been used for 
fall seeding—the straw making excellent bedding, but 
small grains have little value in such farming as this, 
and if one could only sow a mixture of Crimson and 
red clovers in the corn, and obtain three crops of 
clover from it, the whole process would be simplified 
and cheapened. Corn will pay better than any of the 
small grains, for with a shredder, the coarse or dam¬ 
aged stalks can be made into excellent bedding—fully 
taking the place of straw. 
With the manure crowded on the cultivated and 
How They Peddle Milk in Belgium. The Dog Made Useful. (See Page 429). Fig. 107. 
