THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
eries. The combination of the two systems 
is an important consideration. Where sum¬ 
mer dairying largely prevails, the milk may 
be hauled to the creamery during warm 
weather, and the cream, duriug cold weather. 
This, in fact, is practiced to some extent in 
certain localities. 
I made a private experiment, iu 1879, to 
determine the loss lu butter by hauling milk 
to the creamery in Winter. The result in two 
separate experiments was a loss of .8 and .5 
pounds of butter per 190 pounds of milk. This 
is probably two or three times as much loss as 
is really sustained in Summer, where the milk 
is similarly cooled on the farm and in the 
creamery. No experiments, to my knowledge, 
have been made to settle this, however. 1 
presume, that with the average advantages 
in cooling the milk on the farm and In the 
creamery, there is not very much difference 
in the amount of butter obtained at both 
places iu Summer. There is no question but 
that the most cream can bo and often is raised 
at. the farmer’s home, but I doubt as to any 
increase in the general average. 
In this attempt at au unbiased presentation 
of these valuable systems, lot mo state ex¬ 
plicitly, as an opinion based on observation 
and experience, that the loss in butter result¬ 
ing from the mixed cream of different dairies, 
it not much different, from the loss iu butter 
resulting from the delay and cartage of the 
milk over the roads before it is set. 
Ames, Iowa. 
will depend the profit or loss. Treat.him well; 
then if he fails, the fault is not yours. If at 
any time, you can give your horses a resting 
spell, don’t forgot to pull off their shoes. It 
can do uo harm, and perhaps it will do them a 
great deal of good,especially if on damp ground 
or in the bam yard on the manure. In order 
to have your horses in the best condition for 
work, those little things must be looked after. 
Observe them closely, and remember that “an 
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 
GeueseeCo., N. Y. 
PRIZE ESS AY. —Class III. 
THE CREAMERY SYSTEMS OF BUTTER-MAKING. 
Two important and practical creamery sys¬ 
tems are now in operation in the West, viz., 
1. buying the milk, and, 2, buying the cream. 
BUYING TI1E MILK. 
The first system, and the oldest, is still 
claimed by its originators as best suited to the 
interest of themselves and the farmers. 
Briefly, the plan is this: A main creamery 
building is located near some town. It is made 
large enough to handle from 500 to 2,000 
The square box or 
invariably 
es,or some special 
A HANDY DRINKING D1HH AND FEED 
TROUGH FOR CHICKENS. 
C. A. Thompson, of Nuckolls County, Neb., 
sends drawings of a chicken dish and feed 
trough (illustrated in Fig. 359). Hesays:—“In 
a recent Rural is given a cut of a poultry 
feeding trough which is good for the purpose 
mentioned—preventing the dish from being 
overturned. It does not prevent, the poultry 
from trampling in the dish, fouling the food 
and scattering it arouud on the ground. It is 
difficult to water youug chicks in an open dish 
without their getting completely drenched, 
and if left to themselves, some are nearly sure 
pounds of butter daily, 
rectangular churns are almost 
used. The farmers themselv 
teams, haul the milk to this creamery or to 
some branch skim-house, where it is generally 
set in pools, in cooler pails. These skim- 
houses are cheaply constructed buildings, 
three, four or ten miles distant from the main 
building. The milk Is bought by weight. It 
is skimmed in about 30 hours in Summer, and 
48 to 60 in Fall and Winter. The cream from 
each skim house is hauled by the owners to 
the main building, where it is churned. The 
cream is usually acid in Summer before it 
arrives at the main building. In cold 
weather it is sweet, and is soured by set¬ 
ting in water at from 62 to 65 degrees. The 
milk is rocieved at the main building 
and skim houses twice each day in Summer, 
and sometimes only once a day in Winter. 
Eighty pounds of sweet skim-milk are usually 
returned to the farmers for every 100 pounds 
of sweet mill* brought. On an average, this 
skim-milk arrives at the farmer’s home in bet¬ 
ter condition than It, would have been had he 
himself cared for the milk. The milk is some¬ 
times sold for cheese and the whey returned. 
This is generally done iu the Fall when the 
skim milk is least needed for calves. The but¬ 
termilk Is retained by the owners of the 
creamery. The price per 100 pounds of milk 
varies. In 1879, we paid at the creamery of 
Miller, Harris & Co., Jesup, Iowa, from $0.40 
in May, to $1.15 per 100 pounds in November. 
In 1880, the prieeB were, in April, 80 cents; 
May, 62 cents; June, 53 cents; July, 57 cents; 
August, 73 cents; September, 81 cents; Octo¬ 
ber, 94 cents; and November, 98 cents per 100 
pounds. Three of the five skim-houses of the 
creamery just referred to are built directly 
over springs. Two were unfortunately built 
near wells, and not over them. The well water 
is, therefore, warmed somewhat by conduc¬ 
tors and the effect of the sun. Where wind¬ 
mills are to be depended on for the water, it 
would be well to build ice-houses in connection 
with these skim-houses. I think money can be 
saved by so doing. It is a sad experience, to 
lose one-third of the cream from 6,900 pounds 
of milk, in a single day, by uot being provided 
for exceptional weather. This means a loss of 
from $5 to $20. 
BUYING THE CREAM. 
The second system,of buying the cream and 
hauling to some main building to be churned, 
is the most wide-spread and most practical in 
partially settled sections of country. The milk 
is set, iu vats and other places by the farmers; 
the cream is skimmed, and measured or 
weighed by the cream-gatherer. These cream- 
gatherers huve certain specified routes over 
which they travel every' day iu Summer, tak¬ 
ing the cream only, and leaving the skim-milk. 
Iu cold mouths, they often arrauge to get tho 
cream every three and sometimes six days. 
The cream thus gathered from a radius of, say, 
10 miles, is mixed together aud cooled, or 
wanned, to the proper temperature (n vats. 
Beard & Sons, of Decorah, Iowa, have the 
largest creamery in the West, and buy cream 
exclusively. They have branch houses 20 
miles distant from their maiu creamery; here 
the cream is received and prepared for ship¬ 
ment on the cars. , 
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 
Each of the above-named systems has its 
general and special advantages, and disad¬ 
vantages; both have been and now are, a 
great benefit to the Western farmers. It is a 
surprise how these systems have modified aud 
are yet modifying the agricultural interests 
of the West. The general advantages of both 
systems are: 1. In being able to manufacture 
a more uniform quality of better butter, and, 
therefore, realizing more money for the milk. 
2. In furnishing a ready aud certain sale for 
dairy products. 3. In decreasing the invest- i 
ment in creamery apparatus, otherwise neces- j 
PRIZE ESSAY.— Class VI. 
HORSES. — THE BEST FOR THE FARM AND 
ROAD, OR THE BEST FOR THE FARMER’S USE. 
Chicken Dish. Fig. 259. 
to get chilled to death. T have devised a drink¬ 
ing dish and feeding trough which obviate all 
these difficulties. The drinking dish is made 
of tiu pie-plates, with tubes soldered to each 
so that tho upper tube will fit snugly into the 
lower one, and let tho edges come together 
within three-fourths of an inch. The feeding 
trough Is of Inch stuff for bottom and ends, 
and of half-inch stuff for sides and cover. 
The cover must come within three fourths of 
an inch of the sides. Those troughs may be 
made any length desired—from two feet up. I 
bad one eight feet long lu use last Summer. 
Adjust the drinking dish by drawing the tubes 
apart, and the troughs by using a wire at 
each end. These dimensions can lie varied, to 
suit a larger or smaller flock of fowls,” 
G. F. LOWE 
What we want, is tho largest profit on the 
capital invested. Let me discuss this subject 
in its most economical sense. Now what does 
economy in horses moan? It relates to the 
amount of work performed, and the quantity 
of food required to perform that work; also 
the power of endurance; for auy ouo knows 
thut toughness is one of tho most desirable 
qualities iu any horse. Other necessary quali¬ 
ties are, longevity, ambition, intelligence, 
and soundness. Now if you combine all these 
qualities iu a horse, you will have one worthy 
of the kindest consideration, and love; one of 
the best friends you w(H ever have. A farm 
er’s horses are his mainstay, without them his 
occupation would bo gone; therefore it be¬ 
hooves him to treat them well. In the first, 
place we must hegin with tho colt, and on his 
treatment depends the future usefulness of the 
horse. Ofteu one wrong notion at the train¬ 
ing, one bad habit, uncorrected, will spoil a 
valuable animal. 
In the first place, what kind of a horse is 
host for the farm, and road; for wo want ouo 
that will answer both purposes equally well. 
Now 1 do not propose to argue tho qualities of 
the different breeds, for there are plenty of 
horses belouging to no distinct breed, that will 
answer the requirements perfectly. Wo want 
a horso with a bright, intelligent face and 
eyes, a short but uot thick head, Hhort ears, 
a nock small at tho ttiroat, deep at the shoul¬ 
ders, with a broad chest; short on the back, 
ribbed up doge to tho hips, with broad hips; 
M.'i' to 15)^ hands high; 1,050 to 1,200 pounds 
in weight, with smooth, straight legs. What 
we want is a horse that will do the most work 
on the least food, wear the longest, and be the 
least apt to become unsound. The horse 
described will fill the requirements per¬ 
fectly, providing his temperament is good. 
His frame is built solidly together, and he will 
retain his form aud vigor, and will not be¬ 
come unsound in lung or limb with proper 
use, even when old. Such is the horse for far¬ 
mers who must use the same animal for farm 
and road, for he is one that can draw a plow 
with ease, go to church in good style, or for 
tho doctor in a hurry, or iu a bad place can 
draw you out. 
What other description of horse will answer 
these requirements as well? Experience an¬ 
swers none. There seems to be almost a 
mania among some farmers for breeding big 
horses, such as T’ercherons and Clydesdales. 
These are well enough where heavy loads must 
be drawn; but for alt kinds of farm work 
they are not profitable. They are too slow, 
unfit for tho road, and what will feed one of 
them will almost keep two of the kind describ¬ 
ed; for this reason alone they are unprofitable. 
The item of horse feed, in a farmer’s ac¬ 
count, is a large one at best; therefore he 
should breed horses that will give the best sat¬ 
isfaction on the least food. Most farmers use 
three horses abreast, for heavy plowing; aud 
three horses of the above description will 
plow anywhere: while for harrowing and cul¬ 
tivating, or other soft travel, they will out¬ 
work any heavy horse. 
We seldom meet with a horse that is abso¬ 
lutely perfect, therefore let uo one be dis¬ 
couraged because his horse is not as pretty as 
a picture, for on the treatment he received 
HOW TO RAISE CHICKENS ARTIFICIALLY 
HATCHED. 
Last, May I made an experiment iu raising 
chickens artificially hatched. T hud a number 
of broody hens at the time some of tho chicks 
were ready to leave the Incubator. My brood¬ 
ers were already full of chicks, and consequent¬ 
ly it. was necessary to adopt sotue other device 
for raising the new-comers. 1 therefore con¬ 
cluded to try my broody hens. After dark¬ 
ness sot lu. I took the young chicks and put 
two of them under ouch broody hen, and in 
one case tbo hen had only been about 12 hours 
upon her nest., and at daylight uoxt morning 
I made an Inspection and was pleased to find 
that in every case the hen took to her charge 
as readily as if she had herself hatched them 
from the egg. I therefore emptied the incu¬ 
bator of all the chicks, and found no difficulty 
in rearing them. o. 8. cooper. 
adoption. The Cream-gathering system,so en¬ 
thusiastically indorsed by the majority in at¬ 
tendance at the National Butter, Cheese and 
Egg Association, at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, iu 
1881, was soon found to need serious modifica¬ 
tion. Many curious and effective schemes 
were practiced to cheat the skimmer. The 
theory that each farmer would receive pay 
according to the value of his milk, had to bo 
abandoned. One farmer, with splendid con¬ 
veniences, was setting his milk in ice-water 
and receiving pay for more inches of cream 
than there were pounds of butter. Another, 
with only average appliances, set his milk in 
water that soon warmed to 608 or 65°, and 
consequently, not only raised less cream, but 
did not receive pay for the real value of what 
he did raise; for it is now well known that 
the upper inch makes more butter than the 
lower inch. The churning value of cream 
must be the ultimate test. The Schoch and 
Bolander swing churns, made especially for 
testing 50 to 60 specimens of cream at one 
time, are being rapidly introduced. Notwith¬ 
standing their disadvantages, they will emi¬ 
nently serve the purpose of keeping up the 
credit of the cream-gathering system, until 
something better is adopted and In use. 
In support of my statement, that gathored- 
cream butter is generally inferior to that made 
on the milk-buying system, I give the follow¬ 
ing: H. H. Markley, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, 
said, in 1881: “Under the system of gathered 
cream we have received from one to three 
cents per pound less.” H. B. Gurler, of Do 
Kalb, Ill., says: “I will say as good butter 
can be made from gathered cream as from 
whole milk; at the same time, I will admit 
that it is not so, as a rule,” Both are reliable 
aud honest men, and have had experience 
with both systems, in 1882, I examined but¬ 
ter made on both systems in a creamery in 
Buchanan County, and in my judgment there 
was a difference of at least two cents in qual¬ 
ity'. In 1883 I examined butter made at 
another creamery, and on both systems, and 
readily detected a difference in the flavor and 
quality. The explanation of the difference 
is that some farmers cannot, and others wil 
not, give the same attention and caro to the 
milk and cream as are given by the cream- 
SOCIAL DAKOTA 
Dakota may not inaptly be described as a 
modern Cave of Adullam; for. like the orig¬ 
inal one mentioned in the Book of Books, 
every one that is in distress, every one that is 
in debt, and every one that is discontented, 
gather themselves hero. 1 will not say they 
form even a majority of the settlers, but they 
form a noteworthy part of the population. 
Many who have been grouning under heavy 
mortgages in the East suddenly throw every¬ 
thing overboard, as it were, aud come out 
hero, thinking to get along without those bur¬ 
dens. Alas for human credulity! the same 
causes that brought on the mortgages in the 
East show themselves here, and iu a few years 
their condition, if not as bad, is certainly not 
much improved. Improvidence marks their 
mode of living aud working. I saw recently 
tho half of a harrow with a part of a broken 
tree lying at the edge of a field, the other 
half of the harrow being about 10 rods inside 
the field, and It would soon he covered with 
the growing wheat. Most likely the harvester 
will be driven against it, aud either the horses 
or the machine will sulfur. That harrow I 
know was bought on time this Spring, and 
this is a fail’ sample of how these men conduct 
their business. 
Another j class j^are those, who have been 
