1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
463 
LIVE STOCK MATTERS. 
(CONTTNTTED.) 
continent to supply America with eggs, 
were they only the right breeds for the 
business. f. w. proctor. 
Massachusetts. 
A Slow But Sure Method. 
No attempt is made to pick the sterile 
hens from any except the very best pens. 
As soon as all eggs should be fertile 
after mating, six or seven days, one- 
half the fowls are placed each in a small 
separate pen until each has laid four 
eggs, these are marked with the num¬ 
ber on the leg band, and put in an in¬ 
cubator. Should any set of eggs fail to 
start, the hen bearing that number is at 
once removed. When four eggs have 
been laid by a hen, another takes her 
place until all have been tested. The 
cock is put in with the confined birds an 
hour or so every other day. More than 
one sterile hen is seldom found in a pen 
of 12, and a great many times not any. 
This method is rather slow, and some¬ 
times the hens do not take well to con¬ 
finement ; but it is the most reliable way 
known to me. l. m. loveless. 
New York. 
DRY FEED vs. PASTURE GRASS. 
STORY OF TWO NEW HAMPSHIRE COWS. 
I have been making' from eight to nine pounds 
of butter per week from two Jersey cows fed 
each three pounds of bran and 2)4 pounds of 
corn meal per day, with one pound of oil meal 
every other day, and for hay oats cut in the milk, 
top stalks and hay made from Red-top and June 
grass. The cows were fresh the middle of Novem¬ 
ber. Since Slay 20, they have been in the pasture, 
and have had two pounds of corn meal and one 
pound of cotton-seed meal per day. Yesterday 
we churned 14 pounds 2 ounces from six days’ 
cream; the increase in quantity of milk has been 
small, about one quart per day for both cows. 
What I wish to know is, How should I have fed 
last winter to get as much butter as I do now ? 
Could it have been done on dry feed ? j. w. m. 
Rochester, N. II. 
Other Facts are Needed. 
I fear that some points are wanting in 
this diagnosis. We need the per cent of 
fat in the milk at the stated times to 
help draw correct conclusions. If we 
had a record of the per cent of fat in the 
buttermilk at the two periods, it might 
clear up some of this difference. I 
should expect a gradual increase in the 
per cent of fat in the milk as the cows 
approached the time of calving again, or 
as the period from the last calving 
lengthened. I should not expect an in¬ 
crease in the per cent of fat to come 
from the change from dry feed to grass. 
I do not remember an instance where 
this occurred. I do not think it practica¬ 
ble to make a combination of dry feed 
and grain that will produce as much 
milk or butter as a combination of past¬ 
ure grass and grain. It is evident, to 
my mind, that these cows were not 
handled as intelligently in the winter as 
they were after being put to pasture, or 
at least, the conditions were comparat¬ 
ively more favorable in the summer or 
grass period than in the winter period. 
I am forced to the conclusion that there 
was faulty management during the 
winter period I can see no other rea¬ 
sonable way to account for all of the 60 
per cent increase of butter when the 
cows were at pasture. h. b. gurler. 
Illinois. 
Never Heard of Such a Case. 
I am somewhat at a loss how to 
account for the facts as stated. Accord¬ 
ing to the figures, the two cows in ques¬ 
tion gave, when fresh in milk, 1 29-100 
pound of butter per day, taking the 
larger figure given, nine pounds per 
week. When six months along in lacta¬ 
tion, with half as much grain, they gave 
almost twice as much butter, 2 35-100 
pounds per day, the increase in the milk 
for six days being but one quart. It 
would appear then (1), that the milk 
was twice as rich on pasture as it was 
upon barn feeding ; or (2), that there 
were excessive losses in the handling of 
milk for the making of butter when the 
pows were fresh, as compared with those 
obtained when the cows were further 
along in lactation ; or (3), that there is 
some error in the statement. It hardly 
seems possible that the quality of milk 
was doubled as the result of going to 
pasture. Cows on early pasture give, 
usually, more and somewhat richer milk 
than they did during the last month or 
so of barn life. I have never known a 
case, however, when the per cent of fat 
was doubled, or any approach to it. 
Our Ninth Report contains a state¬ 
ment of the greatest variations in one 
lactation period of 115 cows. One of the 
115 was found to vary as much as 3.0G 
per cent of fat. The average variation 
was 1.26 per cent. Of 63 cows in the 
Vermont and Minnesota Station herds 
there quoted, but two gave their richest 
milks before the seventh month of lacta¬ 
tion, and in these two cases, moderate 
changes in quality were made. More¬ 
over, the average of 62 fall-calving cows 
(page 166), showed remarkable evenness 
in the quality of the milk throughout 
lactation, the extremes in the first eight 
months being but 0.14 apart, 4.55 and 
4.69. The average increase in fat per¬ 
centage of 136 cows in these experiments 
as between barn feeding and early pas¬ 
turage (Seventh Report, page 109), was 
0.17 per cent fat. The average test for 
over 10,000 cows in April, 1892, was 3 69 ; 
in May, 3.88 (Sixth Report, page 113). 
It hardly seems possible, in view of such 
results as I have here quoted, which are 
in line with others which might be 
cited, that this marvelous change in the 
quality of milk can have occurred. 
Whether the second or third supposi¬ 
tions made above will account for the 
results, can only be answered by the 
party making the observations. 
The barn feed may be justly criticised 
as not being well adapted to maximum 
production. I am inclined to think that 
a ration more nearly balanced might 
have been fed without materially adding 
to the cost, which would have been more 
likely to produce good results. The 
substitution of ensilage with the ears 
left on in the place of corn stalks, of 
some of the corn meal and of some of 
the hay, and the more liberal use of 
concentrated meals and of bran would, 
probably, have bettered the ration more 
than enough to compensate for its ex¬ 
tra cost. 
Turning now to the specific questions 
asked, it is probably safe to say that no 
combination of grain and dry feed can 
ever equal good June pasturage, and that 
its quality, succulence and palatability 
all serve to bring about the well-known 
favorable results. The reason why qual¬ 
ity is improved is not clear, unless it be 
that, as a rule, pasture feed is richer 
than barn feed. This doctrine, how¬ 
ever, is somewhat heretical. I cannot 
subscribe to your belief that pasture 
feeding increases “ churnability” of 
milk. That word is, I believe, a mis¬ 
nomer. I am inclined to think that the 
results given in our Fourth Report, page 
74, very clearly prove that churnability, 
so-called, is not influenced by the succu¬ 
lence or by the dryness of the feed, but 
is simply a term used to conceal the 
poorness of the apparatus or the ignor¬ 
ance of the operator. .Joseph l hills 
Vermont Exp. Station. 
FORKFULS OF FACTS. 
Don’t Dig Down for a Tub S/To. 
S. B., Hanoverdale, Pa.—I purchased a run¬ 
down farm of 70 acres of land, and intend to build 
a tub silo. Would you advise digging in the 
ground about 10 or 12 feet, and cement the floor 
and sides, and use plank on top of the ground 
with iron hoops ? I filled the cistern last year 
with green corn, and the neighbors laughed and 
said it would spoil; but I trusted, and with good 
results. It certainly is the substitute for grass. 
In three days from the first feed, my cows gave 
twice the amount of milk they gave before. 
Ans.—W e would advise you not to dig 
in the ground for your tub silo, but 
build it all above the ground. Make the 
foundation by removing the earth to a 
depth of about six inches and filling in 
with rocks, the larger ones at the bot¬ 
tom andj-smaller ones at the surface. 
With a pestle, pound the rocks so that 
they shall rest securely in place. Make 
a thin mortar with waterlime and pour 
over the rocks until the spaces are filled 
and the foundation is firm and solid ; 
then set up the staves, using iron or 
steel hoops as you suggest. 
Which Is the Male Pigeon ? 
D. S. M., Oaks, Pa. —How may one distinguish 
the male from the female pigeons ? 
Ans. —It is no easy task for the inex¬ 
perienced to distinguish a male pigeon 
from the female. The female is more 
slender through the neck, and with a 
smaller head than the male, and usually 
smaller than the male of the same breed, 
and has a more feminine appearance to 
the experienced eye. The surest way is 
to watch them, and when you notice 
one bird “ driving ” another, you may 
be sure that the “ driver ” is the male 
bird, and that they are mated, with 
either a nest of eggs or about to build. 
When sitting, the male usually sits on 
the nest in the morning and the female 
the rest of the day. The male bird often 
struts around brushing the floor with 
his tail; this the female seldom does. 
j. e. s. 
Hen Roosts in Texas. —The dropping 
boards in my henhouse are scraped daily 
with a hoe, early in the morning. At 
dinner time, the boards are thoroughly 
dry. I use a sieve with a long handle, 
and sprinkle wood ashes over the roosts 
and dropping board to prevent lice and 
mites and keep the droppings free. I 
keep the droppings mixed with the ashes 
in a large barrel, covered. I believe that 
the ashes mixed with the droppings will 
make a good fertilizer for peach trees 
or any plant needing potash. Are my 
views correct ? My roosts are 1x3 inches, 
thoroughly whitewashed when new. 
They are 18 inches above the dropping 
boards. The height of the latter is regu¬ 
lated by the size of the chicks ; the 
larger the bird, the nearer the dirt floor. 
I do this to get all the air I can through 
the house. I have a ladder for all of 
them. I use tobacco stems in my nests, 
which are death to insects of all kinds. 
My chicks have clean, fresh water from 
two to three times per day. Their food 
is looked after as closely as my own. 
They are not allowed to eat any tainted 
f° od - subscriber. 
Texas. 
R. N.-Y.—It is a mistake to use wood 
ashes with the hen manure. The lime 
in the ashes will set free the ammonia 
in the manure. Wood ashes and manure 
make a good combination for fruit, but 
they must not be put together above the 
ground, or the best part of the combi¬ 
nation will be lost. Dry road dust or 
land plaster is much better for use 
under the roosts and to mix with the 
manure. Scatter the manure and ashes 
separately around the trees, and work 
them into the ground at once. 
Sometime ago my wife had an attack of Asthma. 
I procured a bottle of Jayne's Expectorant and ad¬ 
ministered It to her with the result that she was en¬ 
tirely cured.-K. A. PIER POINT, Springvllle Iowa 
May 27,1897. 
Aid dlRestion with Jayne’s Painless Sanative Pills. 
— Adv. 
Many people are skeptical regard¬ 
ing testimonials. We offer 
$5,000.02 Reward 
to any person who can prove bogus 
one letter that we publish in praise 
of the famous veterinary remedy 
Tuttle’s Elixir. 
Send three 2-cent stamps for post¬ 
age on sample bottle, and list of tes¬ 
timonials. 
DR. S. A. TUTTLE, 27 Beverly St., Boston. 
Guernseys. 
2‘ili purebred Guernsevs of the best American and 
Island breeding. Butter average, whole herd, 318 
pounds per head. No catalogue. Come and make 
your own selection. 
ELLERSLIE STOCK FARM, 
BHINECLIFF, n. y. 
JERSEY CATTLE FOR SALE. 
First-class Dairy Stock. 
Registered CALVES, BULLS and COWS. 
R. F. SHANNON,] 
907 Liberty 8t., Pittsburgh, Pa. 
Farm.Edgeworth.P.F.W.&C.R.R 
21 Times Stoke Pogis; 5 Times Ida’s Rioter. 
St. Lambert Jerseys by Comely's Matilda Rioter; 
also com&ination by Brown Bessie's Prince. Write 
for what you want. 8. E. NIVIN, Landenberg, Pa. 
It is UNLAWFUL to color oleomargarine, but it is 
LAWFUL to use bulls of 
Willswood Herd 
Guernsey Cattle. 
A choice bull calf, yearling heifer, and a few cows. 
WILLS A. SEWARD, Budd’s Lake, N. J. 
C HENANGO VALLEY STOCK FARM8, Greene, N 
Y.—Dutch Belted and Jersey Cattle; Dorset and 
Rambouillet 8heep; Poland-Chlna. Jersey Red and 
Suffolk Pigs; White and Bronze Turkeys. Peafowls 
and Blooded Chickens. J. D. VAN VALKENBURGH. 
Reg. P. Chinas, Berkshires 
and C.Whites. Positively hard 
times prices. Spring Pigs eight 
woeks old, not akin. Boars 
and Sows, all ages. Sows 
T-,. ____ bred. Pure Poultry Eggs. 
HAMILTON & CO., Coohranvllle, Chester Co., Pa. 
75 Head of Registered Chester Whites 
now.ready for shipping, from 
two to eight months old, 
sired by my prize boars, 
Chester 2nd 0017, Eureka 
King 6961, George It., 7359, 
and out of choice reg. sows 
Order soon and get the best. 
Send 2-cent stamp for catalogue and prices, (tome 
see my stock and select for yourself. EDWARD 
WALTER. Eureka Stock Farm. West Chester, Pa. 
Send for description of the 
Famous O. I. C. hogs, two of 
which weighed 2806 lbs. Sold 
2995 for breeders in 1895'96. 
despite panic and hard times. 
First applicant from each lo* m 
cality secures a pair ON TIMEW 
and an agency. 
L. B. SILVER CO. 
135 Summit St, CLEVELAND. O. \ 
mJ 
P GLAND-CHINA PIGS. — Another litter of 10 
Poland-Chlna Pigs from a 400-lb. Yearling Sow at 
$7. Just the kind to improve your herd. Orders 
booked. F. H. Gates & Sons. Chittenango, N. Y. 
O UR entire stock of Barred, Buff & White P. Rocks 
and 2C0 Selected Pekin Ducks: must be sold Prices 
cut in two. Ground mpat. $2 per 100 lbs. Stamp for 
catalogue. Brookside Poultry Farm. Columbus. N.J 
SITTING HENS 
Will sit. eggs will batch, chicks will grow, 
where LAMBERT’S DEATH to LICE is 
used. Safe, yet sure. Trial size, 10c post 
paid; 100 ozs. by Ex., *1. Book free. 
D. J. LAMBERT, Box 307, Apponaug, R.I 
INCUBATORS 
Self-Roirulatlng. Catalogue free. 
—G S. 8INGEK, Cardlngton, Ohio. 
"S’ FLIES »$8" M ILKA 
No Fixes, Ticks, Vermin, or Sores on Coxes, 
if 1 cent is spent in — “ “ — —- 
Send 25 cents to 
Mfg. Co., 1005 Fair- 
mount Ave., Phila., —-— — _ _ 
Pa. They will return 1 pint, and guarantee to refund 
money if cow is not protected. ME It IT brought more 
duplicate 10 and 30 gallon orders in 1896 than ever 
Trial gal., $115; lasts 3cows a season. Agents wanted 
SHOO-FLY 
MOORE BROS.’ 
Gall 
Powder 
50c. and $ 1 by 
mail, postpaid. 
Mooke Bros. 
Albany, N.Y. 
WHI le HO RSE WORKS 
• w. ( limn vn DLMO I . 
No remedy is the superior 
of BICKMORE’S GALL CURE. 
Cures Harness and Collar 
•w A3r~N T' i- , M as* ' w Galls, Cuts, Speed Cracks, 
’.A -F Grease Heel and Scratches 
MjF ■ ill horsesWHILE THEY WORK 
'.jfr ’IT - U n Cracked & Chapped Teats 
. Q. : ' 4j in cows, and all kinds of 
tr External Sores in man. If 
^ESUREANDWORKTHEtlORSE-^ndToafS^tria* sampll! 
Blckmore Call Cure Co., Box toy OLD TOWN, ME. 
LICE 
InTIYlU-UntSUL 
other parasitical troubles. “The 
Cold Water Dip,” recommended _ _ 
and used by the leading Breeders and Veterinarians all over the 
- -. -„ ——-— world; non-poisonous. Mixes instantly with cold water. Samplebv 
mail 5 °c. For sale by all reliable dealers. Lawford Bros., Baltimore, Md., Sole Agents for U S 
AMERICAN LIVE-STOCK COMPANY 
company to make«««, St., Tor*. 
