STVe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1033 
Some Live Stock Considerations 
T II10 live stock industry is constantly facing now 
and changing conditions. The dairy fanner is 
now being penalized for an over-production of mar¬ 
ket milk, just, ns the Corn holt farmer was halted 
with a setback after producing a surplus of corn. 
The stockman whose major interest centers around 
beef production is not amply rewarded after de¬ 
livering a choice carcass of meat possessing quality, 
finish and high dressing percentage, for so many 
discarded dairy cows are finding their way in the 
stockyards. As time goes on we shall all he sur¬ 
prised at the extent to which beef from dairy cows 
is to replace meat from straight hoot' cattle. During 
the past partially-finished warmed-up cattle from 
the range have been rushed to market centers for 
one cause or another, and in many instances the 
feeder ol' finished cattle has managed to market 
liis animals during the season of the year when the 
range cattle are on pasture. Now it seems that 
these range cattle are constantly coming to market, 
and the corn belt farmer who under¬ 
takes to market his partly finished 
steers finds competition of the range- 
bred animal very discouraging. 
The fat hog lias so far been able to 
convert corn into pork at a substantial 
profit, but the competition of tropical 
fats is very apt to influence the type 
of the so-called lard hog. 
Lambs have increased about 40 per 
cent in value during a relatively short 
period and. in the judgment of the 
Western ranchman, the sheep industry 
is facing a revival that is very likely 
to enable flock masters to get back in 
part some of the money that was lost 
during the past two years. It would 
seem, however, that severe weather 
conditions have been a very potent fac¬ 
tor in accumulating losses for the 
Western ranchman. No doubt the re¬ 
cent advance in prices provides the 
necessary stimulus to revive the sheep 
industry. 
I suspect that the cattleman will 
wake up some morning to find his in¬ 
dustry hack again on its prosperity 
legs; especially will this he true among 
the purebred breeders, for the tendency 
in this country is strongly towards 
some live stock on every farm rather 
than more live stock on a few large 
farms or ranchos. 
If we judge aright, the American 
farmer will he forced to adopt the sys¬ 
tem of farm operations that has pre¬ 
vailed in the old country for many 
years, which involves the keeping of a 
relatively few animals of the various 
types on every farm and provides a 
constant income to the owner or tenant. 
Reference lias been made in these 
columns repeatedly to the fact that a 
surprisingly large amount of our beef 
nowadays traces to dairy cows or 
originates with the dual-purpose ani¬ 
mal. In Eastern districts very little 
real beef from beef animals is pro¬ 
duced, yet it is difficult to realize the 
amount of moat that is furnished by representatives 
of tlie dairy breeds, that have been culled or released 
from dairy farms, it is not uncommon in the New 
England States for a local butcher to pay quite as 
much per pound for a fat or warmed-up dairy cow 
as lie will offer for a finished steer. He finds very 
few beef type steers in this section and a great mam- 
discard ed dairy cows, and naturally to the disad 
vantage of the farmer who lias endeavored to got 
into the beef-making game. 
The corn bolt meat producer is determined to take 
the speculative element out of the steer-feeding 
game. During the past few years the freight charges 
on shipments of feeders or finished cattle have been 
quite out of proportion to their final selling values. 
Ii is not unusual for three or four local freights to 
l»o paid on a shipment of cattle before they are 
finally marketed, and a little figuring will satisfy 
anyone that this is little else hut speculation. The 
corn belt farmer who has bred his own beef cattle, 
picked up Ills steers locally, and has only made one 
shipment to market, is not finding fault with present 
values or markets. 
In a recent reply to a subscriber to The It. N.-Y. 
who was anxious to engage in the production of 
market milk in New York, and who was evidently 
looking wishfully towards the Rrown Swiss breed. 
the statement was made that “it was quite impos¬ 
sible to produce both milk and beef with the same 
animal.” Some of our readers have taken exception 
to this reply and hold that the dual-purpose type is 
wronged by this remark. Of course this was not the 
objective; in fact, such an interpretation was not 
thought of, for it 'is not the function of a farm 
journal to antagonize the interest of any group of 
breeders. The dual-purpose type of cow prevails in 
the old country, where land values are high, and 
where a relatively large percentage of the farmers 
are tenant farmers with high rents to pay. In this 
country the milking Shorthorn is being used b.v 
many breeders who are anxious to combine meat 
and milk-making attributes. Naturally such breed¬ 
ers will not expect the dual type of animal to yield 
both meat and milk as extensively or as efficiently 
as will the specialized beef steer or the extreme type 
of dairy cow. Notwithstanding, where both products 
are desired and one must select a breed to manufac¬ 
ture them, it is possible to combine the meat and 
did this season. There were six rows 15 in. apart, 
three of each kind alternated. This gave me one 
outside row for each variety. The result is that I 
have 7 lbs. 4 oz. of the Prolific and 10 lbs. 4 oz. of 
the Trumbull Red. Although we have scales of our 
own, I took these wheats over to the store and had 
them weighed on the counter scales, that there might 
he no question in regard to the weighing. While 
the Prolific is a fine red wheat, it has not the steel¬ 
ing habit of the Trumbull. This was very notice- 
aide all through the season, and even after the grain 
had ripened. The Trumbull has a straw of medium 
height and stands up well; the chaff is white. It 
has a very tine appearance either growing or in the 
bundle. We had enough of this seed to sow a corner 
in a wheatfield. There are 40 machine-hound bun¬ 
dles of this, which will give us a nice start this 
I'all. I secured this seed, with others, from the 
Michigan Experiment Station direct last Fall. If 
there is another variety that is still a better yielder 
than these I should he glad to try it out. 
My worst problem in making these 
garden tests is to outwit the sparrows 
when the grain is ripening. I noticed 
that when I was around the garden, 
which was most of the time, the little 
thieves kept their distance. This gave 
me the idea of stationary scarecrows. 
After collecting some old clothes and 
lmts that had seen service around that 
garden I set up a half dozen scare¬ 
crows around that wheat, and the birds 
took the hint, and the wheat was 
saved. Still, I was glad when it was 
all over, for there were times when I 
could use some of those old coats and 
hats to good advantage. 
Some one says: “What's the use of 
all this fussing? Let the experiment 
stations do this work." The stations 
are doing a great broad work along 
this line for which they often fail to 
receive the credit due them for their 
efforts. Still, these local tests of varie¬ 
ties prove as to their adaption to dif¬ 
ferent soils and conditions. I am sat¬ 
isfied that these variety tests as to 
comparative yield are of great value 
both to this farm and the community 
generally, and there is a lot of satis¬ 
faction in this work. And also life’s 
riches are not all to he measured by 
the dollar standard. h. e. cox. 
Monroe Co., N. Y. 
Cape Cod Strawberry Crop 
Phis is a picture of F. II. Tubbs, of Olean. N. Y.. and his veteran lien, “Rabble.” 
This purebred White Leghorn first saw the light of an incubator in .lime, 11110. 
thus uutking her 12 tears old. She lias always been a good layer, but, like all 
veterans, she is now justified in spending more time telling about her former activ¬ 
ities. She has laid tiboui three dozen eggs thus far this year. "Rabbin" never 
expressed any desire to "sit"—she is a true egg-laying machine. She has no appar¬ 
ent use for any feathered companions. She lives with the family and has a special 
roost in the house! She beats-any alarm clock—waking the family at a certain 
hour each morning. In fact, this hen is no “flapper.” but a wise old bird. Is she 
not the oldest hen known to TitF, I*. N.-Y. family? 
milk-making function. Our choice of words failed 
to correctly present the idea that it was desired to 
emphasize. 
We have always held that there are a great many 
farmers, particularly in the Eastern territory, where 
the dual-purpose type of animal could easily estab¬ 
lish a commanding position. Especially would this 
bo I rue under existing conditions, when market milk 
prices are so low. and where farmers feel justified 
in turning their animals to pasture and not forcing 
them to maximum production. I believe that the 
breeding of more cattle of useful type on more of 
our farms would tend to remove the speculative 
element from both the dairy industry and the beef 
industry, and there are many breeders who feel that 
the future of the milking Shorthorn in this country 
is very bright and promising. f. c. m. 
Some Wheat Variety Tests 
AST season 1 tested out seven varieties Of Win¬ 
ter wheat as to comparative yield. Under gar¬ 
den culture there were two kinds that, outyiolded all 
others, and these two were exactly the same to an 
ounce. They were No. 0 Junior White and Trumbull 
Red. A friend wished me to try out a kind known 
ns Leap’s Prolific along with the Trumbull. This I 
1 he strawberry is of nceessitv a small 
acreage crop. I have read tlwir i u the 
strawberry section of Rape Cod the aver¬ 
age of berries is three acres per farm, 
two in fruit and one new set. It is also 
stated that their chief competitor is the 
Hudson Valley. Is this rbe only straw¬ 
berry section in New England? Where 
do the cities of Central and Northwestern 
Connecticut get berries after the New 
Jersey crop is gone? Are thev grown 
locally by Italians and others foreigners 
who have cheap help in their own fami¬ 
lies? I have raised strawberries for 
home use for 30 years, one or two years 
for market, some time ago. Is there auv 
inducement now to raise them for mar¬ 
ket? IIow has the supply and price been 
the season just closed? What is rhe ro¬ 
tation in the Cape Cod section? I understand their 
other market crop is rutabagas. I have a variety well 
adapted to my land. I found it in sod several years 
ago, thriving and producing nice berries. It is prob- 
p.i»l> some cultivated kind that bad strayed. It cer¬ 
tainly does well in this soil, and not inclined to rot 
this very rainy season. u. jl. k. 
Connecticut. 
no means is the strawberry a small acreage 
crop. It is such on the cape because of the 
fact that the farms are rather small and run as 
one-man farms largely. 
The Hudson River Valley is not the only com¬ 
petitor of the cape in the strawberry growing, as 
sections around Marshfield. Dighton and Concord 
also compete, but the Hudson River Valley was men¬ 
tioned because the season is more like that of the 
cape. The cities of Southwestern Connecticut prob¬ 
ably get their crop, so far as I know, from local 
growers, although it may be that there is an opening 
for berries shipped down from the north to those 
cities. 
Portuguese are largely the growers of strawber¬ 
ries iu this section. As for the supply and price this 
last season, it was a most unsatisfactory season, due 
to several causes. First, the unusually bad weather 
conditions, at one time very dry and then very wet, 
and particularly- wet during the picking-season. The 
price was fair, however, and good berries sold very 
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