JUNE 26 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
409 
there is no other that is capable of being pre¬ 
pared in so many and such varied ways. Milk 
consists of the following substances. Other 
food articles are given as a basis for compari¬ 
son : 
12 61 
5.6 
2.1 
0.2 
Per cent, of nitrogen or 
flesh-forming- matter.. 
Fat . 
Other fat-forming sub¬ 
stances 
Sugar .. 5.2l 6.1 
Mineral matter., 0.8 0 8 4.5 5.1 
Water.Sti.O 88 0 36 (I 73.0 37.(115.0175.0 
Market tirice per pound. 3c. lc. 15c. 2uc. 4c. 3c. 1c. 
s 
3 
a i o 
O : P* 
63.8 18.8 
... 3.2 
3.0 0.7 
Milk contains every element required for the 
growth of the human body in the precise pro¬ 
portions needed for perfect digestion aud as¬ 
similation, and consequently perfect health. 
But it is not in respect to its nutritive qualitie 
alone aud its sole use as a single article of 
food that it is worthy of regaid ; its cheapness 
as compared with other Btaple articles of food, 
and the relative cheapness of some of those 
staple food substances which are most agree¬ 
ably used with milk, are subjects which may 
well be studied over in considering the figures 
given above. For instance one and a-half 
pound of oatmeal is more than equal to one 
pound of lean beef, and costs but about one- 
fifth ns much money. If two pounds of milk 
are added to the oatmeal, the cost is increased 
to 10J cents, but considering the value of the 
fat. these are really worth two pounds of lean 
beef (free from bone and waste.) and co9t but a 
fourth as much. The usual daily ration neces¬ 
sary to keep a hard-working man in steady 
condiiion is two pounds of bread and one 
pound of lean beef, costing 38 cents. But one 
pound and three-fourths of oatmeal aud two 
pouuds of milk daily have been found ample 
to keep a laboring man, weighing 150 pounds, 
in steady condition at haid field work, the 
cost being 11 j cents. 
In feeding the family of an average working¬ 
man, the cost of the food is most often a ques¬ 
tion of deep consideraiion. In the majority of 
American families the expenditure is scanned 
and couuted with some interest; and where the 
income is but narrow, and there are children 
to be fed and brought up so that they may be¬ 
come strong and healthful, the supply of milk 
is something of more thau common importance. 
The cost of this is, of course, to be considered, 
hut the quality is of still greater momeut. To 
have pure milk not only free from adultera¬ 
tion, but healthful and free from disease-coin- 
muuicaiing germs derived from diseased cows 
is of paramount consideration. What oue 
buys no one knows with certainty; but the 
milk of one's own well-cared for cow is above 
6U plcion; its purity and goodness are unques¬ 
tioned. These qualities are far above price, 
even as a matter of economy in a poor family; 
how much more then in those where every 
comfort ana luxury are at command; 60 that 
every family should keep a cow j some because 
they eaunot afford to do without it, aud others 
because of the comforts and luxuries of it. 
The Money Value or u Cow. 
A good cow, such as a careful person would 
select, will yield from 13 to 16 quarts of milk 
daily wheu li esb. to three or four at the end of 
10 months, when about to go dry in prepara¬ 
tion tor calving again. This will amount to 
an average of eight to ten quarts a day for 300 
days, or 3 500 quarts, at least, in a year. Each 
quart is worth u> a family fix cents at the least; 
that is, the oidinary milk supplied by dealers 
or farmers, eosts at least that price ; but this 
is not equal in value to the milk from a good 
well-kept family cow. If the owner *( such a 
cow has a surplus of milk it can be very readily 
sold lor 6ix emits a quart to neighbors who 
will be glad to have such a chance, so that the 
income in rnoucy from a family cow may be 
estimated at #150 a year, if butter is made, 
the 3,500 quai ts of miik should yield 350 pounds 
of butter which is worth 30 cents u pound, or 
$75, aud the skimm:d milk, which we see 
from the above table is deficient only in fat, 
and is actually better ou that account in many 
cases, especially as a beverage for delicate 
persons, is worth two cents a quart, or nearly 
$50; in all $135. It will Berve a sufficiently 
good purpose, however, to take $100, as the 
gross yearly iucome from a good cow and as 
a basis for computing the actual value of the 
animal where milk eau be sold for five or 6ix 
cents a quart. Elsewhere the relative value 
will bear au even ratio with the cost, because 
where milk is worth less, the cost of keeping 
is lets. The object is to show that there is a 
profit lu keeping a cow, and haviug gained a 
basis for reaching the income, the next point 
to consider is the cost of keeping her and the 
exact profit realized in money, leaving other 
advantages to speak for thcimelves. But it 
ought not to be forgotten Lbat there are cows 
that will not produce half the above-mentioned 
quantity of milk, aud that will not milk for 10 
mouths out of 13. But there are cows that 
will do this, aud enough of them ; and it is the 
business of those who want such cows to look 
for them aud not be content to take a poor one 
at a less price; because a poor cow will eat as 
much as a good cow and will cost as much 
for lodging and care; so that the profit 
of keeping a cow wiU depend altogether upon 
her character. Nevertheless, there are hun¬ 
dreds of dairymen, who should know better, 
who keep cows that do not pay for their feed, 
and. strangely enough, they continue to keep 
them while knowing this. 
ntiustrial topics. 
HOW AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY IS 
SOLD. 
In buying his agricultural implements and 
machinery does the average farmer pay due 
attention to the standing of the various manu¬ 
facturers of the goods he may want to pur¬ 
chase, and to the reputation these wares have 
won throughout the country ? A pretty wide 
acquaintance with the agricultural classes in 
this and other sections compels me to believe 
that he does not. Years ago, the manufac¬ 
turers of such goods sold them directly to the 
consumer, either for cash or on Bbort time, the 
date of payment seldom exceeding four months 
from the time of purchase. Then the reputa¬ 
tion of the maker and of his wares was the 
first consideration with the purchaser. To¬ 
day the most glibly persuasive ageut, aud the 
one who can give the longest time, is the man 
who makes the largest number of sales, often 
irrespective of the character of the goods he 
offers. In this case, the farmer in addition to 
paying sometimes an excessive price for the 
article he purchases, has also to pay thefollow- 
ing charges:—First, for the agent’s time and 
commission, second, interest on the price of 
the article during the time given for payment, 
third, a premium for risks of bad debts ; fourth 
the cost of collection.' 
By buying for cash, of course, the three last 
of the above items can be avoided ; but often 
even a more serious loss would be escaped if 
the intending purchaser would take time to 
investigate personally the merits of the imple¬ 
ment or machine he may stand in need of, in¬ 
stead of being guided in his selection by plaus¬ 
ible traveling agents, many of whom, having 
no local reputation tolose, care only to sell the 
goods they handle. Not a few of the machines 
sold by some of these glib-tougued gentry are 
of such a nature that, however well they may 
work under the direction of the salesman, and 
however fine a show they may make for the 
time, they will not staud the wear and tear of 
a single season. Moreover, it happens not 
seldom that when the easily-persuaded buyer 
wauls the ‘'extras” which he will be compelled 
to buy or give up the machiue, he discovers 
that they eauuot be had without incurring ihe 
delay aud expense of sending for them to a 
distauce, as there is iu the neighborhood no 
regular dealer who keeps them. 
Complaints ou these aud other accounts are 
loud from time to time throughout the country, 
but still the business of the loquacious ageut 
of inferior goods nourishes, and his success 
compels the better class of manufacturers, in 
self-defense, to send out their agents too all 
over the country, in order to enable thtm to 
hold their trade. Of course, the consumer 
has, in the end, to pay for these also. The 
only way I know of by which the farmer can 
avoid the burthen of these unnecessary charges, 
is to pay alteuiion to the advertising columns 
and notices of any good agricultural paper, 
which accepts advertisements only from the 
makers of first-class tools and machines, and 
go directly to the manufacturer or some trust¬ 
worthy local agent for the goods he there finds 
recommended, paying cash wheuever possible, 
aud obtaining a guaiautee that the article 
bought will do all that is claimed for it. In 
such a way he will get a prime aiticle at a 
considerably lower price thau he would have 
to pay for au inferior one purchased iu the 
usual n.auucr. Owing to the present mode of 
doing business, the various expenses of selling 
tome agricultural machines and collecting 
their price, are actually, in the aggregate, 
higher than the original cost of manufacturing 
them. 
The faults of this system can hardly be laid 
at the doors of the first-rate manufacturers, 
for these would prefer to dispense with travel- 
ing ugents, so that there would only remain the 
manufacturer to build, the general dealer to 
sell aud the cousumcr to buy, leaviug the com¬ 
mission man and the collector out In the cold- 
The other day 1 asked oue of the largest man¬ 
ufacturers of agricultural machinery why he 
did not deal directly with the farmers who 
needed his goods, selling cheaply for cash, aud 
he ausweted that he would be glad to do so, 
but iu that case, the agents would combine 
against him, and—although he is making some 
of the best machines in the country—they 
would run him out of the market. Is there 
any remedy for this excess of middlemen? 
Adams Co., III. w. a. a. 
-♦-*-*- 
THE USE OF IMPROVED FARM IMPLE¬ 
MENTS. 
It is an exceedingly easy matter to see why 
the farmer of the West, with his broad acres of 
smooth land without any obstacles of any kind, 
is largely benefited by Ihe use of nearly the 
whole catalogue of farm implements, but for 
use upon very many of the farms of New Eng¬ 
land it ts an entirely different matter. The 
difference of conditions renders an entirely dif¬ 
ferent system of farming necessary, In the 
first place, upon many of the hillside farms 
there is such a profusion of rocks that the ear¬ 
lier settlers, in order to fence fields for cul¬ 
ture, constructed of the smaller holders many 
small, irregular-shaped inclosures still thickly 
dotted over with large rocks which require im¬ 
mense labor in their removal. The New Eng¬ 
land farmer i«, as a rule, industrious and hard¬ 
working, and is quite likely to wear out under 
the continual strain of labor necessary to bring 
his farm into fair working condition. Then 
with small fields, with here and there a rock 
protruding from the soil, i« it anv wonder that, 
however strong the desire, the tiller of the soil 
is prevented from the use of such implements 
as require large fields and smooth surfaces for 
their successful workiug. *Tis true all the 
spare time of the farmer is spent in preparing 
limited surfaces for the use of the mowing ma¬ 
chine and borBe-rake, but it is rare to see a 
tedder in use, or any of the implements em¬ 
ployed in planting corn or potatoes. Aiad, too, 
the cultivation of the crop must he largely by 
band. Is "it any wonder then that the farming 
should be carried on upon a much less exten¬ 
sive scale than at the WeBt. in fact, what might 
be termed upon a very small scale ? And yet 
the New England farmer has met with fair suc¬ 
cess. While he has not accumulated bis sur¬ 
plus by thousands, he has provided comfort¬ 
able and pleasaut homeB, neat in their appear¬ 
ance and surrouudings, provided witn those 
litt'e comforts that go to make life a pleasure. 
And, besides, his family is in the full enjoyment 
of alt religious and educational privileges, rail¬ 
road and postal communication, with those 
opportunities for the enjoyment of a variety 
of scenery, that are entirely wanting in the 
West, where farm machinery is largely used. 
Tolland Co., Conn. W. H. Yobmans. 
Sricntifk auti Useful 
CONNECTICUT AGRICULTU8AL EXPERI¬ 
MENT STATION. 
BULLETIN 44 —JUNK 13, 1880. 
POLLARD FERTILIZERS: CAUTION. 
The readers of the first bulletins of this Sta¬ 
tion will remeruoer that in August, 1877, an 
alyses were published of two so-called " Im¬ 
proved Fertilizers,” purporting to be made by 
Pollard Bi os., then of New Haven. 
These fertilizers, a "Composition for Grass” 
and a " Composition for Vegetables," were sold 
to some extent in the vicinity of New Haven 
for $38 per ton. They consisted essentially of 
dried harbor mud with a little boue dust added 
and were commercially worth $1 per ton. 
Iu January last the papers anuounced the 
discovery by H M. Pffilard, of Providence, R. 
I., of a new aud valuable fertilizer made from 
night soil, aud shortly a sample of "Concen¬ 
trated Privy Guano ” was brought to the Sta¬ 
tion by a party who gave his name and address 
as F. C. Cook, 119 E1L-worth Avc , New Ha¬ 
ven, and who represented the sample to have 
been sent him by the manufacturers, Pollard 
& Cook, of Providence, lu February the 
same person brought auother sample which he 
stated was taken by himself in New Haven 
from a lot of ten tons which he had purchased 
for his own use. 
These samples were duly analyzed—the first 
completely, the second pattiaJly. and the re¬ 
ports of the auuly ses were made out in the 
usual form, signed by me and mailed to F. C. 
Cook. April 3 the analyses were published in 
Bulletin 38. and thus the reading farmers of 
Connecticut were apprised ol the luct that the 
"Coneenttaiid Privy Guano,” offend for $65 
per ton by Pollaid & Cook, of Providence, 
was not made from night soil but was a mix¬ 
ture of nitiates and phosphates of ammonia, 
potash and soda, commercially worth about 
$130 per ton. 
The last advices about the Pollard Fertilizers 
come from Philadelphia, where, according to 
the letters of an ioquiriug correspondent, one 
Dr. H. M. Pollard, representing himself to 
have beeu at one time State Chemist to Ruode 
laluud aud afterwards to Massachusetts, has 
been dtsposiug of the right to make a patent fer¬ 
tilizer, the composition of which is attested by 
analysis oyer the signature of the writer of 
this bulletin, giving its value at $187 50 per 
ton. My correspondent writes that he obtained 
this information from a party who had agreed 
to buy the right for a ceitain section of Pcuu- 
slyvauia lor a considerable sum of money, to 
whom Pollard represented that the fertilizer 
could be made for $13 56 per tou. aud that the 
right to manufacture lr had beeu sold lor Eac- 
ton, Pa., for $5(10 and had beeu negotiated for 
Allentown and Reading, and for Baltimore, 
It would thus appear that H M. Pollard 
“discovered” the Concentrated Privy Guano 
and obtained its analyses from this Stalion for 
the purposes of a swindling expedition on 
which he is now engaged. 
FERTILIZER ANAT.TSE8. 
418 Castor pomace, from H. J. Baker & 
Bro., N. Y.; sampled by L. S. Wells. New 
Britain, from stock of F Ellsworth, Hartford. 
432 Strictly pure ground bone, manufac¬ 
tured by H. J. Baker & Bro., from stock of 8. 
B. Wakeman. 
424. Manhattan Blood Guano, from stock of 
G. H. Staples. Westport. 
422 and 424 were sampled by S. B. Wakeman, 
Saugatuck. 
Nitrogen. 4 64 
Soluble uhoB. acid. 
Kevertea •• “ . 
Insoluble” '* . 1 Z 4 
Potash . 53 
Calculated value per ton.*21 45 
Cost oer ton. 820 ui) 
4 39 
2 56 
6 99 
1 10 
4 19 
.... 56* 
$« 21 *33 56 
$33 00+ $46 <0 
22 17 
* As muriate. + At Sangatuck. 
9PECIAL FERTILIZERS. 
417. Stockbridge potato fertilizer. 
416. Forrester's onion fertilizer. 
420. “ potato “ 
421. 41 corn “ 
423. 44 cahhage 44 
425 44 turnip 44 
426. 44 oat 44 
417 was manufactured by W. H. Bowker <ft 
Co , sampled by James Nash, from stock of 
Hubbell Wakeman. Sangatnck. 
416, 420. 421, 423. 425 ard 426. were manu¬ 
factured by H. J. Baker & Bro ,215 Pearl St., 
N. Y., aDd sampled bv S B. Wakeman, Sauga¬ 
tuck. from stock for sale by him. 
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S VV Johnson, Dnecior. 
Industrial Implements. 
THE PAXTON FORCE-FEED GRAIN DRILL. 
This drill, made by the Harrisburg Car Co., 
of Harrisburg. Pa., has an improvement worthy 
of special notice. The shovels are made tri¬ 
angular, so as to make a furrow about four 
inches wide, in which the seed is evenly dis¬ 
tributed by a bell or oval shaped distributor, 
which is suspended in the lower end of the 
shovel, thus giving every grain or seed suffi¬ 
cient room to germinate, grow UDifoimly. and 
produce more grain lo the acre than it » ill by 
any other method of sowiug. These shovels 
cau be attached to ail kinds of grain drills, 
old and new, and we predict that this Com¬ 
pany will have many calls for them to be used 
on other drills than the Paxton. This drill 
has a fertilizer and grass-seed attachment, and 
this is so ai ranged that it n quires oniy a mo¬ 
ment to change it lrum ihe rear io ihe front of 
the machine. 
To increase or diminish the amount of seed 
to be so i,, n. do change of wheels or gearing 
is needed, but merely the turning of a thumb¬ 
screw, which can be doue m a moment. 
Tne hoes or shovels are shifted with a lever 
or rod by ihe operator in an instant. During 
a recent visit to ibis Company's office, one of 
our su.ff examined the woikings of this diill, 
and ue is strongly of the opinion that, taking 
all the advantageous points iuio consideration, 
the Paxton has but few equals. For circulars 
and cut of drill write to the manufacturers. 
miscellaneous. 
WHAT OTHERS SAY. 
Netting for Grapes.—A writer iu Cole- 
mau’» Rural World says that his plan iu using 
nettiug has been to tear off a piece, say 13 
inches wide, double it over and sew it on the 
open side with a sewing machine, and then 
run a seam across one cud. His Itale go 1 made 
1,600 of th.se bags and did not complain of the 
amount of the work. Tnus made, they will last 
three years or more when put away. 
