MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
RURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER 
breed. A good milking cow is a good animal to 
breed upon; and tbe bull should have descended 
from a good milking family of thorough-bred?, 
I don’t care what the breed. 
Geo. A. Mookk of Buffalo.—I am not a 
breeder, but I know something about the dairies 
of Western New York, and have traveled 
among, talked with, and know something of the 
success of dairymen, and of the relative profit 
they derive from their cows. My experience 
and observation is that when a man breeds bis 
own stock he gets the best herd of dairy cows, 
makes the best cheese, and is the most success¬ 
ful in all respects. I am so thoroughly con¬ 
vinced that this is so that I am going to raise 
my own calves for dairy cows hereafter.— 
There is more attention being paid to breeding 
dairy stock than heretofore. We cannot de¬ 
pend upon that which we can buy. Where a 
cow will not make 400 pounds of cheese per 
year she is not worth keeping. Our experience 
is that small sized cowls are best. They stand 
travel the best, consume least, and yield the 
most in proportion. Beef is no consideration in 
selecting milking cows. The effort should be to 
get the best cow for fifteen years milking. And 
a cow well kept is worth more as a milker when 
fifteen years of age than at three years. I know 
native cows that £t 14 years yield TOO lbs of 
cheese in a season. 
Lewis F. Allen.— It is the opinion of many 
that a heifer should not have a calf until she is 
three years of age. But the breeding faculty 
should be developed early, because tbe pro¬ 
vision of milk is a consequence of such develop¬ 
ment. T would put a heifer to bull at 15 to IS 
months. My best cows *• come inat two years 
of age. Some superior milkers had their first 
calves when IS months old. The virility of a 
heifer is the same as that of a bull. A bull will 
procrerate at eight months. By early breeding 
tbe cow is not developed, but the work of de¬ 
velopment takes the direction of the production 
of young, and the provision of food therefor. I 
do not think a cow should be milked over nine 
or ten months. A cow should not do two things 
at time—should not breed and milk at once. 
Geo. A. Moore. —My best cows do not go 
dry over six to eight weeks. The best cow I 
have was milked at night and had a calf by her 
side the next morning. Cows must be sheltered, 
groomed, well fed and cared for. A cow should 
go in the barn when the first cold weather comes 
on in the autumn and stay there till it is over in 
spring. Of course the stables should be well 
ventilated. I have found that cows kept in the 
barn through the winter do just as well as those 
which are let out. Air. light, good water and 
good food arc essential. With these provisions, 
cows are kept in good health, there are no mis¬ 
carriages, and the general effect upon the health 
and usefulness of the animal is good. Cows "come 
in’ ’ with us when 24 months old, and webreedand 
milk them light along. Three years ago I pick¬ 
ed the poorest and oldest cows from my herd, 
kept them housed from Christmas till March, 
loosed them from the ties and turned them out 
and they played like calves. They gave more 
milk and did better the following season than 
they did the year before. I have kept cows in 
stanchions from November to May, caring for 
and grooming them well, and they bred better, 
there were fewer losses, and they were healthier 
and did better the succeeding season than if they 
had been left out, or allowed to run out in the 
usual way. I prefer to tic cows for winter feed¬ 
ing, but use stanchions in my milking stables. 
Mr. Loomis of Herkimer Co. — I have neigh¬ 
bors who think that a cow is not worth keeping 
that does not yield 000 to S00 pouuds of cheese 
each season. Iu order to reach this standard it 
is essential the breed should be regarded. The 
best cows in Herkimer Co. are the result of 
breediug good native milkers to an Ayrshire 
bull. The bull was obtained of Hungerford 
A Bkodir of Jefferson Co. Our dairy fanners 
begin with the calf to educate it for a milker. 
Calves are given new milk for a few weeks. 
After this they run in the pasture and are fed 
whey alone. In this way they make better 
milkers than if fed on new milk alone, if well 
treated afterward. They coino in to milk at 
two years of age. I have never seen a half 
dozen good milkers among cows that did not 
drop their first calves till three years old. If 
calves are reared as i have described, and the 
cows are well kept, they will last as milkers Hi 
years. Cows should be kept on good hay during 
winter up to the time of calving, theu fed on 
shorts and ground oats—about all they can eat 
till grass comes. The cows in our best dairies 
are not allowed to fall off iD their milk, or at 
least in the amount of cheese they make during 
the season. The best dairymen milk their cows 
to within three months of calving. The first 
cold weather in fall is the time when cows need 
the most care. Its effect is more disastrous 
than the steady cold of December. Those who 
purchase stock from abroad can not reach the 
maximum product with such cows. They can 
not be made to yield as much milk as those 
raised and kept on the same farm. Change a 
good cow from one farm to another, and she 
will not give as much milk a* she did before she 
was so changed, nor as much as she will the 
second year after the change. 
Dr. Loring of Mass.— i eume here, sir. to 
learn, hut will give you my own experience 
since you have called upon me for it. Etebt or 
nine years ago I commenced carry mg on a large 
farm, called a milk farm. wiTi n tue limits of the 
city of Salem. It had long beer cultivated. Forty 
cows were upon it. They we e like the “ stump- 
tail '' cows of New York, aboi:: which so much 
of a sensation was created a few years ago. I 
began to sell off this stock and purchase better 
in the neighborhood. Bat the cows did not do 
weil. I finally commenced breeding from Jer¬ 
sey heifers. T bred a herd of fifteen and kept 
one. And I may say that that is about the 
average proportion of this stock you will find 
valuable. One of my neighbors—and I am in 
the habit of visiting and talking over farm mat¬ 
ters with my neighbors— I ft and had an extra 
lot of young heifers, and I found that, he bad an 
Ayrshire bull from which he was breeding. I 
purchased him and commented breeding. The 
first year's breeding furnished me fifteen or six¬ 
teen heifers. Of these I sold but two. I have 
now a stock of 95, all bred on my farm. It is 
better to keep cows on tbe same farm. The 
production of milk from blood is a delicate ope¬ 
ration. The acclimation of 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE. 
CI1AKLE8 I>. BUAQDOX, Aiwoolate Editor, 
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS l 
?. BARRY, C. DEWEY, LL. D., 
H. T. BROOKS, L. B. LANG WORTHY, 
The Sunscnimox Phice of the Rural is $3.00 per 
annum. For particulars a^o Terms see last page. 
STATE FAIR DISCUSSIONS - CONCLUDED. 
ABOUT RAISING DAIRY STOCK. 
The subject for discussion Thursday evening 
of the week of The State Fair was the following 
question:—“I it best for Dairymen to raise 
their stock or to purchase ?" Lewis F. Allen 
of Black Hock, N. Y., had been named to intro¬ 
duce the discussion. 
Mr. Allen. —My own experience has been 
in favor of raising my own milking stock. It is 
invariably the case that when I get a good 
cow of a good milkiug family' and breed her to 
a good bull from a good milch cow, I get good 
cows as a result of such breeding. The average 
price of hay in the dairy districts Is about $10 
per tun. About Buffalo it has not been over 
that the last 10 or 12 years. At this price for 
hay a calf may be raised and made a cow for 
$30. I would not feed a calf I intended for a 
dairy cow highly. A calf may bo raised for a 
dairy cow at half the cost of milk that is re¬ 
quired to raise a stock calf. To gentlemen who 
think they can buy better stock for dairy pur¬ 
poses than they can raise, and at less cost, I 
put this proposition: The poorest cows are 
offered for sale. The buyer, no matter what 
bis experience, runs great risk of being cheated 
in his purchases, through the vicious habits of 
an apparently good cow—through some defect 
which is not'manifest until experience with the 
animal has developed it. It is rarely the case 
that purchasers of this kind of stock get an 
equivalent for their money. Now with cheese 
worth seven cents per pound, a cow that will 
yield from 400 to 000 lbs. per year is worth $100 
in cash for use. A heifer three years old can be 
raised for $80. I am speaking now of ante-war 
times and prices. If hay be not over $10 per 
lun for a series ol years, a heifer can be raised to 
three years for $30. At that age she is worth 
$50, and you have a cow of the kind and quality 
you want, and she will last you ten years. 
The important point is to breed for a purpose. 
I bad a dairy of selected cows, bought here and 
there, without regard to breed. I got a bull of 
a fine milking family and raised sixty heifers 
from his progeny, only one of which proved an 
inferior milker. I would*use a thorough-bred 
bull from a good milk lainily on tbe best milch 
cows of whatever breed. I know a man who 
a few years ago came to me for the purpose of 
purchasing a bull. He had found it ditlicult to 
get up a good herd of milch cows, and he 
wanted a bull descended from a good milking 
family. Well, he purchased a bull and paid me 
$150 for him. He bred him to his host cows. 
Three years afterward I called on him to learn 
of his success, and was shown six heifers, two 
years old. got by this bull, that were in milk, 
and no six cows iu the herd were yielding so 
huge a quantity of milk. I advised the dairy¬ 
man to breed these heifers to the same bull— 
their- sire. He did so, raising from them three 
or four generations, and has now a superior herd 
ol milch cows. 1 believe it more economical 
and profitable to raise such stock than to buy 
the best a purchaser can get bold of. 
What sized cow would I choose? Well, I 
would choose the cow that gave the greatest 
quantity of milk of the best quality, in propor¬ 
tion to the amount of food she consumes, other 
things being equal. Compact, medium-sized 
animals usually have the best constitutions, are 
the best keepers, and give the most milk in pro¬ 
portion to their consumption of food. I have 
never kept Ayrshires, but have observed this 
breed with great Interest, They are snug, com¬ 
pact animals, good milkers, and, I am satisfied, 
a good dairy breed. Dr. Loring of Mass., who 
is present, has a herd of this breed and can give 
information. I do not advocate any particular 
MR. DOTY’S INFANT ADO F.WE "VIC. 
Ques.— How long do you let your cows go 
dry? 
Dr. Loring.—I think a breeding cow should 
go dry two months before calving, but heifers 
should be milked up to within one month. I 
milk close up to calving. 
Allen.— The attachment of a cow to a farm 
is wonderful. If a cow is sold from a farm and 
taken to a strange place, she longs to get back, 
and rarely or never does as well as a milker as 
she did before. My farm is on an island in the 
Niagara river, and cows sold from that farm 
have swam the river to get home again. The 
extra product of cows raised on a farm over 
those purchased and brought thither is a strong 
argument iu favor of the dairyman breeding his 
own herd. 
Moore.—I t requires at least three years for 
a cow to get accustomed to a new- home. And 
the longer such a cow is kept on a place the bet¬ 
ter she will do for her owner. 
A. B. Conger.— I do not think dairymen 
should confine their attention wholly to breed¬ 
ing from tbe Ayrshire?, although they are great 
milkers. There are other races that may be 
used as milkers as well as this breed. The Short- 
Horns embrace families that have been or are 
great milkers. So of the Devons, though in 
England, during the last half century they have 
been bred for beef. The farmer should consider 
the character of his soil in selecting his breed. 
If he has a limestone -oil with a rich mold on 
top of it, tbe Short-Horns may be supported— 
he may get a breed that yield him thirty quarts 
of milk per cow daily, and obtain better results 
there than from a smaller breed. But I am not 
prepared to say that even 911 such a soil the 
Short-Horns would be most profitable. On 
light, rolling lands, large cows should not be 
used—especially are Short-Homs unable to travel 
in an uneven country. Every farmer should 
consider conditions of soil, climate, grass, char¬ 
acter of surface, iu the selection of breeds. 
I w ould not cross distinct breeds of animals 
in breeding, but would use a thorough-bred sire 
invariably— always. And 1 should look care¬ 
fully to the character of the mother as a milker 
in the selection of a bull. The dairyman should 
t'teed with reference to the production of milk; 
and in doing so, should be careful not to violate 
the laws of breeding—otherwise he will suffer 
the penalty. 
L. H. Tucker.— I think the question of 
breeds should be determined somewhat from 
the use which is to be made of the milk — thus 
one class of animals might be better for the but¬ 
ter dairy, another for cheese, and still another 
for the milk dairy. The Ayrshires and Short- 
Horns are adapted to the milk dairy; but if 
butter is to be produced, an admixture of tbe 
Alderney blood might prove serviceable. The 
farmers of Berkshire and Chester found that 
this admixture of the Alderney or Jersey blood 
iu their herds was productive of better results. 
Cheese differs from butter, ond 1 suppose that 
cows giving the largest quautity of milk arc best 
for the cheese dairy. The Devon cattle are 
better for butter than for cheese. The milk 
dairies of Edinborough w’here pastures were 
rich, were stocked with Short-Horns, and where 
the character of pasturage was such as to carry 
a large frame, a breed of this kind might open 
an additional source of profit, but if butter 
was the object, the Jersey cow would produce 
the best result. 
D. F. Doty of Bridport, Addison county, 
Vt.. forward? the subjoined statement in regard 
to the pedigree of his flock and of hi* ewe 
Vic: ” — •• In the fall of 1 n> 4, I made my first 
purchase of Infsntado sheep of Prosper Eli- 
tharp. Esq., of this place, and since that time 
until the present I have bred from pure Infan- 
tado rams, with the exception of one or two 
years, in which a small portion of my ewes were 
bred to Paular rams. My flock now embraces 
about ninety. My ewe. “Vic,” of wMM-, the 
accompanying is a true representati on' s a 
thorough bred Infsntado. She is four y 
and has proved herself an excellent breed > ” 
ows to a larm is an 
important matter so far as profit i- concerned. 
If a man breeds his own stock, he can be sure of 
a herd after his own liking. I established in 
my own mind what sort of cows I wanted, and 
bred for a purpose. When I got the kind of a 
cow i wanted, I found it easy to perpetuate that 
kind of stock. I feed my heifers coarse hay and 
roots. They cost me at two years of age thirty- 
five dollars. They come in at two years. I 
always look strictly alter the genealogy of the 
bulls I breed from. The male transmit? milk¬ 
ing qualities, hence he should be descend d from 
a good milking family. The male's mother 
should have been a good milker, for the bull 
transmits more of her good qualities than of the 
sire. I always breed in-and-in. It is the only 
way in which the great distinctive breeds have 
been created. The great secret of great breed¬ 
ers’ success is. that they stick to their type. 
Always remember that feeding goes with breed¬ 
ing. Feed well and breed well, and you need 
not go off your own farm to get your type. You 
can always bring your stoek to your standard if 
you breed and feed properly. Certain classes of 
animals have been bred for distinct purposes. 
The Short-Horns, Hereford? and Devons have 
been bred for beef. These classes are adapted 
to sections where there is an abundance of feed. 
The Durham is a most wonderful animal —the 
greatest example of skill in breeding we have. 
It is an artificial animal. But New England is 
not adapted to the keeping of large cattle. The 
Ayrshires have also been bred for a purpose. 
They have constitution. They are a smaller 
breed, hardy, enduriug, with great strength of 
legs, and are capable of getting a lull supply of 
food in tue shortest space of time. The udder 
of the Ayrshire cow is a model. Nothing can 
be more perfect. This the dairy cow of Scot¬ 
land. A good dairy cow must have an exceed¬ 
ingly fine bony system, with shoulders like a 
horse. She must not have a mutton shoulder. 
Her leg stands under her. and is not moated—a 
raeated-legged cow soon gives out—her back¬ 
bone is loose and free, hips stand out well, tail 
strong at the roots, clean, even cut thighs, legs 
spread apart, and head indicating a good consti¬ 
tution . Co ws are not made to travel, nor for ear- 
rying burthens. The stiller you keep them the 
better you are off. I do not think it makes any 
difference whether the cow be young or old from 
which the bull is taken, provided she has a good 
constitution. 
Allen. —For a model tali, as to shape, 1 have 
suggested that a drumstick is a very good one. 
Dr. Loring.—T he shape of the tail should 
correspond with the legs—strong at the roots, 
slender, tapering down like a whipstock or drum¬ 
stick as Mr. Allen suggests. 
DOCTORING” TOO MUCH IN HOOF -ROT. 
A very intelligent correspondent in Law¬ 
rence county, Pennsylvania, in describing what 
appears to him to be a very obstinate case of 
Hoof Rot. ?ays:—" I have tried sulphuric acid- 
blue vitriol and copperas—butyr of antimony- 
blue vitriol in hot water—blue vitriol and vine¬ 
gar.” &c. Without undertaking to decide that 
this is such a case, we have no hesitation in ex¬ 
pressing the opinion that the soreness and lam,-- 
ues? attendant on Hoof Rot are often perpetuate! 
rather than abated by the too frequent applica¬ 
tion of those caustics which are used as rein 
dies. This is particularly the case, where tl 
caustic? applied are powerful one 4 , like sulph 
ric or muriatic or nitric acid. A few years sic 
a friend showed us a flock of ewes and Ivmb 
which exhibited the most excessive lanunej 
although he assured us that he had * do 
tored them faithfully at least once a week v . 
summer.” On examining the feet, we foot 
that they were, in many cases, eaten to tie loi ■ 
by' the sulphuric acid he had so meicilfs? 
applied. Butyr or chloride of antimony cot 
bines so readily with the fluids of the fool th 
when moderately applied, it alxuost immediate 
loses it? caustic effects, and hence act- ve; 
little except superficially. This render it 
better and far safer remedy than mv pf tl 
other powerful acids. Yet we have kiown 
flock kept severely lame by tbe over up of , 
on their diseased feet. This could not frobab y 
occur by using blue vitriol; but is ,Kv|ysve: 
liable to occur where muriatic, sulphur; opr nitr 
acid v all common applications in the disease) a 
used, and especially if they are/. •• y used in d - 
weather, where the feet will not ceme in ecu 
tact in some hours with suflieient l .i ?u 
dilute the fiery fluid, which is not only n f 
intense and unnecessary agony, but 
injury to the diseased feet. We L c a 1 «h 
that the three last named acids eo: 1 ■> uc.dy 
banished from ovine veterinary;- t . 
when butyr of antimony is u- . sheui 
under no circumstances be poare a or into the 
foot. It should be applied with a swat-, an: the 
surface merely wetted by it. If :: e foot uas 
become a disorganized mass- 1 more onsry 
ulcer—as sometimes happens, the sw v > m ay be 
applied again and again, until tin i -w' : i:-? k 
are consumed—but even then ■ pi v 
caustic is unsafe, for it may -m , j 1 ' 
where it would not be injurk ? to tl: -e v> here 
it will inflict both agony and injury 
TERMS, $3.00 PER YEAR.] 
“PROGRESS AND IMPROVEMENT.” 
lSIHSTG-LE 2STO. SIX CENTS. 
VOL. XV. NO. 44.S 
ROCHESTER, N. Y—FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1864. 
1 WHOLE NO. 772. 
