© © B £ 3 S BUBAL WEW-¥©BKIR, 
MARSH 
Husbandry. 
THE DAIRY IN OHIO. 
ohio DArnriyo and ouio dairymen in 
CONVENTION. 
One of the moat notable meetings of the 
present year was the annual gathering of 
Ohio dairymen, at Wellington, during the 
last week of January. Between five and 
six hundred people, it was estimated, were 
present at some of the sessions, and, wheth¬ 
er in regard to numbers, or tho practical 
bearing and usefulness of discussions, tho 
meeting, it was said, surpassed anything of 
n similar character ever held in the State. 
We wore present during tho convention, 
and have seldom seen a more intelligent, 
earnest, and enthusiastic body of agricul¬ 
turists gathered together. 
Wellington ns a Cheese Market.— 
Wellington seems to be a point well adapted 
for holding a convention of those engaged in 
tho dairy Interest. It is located on the 
Cleveland, Columbus k Cincinnati Railroad, 
about forty miles southwest of Cleveland, 
and easily reached from tho East by the 
Lako Shore road. 
Some Idea of the dairy interest centering 
in Wellington is had from tho fact that 
about 0,050,000 pounds of clieeso aro annual¬ 
ly shipped from that point. Next to Little 
Falls, N. Y., Wellington can claim to be the 
largest country chcoso market on the Conti¬ 
nent. Tho clieeso Is bought, for tlio most 
part, by resident dealers, who fill orders 
from various sections of tho country. One 
firm, that of VVarneu k Honn, wo were in¬ 
formed, ha3 handled upward of 13,000,OBJ 
pounds of oheeso during tho past year. 
Their trade Is mostly u homo trade to tho 
South and Southwest. 
Dairy Products of Ohio.—Ohio is now 
the second groat cheese-producing State in 
the Union. According to official statistics, 
recently received and presented to the 
Convention, the quant ity of cheese made in 
the State during the year 1870 amounted to 
41,381,038 pounds, and tho quantity of but¬ 
ter for the same period, 43.0U0.654 pounds. 
As might be supposed, an interest of this 
magnitude has not sprung up suddenly, but 
lias been gradually developed through a 
long series of years, and tho business now 
rosts upon a sound, substantial basis. 
Milk Costs Less Lu Ohio than in New 
York.—Tho dairymen of Ohio have some 
advantages ovor tboir brother dairymen of 
New York. With ohoaper lands, cheaper I 
cows, and more economy in farm expeudi- 
lures, milk Is produced at lees cost than in 
Now York. Tho great bulk of Ohio cheese 
goc3 into tho homo trade, being shipped 
South and Southwest. New York being 
further from these markets than Ohio, gives 
the latter an important advantage in tho 
oost of transportation, while some of tho 
Ohio dealers seem to comprehend tho best 
moans of promoting homo consumption and 
the opening up of new markets. Regular 
oustomors aro supplied with “ best goods," 
while refuse lots are often sent to New York 
city, to be sold for what they will bring, 
lteoently some of their best cheese has been 
sent to Boston and Philadelphia, and has 
given good satisfaction—the dealers in these 
cities, as it was remarked at the Conven¬ 
tion, often changing the brands and selling 
tho samples as extra New York factory. 
Improved Quality of Cheese.—Com¬ 
paratively little Ohio cheese goes abroad. 
Tho stylo of manufacture is generally differ¬ 
ent from that known in New Y ovk us “ship¬ 
ping cheese." The Ohio cheese is less firm ; 
it Is thin in shape, being five or six inches 
deep, by fifteen to sixteen inches in diame¬ 
ter. Ohio cheese has improved in quality 
very muoh within the last half-dozen years. ' 
The impression has prevailed very generally 
at the East, that Ohio cheese must ueoes- 1 
sarily be rank In flavor, or have “a sharp, 
biting taste.” In 1860 the London cheese 
mongers called our attention to this latter 
characteristic, suggesting that it might 
come from some peculiarity in the grasses 
upon which the cows feed. They stated 
that it was almost impossible to find an 
Ohio cheese free from thi3 peculiarity. 
Whatever the oause may have been, the 
Ohio dairymen have now, in a great meas- I 
ure, overcome this difficulty. At least, in 1 
our examination of a large stock of cheese 1 
while at Wellington, we did not meet with 
a single sample of the kind alluded to. 
During the Convention we had ample op¬ 
portunity to make a close inspection of Ohio 
factory cheese, in company with a New 
York expert. A stock of 15,000 cheeses, 
made at different factories, and some of 
them upon tho factory shelves, were offerod i 
j for our inspection, and a very large number 
1 of samples were tested. The quality of these 
samples was excellent, rich in meat, mellow 
in texture, mild and sweet in flavor. This 
lot was nearly all “fall make.” Much of 
t he October and November cheese contained 
all tho cream of the milk, and if such was 
the character of goods scut to Boston and 
Philadelphia, we could readily understand 
how easily they would pass, when sold, as 
prime New York factory. 
We should be glad if New York dealers 
would follow the lead of Ohio in opening 
] up homo markets and in promoting home 
| consumption. Nearly all the best New 
York cheese now goes abroad. The medium 
and ordinary sorts arc consumed at home. 
Wo cannot promote a rapid homo consump- 
I tion by offering consumers an inferior ar¬ 
ticle. People will refrain from buying an 
art icle like cheese, unless it is to their taste, 
and it is the poor stuff that checks con¬ 
sumption and brings in its train low prices. 
Dairy Lands, Comparative Profits, 
Etc. —During the morning session of the 
first day some valuable suggestions were 
presented in a letter from Walt in Carr & 
Co. of New York city. We give briefly 
some of tho points urged in this communi¬ 
cation :— 1 There aro millions of acres of land 
in this country, which, owing to the diffi¬ 
culties of tillage, would yield little or noth¬ 
ing if put to other uses than the production 
of milk. IIow would it bo were theso lands 
employed for beef, horses and sheep '! Beef 
cannot be exported fresh, and of the salted 
material wc have now more than can be 
sold at anything approaching living prices. 
If tile lands were devoted to horses, a worth¬ 
less surplus would soon bo the result; if to 
sheep, a surplus of wool, added to what 
other countries uneulted to dairying must 
market here, would soon run prices down 
to a starvation point, and thin carcasses 
would bo too abundant to find welcome 
market with the dogs. H ence the conclusion 
that the production of milk is the best use 
to which much of the land in this couutry 
cun be applied. In regard to the question, 
“ What wc shall do with t he milk /” farmers 
aro advised to sell as much milk as possible 
by the quart or can, for consumption in 
some near city; then make the balance into 
some article of free consumption that can 
be exported. 
Cheese or Butter ?—Tho Messrs. (.'Amt 
k Co. say that the tendency of things the 
past ten or twolvo years has rtroveji con¬ 
clusively that our dairymen cannot'put this 
surplus balance of milk over home wants 
into but ter and get paid for the labor at the 
high rates which have nilod and still con¬ 
tinue; and they think all that has saved 
dairy lauds from becoming comparatively 
worthless and their owners from poverty 
has been, first, the production of milk in 
preference to other things, and, secondly, 
the converting of that into cheese which 
enters into free consumption in other coun¬ 
tries at remunerative prices. 
Wo arc Inclined to think that Messrs. 
C'Arm & Co. draw tho line too sharply in fa¬ 
vor of tho production of cheese, and the 
tendency of their argument is to draw but- 
ter-makors into cheese production. If tho 
prices of butter anrl cheese in England, 
during the past year, be compared, the as¬ 
sumption that cheese necessarily pays bet¬ 
ter as an article of export to that country 
may be doubted. French butter sold in 
England, the last week ill January, at 156s. 
the cwl.. while extra American cheese 
brought but GGs., and secondary sons went 
as low as 45 to 50s. If we take the records 
of American dairymen for the past five 
years, wc aro inclined to believe the butter- 
makers have cleared more money than the 
cheese-makers. An equilibrium in the pro¬ 
duction of these two articles, it is evident, 
must be kept along with the consumptive 
demand, and any great failing off on one 
sido, and increase on the other, will very 
sensibly disturb prices. 
Requisites, etc. —In regard to Ohio 
cheese, Messrs. Carr & Co. say they are 
yearly ranking more favorably with the 
make of Now York Btate, and to realize 
nearly or quite the same average of prices, 
only two Things are necessary—namely, to 
make them of proper size and weight, 
and market them as soon os cured, while 
mild and sweet. Ohio cheese, they say, de- 
gencrat es in flavor sooner than New York 
cheese; hence the importance of marketing 
them before the falling off in flavor. 
They attribute this quicker degeneration 
to local peculiarities of water and soil, and, 
doubtless, these causes have much to do in ■ 
the matter, since the land is more level in 
Ohio than New York, and springs and i 
streams of running water are less abundant. 1 
Size and Style of Cheese.—They recom- , 
mend cheese designed for the New York I ( 
• market to be pressed in lG-inch hoops, and 
thick enough to weigh 40 to 45 pounds net. 
’ Such style of cheese, they say, is always 
i available to the homo trade, taking entire 
’ preference over N. Y. State, and are be¬ 
coming more popular the last year or two 
with exporters; they no longer condemn it 
when the make and flavor suit. These 
statements are of importance to those who 
are manufacturing an article for the home 
trade. 
Deficiency of Stocks. — In conclusion, 
they sa}’that taking the receipts and ex¬ 
ports from June 1, 1871, to January 2, 1872, 
the stock in New York is about 150,000 boxes 
short of January, 1871. By the following 
figures they show a probable deficiency of 
about 223,000 boxes from September 1, 1871, 
to May 1, 1872. Taking 811,911 boxes, tho 
total receipts for the last, four months of 
1871, 1870, 1800 and 1868, and dividing the 
same by four, to get the average probable 
receipts for January, February, March and 
April, 1872, we find Die same.to average 77,- 
977, which, added t o 592,320, the receipts of 
the last four months of 1871, make the tot al 
receipts from September, 1871, to May, 1872, 
070,297 boxes, which, compared with the 
same time last year, 895,187 boxes, shows a 
deficiency of 224,890 boxes. 
Various questions were discussed during 
the day and evening, but nothing new or in 
advance of what has been brought out at 
the American Association was elicited. On 
the second day, quite an animated discus¬ 
sion was had upon the question— 
Does it Pay to Mess Cows During the 
Grass Growing Season?— Mr. Welton 
of Summit did not favor the practice, con¬ 
sidering the expense too great t o warrant 
the farmer in expecting an adequate return 
from the increased yield of milk. This 
Opinion quite generally prevailed among 
members of the Convention, and it corre¬ 
sponds with the general impression among 
New York dairymen, who hold that good, 
sweet grass in abundance is the beat and 
cheapest food Tor the production of milk. 
When this can be furnished to cows without 
stint, it does not pay to feed grain; but in 
case of short pastures, or scarcity of summer 
food, messing with bran, ships or meal may 
often be practiced with advantage. 
Mr. Bartlett of Franklin believed in 
messing cows at all seasons. He regarded 
the cow as a machine for manufacturing 
coarso food into milk, and when it failed in 
the yield of that article, it. had become ad¬ 
mirably fitted for the butcher, and should 
be at once turned into beef. Ho was sus¬ 
tained in these views by several speakers. 
Other Matters, — The annual address 
was delivered by Mr. X. A. Willard, after 
which several topics were discussed. We 
have no space in the present, article to give 
a synopsis of the several papers rcud, or to 
follow the various speakers in the discus¬ 
sions, but we may take, up such suggestions 
as appear new hereafter. One feature in 
the programme was novel, and seemed to be 
useful. It consisted in handing to the 8eo- 
retary questions to be answered on any 
topic pertinent to the dairy. Any member 
of tho Convention was at. liberty to thus 
present a question in writing, and when the 
quest ions were all in, they were referred to 
a committee, who assigned them to certain 
persons for answer, giving ample time for 
deliberation on the topic assigned before the 
hour set down for answering, etc. A large 
amount of useful Information was thus 
drawn out in a short space of time, and this 
feature proved of great interest and satis¬ 
faction to tho Convention. The plan oould 
be profitably introduced in dairy conven¬ 
tions East. On the whole the Ohio State 
Dairymen’s Convention may bo regarded us 
a great success, and cannot fail in being 
productive of much good. 
- »4 4 
Something New in Regard to Dea¬ 
coning Calves. —Dr. G. F. Cole, Pots¬ 
dam, X. Y., writes us in regard to deaconing 
calves as follows: —“I am informed that 
Farmer B-of Vermont kiils his calves 
immediately after they are dropped, and 
before they suck. He says the rennets are 
stronger: that he has compared them with 
rennets from calves killed wh«n four days 
old, and the first were found superior to t he 
last, every time. Again, that the skin of 
the calf that never sucked is tougher, will 
make hotter leather, that it wears longer, 
is more clastic, and is as heavy as the ordi¬ 
nary deacon skin, etc. In regard to (he loath- ; 
or from such calves being better for .shoos, 
Dr. Cole says he has been assured that it 
is a fact, from men who have handled the 
Skins and made shoes from them, etc.” We , 
have had no practical experience in testing , 
the rennets of calves killed as Boon as 
dropped, nor do we know concerning the 1 
leather made from the skim of such calves. 
Perhaps 6ome of our readers may be able to i 
give facts coming within their'experience 
or under their observation, in regard to t his 
matter. The statements above presented 
are in opposition to the general opinion of 
dairymen, 
•imj; 
CARE OF POULTRY. 
5 - 
t Animals of all kinds, not properly cared 
2 for, give poor returns. No stock oil the 
) farm pays better, in proportion to its value, 
» than poultry; yet in nineteen cases out of 
j twenty, no provision whatever is made for 
tho comfort or convenience of this kind of 
’ stock. Forced to soek shelter in some for¬ 
saken corner of an old and dilapidated barn, 
’ or the remains of a hog pen, and to live as 
, best they may, on what they can pick up, 
f they are condemned as unprofitable and an 
expense to the farm. A very trilling outlay 
’ would furnish a comfortable hennery, which 
• their manure would in a short time amply 
repay, if properly applied to corn or any 
kind of vegetables. A hennery of inch 
matched boards, floor of coal or wood ashes, 
six inches deep, properly lighted and ven¬ 
tilated, in a dry local ion, and there remains 
but little care to produce profitable returns. 
My practice is, and has been for several 
years, to have a box of corn accessible at all 
times, so made that tho grain falls into a 
small trough as eaten, and cannot be fouled. 
In the morning I give wheat screenings, 
which have been soaked in water over night, 
sufficient to last them half or two-thirds the 
day. In freezing weather, I pour boiling wa¬ 
ter on the feed half an hour before feeding. 
I am satisfied wheat screenings should al¬ 
ways be wet., and after standing to allow tho 
grain to swell, the water poured off and fed. 
This destroys the poisonous dust and smut 
that always accompany screenings. Nofeed 
for fowls is equal to wheat screenings. I 
give my fowls the offal from the kitchen, 
clean water, butcher’s scraps three times a 
week, and they aro free from disease. Forty 
pullets, and thirty hens eighteen months 
old, have laid 586 eggs in January past. I 
get usually, during the year, and for several 
years past, an average of 7.000 eggs from this 
number of fowls. I scatter ashes two or 
three times a week under the roosts and 
over the hennery, and have never had a 
lousy fowl. At sundown I gather the eggs. 
This process gives very little trouble. In 
addition, 1 break up, quite fine, clam shells, 
and occasionally throw a small quantity of 
quicklime in the water they drink. I keep 
the pure-blood Light Brahma, and no other. 
Lockport. 
-- 
BPANGLED SILVER HAMBURGS. 
In Rural New-Yorker of Jan. 6, you 
state, in answer to “ New Subscriber," that 
all tho sickle and principal feathers of a 
Spangled Silver Hamburg cock’6 tail should 
be white, with a black spot at the end of 
each; that Is the “ Standard of Excellence," 
ns laid down both in America and England. 
Should “New Subscriber ” try to get such 
birds, he may find some difficulty to procure 
them with perfect, clean, white tails, ex¬ 
cepting the round, black spots. Should he 
order pure fowls of that breed and not find 
them so, he may think he has been cheated. 
It is certainly one of the best and hardest 
points to attain. Some that approach that 
point, often have breasts too black. 1 have 
visited yards of some of our best- breeders, 
and found their experience to bo like mine- 
only one of a large number have such per¬ 
fectly marked tails. My object in writing 
this is to give information to amateurs; all 
breeders are well aware that all the spangled 
and penciled breeds of fowls seldom have all 
the plumage entirely perfect, according to 
the points given in the Standard of Excel¬ 
lence. Such birds an* very rare. That is 
the standard of perfection we all try for, 
especially clear tails. H. Hales. 
Ridgewood, N. J, 
-»»» 
POULTRY NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Vulturine Guinea Fowl.—This singular 
looking fowl (see page 104) has been, for 
many years, regarded very rare; but recent¬ 
ly it has been discovered that this bird is 
common on the southern part of the Somali 
coast and In the adjacent parts of Contlnen- 
till Africa. At Larnoo, oo the cast coast of 
Africa, it is found in market. Efforts are 
making to introduce them in England, with 
a \-icw of adding them to tho attractions of 
the English poultry yard. 
Scurfy Legs.—My chickens have a dis¬ 
ease on their legs and feet. It forms a thick, 
heavy, white cruet, with a very' rough sur¬ 
face. It broke out among my flock last 
summer, but did not appear to injure them 
until now. Several of them are stiff, and 
walk with difficulty. Will some of the 
poultry raisers tell, through the Rural, 
what ails them, and suggest a remedy?— 
Robert Tease. 
