638 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
SEPT 28 
tools. You will notice the artist had to 
rub the tails off, mostly, in his negative. 
We were simply unable to keep four tails 
still at once in fly time. Those bushes in 
the fence corners in the back-ground do not 
belong to me. The winter tools, sleigh, 
sleds, etc., were not brought out. 
You will notice I have two wagons, two 
hay racks, two plows, two Thomas har¬ 
rows and two cutting harrows. At first 
glance this might seem extravagant for 
such a little farm; but I have two teams, 
and the ability to rush the work when the 
conditions are just right is frequently 
worth more to me than the interest on an 
extra tool for five years. I have a tool-house 
22x56 feet, where these tools are always 
kept when not in actual use, so that they 
will last almost indefinitely. 
With all this accumulation of tools I am 
able to grow good crops and do the labor 
connected therewith quickly and easily. 
The drudgery of 20 years ago is mostly done 
away with, particularly as I do not attempt 
to do half so many things as I used to, but 
rather a few things more thoroughly well. 
I ride and plant an acre of potatoes in two 
hours, all complete, and dig them in the 
same time. No more hoeing is needed to 
keep fields clean. I ride and spread a load 
of manure in two minutes and so on. 
Young friends must not be discouraged, 
however, if they cannot afford all these 
labor-saving devices. It has taken me just 
20 years to get all these things together and 
pay for my farm and put on such buildings 
as I wanted. 
Ptunj 
Farrow vs. Fresh 
SHALL WE BREED 
DAIBY COWS E7EBT YE1R 
OE 
ONCE IN TWO YEARS? 
The following discussion was brought 
out by this letter from a subscriber in Penn¬ 
sylvania : 
“I have a herd of 10 Jersey cows. I 
♦ 
make butter and f eed my shimmed milk 
to pigs. I do not care for the calves. Can 
I get more milk or butter by breeding my 
cows every year than I can by breeding 
them once in two years ? It is my belief 
that, all things considered, the latter 
course will give the best results.” 
FROM SMITHS, POWELL & LAMB. 
Our belief is that more milk and butter 
will be obtained when cows have calves 
once a year, than when they breed only 
once in two years. 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
FROM C. M. WINSLOW. 
I have never experimented to learn this 
point, but I have found that where I have 
been unable to get a cow in calf and she has 
run many months farrow, I have not got as 
much from the average of the two years as 
I have from two years of the same cow 
when she has calved regularly. She is very 
apt not to do very much after the first year, 
and goes dry a long time, or gives but very 
little milk. The method by which I have 
received the largest returns from my cows 
is to have them calve in the fall, feed 
them well through the winter, etc., then 
when grass, comes they get a new start 
and are dry in the hot, dry part of the 
season, when feed is short and butter 
is low-priced, and they calve again for an¬ 
other winter’s work. This correspondent 
might divide his herd, weigh the milk of the 
whole and let half the herd calve every 
year, and the others calve in two years, and 
test his milk by the “ Short method ” for 
butter fat—and he could tell to a certainty 
just which way was the better. 
Brandon, Vermont. 
FROM M. H. C. GARDENER. 
For my purpose of producing a large 
quantity of milk, I prefer to let a cow go 
dry at least six weeks once a year, but, un¬ 
fortunately, some cows—and good ones too 
—go dry for a longer period. There are a 
very few farmers in this county who do not 
keep any bull, but milk a cow for all she is 
worth; that is, as long as she will give milk 
in paying quantity, and in the meantime 
she is fed heavily, so that when she 
is dried off she is ready for the butcher; 
but they have a special market for their fat 
stock; perhaps they run a butcher wagon 
themselves and so get all the money there 
is in the beast. But the average farmer 
could not do this, for the country butcher 
will give for a fat cow only about half 
what a new milker is worth, so the loss 
in changing cows is too great to run a dairy 
successfully on this plan. It occurs to me, 
therefore, that the proper way to run an 
average dairy is to let the cows come in 
once a year, so that each can get a needed 
rest by “ drying off.” 
Orange County, N. Y. 
FROM C. S. RICE. 
A GOOD cow that is well fed, will yield near¬ 
ly as much milk and butter when allowed to 
breed but once in two years as under the 
usual management, producing a calf year¬ 
ly. Cows giving the same amount the first 
year will vary greatly in production when 
farrow. With the common dairy stock of 
the country, there is no question that year¬ 
ly breeding is more profitable than the 
breeding in longer periods. With the im¬ 
proved milk and butter breeds, however, it 
would require careful and continued experi¬ 
ment to determine the relative profit of a 
dairy under the different methods of man¬ 
agement proposed. From my own observa¬ 
tion in a dairy of LIolstein-Friesian grades 
that are persistent milkers, I think that a 
loss of 10 per cent, would result from the 
two-year course. A good cow well fed and 
carefully milked, will continue to yield a 
profit through 10 months of the year, and 
need go dry only four or five weeks; that is, 
during the time when the milk is not fit to 
be used. Tlie'same cow.will go dry only a little 
longer at the end of the second year on the 
two years’ plan; but for a long time the 
yield of milk will not be large and she 
will be in fair condition for beef. Yearly 
breeding and giving milk are normal condi¬ 
tions of the dairy cow. The greatest yield of 
milk is obtained during the first few months 
after calving and the yearly return of this 
period of maximum flow tends to the full de¬ 
velopment of milk production. On the other 
hand, with the two years’ system the long¬ 
er time of comparative idleness towards the 
close of the term and consequent tendency 
to flesh, are not favorable to such develop¬ 
ment. It is only a matter of opinion, but I 
am quite sure that continued restriction of 
breeding under the proposed two years’ 
system will result in much less profit from 
the dairy than with the usual management. 
Lewis County, N. Y. 
FROM DAVID CARLL. 
I HAVE kept 20 Jersey cows for butter 
for the past 10 years and find it best to have 
them “come in ” every year. I like to have 
one or two calves in each month of the 
year. I think we can churn more quickly, 
and make better butter by having fresh 
cows each month. I have no doubt that 
more milk and butter can be got from a 
cow that comes in in the fall; but as we 
have a greater demand for butter in the 
summer, I prefer to have them calve at 
different times in'the year. A good Jersey 
cow will milk within a month of calving, 
and I am quite sure will give more by calv¬ 
ing each year than by going two years. 
The heifer calves should be worth a good 
deal more. 
Suffolk County, L. I. 
FROM J. MCLAIN SMITH. 
I HAVE had no experience in this matter 
at all. The calf, with me, is so important 
that I breed my cows as soon as they come 
in, and usually the calves follow each other 
within the year. Whether a cow would 
give more milk, or make more butter, bred 
once in two years, I should say would de¬ 
pend on the cow. Some cows, if farrow, 
will milk for a long time nearly up to their 
maximum; others will go dry, or drop off 
to a very small yield, whether in calf or not. 
Dayton, Ohio. 
FROM H. S. WEEKS. 
I AM unable to see how this correspondent 
can expect to get as much milk and butter 
from his cows by breeding them but once 
in two years as he would if they came in 
fresh every year. lie says his cows are Jer¬ 
seys, which would doubtless be quite per¬ 
sistent milkers throughout the two years; 
but, judging from my own experience, the 
aggregate amount of milk and butter will 
be considerably larger if they breed every 
year. The flow of milk from fresh cows 
for at least half the second year will be, as a 
rule, double what it would be if they were 
farrow, and there need necessarily be only 
a short interval during which no milk is 
given if they are bred yearly. Many of my 
own Jerseys milk the year round in spite of 
all efforts to dry them off, and the average 
time that the herd go dry does not exceed 
one month. He says he does not care for 
the calves; but it seems to me lie is thus 
losing quite a respectable sum from the 
yearly income that might be derived from 
this source, for I find the demand for 
young Jersey stock very urgent, and if his 
cows are registered, the calves of both sex¬ 
es ought to count materially in making his 
decision whether to breed oftener than 
once in two years. 
Oconomowoc, Wis. 
FROM F. D. DOUGLAS. 
The production and development of 
young, in the Animal Kingdom, is one of 
the incomprehensible mysteries of creative 
power. While we can not explain or in¬ 
deed understand the origin of animal life, 
we may comprehend the laws by which its 
development is governed. In mammals the 
secretions which we call milk, are pro¬ 
vided by Nature for the development of the 
young until they become self-sustaining, 
when the object of the secretions is accom¬ 
plished, and they are naturally discontin¬ 
ued. While the laws which govern these 
processes are unchangeable, results may be 
greatly modified by artificial means, or, in 
other words, by changing the conditions 
under which they operate. Cows running 
wild upon the plains, dry off much sooner 
than those found in our best dairies. The 
cow, with us, is, to a great extent, an arti¬ 
ficial animal. By the supply of properly 
constituted rations, good care, and breed¬ 
ing, her milk-producing powers have been 
developed; she produces much more 
milk at the outset, and her flow is much 
longer continued, than when in an undo¬ 
mesticated state, yet there is a limit to this, 
where Nature requires a return to original 
conditions, and there must be a repro¬ 
duction of offspring to insure the best ag¬ 
gregate yield of milk. 
Pract ically I find that where cows are kept 
in milk over 11 or 12 months, they are quite 
sure to convert more of their food into flesh, 
and less into milk than when bred to come 
in annually. The best of cows will often 
thus take on flesh and become dry before 
the close of the second year, though fed on 
the best milk-producing rations. A good 
dairy cow, with proper food and care, will 
continue to yield a large amount o5f milk 
during nearly the entire year when in calf 
every 12 months. Without these conditions 
of food and care, she will dry off as when in 
her natural state, or if, by reason of a su¬ 
perior milking development, there should 
chance to be a continued flow, it would be 
at the cost of debility in the mother and a 
weak and imperfect development in the 
calf. Under favorable treatment both the 
mother and progeny may be healthy and 
strong, though the former may continue to 
give a good flow of milk for 11 months out 
of the 12, and yield a much larger aggregate 
amount of milk in two years than when in 
calf but once during the time. By allowing 
our cows to remain in milk so long after 
calving, we get too far from those natural 
conditions which underlie a large and 
healthy production of milk, which materni¬ 
ty alone supplies. 
Whiting, Vermont. 
FROM A. F. ROWE. 
I would by all means breed cows annual¬ 
ly, and arrange so that they will drop their 
calves in late fall. In this way one would 
be able to make much more butter during 
the winter, when it always commands the 
best price, and when the cows are turned 
out on grass in the spring, or soiled, their 
yield of milk would increase very much, and 
they could be milked until within a few 
weeks of calving again in the fall. In this 
way, the receipts for the butter sold would 
be at least one-third more than if the cows 
were bred only “once in two years.” 
Fredericksburg, Va. 
Here is a note about hens with clipped 
wings: 
“ White Leghorns with clipped wings are 
apt at moulting to droop and appear sick. 
The quills in the clipped wing are not shed 
as quickly as those in the other wing, and re¬ 
quire to be gently extracted. At least this 
is the observation of a JERSEY-WOMAN.” 
Have any of our readers noticed this? 
Sim at (Topics. 
Linseed Lightens Labor. 
WATCH WAGON WHEELS 
AND 
SAVE BY SOAKING. 
“ There has been much said about the 
economy of soaking wagon wheels in lin¬ 
seed oil. Does it really pay? What do 
farmers who have tried it say? 
FROM A. L. CROSBY. 
I have not used linseed oil for the purpose 
indicated by the Rural, but have used 
crude petroleum and think it pays well. I 
have just finished oiling not only the rims, 
but the entire woodwork of a two-horse 
farm wagon. It is astonishing how much 
oil the rims will absorb in a hot, dry time. 
As fast as the brush is drawn over the sur¬ 
face the oil disappears, and when a piece of 
sappy wood is met with it takes up oil like 
a sponge. I think linseed oil better than 
petroleum, but the expense is too great to 
use it as freely as it ought to be used. It is 
no use advising farmers to pay 60 or 70 
cents per gallon for linseed oil and soak the 
woodwork of their wagons and implements 
with it; when they see the oil going into the 
wood so rapidly they will stay their hands 
and say: “Behold, that is quite enough,” 
long before the wood is filled. You can’t 
do a first-class job when you are all the 
time trying to save in the materials: if you 
are repairing a fence and put in one nail 
where two are needed or try to make oney 
rail serve for two; one load of manure in¬ 
stead of three, or a pint of oil where two 
quarts are required. If a farmer buy a 
barrel of crude petroleum and use it freely 
on his implements he will save its cost 
every year—provided he is what is called 
an “ average ” farmer whose tool shed is co¬ 
extensive with his farm. 
Crude petroleum is easily applied and is 
cheap; mine cost cents per gallon—and it 
will penetrate wood deeper than the heavier 
linseed oil; its uses on the farm are almost 
numberless. It can be used in the hen house 
to kill lice; on pigs and other animals for 
the same purpose; on dogs to kill fleas; on 
plow" moldbards to keep them from rusting; 
on gate hinges to prevent wear and squeak¬ 
ing; on roofs to prevent decay; on siding to 
precede and save paint and on any kind of ex¬ 
posed wood-work. It is always ready for use 
and its cheapness will cause it to be used 
where a more expensive oil or a paint would 
not be. I believe if the rims of wagon wheels 
are kept filled with crude petroleum they 
will never decay and the tires will not need 
setting nearly so often. . 
Catonsville, Md. 
FROM H. A. WHITTEMORE. 
In 18841 had my wagon repaired, (a wagon 
that had run 25 years.) New felloes were 
put on all the wheels and spokes in some. I 
took the felloes off three of the wheels, put 
them in a cauldron kettle containing raw 
linseed oil and brought it almost to a boil¬ 
ing point and kept them at that temper¬ 
ature in the oil four hours. When I took 
them out they seemed much harder than 
the felloes on the wheel not placed in the 
oil. I had the tire set upon all, used the 
wagon for four years and on the three 
wheels did not have to have the tire set 
during that time, while on the odd wheel I 
had to have it set every year. Were I to 
build a wagon for myself I would soak 
every part of the running gear in boiling 
oil for at least three or four hours. I had a 
light skeleton, weight 125 pounds, made. 
The felloes were soaked over-night in boiled 
linseed oil. This was run eight years be¬ 
fore a tire was set, and that was because it 
was removed to put in a spoke that was 
broken, and some of the tires were run 13 
years without setting. 
Chautauqua County, N. Y. 
FROM HENRY IVES. 
The soaking of wagon rims in linseed oil 
is very beneficial, both preserving the tim- 
