488 
THE RURAL HEW-YORKER 
MARCH 19 
Four P.Hini* of Milk for one Ponnd ol Feed, 
and one pound of butter for seven pounds of 
feed. Now all these figures are full of in¬ 
struction. and still wehavenot 'et reached the 
full measure of this well devised experiment. 
If all the factors belonging to it are duly ex¬ 
amined. it will be eaiy to see that they shed a 
new and striking light on the cost of produc¬ 
tion for butter, and on the rate of profit in the 
daiiy. 
When, for instance, a feeding ration of 1C 
pounds per day is increased to 18 pounds with 
a resulting yield of butter amounting to 10 
pounds per week, and of milk amounting to 
280 pounds, it is clearly safe to say that the 
yearly result for butter in such a case can 
hardly be less, but would probably be more 
than 350 pounds, which at 25 cents would 
amount to $87 a year, and further, that the 
cost of the butter would not exceed five cents 
per pound, while the net profit per cow would 
be over $70 a year. 
But one of the points in this experiment is 
too remarkable to be dismissed without further 
elucidation. The ratio of the feed to the milk 
and butter it produces, as referred to above. 
i6 in fact, a pivotal question in every dairy 
and on every farm. In this connection some 
additional light may, perhaps, be gained from 
recent investigations iu Germany. In a series 
of elaborate experiments 
At the Academy of Etdena, 
this ratio was found to be, in the case of hay, 
when used alone, about 2\ pounds for one 
pound of milk. In another series of trials, 
Villeroy found the average to be a little Ibbs 
than this, but still over two pounds for a pound 
of milk, and in another case nearly three 
pounds of hay were required for one of milk. 
Yet in the experiment now under considera¬ 
tion, it was shown that the nutritive < fleet of 
hay in one of the rations was four times great¬ 
er than in the German experiments, and in 
another ration the contrast was larger still. 
In other words, it was shown, in one of the 
combinations of Prof Stewart, that the hay, 
which amounted to 10 pounds, and which, if 
fed alone, would give, according to European 
investigations, less than five pounds of milk, 
produced iu this case 20 pounds, and in anoth¬ 
er combination more than 22 pounds. 
Somewhat similar to the above, and no less 
instructive to farmers, is the euggeetive and 
fruitful experiment of Professor Geo. H, Cook, 
as recently announced in the bulletin of 
The flew Jersey Experiment Station.] 
The cow6 in this trial were mixed grades, six 
in number, taken from the .college herd of 24 
head. The chief object in view was to deter¬ 
mine the true proportion of several different 
feeding elements for the best yield of milk. 
For thi6 purpose the following daily ration 
was computed by Professor Cook, and tested 
for 30 days. 
Clover hay, 6 pouuds; wheat straw, 13 
pounds; brewers'grains, 20 pounds; turnips, 
20 pounds; cotton-seed meal, 3 pounds. Tbe 
average weight of the cows was nearly 1,000 
pounds, and the average yield of milk during 
the trial was about 23 pounds per day for each 
cow. This rate of j ield during 30 days (even 
if the year is counted at only 300 days), would 
make the annual product of milk about 7,000 
pounds per cow, which at 2 cents a pound 
would amonut to $140. 
Now this result was not the mere product of 
a Bingle cow for a day or a week; but the 
average for a trial of 6 cows for 30 days; and 
shows that the feeding ration here computed for 
milk, though not the best perhaps in all cases, is 
yet a safe and reliable guide that cau hardly 
fail to give good results, and under favorable 
conditions, au unusual profit. 
Though the main purpose of the experiment 
is thus well accomplished, a little further ex¬ 
amination may perhaps disclose other results 
equally possible and no less interesting. 
if we assume the ratio of milk to butter in 
this experiment as 25 pounds to 1 pound, 
(which for good cows is a low estimate), it 
would make the butter product per year equal 
to 280 pounds per cow, which at 30 cents a 
pound would amount to $84. Then if the ma¬ 
nure and the skimmed milk are duly credited 
at their true value, the result will show that 
the net cost for the butter is less than six cents 
per pound, and the net profit per cow nearly 
$70, per year. 
Without implying aDy doubt of the sound¬ 
ness of the above feeding ration as computed 
lor milk, I venture to suggest that, when the ob¬ 
ject is butter, the result would probably be 
improved by the following slight changes in 
the formula. Clover 8 pounds, straw 12 
pounds, brewers’ grain 20 poundB, turnips 15 
pounds, cotton-6eed meal 8 pounds. Then if 
the clover, straw and turnips are charged at 
the actual cost to the farmer, the expense of 
this ration should not be over 17 cents per day, 
which would make the results for butter more 
favorable than tbe above figures. 
It was intended to notice here the remark¬ 
able success of ex Governor Boutwell with his 
herd of 40 cows, and the still larger herd of 
native cows owned by Ladoc Pratt, in both of 
which are to be found some new and striking 
points of interest. But time Is at present too 
limited, either to enter upon new topics, or 
extend the discussion of those in hand. 
<5ittomo logical. 
THE ASPARAGUS BEETLE. 
Tiie Asparagus Beetle (Orioceris asparagi) 
has long been an enemy to the asparagus crop 
in Europe ; but its ravages have not been very 
widespread in this country until quite recent¬ 
ly. Since 1862 this insect has been spreading 
slowly through New York, Connecticut, New 
Jersey and Pennsylvania, and during the past 
year the worst reports of its injuries have come 
from Burlington Co., N J., where it is said to 
have destroyed 25 per cent, of the market crop. 
The accompanying cut, fig. 155 represents a 
beetle, its larva, and a portion of an asparagus 
sprout, showing how the eggs are deposited 
upon It. As will be seen, they are invariably 
placed endwise upon the plant. 
Tbe life history of this beetle may be stated 
in a few words: Upon 
the appearance of the 
plant in Spring the 
little pests, which 
have been passing the 
Winter under stones, 
old pieces of wood, 
the scaly bark of trees, 
etc , come forth, and, 
finding their way to 
their favorite “ pas¬ 
tures" very readily, 
they begin at once to 
gnaw the tops of 
young plants. The} 
soon pair and the fe¬ 
males deposit their 
eggs, which are oval 
in form and nearly 
black in color, and 
placed, as shown in aspahaous bektlk — fiu. 156 
the cut, in rowB of 
from three to seven each. In about eight or 
ten days the larvae appear, which in form are 
much like the potato beetle, though different 
in color. 
“ The larva,” says Professor Fitch, “ moves 
very slowly, and is shy and timorous. As you 
approach it, it stops eating, and, holding its 
head stiffly back, it emits a drop of black fluid 
from its mouth. This appears to be its only 
defense against being devoured by birds and 
other predaceous animals, the acrid taste of the 
fluid rendering the larva unpalatable to them." 
The larva attains its lull growth in about 12 
day3, then it descends to the earth, and, after 
spinning a slight cocoon, is transformed to a 
pupa, in which state it remains about 10 days. 
The perfect beetles are beautiful in appear¬ 
ance. The head, under side of tbe body, anteu- 
n*e and legs are a shining black ; thorax, red¬ 
dish-brown, with two black marks in the cen¬ 
ter; wiug-covers, light lemon-yellow, with a 
border of orange-yellow around the whole. 
When full-grown, the larva is about a quarter 
of an inch in length. 
Among the remedies suggested for the rav¬ 
ages of this little pest, hand-picking Is surest, 
but this can be practiced to advantage only 
where asparagus is cultivated on a small scale. 
Lime may be dusted on tbe larva; in the morn¬ 
ing when the dew is on, for then it will adhere 
to the plants as well as to the larva*, and durmg 
tbe day it will be brought in contact with the 
latter more cr less. When asparagus is raised 
in large quantities for market, all “volunteer 
growth ” should be destroyed iu the 8pring, 
thus forcing the mother beetle to lay her eggs 
upon the market shoots, which are cut so often 
that the eggs will not have time to hatch. 
Potato Bugs.—A singular circumstance re¬ 
specting P'ese pests occurred last Fall at Pine 
Hill. A gentleman was digging a well, and 
after he had dug through the hard-pan, which 
was very hard, he came to a layer of blue 
gravel, some seven oi eight feet below the sur¬ 
face of the ground Firmly imbedded in this 
gravel, like little stones, were multitudes of 
potato bugs. Upon iooseniDg this dirt the bugs 
crawled around as lively as though just com¬ 
ing from the potato vines. Water was filter¬ 
ing through portions of the earth on a level 
with them. The mystery is, where did they 
come from and how did they get below the 
hard-pan ? w. M. 
-♦ » ♦- 
To Destroy the Tent Caterpillar.— My 
plan for destroying the Tent Caterpillar is to 
take a shot-tun; putin a charge of powder 
without auy wad ; hold the muzzle of the gun 
about two feet from the nest and—“let drive.” 
This plan I have tried for the last ten years 
and I can therefore speak well of it from ex¬ 
perience. ,j. b. 
[Isn’t it rather an expensive plan ? Eds.] 
Jarm (fconomij. 
HAY-8LINGS. 
FROF1SSOR I. F. ROBERTS. 
Many inquiries have been made about 
the construction and working of the hay- 
slings referred to iu my article on hay barns, 
published in the Rural for February 5th. 
The sling consists of a rope about five-eights 
of an iuch in diameter, to either end of which 
is attached a ring about two inches in diameter. 
The middle is lurnlshed with a small casting 
resembling two links of a chain made rigid. 
The rope is laid on the huy-rack double, and 
about as far apart as are the two standards ot 
the wagon. The cast double-link in the middle 
of the rope is usually placed on a hook fas¬ 
tened in the forward standard of the hayrack ; 
the rings at the ends of the rope are pluccd on 
a hook fastened in the rear nprlght standard 
of the rack. So far, with the exception of the 
Iron fixtures, it is a long rope, placed just as 
any farmer’s boy would place a short one on 
the barn floor if he wished to cany a bigger 
load of 6traw than hie arms would encircle. 
Upon this rope are placed from five to eight 
hundred pouuds of hay, straw, wheat, corn¬ 
stalks, bound or unbound, or even barrels of 
apples or sacks of grain. A second rope is 
then placed upon tbe hay or grain, already 
loaded, and when another five to eight hun¬ 
dred pounds have been loaded, a third rope is 
placed upon it, and so on, using four slings 
for a load of two or three thousand pounds. 
The Snatch Pulley. 
A common cast “ sheive” is surrounded by a 
cast framelike an ordinary pulley, except that 
the frame is about six inches longer one way. 
Upon the end of the extended frame is a 
snatch hung upon a pivot upon which are 
hooked the two large rings on the ends of the 
rope. To make it more plain to yourself, 
place the open hand with the palm up; imag¬ 
ine two largo rings put upon the fore finger; 
bring the end of the first finger against the 
center of the ball of the thumb; imagine a 
small hole in the ball of the thumb and a spring 
pressing upon it. Then suppose a trip rope to 
1 e attached to the thumb-nail and to pass 
through an opening a little above it. This 
gives a clear idea of how the sling is emptied. 
To the end of the large or pulling rope is fas¬ 
tened a small hook; the rope is passed through 
or under the sheive, carried forward and 
hooked into the double link in the middle of 
the sliDg-rope, which contains the load. As the 
horses draw, the large rope is pulled through 
the pulley block until it comes to the hook and 
links which connect the large rope with the 
sling rope; these as well as the double sling 
rope pass through and continue to shirr until 
the pressure is equal to the weight of hay, at 
which time the bay rises. The pulley unlocks 
the car; the load then moves horizontally. 
Tne car differs little from those used in connec¬ 
tion with the boree-fork, except that it will run 
on a track deflected sidewise. 
Situated at tbe ends of the tracks in the cen¬ 
ter of the barn is a turn-table, which is shitted, 
locked and unlocked from the floor by a cord. 
I am using tbe hay sling in two barns, one of 
whiefi not only has a track ruuniug tbe entire 
length, but also two runuing at right angles 
with the first, and three runuing into the cor¬ 
ners. By having mauy tracks, one man in 
the mow van take care of all the grain or hay 
that three teams can draw. 
Last harvest several loads of wheat and hay 
which weighed 3 000 pounds and upwards were 
taken off with four slings. It is from twelve 
to fifteen minutes from the time the load ap¬ 
proaches the barn until the wagon is on its 
way to the field again ; nearly oue-half of this 
time is consumed in chaugiug tbe horses from 
the wagon to the rope, backing out the wagon, 
putting iu the team and getting a di ink and 
the forks. The quickest time we ever made, 
after the horses were booked on to tbe rope, 
was three minutes and thirty-six seconds. 
Tbe principal advantages of tbe sling over 
tbe hay-fork are these: first, it is far easier to 
handle; second, no power is expended iu tear¬ 
ing the load apart; third.it puts tbe load in 
the mow and not on the barn floor; fourth, it 
unloads sheaves as well as loose material: fii Lb, 
it 6bells no grain and takes the load off of the 
rack clean. 
Tne loss over the bay-fork is the time it 
takes to spread the ropes when loading, which 
amounts to about two minutes per load. The 
track and all fixtures, including the large rope, 
are furnished and pul up by tbe manufacturer 
for a specified amouut. I have no interest in 
this matter, but to b neflt tbe farmer, and I be¬ 
lieve that in ordinarily intelligent bands the 
hay-sling is superior to the hay-fork. 
|)Quito gari). 
RAISING GEESE. 
There are three points ot profit in raising 
geese—feathers, flesh and eggs. When prop¬ 
erly managed the feathers form the most 
profitable branch of this industry. 
To be successful here some experience is ne¬ 
cessary. To secure the greatest profit from the 
feathers the goose must not be allowed to sit; 
she can then be picked four times a year, 
yielding something over a pound of feathers 
and about a quarter of a pound of down—onlt 
what is called the “ top " down should be picked 
and even Lbie should be left ou at the last 
picking, about the first of November. To pre¬ 
pare the feathers for market, they should be 
pulled well apart and put into bags or, better 
yet, into nets and hung up to the celling to 
dry. If they are not well dried, worms are 
liable to form in the quills. The worm cuts 
the feathers, and, of course, spoils them for use. 
To be in tbe best condition they should dry 
from three to four weeks ; but by making the 
room quite warm the feathers cau be prepared 
for market iu a few days. Live feathers, that 
ie, those plucked from the live goose, sell for 
from seventy-five cents to a dollar a pound, the 
down bringing about twice this amouut. A 
goose that hatches out and rear6 a clutch cau- 
not be picked more than twice a year, so that it 
Is well to let only a few do the batching, aDd 
have them alternate each year at this, If it can 
bedoue, as it is injurious to most Incubating 
fowls not to be allowed to hatch out one brood 
a year. 
The flesh of the goose when properly fat¬ 
tened, is highly relished by city customers. In 
preparing the birds for market it is well to 
keep in view the holidays observed by different 
nationalities. There is the universal Christina 0 
