1894 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
6i5 
MAKING A POTATO SORTER. 
Several notes somewhat like this have been received: 
I read lately somewhere In Thb R. N.-T. abont a cheap potato 
sorter made of strips of boards and straps. Will you please tel us 
how to make one ? 
The best answer we can make to this note is to re¬ 
print the picture shown at Fig. 161. Th’s is the sorter 
used by Mr. Hicks, of Long Island, and it suits him 
very well. The frame is made of 2x4 stuff bolted to¬ 
gether. Narrow boards at the sides, as shown in the 
picture, prevent the potatoes from rolling off. The 
potatoes roll down over narrow strips, with edges up¬ 
ward, fastened perhaps two inches apart. The distance 
apart will depend on the size of the potatoes to be 
sorted out. Narrow strips of leather are fastened cross¬ 
wise of these wooden strips, nailed at each intersec¬ 
tion. To cover the nail-heads and thus prevent them 
from bruising the potatoes, narrow strips of canvas 
are fastened to the tops of the strips after the leathers 
are nailed in place. As shown in the picture, a bag 
may be hung at the bottom of the sorter to hold the 
potatoes as they come down. The whole thing is 
well explained in the picture. Really, such a machine 
should be called a “ sizer,” rather than a sorter, for 
all it does is to separate the small potatoes from the 
larger ones. The wooden strips and the leathers make 
a series of holes through which tubers of a certain 
size must fall, while larger ones roll over. That is 
all there is to a “ sizer.” Why should you wear out 
good flesh and blood doing what wood and leather 
will do ? 
RAISE ONLY GOOD HEIFER CALVES. 
One of the greatest mistakes that farmers make, is 
in raising all the heifers that are dropped, regardless 
of the importance of pedigree or in¬ 
dividual merit. Pedigree, though an im¬ 
portant factor in the make-up of most 
cows, is by no means an infallible rule 
or guide toward adding individual merit 
to such animals as fail to give good re¬ 
sults, either in milk or butter, when 
properly cared for and fed for that 
purpose. The foundation of any good 
herd depends upon the cutting out of such 
animals as do not come up to a proper 
standard of excellence, by sending them 
promptly to the shambles to be slaugh¬ 
tered, thereby fulfllling their mission as 
beef producers. 
While it is not always the case that 
good dams transmit their milk and but¬ 
ter qualities to their offspring, it is 
nearly always the case that poor dams 
leave little else but their bad qualities to 
their female descendants, although one 
admission might be made when a flrst- 
class sire is used. Even then, the chances 
for improvement are ten to one in favor 
of combining the best of both sexes, 
rather than to use a good sire on a 
woi thless dam. Without the use of the 
churn to test the ability of individual 
cows, it is a “ pig in the poke ” game to 
go on year after year, getting no deflnite 
results out of a dairy. Yet hundreds of 
farmers are doing this very thing, and annually adding 
unprofltable stock to their dairies, by raising heifer- 
calves from unprofitable cows. Men who a few years 
ago began to cull out of their herds the unprofitable 
individuals, are to-day in circumstances that enable 
them to operate a dairy at a good profit, and to sell 
their surplus stock at prices that make the business 
have a silver lining. 
Since the introduction of the Babcock test, no single 
implement has caused such a general revolution in the 
dairy world in pushing to the front a better class of 
cows. 
It is well to educate one’s self in the line of what is 
the general appearance of a heifer calf that promises 
well for a good cow when grown. There are charac¬ 
teristics, outlines and individuality that are unmistak¬ 
able, some of which the good housewife can readily 
distinguish. Color may not be considered a point, yet 
a similarity looking toward the breed from which its 
blood predominates, should by no means be overlooked. 
A symmetry that blends largely with the outline of 
the best of its breed, should be the best guide, 
through the eyes of the breeder. This calf should have 
a bright, prominent eye, looking out to the sides, a 
neat, thin ear, broadening from the base, well to the 
end. A heifer, that is expected to make a good cow, 
does not need the legs that are necessary to carry up 
an ox or beef steer, but should be of a neat, delicate 
finish from the body to the hoof. Length of body, as 
well as depth, should be a noticeable feature, with a 
fair distance reaching from hip to rump. But little 
attention is paid now to the escutcheon, but much 
more to the promise of udder and teat development. 
Perspnal experience has taught me that tbe latter is by 
no means a matter of small importance. As a rule, good 
teats are the forerunners of a good udder development, 
and dairymen who desire that a degree of pleasure 
shall attend their chosen occupation should at least 
see that their incoming herds have a majority of the 
points mentioned. 
To develop such an individual, requires care, prompt¬ 
ness and proper nourishment, and usually the house¬ 
wife succeeds best in making out of these heifers the 
very best cows that adorn our herds. Not that she 
should have the drudgery thrust upon her, as a matter 
of adding more care to her already numerous burdens, 
but that the calf shall see the geniality of motherhood 
frequently. With her care, its life is naturally in bet¬ 
ter hands, with much better chances of becoming a 
cow some day, than when left to the tender care of 
the hired man, or even to the owner of the dairy. She 
will give it two quarts of new milk fresh from the cow 
when weaned from the mother, as a starter, and in¬ 
crease the amount daily with good skim-milk (not 
separator) till the amount reaches four quarts. The 
diet is changed gradually to pure skim-milk with the 
addition of one tablespoonful of linseed meal thor¬ 
oughly cooked and well incorporated with the milk 
which should be heated to a few degrees above normal 
heat. Clean Timothy hay is placed before the little 
cow which it soon learns to pick at and eat. A little 
bran and ground oats are added as a further induce¬ 
ment to it to promote growth. By all means keep 
from it any and all classes of feeds that tend to pro¬ 
duce fat. Fatness in a prospective cow should not be 
tolerated ; it is never to be construed as an indication 
of future usefulness in any dairy herd; yet a happy 
medium might be best for most dairymen, as often 
some go to one or the other extreme. 
A Homemade Potato Sorter. Fig. 161. 
Separator milk should be fed to calves with dis¬ 
cretion and never alone, as experience with it has 
taught that unless the linseed meal is used as a regu¬ 
lator, danger of scouring the animal is unnecessarily 
incurred. Provide good shelter after turning into 
the fields in spring, making it dark if it seems best as 
a protection against flies. geo. k. scott. 
BEEFMAKING IN THB CENTRAL WEST. 
A losing industry ; low prices for fat cattle : beef breed¬ 
ing almost abandoned; lands increase in price after 
beefmaking ; steers largely bought—not bred ; outlook 
for the future. 
I am most familiar with central Illinois, but what 
has been true of beefmaking here, has been true, in 
large measure, over a much wider area. Ten, even 
eight years ago, beef making was one of the leading 
branches ot farming on thousands of farms. When 
driving through the country, one of the most common 
sights were herds of steers in the pastures or feed lots 
There were many herds of purebred cattle of the beef 
breeds; public sales of such cattle, at good prices, 
were numerous. Leading agricultural and stock 
papers had pages of advertisements of such stock. 
There were hundreds of thousands of acres of Blue 
grass pastures, the pride of their owners. 
Prices for fat cattle declined and failed again to 
advance. They became so low that the rule was that 
feeders lost money ; it was the exception when a profit 
was made. The demand for purebred cattle rapidly 
declined. Many herds were dispersed Within five 
miles of Champaign, there were six herds of Short- 
horjjs a few years ago, Now there is but one small 
one—and this case is typical. There are a half dozen 
sales of purebred swine to one of purebred beef cattle. 
After vainly hoping for an advance in prices, cattle 
feeders became discouraged; largely ceased to rear 
steers, and fed reduced numbers or abandoned the 
business. Along with the low prices for cattle came, 
certainly in eastern central Illinois to a marked de¬ 
gree, an advance in prices for farm lands. Large 
areas of good pastures, much of which had never be¬ 
fore been plowed, were devoted to corn gro wing. The 
meadow acreage was also much reduced. Again taking 
a small area as illustrative of a large one, I have re¬ 
cently driven, say, 150 miles in different directions in 
this county. I have seen more horses than cattle in 
the fields; not more than three “lots” of fattening 
steers in all. The acreage of corn is larger than I 
have ever known and that of oats very much larger. 
I had recently occasion to collect information from 
more than 100 Illinois farmers. Aside from the re¬ 
duction in number of cattle fed, or the abandonment 
of the business, the most noticeable change in cattle 
feeding is in the increased percentage of steers pur¬ 
chased for feeding, as compared with those reared on 
the farms where fed. There is also much evidence 
that the average quality of the fat cattle is lower 
than it was a few years ago. There has been no radi¬ 
cal change in methods of feeding and management in 
Illinois beefmaking. Corn, fed unshelled, often un¬ 
husked, is still the great fattening food. Stall feed¬ 
ing is exceptional—aside from the large numbers fed 
at distilleries Making “ baby beef” is not yet com¬ 
mon. The great mass of the steers sent to market 
are still two years old or more. 
A few years since, Illinois was the great beefmak¬ 
ing State of the West, only surpassed in number of 
beef cattle by Texas. The United States 
Department of Agriculture estimates for 
January, 1894, while giving Illinois third 
rank in number of cows. New York and 
Iowa only, being in advance, assigns 
this State the sixth rank in number of 
“ other cattle;” Texas, Iowa, Kansas, 
Missouri and Nebraska each having 
larger numbers. 
Something of the process I have out¬ 
lined has gone on in the eastern portions 
of Iowa and Missouri, but with lower- 
priced lands and feed, with greater dis¬ 
tances to ship grain, these States con¬ 
tinue to feed large numbers of cattle 
and supply the largest number of fine 
beeves to the Chicago market. Aside 
from the effects of the great drought of 
1894, I see little reason to expect a 
diminution in the attention given to 
beef making in these States for some 
years to come. The same is true of 
Kansas and Nebraska. In the great 
corn and grass regions, cattle and hog 
feeding are the natural stock feeding 
operations for farmers. Until lands and 
grains become relatively high priced, 
these regions can successfully fatten 
good cattle in competition with the 
ranches and purely grazing regions of the 
further West, Northwest and Southwest. 
As for Illinois, I believe the time has come which 
came years ago to Ohio. The days of great beef mak¬ 
ing farms, such as those of Qillett, with 15,000 to 
18,000 acres, on which 3,000 to 4,000 cattle were fed, 
have gone by forever. It is no longer profitable to 
rear cattle as large numbers were reared in Illinois 
even a dozen years ago—a cow being kept all the year 
solely to produce and feed a calf. Beefmaking will 
not become a lost art in Illinois, but feeders will buy 
an increasing percentage of the steers they feed. 
There will be fewer big lots of steers fed. More of 
the by-products of distilleries, glucose mills and flour¬ 
ing mills will be used. Gradually stall feeding will, 
probably, become common. 
Just now the disturbing factor, especially west of 
the Mississippi, is the drought. Not only for this 
year, but for two or three years at least, this must 
have an important effect on stock rearing in many 
places, especially in Kansas and Nebraska. Many 
farmers must greatly reduce the number of animals 
kept. Vast numbers of young cattle and hogs have 
already been sold, either for slaughter or to be fed in 
Illinois and other more eastern States. It will take 
time to replace these. Unfortunately in many cases 
money will not be abundant even when abundant crops 
of grass and grain, to be expected next year, invite to 
feeding on a large scale. 
In the last few weeks, there has been a marked ad¬ 
vance in the price of good fat cattle. This is accom¬ 
panied and, in large part, caused by an advance in the 
price of corn. With best cattle selling at Chicago at 
$6.30 per 100 pounds, live weight, there would be sat¬ 
isfactory profit, with corn at usual prices. But in the 
chief feeding regions, corn is worth 50 cents per bu'hel 
