496 
Z^'ho  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
March  18,  1910. 
“Good  News  lor  Farm  Women ”B 
■ 
B 
E 
B 
B 
m 
Orange,  II.  J.,  March  1,  191G 
Dear  Mrs.  Dairy  woman: — 
The  bearer  of  good  news  is  always  welcome;  and  I  have  some  very 
good  news  for  farm  women.  We’ve  a  new  separator  at  our  house  and 
it’s  a  wonder. 
One  splendid  feature  of  this  new  invention  which  must  have  been 
planned  with  the  comfort  of  the  dairy  woman  in  mind  is  the  knee-high 
supply  can.  This  does  away  with  the  hard,  high  lift  no  woman  should 
be  asked  to  endure  day  after  day.  It’s  only  a  few  inches  to  lift  and  a  tilt 
of  the  pail,  even  for  a  small  boy.  This  is  one  item  of  good  news. 
Cleanliness  is  the  beginning,  middle,  and  end  of  good  dairy  work. 
You  know  how  quickly  the  separator  shows  the  effect  of  any  slight 
letting  up  in  this  direction.  With  dishes  to  wash  three  times  a  day, 
cooking  utensils,  calf  pails,  milk  pails,  etc.,  a  big  pile  of  separator  disks 
is  just  about  the  “last  straw  ,  isn’t  it?  But  with  our  new  Sharpies  there 
are  only  three  pieces  to  clean,  not  one  heavy,  bulky,  or  fussy.  This  is 
the  second  piece  of  good  news. 
Formerly,  a  slight  slowing  of  speed  in  turning  the  handle  of  the 
Separator  meant  a  loss  of  cream — and  money.  One’s  attention  had  to  be 
strictly  on  turning  the  crank  at  an  unvarying  high  speed,  which  was 
trying  to  both  mind  and  strength.  My  third  and  best  piece  of  good 
news  is  that 
THE  NEW 
SHARPLES 
SUCTION-FEED 
Separator  draws  up  into  the  bowl  just  the  right  amount  of  milk — always 
in  proportion  to  the  separating  force.  If  you  feel  out  of  sorts,  you  may 
turn  slowly  and  the  bowl  will  drink  up  just  enough  milk  for  clean 
skimming  and  no  more.  If  you  feel  spry  and  want  to  get  through  to  sew, 
to  trim  a  hat,  or  to  visit  a  neighbor,  turn  as  fast  as  you  please  and  the 
bowl  will  take  up  proportionally  more  milk,  yet  the  cream  will  be  of  the 
same  thickness.  Smooth,  even  cream,  such  as  the  Suction-feed  gives 
you  makes  quality  butter  that  brings  top  prices. 
The  separator  has  only  one  thing  to  do 
while  you  have  many  tasks.  The  separator 
has  always  been  a  tyrant  which  insisted  on 
being  turned  at  regulation  speed,  whether 
you  were  well  or  ill,  worried  -or  happy,  rested 
or  worn  out.  But  this  new  Suction- feed 
Separator  meets  your  moods.  Its  speed  is 
your  speed  and  yet,  it  gets  all  the  cream  all 
the  time. 
Why  don’t  you  drop  a  postal  to  the 
Sharpies  people  for  their  new  book?  Then, 
you  can  show  your  husband  that  this  new  in¬ 
vention  will  be  a  money  saver  for  him  as  well 
as  a  labor  saver  for  you. 
Yours  truly, 
A  Dairywoman 
What  this  farm  woman  says  in  her  letter 
is  absolutely  true.  There  are  many  other 
pieces  of  good  news  in  our  new  book,  “Velvet” 
for  Dairymen,  which  fully  describes  this 
wonderful  separator.  Send  for  your  copy  to¬ 
day.  Address  Dept.  12. 
The  bowl  is  easy  to  wash. 
There  are  only  threeparts, 
and  no  disks. 
The  Sharpies  Separator  Co. 
Also  Sharpies  Milkers  and  Gasoline  Engines 
West  Chester  -  -  -  Pennsylvania 
Chicago  San  Francisco  Portland  Toronto 
■ 
P 
GARDEN  AND  FARM  BOOKS 
Vegetable  Gardening,  Watts  . $1.75 
Productive  Vegetable  Growing,  Lloyd  1.50 
Garden  Farming,  Corbett  .  2,00 
Manures  and  Fertilizers,  Wbeeler...  1.60 
Farm  Manures,  Tliorne  . .  1.50 
Farm  Management,  Warren  . .  1.75 
Irrigation  and  Drainage,  King  .  1.50 
For  sale  bv  THE  RURAL  NEW- 
YORKER,  333  W.  30th  St.,  New  York. 
3peS 
Ganelina  Traction 
It  Is  the  worlds  creat¬ 
es!  Well  Drilling,  Pros¬ 
pecting  and  Blast  Hole 
Machine.  Many  sizes 
Traction  or  Portable 
Steam  or  Gasoline 
Power.  Address 
LOOMIS  DRILL  CO. 
TIFFIN,  OHIO 
New  England  Notes 
DEALERS  AND  FARMERS  TALK  MILK 
One  of  the  definite  suggestions  at  the 
1  m  .1  k  transportation  hearing  in  Boston 
last  week  came  from  an  unexpected 
source.  Milk  Contractor  Whiting,  of  I>. 
Whiting  &  Suns,  remarked  in  Thursday 
and  Friday's  hearings  that  he  was  going 
r.o  speak  frankly.  He  urged  that  the 
milk  rates  should  not  he  advanced  be¬ 
cause  the  consuming  public  could  hardly 
stand  a  higher  price  for  milk,  which  was 
a  necessity  of  life.  Cream,  however,  was 
less  of  a  necessity  and  buyers  could  bet¬ 
ter  stand  an  advance  as  compared  with 
milk.  If  the  comm \ssion  should  find  that 
the  railrrtads  ought  to  have  more  income 
from  dairy  products,  let  them*  find  out 
how  much  cream  is  being  shipped  in 
and  advance  the  freight  rate  enough  to 
secure  what  additional  revenue  was 
to  be  granted.  The  commission  asked 
questions,  suggesting  that  it  might  be 
difficult  to  separate  shipments  of  milk 
and  cream.  Mr.  Whi.ting  said  that  in 
|  practice  most  of  the  cream  shipments 
would  be  of  40%  cream,  the  percentage 
being  changed  after  arrival  at  the  city  to 
meet  the  various  requirements  of  the 
trade. 
Commenting  on  this  suggestion  during 
a  recess,  Secretary  I’attee,  of  the  Milk 
Producers’  Association,  said  the  proposed 
plan  would  discriminate  against  the  small 
and  nearby  creameries,  which  could  not 
gel  the  lotv  average  rates  of  freight  se¬ 
cured  by  contractors  with  their  large 
loads  and  long  hauls.  Mr.  Pattee  be¬ 
lieves  that  railroads  do  not  require  high¬ 
er  rates  on  either  milk  or  cream.  An¬ 
other  reason  why  contractors  prefer  an 
advance  on  cream  rather  than  milk  is 
that  the  cream  price  could  bo  raised  more 
easily  to  the  public. 
On  Thursday  the  commission  had  one 
of  the  Hood  Company's  caretakers  de¬ 
scribe  his  duties,  lli.s  car  made  1i  stops 
in  the  70  m\les  from  White  River  to 
Concord.  N.  II.  Besides  earing  for  the 
milk  he  spent  many  afternoons  among 
the  farmers,  trying  to  meet,  their  com¬ 
plaints  and  retain  (heir  trade.  He 
planned  to  see  each  of  the  250  farmers 
on  his  route  several  times  a  year.  The 
milk  had  to  be  delivered  cooled  in  ice 
water  to  50  degrees.  If  the  can  felt 
warm  the  milk  was  rejected.  If  it  was 
bitter  he  would  go  and  see  the  producer 
next  trip.  He  could  tell  by  the  sound 
of  the  can  if  the  milk  was  frozen. 
According  to  Mr.  Whiting,  the  average 
pri<  e  paid  to  the  farmer  75  miles  from 
Boston  during  the  past  Summer  was 
2.81/ko  for  an  S44  quart  can.  and  since 
November  1  it  has  been  3044.  He 
claimed  that  higher  freight  rates  would 
compel  either  higln  r  price.:  to  the  con¬ 
sumer  or  lower  prices  to  producers.  The 
dealers’  margin  of  profit  was  such  a 
small  fraction  of  a  cent  per  quart  that 
nothing  more  could  be  taken  away  from 
it.  A  Maine  dairyman.  H.  II.  Locke,  of 
Bar  Mills,  said  he  kept  24  cows  and 
shipped  about  20  cans  a  day  to  the  IT. 
P.  Hood  people  on  contract  at 
yearly  average  per  844‘Qt*  can.  This 
price  included  over  one  cent  premium 
for  extra  quality  milk.  lie  preferred  sell¬ 
ing  to  the  contractors  rather  than  to 
small  dealers  and  peddlers,  because  of 
the  i  pliability  of  the  larger  firms.  It 
was  stated  by  H,  P.  Millet t.  auditor  of 
the  Hood  Company,  that  the  average 
number  of  cans  at  New  England  ship¬ 
ping  stations  was  about  100  S*4-qt.  cans 
compared  with  150  40-qt.  cans  at  the 
New  York  shipping  station.  The  smaller 
bits  increased  the  cost  of  collection.  He 
asserted  that  82%  per  cent,  of  the  mi, Ik 
sold  in  Boston  is  pasteurized.  Said 
George  Moore,  of  W  ost  Canaan.  N.  IT.; 
“My  herd  of  20  cows  averages  about  20 
cans  of  milk  a  day.  The  contract  calls 
for  3744c  per  can  and  1  >4e  premium. 
The  only  profit  we  have  made  from  the 
milk  business  during  tin*  year  is  $15  and 
six  heifer  cows  as  compared  with  a 
year  ago.  If  it  were  not  for  other  lines 
of  business  I  should  he  at  the  county 
farm.  The  increased  price  of  milk  hast 
been  more  than  offset  by  the  greater  cost 
of  production,  so  that  we  are  really  get¬ 
ting  less  in  proportion  than  we  got  five 
years  ago,  I  am  my  own  hired  man.  my 
own  veterinarian,  and  my  own  boss,  but 
I  figure  the  cost  is  40c  per  can  if  I  al¬ 
low  fair  wages  for  my  work.  Most 
farmers  sell  apples,  sweet  corn,  lumber 
and  other  products  or  they  could  not 
make  a  living." 
One  of  the  sensational  features  of  the 
hearing  last  week  was  the  attack  on 
Massachusetts  milk  by  Contractor  Hood. 
"Massachusetts  dairies  are  filthy,  and 
the  milk  that  comes  from  them  is  the 
meanest  coming  into  Boston.  We  have 
had  more  trouble  with  Massachusetts 
farmers  than  with  any  others  we  have 
ever  dealt  with,"  asserted  Mr.  Hood.  It 
should  be  stated  that  ibis  attack  was 
made  i.n  the  heat  of  a  rather  exasperating 
discussion.  Said  another  Boston  con¬ 
tractor  (Grausteini:  "I  do  not  think 
Mr.  Hood  would  have  made  this  state¬ 
ment  if  lie  had  not  been  excited.  It  is 
our  experience  that  the  Massachusetts 
milk  is  as  good  on  the  average  as  that 
of  the  other  States,  but  I  think  Mr. 
Hood  bad  an  unfortunate  experience  with 
a  few  individuals  in  Massachusetts.’’  At¬ 
torney-General  Henry  C.  Attwill,  of 
Massachusetts,  declared  he  would  offer 
testimony  to  prove  that  the  sanitary  con¬ 
ditions  of  milk  in  Massachusetts  are  as 
good  as  those  in  the  three  Northern 
States. 
RURAL  PROGRESS 
Team  work  was  the  keynote  of  the 
forenoon  meeting  of  the  New  England 
Federation  for  Rural  Progress  in  Boston, 
March  3.  The  speakers,  representing 
several  classes  of  agricultural  workers, 
explained  ill  45  minute  addresses  their 
view  of  the  work  of  their  own  depart¬ 
ments  in  combination  or  co-operation 
with  other  departments.  The  colleges, 
the  State  departments,  the  extension  ser¬ 
vice.  and  the  county  agents,  are  being 
brought  into  closer  touch,  both  hy  the 
requirements  of  the  laws  under  which 
farms  are  granted  them  and  also  by 
means  of  their  own  voluntary  efforts. 
It  seemed  to  he  recognized  that  agricul¬ 
tural  workers  in  colleges,  experiment  sta¬ 
tions,  and  departments,  owe  a  duty  to 
the  tax-payers  that  support  them,  as  well 
as  to  students  or  others  under  their  di- 
reet  supervision  ;  and  the  tendency  seem¬ 
ed  to  be  to  extend  more  and  more  var¬ 
ious  forms  of  direct  work  among  fann¬ 
ers.  Said  director  W.  D.  Hurd,  of  the 
Massachusetts  Gollege  Extension  ser¬ 
vice:  "Is  if  not  as  legitimate  to  show  a 
farmer  how  to  pack  a  barrel  of  fruit  at 
the  end  of  the  season  as  to  show  him  how 
to  prune,  spray  and  fertilize  at  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  the  season?  If  not.  the  early 
instruction  might  better  he  omitted,  since 
the  farmer  would  he  worse  off  at  the  end 
of  the  season  than  at  first.” 
KEEPING  OUT  THE  POLITICIANS 
Speaking  of  the  work  of  the  State  De¬ 
partments  of  Agriculture.  Hon.  Carl 
Vrooman.  Assistant  Secretary  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agricul¬ 
ture,  was  inclined  to  favor  commission¬ 
ers  appointed  hy  governors,  rather  than 
secretaries  of  State  boards,  as  official 
heads  of  State  agriculture.  One  or  two 
speakers  were  inclined  to  agree  with  Mr. 
Vrooman  on  this  point,  while  others,  led 
by  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  \V»,lfrid 
Wheeler,  of  Boston,  defended  the  old  plan 
of  a  board  of  farmers  who  elect  their  own 
secretary,  thus  keeping  the  office  out  of 
politics.  Politicians,  he  said,  favored  the 
commission  plan  because  it  gave  them  di¬ 
rect  control,  so  that  political  favorites 
could  be  appointed,  but  frequent  changes 
in  the  office  for  political  reasons  would 
prevent  the  offiei.nl  doing  good  work. 
Some  States  which  had  tried  the  commis¬ 
sioner  plan  were  returning  to  the  plan 
of  a  secretary  elected  by  the  farmers 
themselves. 
WIIAT  COUNTY  AGENTS  ARE  FOR 
Au  interesting  feature  was  the  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  work  of  farm  bureaus  and 
county  agents  by  John  D.  Willard,  sec¬ 
retary  of  Franklin  County  Farm  Bu¬ 
reau.  The  main  dutv  of  a  county  agent, 
according  to  Mr.  Willard,  is  to  organ¬ 
ize  so  that  he  mnv  educate.  The  Fed¬ 
eral  Department  expects  the  county  agent 
to  make  demonstrations  in  a  practical 
way.  but  lie  must  make  them  through  the 
farmers.  The  county  agent  is  also  the 
scout  of  the  State  extension  service,  co¬ 
operating  but  not  attempting  to  do  the 
same  kind  of  work. 
TWO  LINES  OF  COW  TESTING 
The  afternou  session  was  devoted  to 
dairying,  and  here  again  it  might  be 
said  that  the  “team  work”  idea  con¬ 
trolled  the  discussion.  The  talk  of  the 
lectures  related  to  united  work  in  cow 
testing,  marketing,  milk  and  other  dairy 
products,  and  even  in  connection  with 
the  great  National  Dairy  Show  to  be 
hold  in  New  England  this  Fall.  Two 
phases  of  cow  testing  were  considered 
hy  A.  F.  Pierce  of  Winchester,  N.  H., 
and  E.  T.  Clark,  of  Worcester,  Mass., 
both  men  of  practical  experience  in  or¬ 
ganizing  dairymen  along  these  lines.  Mr. 
Pierce  described  Ills  success  in  starring 
cow  test  associations  in  dairy  sections 
where  dairy  farmers  were  numerous.  Mr. 
Clark,  situated  in  a  miscellaneous  farm¬ 
ing  section,  found  it  hard  to  get  25  or 
more  farmers  conveniently  located  and 
ready  to  join  in  any  one  place,  and  so 
he  started  county-wide  cow  testing  oper¬ 
ated  from  his  own  office.  Results  in  both 
cases  were  successful.  Mr.  Pierce’s  as¬ 
sociations  started  in  1911.  There  are 
now  400  cows  tested,  and  the  result  has 
been  an  increase  of  the  product  of  each 
herd  as  compared  with  returns  in  1011. 
The  great  advantage  was  in  showing  the 
dairyman  which  cows  paid  him  best. 
The  cow  test  also  showed  the  value  of 
balanced  rations,  and  the  changes  re¬ 
quired  according  to  the  market  price  of 
various  grains.  It  showed  how  a  change 
in  time  would  save  dollars,  and  it  showed 
the  profit  of  having  an  abundant  supply 
of  silage.  Tt  was  found  there  were  herds 
in  some  instances  that  were  running  their 
owners  into  debt,  and  tunny  cows  show¬ 
ing  a  loss  of  $10  to  $25  per  year.  When 
the  owners  found  this  out  they  were  more 
ready  to  sell  the  cows  that  did  not  pay: 
and  on  the  other  hand,  they  appreciated 
the  cows  that  showed  them  a  profit.  A 
few  years  ago  a  dealer  could  go  i-nto 
northern  Vermont  or  New  Hampshire 
and  lake  his  pick  of  the  herds  at  $45 
to  $50  a  head.  Now  the  only  ones  that 
can  he  bought  at  such  prices  are  those 
that  paid  l'.ttle  or  no  profit,  as  shown  by 
the  cow  test.  The  result  on  net  profit  is 
shown  by  a  gain  of  $05.10  per  month 
(Continued  on  page  490) 
