1904 . 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
891 
without much rest the cow will not do what she has in 
the past. Give her a good rest, with good care, and 
you will often be agreeably surprised at what she will 
do next season. We have found that heifers frequently 
give less during the second milking periods than at 
other times in their life. To keep all up to their 
best requires constant watchful care. 
APPLES AND COWS.—Same old story that we 
hear every Fall; attention was called to three cases 
in one day. Cattle got into apples, gorged themselves, 
and became drunk. In one instance three cows died in 
a herd of seven. Nearly always their value as milking 
cows is upset until they come in again. Persistent 
milking, even if they give but a small mess, will help 
to bring them back. It is also well to bear in mind 
WASHING DAY ON THE FARM. Fig. 418. 
Second Prize Picture, from W. A. Roorda, Iowa. 
that if you can get the cows into the barn and feed them 
two to three quarts of cornmeal or similar feed before 
they are so sick that they refuse food, in almost every 
case you can prevent drunkenness and consequent loss. 
Just after you have had trouble of this kind is a good 
time to carry out that more than one time expressed 
purpose of cutting down all those scrub apple trees. 
Unless you intend to graft them, they are better out 
of the way. We don’t make cider out of our apples; 
we feed them to the cows about a peck at a time. 
'They are highly relished, and help out the milk flow 
a little. We know of more than one farm ruined by 
the cider that was put in the cellar for vinegar (?) 
but somehow never got into vinegar. We know of 
PLEASE, MAMMA, LET OLD GRAY GO! Fig. 419. 
First Prize Picture, from M. .T. Sherwood, New York. 
one farm where there are four in the family that has 
put 1G barrels into the cellar for vinegar (?) this Fall. 
They never sell any, so they must require a lot of 
pickling. H. G. MANCHESTER. 
A WOMAN'S FARM NOTES. 
DEBT.—One of the best things for a farmer to have 
in stock when starting in business is a vigorous hatred 
of debt and a firm determination to keep out of it. 
One so constituted will be saved much worry, vexation 
of spirit and humiliation. He will make it a rule never 
to let the sun go down on an unpaid bill. He will prac¬ 
tice self-denial and any honest scheming and economy 
to keep clear of it; or, if he has inherited debts he will 
make a brave fight to clear himself from his obliga¬ 
tions. Johnny-cake and codfish if paid for will taste 
better to him than scalloped oysters and whipped-cream 
pie which are not. Young people are often advised to 
mortgage their farms or homes in order to get a start, 
but it seems to me it is poor advice except in very 
rare cases. If a man has great strength of character, 
executive ability and good judgment, the advice may 
be good. But with many, starting out in debt means 
ending more deeply in debt. Debt is like vice; some 
people begin by enduring, and finally embrace it and 
run in debt for things they do not need, because it 
is such an easy way. Personally I would much rather 
begin with no capital and no debts, than with borrowed 
money. Then whatever gain was made would be a 
real gain, and would not have to be swal¬ 
lowed up by creditors. Besides this, one has 
a feeling of security if he knows that he 
does not owe anyone a cent; and he also 
has the respect of all those who have deal¬ 
ings with him. There are times when busi¬ 
ness is dull, crops fail, or there are acci¬ 
dents or sickness; when debts are difficult 
if not impossible to avoid, but if one really 
intends to pay he will find plenty who are 
glad to trust him at such times. We were 
warned not to trust a certain family for 
wood, but we went contrary to the advice, 
knowing that they had always paid. There 
had been sickness in the family, and they 
were behind on their bills. We were asked 
to wait, and we were glad to do so under 
the circumstances. We did not worry about 
the money, and it came when it was prom¬ 
ised. On the other hand, a woman asked 
me to trust her for a single jar of cream. 
I refused, knowing that she was notorious 
for not paying her bills even when she was 
able. I think this is the stand most people 
take; they are glad to favor those who mean 
t«o pay, when they are in a hard place, but 
do not want to give in a cent’s worth to the 
regular “beats.” The habit of letting bills 
run is very troublesome to others; it affects many peo¬ 
ple; it is like a row of blocks, or the child’s story about 
London Bridge and the penny that bought the kid, 
and one unpaid bill may inconvenience any number of 
people. 
SHOEING THE HORSE.—I believe in taking good 
care of tools. One of our most valuable and useful 
tools is our horse, and after proper feeding and water¬ 
ing I believe that proper shoeing is the most important 
item in keeping her in good working order. I am con¬ 
vinced that improper shoeing is responsible for very 
many horses going lame or traveling in a “nippy,” cau¬ 
tious way, as if their feet were tender. The horse 
we owned before our present one could have been used 
longer, I think, if she had been shod 
properly. The smith would open out the 
heels, pare down the sole till it was all 
white, and then pare a slice off each side 
of the frog. When we got the new horse 
I told this blacksmith my ideas about 
shoeing. He calmly told me that they 
were “all nonsense.” Since then he has 
done no work for us, and I have driven 
from two to three miles farther from 
home to get the work done as I want it 
done. I used to think that searing the 
hoof with the hot shoe was bad; now I 
think this is not harmful, but that med¬ 
dling with the foot itself is what causes 
the trouble. Our blacksmith was speaking 
of this the other day, and he said that 
only enough should be taken from the 
foot to get a good bearing for the shoe. 
If the frog and sole are pared till white, 
the foot will dry badly, and rough travel¬ 
ing and stones will be more likely to in¬ 
jure it. If a horse’s feet are very dry 
and he has to stand in the stall a good 
deal, leathers may be of use in helping 
this condition. We find our horse does 
best in Summer with her front feet shod 
with flat shoes having no heel caulks. It 
pays to go much farther from home, even when it takes 
valuable time, if by so doing one can employ an intelli¬ 
gent blacksmith who is willing to do his work as one 
wants it done. 
DRINKING FOUNTAINS.—Another point in the 
care of a horse, that many people do not think of, is 
where the horse shall drink. It is much more conveni¬ 
ent to let the horse drink at a public fountain, but 
everyone knows that there is a certain amount of dan¬ 
ger in doing so. The danger is slight, perhaps, but 
there are times when it is very serious. I wo or three 
years ago, in the city next this town, the water supply 
was cut off from the drinking fountains on account of 
an epidemic of glanders. If we could see the horses 
that had drank from the fountain the half hour before 
we came, I think we would generally pass by on the 
other side. susan brown robbins. 
DAIRY AND OTHER NOTES. 
THE MILLET HELPED.—“I sent for my seed corn 
to Michigan, and sent early. After keeping my money 
60 days they finally sent it back, saying they could not 
supply the corn. It was late, so I bought some seed 
at our local hardware and seed store, but it failed to 
come up. It was now real late and nowhere to get good 
seed. The ground had been heavily manured and well 
prepared. Finally, when I saw the corn was not going 
to amount to anything, I telephoned for some Japanese 
Barnyard millet, harrowed the ground again thoroughly, 
and sowed three pecks of seed on the acre. I sup¬ 
pose the soil must have been just right, for I took 
eight big two-horse loads from the piece, and the cows 
like it and are doing nicely on it. I found 
that fed green it was much better than fod¬ 
der corn that I had been used to feeding in 
the Fall. Hereafter I shall grow less corn 
and more millet, for if it will yield like this 
crop I can grow it much cheaper in every 
way than I can the corn. The field was a 
fine sight, a pleasure to look at.” 
He cut some of the stalks and brought 
them along to prove his story, which illus¬ 
trates how some men, in spite of things go¬ 
ing wrong, will bring success out of what 
some people would allow to become failure. 
I like to see these men who “buck” into 
hard places and are bound to c,ome out on 
top. I wish there were more of them. 
HOUSE THE COWS;—These pleasant, 
warm early Winter days are too much for 
some people, and instead of allowing their 
cows to lie in the stable, warm and con¬ 
tented, making milk out of their feed, “it’s 
too nice a day to have the cows in,” and 
so they are allowed to wander in the fields 
eating frosted grass and frozen apples, and 
lying down upon damp, cold ground, thor¬ 
oughly chilling the udder. The top of the 
ground is just thawed enough so that every 
step takes off several square inches of grass 
and leaves the meadows in poor shape. A little exer¬ 
cise may be a good thing, but we know it pays letter 
to keep the cows in the well-ventilated barn, lying upon 
good dry bedding, than wandering hither and yon over 
the fields in Winter time. 
APPLE POMACE AND MILK.—Notwithstanding 
November is regarded as perhaps the hardest month 
in the year to make milk, our cows have done unusually 
well, and there was hardly a break from Fall feed to 
an entire barn ration. They are now giving 450 quarts 
daily, or a little over 19 pounds on the average from 
the 50 in milk in all stages, and the majority of these 
are what some people call runt cows, being the smaller 
size grade Jerseys, giving an average of nearly five per 
cent fat. They get an average of seven 
pounds of grain per day that costs us at 
wholesale 7J4 cents. Grain first thing in 
morning; after milking a good big scoop 
shovel full of apple pomace; after break¬ 
fast a good feed of rowen hay, and at 
night an average full bushel of good 
silage. The pomace costs us 50 cents per 
load, and one load will give two feeds, 
so that for purchased foods it now costs 
us less than one cent per quart to make 
the milk. But, and the wo?dd is full of 
“buts” that spoil some of the fun, our 
pomace is about gone, and rowen will . 
last but little longer, so we shall not be 
able to make quite as much milk, as we 
shall replace the pomace with oat hay, 
and the rowen with good early-cut hay. 
We like apple pomace, and wish we could 
get enough to feed once a day all Winter. 
The cows relish it, and it is a milk maker. 
An acquaintance recently said: “I don’t 
see how you get any milk out of that 
stuff. I can get all I want for the hauling, 
but the cows don’t like it, and don’t give 
milk on it.” Our experience is just the 
reverse. Perhaps our friend tried them 
with old pomace, or too much at first. 
TAKE CARE OF THE COW.—She was a “slick 
looker,” and as we were driving her home a few days 
before calving we were offered $50 for her. We were 
tempted to let her go, as the year before she had not 
done very well, and one teat did not give quite as much 
milk as the other, but as we were a little short of milk 
we kept her and have not regretted it, as she came 
in all straight, and in the first six months she netted 
ns $90 for her milk above cost of grain feed. Could 
we equal that on any other like investment? Her milk 
was sold at 4 cents per quart wholesale. It is a question 
that comes up on many a dairy farm quite often, 
whether or not to keep this cow over another season. 
Sometimes after two or three heavy milking periods 
