| JAN.17 
THE BUBAL B6V»-i vnnm 
of milk are worth $1.02. Next week I can give 
you a record of the amount of butter made ex¬ 
tra, because each cow is now getting four 
pounds of cotton-seed meal a day- ’ 
“ 1 think that is worth knowing," remarked 
Dr. Jones. “ If no record is kept, no one can 
lenow these tilings. I am ashamed to say that 
I don’t know which is my best cow, or if the 
cows pay for their feed or not. But hereafter 
I shall keep a record of their milking ; there is 
very little trouble about it.” 
“ It is no trouble," I replied ; “ Miss Martin 
is following my plan. A spring balance with 
a hook hangs in the barn in the rear of the 
cows. Close by It, hangs ou the wall, a paper 
block with a column for each cow ; the cows 
arc numbered on the stanchions, 1, 2. 3, and so 
on, and each one’s number is written at the 
head of the column on the block or paper pad. 
Each cow's milk is brought to the deep pails in 
which it is strained, and before it is poured 
out, the paii and milk are weighed. The pail 
weighs three pounds exactly, and the net 
weight of the milk is written in the column be¬ 
longing to each cow. The same is done morn¬ 
ing and evening, and at the end of the week 
the sheet is taken from the block and filed 
away after the total of the week's weights is 
entered in a book. When a change of feed is 
made, that is noted across the block before the 
weight of the milk is wiitten down, and is 
also entered in the weekly report book. The 
whole work does not take ten minutes each 
day, and it enforces cleanliness, because a lit¬ 
tle water is poured into the pail after the 
milk is strained, and the dregs of the milk are 
washed out and thrown into the gutter. Eacli 
cow is thus milked into a cleau pail, and, if 
necessary, the milker washes his hands after 
milking each cow. That takes up a little time, 
but it is well sDeut. For what butter I make I 
can get 30 ceuts a pound over the common 
market price, and l have the pleasure of know¬ 
ing that the milk I sell is absolutely pure aud 
cleau. Besides, I think it due to the cows to 
keep them clean; they seem to know it, aud 
feel proud of it. 
*■ How do you record the butter made ?” asked 
Dr. Jones of Miss Martin. " Eaeh cow’s milk, 
wbcu it is tested for a week, is strained into 
one particular pan. I have to use three shal¬ 
low pans for this purpose, and the milk stands 
36 hours, which is long enough to get all the 
cream. Every week I keep this oue cow’s 
milk by itself in a separate crock, aud have it 
churned separately, so that every ten weeks 
I can get through the whole list, if I want to, 
and know exactly how much butter each cow 
made in one week. But I can tell pretty 
nearly by the cream if there is any gain or 
falling off wbcu I skim the cream. Of course, 
it takes some time, but it takes time to do 
mauy things that we are obliged to do, and 
we don’t grumble at it.” 
‘•There are u great number of poor cows in 
the eountiy” I remarked " and a good many 
good ones. We ought to know the good from 
the bad. Miss Martin raises tbe heifer calves 
from her best cow, but if she did not know 
the best cow, ihe worst one's calf might be 
raised. If this plan is followed, iu five years 
the value of the dairy cows might be doubled. 
We have had so many figures about cows etc , 
poured out ou to us by speakers at the late 
dairy fair, that I wont give you anymore; 
but what i say is true, and you know it. Now 
there are a great many good cows iu the 
eouutry and it is important that every dairy¬ 
man should know it. When I want to buy 
a good cow and pay a good price for her, I 
want to have a record of what she does and 
what her dam and grandam did. and by-aml-by 
we shall have records of thousands of such 
cows. Then if owners of cows can be taught 
to keep records, by-uud-by it will be ouly 
stupid men aud fools who will keep the poor 
cows; and in time these—the cows I mean— 
will all die off and be got rid of. 
MY EXPERIMENTS. 
I regret to say that my hot-bed played a trick 
on me which resulted in the loss of nearly all 
the seeds sent from the Run at. office, as well 
as other valuable seeds aud plants. I have 
some very nice plants of Hollyhock, however : 
aud as I am partial to this old-fashioned, but 
now very much improved llower, i prize them 
highly. The spring wheat was a failure, and 
I have known but three good crops of spring 
wheat iu this section iu twenty years, while 
winter wheat seldom fails. Millet made a good 
growth ; but as a forage plant iu this latitude 
I think it undesirable. No plant will ever fill 
the place ot corn as a fodder crop iu a climate 
where it does as well as here, while hay made 
from mixed grasses gives so much more nutri¬ 
ment iu the same hulk for winter use that 
farmers, taking iuto consideration the cost of 
cultivation of fodder crops wheu compared 
with that of hay, prefer the latter eveu against 
the experience of their neighbors who grow 
corn fodder. 
The Voorhis watermelon was a graud suc¬ 
cess, productive, with thin riud aud of good 
quality, aud large enough, while iu sym¬ 
metrical shape, evenness of size aud geueral 
beauty of appearance it was ahead of all my 
melons. The other melon I shall raise is 
Phiuney’s Early; it is good enough, aud re¬ 
sembles the Voorhis in appearance, though 
more uneven in size and uoi so haudsome, but 
more productive with me and a very sure 
crop; tbe Voorhis may be equally sure upou a 
longer acquaintance. The Blount’s corn I did 
not apply for, and I am glad I did not now. 
I am prejudiced against large varieties of corn. 
They do not pay. The stalks do not make 
good fodder j the corn is no better than 
smaller kinds, while the great cobs and stalks 
are a perfect nuisance. I except Mammoth 
Sweet corn from the above, as all sweet corns, 
when properly grown aud cured, nuke good 
fodder. The Golden llural tomato is “ nice"; 
but not profitable for me to raise. We do uot 
preserve tomatoes; we grow all the berries 
and small friths aud when one has enough of 
the good pickles, preserves, aud canned nice 
things that can be made from these fruits, 
there is no room for tomatoes; for canning 
aud table use no tomato yet equals the Acme, 
though the Trophy is almost as good. The 
Beauty of Hebron is a valuable potato, aud 
while I am not going to say it will supplant 
the Early Rose, Vermont or Ohio ; I do say it 
will hold its owu. I had a good yield aud we 
tusted the quality while green and fully ripe, 
aud pronounced it among the best. 
While I am talking about potatoes I may as 
well give my experience. I have twice dis¬ 
carded the Early Hose for other varieties; once 
for thelixtra Early Vermont, and once for the 
Early Ohio, aud while 1 retain both kinds now, 
I was obliged to get back the Early Rose. I 
am in favor of early potatoes, as the crop can 
be marketed early and the ground sowed to 
fodder corn, turnips or wheat, and evep if the 
market for these is low, they can be pitted in 
shade thinly covered, and repitted in autumn 
with perfect safety. My favorite Late potato 
is the Excelsior, i am growing seedlings from 
this variety; some are now four years from 
seed. Some are very valuable kinds of late 
potatoes, but none are valuable that ripened 
earlier than “ medium early". 
I have for several years made some in¬ 
teresting experiments with potatoes, as I am 
what is here called a large grower. My hired 
man. oue spring while we were preparing 
potato seed, thought 1 was too particular 
about my selection of seed for the "seed patch”. 
I had a model potato iu my mind, and selected 
perfectly shaped aud even-sized tubers to 
select auotber year’s seed from, as had been 
my practice. To convince him of the advan¬ 
tage of my method, i selected some ill-shaped 
specimens, knotty and gnarled, aud wc planted 
them alongside the seed patch planted with 
potatoes every one of which was a beauty. 
When we dug both patches I was surprised 
myself; the experiment taught me an import¬ 
ant lesson as well as him. He learned that 
like will inevitably produce like iu a greater 
or less degree; I had the new thought forced 
upou me that wo can deteriorate a variety 
faster than we eau improve it. The proof was 
before me in about a bushel aud a half of 
Early Rose potatoes with scarcely a mess of 
tubers that the house-wife would prepare for 
the table; while the adjacent row turned out 
liuely-shaped potatoes, no cragged ones, aud 
a very small portion of small ones. If this is 
true of potatoes it is of grain, fruits, stock; 
iu fact, of all we raise or breed. [Not to the 
same extent at all. The remark is true enough 
of seeds or blood. But a potato is merely a 
lloshy stem.—Eds.J. I am now in possession of 
astraiu of Early Rose potatoes improved in 
shape by selection. There is a tendency iu 
this potato to grow long, and in some soils a 
little sharp at one end. This tendency I bred 
away by selection of seed, which Is a valuable 
experiment and within the reach of all who 
read and discredit this statement. 
1 would urge more attention to the improve¬ 
ment of varieties of grain and vegetables, and 
in conducting experiments with these have 
some point you wish to reach, a model to work 
to. Give the public the bouefit of your exper¬ 
ience. Your neighbors may be inerrj over 
your ” fooliug around" ; but the experimenter 
is gaiuiug knowledge while the laugher is 
merely being amused. Don’t try too much at 
once, follow one or two experiments carefully 
until you arc either successful or obliged to 
acknowledge defeat. e. l. m. 
Huron Co., O. 
giving the public no information ? A very 
great deal of good might be done to our stock 
interests by a systematic course of treatment 
and trying one breed of catile against another. 
For instance, supposing ou one of these farms 
there happened to be Short-horn cows, Jerseys 
and Holstoins ; take a fair average cow from 
eaeh breed ; weigh the food to eaeh aud ascer¬ 
tain which gives the most milk aud the most 
butter, and by calculating the food eaten by 
each, see which pays best for eating it, aud 
also try iu a similar way some animals of dif¬ 
ferent breeds for beef. Some good experi¬ 
ments, too, might be made with sheep :—take 
half a dozen ewes, say, pure South Downs, 
naif a dozeu grade Downs, the same number 
of grade Merinos, and weigh tbe food to each 
and see which bring the best early lambs; 
which yield the best clip of wool, and also try 
a similar number of barren ewes or other 
sheep, aud test their qualities for making 
mutton and wool. Without hinting at, or in¬ 
tending to direct attention to any one farm, 
what, in the name of common sense, is the use 
of calling a farm a model when there is liter¬ 
ally nothing to take an example from : 
We want something original ; something 
modern, aud we don’t waut to wait years for 
it. Let us have prompt action aud wheu any 
information is offered, we don’t require a com¬ 
piling ot old-fogy ideas from books half a 
century old. The days of compilers are past! 
The present age requires genuine, live, truth, 
ful experiments made very carefully by a man 
who knows all about farm live stock of every 
variety. If he is not interested in any oue of 
the breeds more th.au another, so much the 
better. We have, every now and then, a 
breeder claiming all the virtues iu the world 
for his particular herd or flock ; but a reliable 
test made by two or three of these model farms, 
would throw light cm the subject, aud if the 
results were not wholly satisfactory, they would 
lead to other and more exact tests. Let these 
farms grow roots of every variety and by in¬ 
telligent use of thorn ascertain their real merits 
in the climate of the United States. I know 
they have been a most extraordinary assistance 
to Biitish agriculture, and it is well understood 
the breeders of pure-blooded stock in the Uni¬ 
ted States, all grow some, as they cannot keep 
their stock from falling away without them. 
Consequently, let the model farmers throw 
light on this matter, too. G. M. 
These are the principal waste products, and 
their comparison with the different kinds of 
hay and with each other will be instructive to 
many readers who are iu doubt as to the rela¬ 
tive value of these various foods. Some of 
these waste products will be found in almost 
every locality, and it should be the aim of all 
feeders to utilize the cheapest foods, which 
will accomplish their purpose. The reader 
should give careful attention to tbe nutritive 
ratio—this means the proportion of muscle¬ 
forming food (albuminoids) to the heat-giving 
and fat-fonuing nutriment (carbohydrates); 
as, for example, meadow bay is as one to eight. 
All vegetable foods cod lain both classes of 
these substauees. The albumiuoid substances 
are called gluten, albumen and casein, and 
they contain about 15 per cent, of nitrogen, 
which is always found, in about the same pro¬ 
portion, in the muscles, the blood, the skin 
and the hair. And besides nitrogen, albumi¬ 
noids contain carbon, oxygen aud hydrogen, 
or carbon and water. The carbohydrates con¬ 
tain no nitrogen—ouly carbon and water. 
These are starch, sugar, gum, cellulose and 
fat. All these substances must be present in 
food to sustain animal life. Iu examining the 
table the reader will see that these foods con¬ 
tain albumiuoids and carbohydrates in very 
unlike proportions. The nutritive ratio shows, 
at a glance, the relative proportions of these 
substances. 
The Germans have been experimenting for 
some years in determining the relative propor¬ 
tions of albuminoids and carbohydrates re¬ 
quired for animals of different ages and kept 
for different purposes. The following table is 
translated and published in the report of the 
Commercial Experiment Station ; 
Feeding Standards. 
Per day per 1.000 pounds live weight. 
. (TIr Utrtrsim 
WINTER FEEDING FOR STOCK-No. 3. 
PROFESSOR E. W. STEWART. 
Waste Products as Fattening Food. 
Manufactories have multiplied so rapidly 
within the last few years, at which large 
amounts of waste products are left after the 
production of the commercial articles, aud 
these refuse products have such importance as 
feeding stuffs as to require special attention in 
discussing winter feeding of stock. That 
Rural readers may get a clearer understand¬ 
ing of these waste products and their compara¬ 
tive value. I give a table containing their 
digestible constituents, nutritive ratio, and 
value compared with average meadow hay, 
which is rated as the unit of value. I give 
ouly the percentages of the digestible nutrients, 
because these determine the feeding value. 
Nutritive 
a a Digestible I p 
§A Substances. jL 
S3: 
"3 31 
o>> 
- *-t 
i C 43 | 
-P'S 
i°a 
•g-2 
.3 3 
1 P35 
2 ; 
lbs. 
1. Oxen at rest in stall. 17.5 
2. " moderately worked.24 .ii 
3. “ heavily . 
4 “ fattening 1st period.27.1) 
• * •• 2,1 “ .26.0 
•< « 3d “ .25.0 
5. Cows in milk.24-0 
6. Growing cattle -. 
Age. Av. Live Weight.... 
month. per head. 
2_3 iambs. 22.0 
3—6 300 “ 33.4 
rt-12 500 “ .124.0 
12-18 700 “ 2-1. i i 
18-24 850 ** 24 
bs. lbs. lbs. lbs. 
it.T | 8.9 0.15 1:12 
1.6111.8 0.30 1:7.6 
2.4 13.2TI.50 1:6.0 
2.6 15.0 0.60 1:6.5 
3.0i 14.8 0.70 1:5.5 
2.7' 11.8 0.60'1:6.0 
2.5 12.5U.40 1 1:5.4 
4.0 
3.i 
-> - 
2a 
13.81 2.0 
13.5 t.O 
I3.u! 0.6 
13.0| 0.4 
l.t ! 12.11 0.3 
1:4.7 
1:5.0 
160 
1:7.0 
1:8.0 
Diurstibla 
Nutrients. 
Foods. 
IflO 
\< P 
. 
-3 * 
II 
3 * 
* it* 
,». 1*3 
\p\i% 
ba 1 fa 
A 3 o> 
33 
15 
SO-CALLED MODEL AND EXPERIMENTAL 
FARMS. 
The gentlemen owning them profess to 
teach the common farmers. Why don’t they 
experiment with different kinds of food aud 
toll them which varieties and in what propor¬ 
tions, produce the most and the best milk ? 
Why don’t they try cows one week tied up 
with chains, another fasleued iu stanchions 
aud another lying loose iu boxes, and see the 
effect ou the milk aud ou the weight of the 
animals? Why don’t they try different foods 
ou fattening animals, ou cows, on sheep, and 
on 6wine ? Aud why not experiment with 
horses, too, and give the results ? What is the 
use of boastiug aud puffing about a farm aud 
Monflow hay, average. 
Clover bay -j. 
Timothy bay " . 
Hungarian luiy . 
Wheat bran (coarse). 
” middlings. 
Western ship stalls. 
Ryo brill. 
Back wheat bran. 
1 'oppy-'u'Sil cake... • • ■ • 
Hemp sued e*tke... 
Olive-oil civko...... 
sunflower cake... 
Palm nut cake. •- 
Sugar-beet cake. 
•■ molasses...- , 
Potato refuse hi starch mannt ugl 
Rye 
\\ beat ” 
Corn bran.-. ; . 
Corn sugar, ot starch meal. . 
Corn slump, or distilling refuse 
Brewers' grains. 
Malt, sprouts. 
Linseed rake......... 
Linseed meal (extracted). ... ... 
Cottou-secd meal (decorticated). 
Gottun-seedcako (uudeeorticat d) 
Meat scrap. 
Fish scrap. 
5:4.41.0 
7.0 38.1 
5 8 48.4 
6.1 41 0 
to.n 48 5 
8-9 64 8 
8.7 54.5 
111. 6150.1) 
13.5 44.0 
26.8 26 4 
30.9|I7.4 
- 
31.8 24.7 
16.1 55.4 
V 8 24.6 
8.0 64.0 
111 13.7 
5.2 1 18.1 
3.7115.1 
6.2 63 0 
3.2 
1.6 
4.8 
20.8 
17.6 
27.8 
8.2 
17.5 
45.0 
44.6 
19.3 
5.1 
11.3 
13. 
37.0 
83.9 
1.(1 
3.0 1 00 
1.2 
5.9 
1.08 
l.t 
8 t 
L.09 
0.9; 
7.1 
l 04 
3.1 
6 8 
l 58 
2.6 
6.9. 
1.56 
2 5 
7.011.61 
2.8 
5.3 
1.56 
3.9| 
4.111.79 
7.-1 
1.7 
2.69 
6 .‘J 
l .5 
3.08 
10.6 
16.5 
1.42 
7.i5 
1 
9.5 
4.912.51 
0.2 
13-9 
,o47 
— 
8.1 
1.43 
U.l 
17 4 U.2o 
12 
4.1 u.l’>8 
1> 
6.3|0.68 
3.6 
[0.3 
112 
1.8 
7.4 
0.60 
4.6 
0.24 
1.2 
3.0 
0.66 
U> 
2.2 
2.o8 
16.1 
1.4 
2.98 
2.1 
1.3 
2.51 
Its. i 
l.l 
3.60 
5.6 
1.2 
1.75 
2.0 
0.1 
3.17 
| 8.6 
0.2 
3.60 
Dr. Wolff illustrates the staudatd ration for 
milch cows by saying that 30 pounds of young 
clover hay will keep a cow in good milk, and 
this contains of dry organic matter 30 pounds, 
of which the following are digestible : albumin¬ 
oids, 3 31. carbohydrates, 11.38, and fat, 0 63 
pounds. This is an excess of albuminoids, a 
slight deficiency of carbohydrates and an ex¬ 
cess of fat. Then he takes 30 ponuds of the 
best meadow-hay, which contains of dry or¬ 
ganic substance, 23.3 pounds, having digestible 
albumiuoids 3 4!) pounds carbohydrates, 13.7s 
pounds, and fat 0.43 pounds. This is very 
close to his feeding standard. 
I wish my readers would carefully study 
these tables, and get well fixed in the mind the 
qualities of the different foods. Chemistry 
has done much for agriculture; but in no de¬ 
partment has it done more than iu revealing to 
us the quality of foods. Chemistry is able' to 
give us precise information concerning the 
elements of animal bodies, showing how the 
latter meet exactly the wants of the former. 
The waste products given in the table are, of 
course, not normal rations, in themselves, pos¬ 
sessing some elements in excess, and being de¬ 
ficient in others, but wheu the feedei • undei- 
stauds the composition of his foods, his skill is 
shown iu combing them 30 as to give complete¬ 
ness to aU the elements. In order to give any 
tliiug like a complete discussion of winter- 
feeding and the methods of preparing foods, it 
will be necessary to treat of that stale topic, 
Cooking Winter Food. 
This topic is stale because it serves always 
to bring out uo end of contradictory opiutons 
—those of its advocates and opponents alike 
apparently based upou experiments. And it is 
uufortunate that experiments have not been 
careful aud loug-continued enough to settle 
the question beyopd cavil. If we look, at the 
matter from a philosophical poiut of view, we 
shall find the arguments very strong for cook¬ 
ing the food of animals. Heat eertaiuly has a 
decided effect upou the digestibility of food. 
Starch composes from 40 to 65 per cent, of our 
cereal grains. And if you take staich that has 
been separated from other elemeuts of wheat 
or corn, and mix this with water at a tempera¬ 
ture Of 100 degrees, or expose it to the heat 
of the animal stomach, it will not dissolve, as 
it requires tbe heat of 163 to 31^. degrees to 
dissolvu it completely. Every housewife knows 
that she must mix her starch with boiling 
water to dissolve it. If wc cook one bushel of 
corn meal thoroughly, it becomes two bushels 
or more in bulk—the grains of starch having 
