1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
739 
vails, but during the short summer and autumn, they are teth¬ 
ered on the grass or fodder crops. 
It is probable that this breed of cattle has been 
slowly developing to suit the climate and conditions 
of Denmark. That is the way in which most breed* 
have been developed. On the New England hillsides 
to-day, there may be found Jerseys and their grades, 
very different in form, habits and quality, from Jer¬ 
seys of much the same breeding, to be found in Iowa 
or Mississippi. These Danish cows are profitable in 
the Danish climate. Take them to England or to this 
country, and they would, probably, add little or 
nothing to the value of our live stock. They 
show, however, the importance and value 
of breeding or feeding with a definite object 
in view. By proper selection and feeding, the 
dairyman may, in a few generations, build 
up a herd of cattle peculiarly adapted to 
his farm. It is coming to the point where 
different families of the various breeds are 
quite distinct in their appearance and habits. 
Two other points learned by this Eoglish 
commission were that most of the Danish but¬ 
ter is made in cooperative dairies, and this 
system guarantees a uniformity which the 
private English dairy cannot guarantee. An¬ 
other point learned was that the cheapest 
butter is not produced on natural grazing 
land. In other words, pasture does not give 
the most economical cattle food. Most profit¬ 
able European dairies are those where the 
cattle have merely a small field for exercise. 
The food is grown in regular rotation, cut 
green, and carried to them. The old idea 
has been that good pasture gives the cheapest 
stock food. Figures, however, disprove this 
belief, for the cultivated field in Denmark is giving 
cheaper butter than the famous pasture lands of 
England. 
HORSE SHOE FARM NOTES. 
MILK STANDARD ; MEAT RATIONS ; BLACK MINORCAS. 
Riding with the superintendent of one of the largest 
milk supply companies, I said, “ It seems quite cer¬ 
tain that there will be an attempt made to raise the 
legal standard of milk from 3% to 4 per cent butter 
fat. Would you favor it ” ? 
“ I think not; although we are working for better 
milk in quality, as far as purity, flavor and sweetness 
are concerned, we do not care for richer milk than 
the present standard calls for. Our patrons would 
not pay more for it, and very rich milk is harder to 
handle, and sours quicker. There are not many dairies 
that would, at all times, reach 
that limit, and there would not 
be milk enough.” 
“ Do you think that feed affects 
milk very much ? ” 
“ We have to look after patrons 
who try to increase the quantity 
of milk by feeding cabbage, po¬ 
tatoes, and shredded fodder. The 
flavor is bad, and the milk is 
poorer. We have no trouble with 
good ensilage, but shredded fod¬ 
der is a failure. Many of our pa¬ 
trons had to stop selling, as they 
had no other feed, and the rotten, 
moldy stuff spoiled the milk for 
us.” 
“ But ”, I objected, “ the experi¬ 
ment stations say that food does 
not affect the percentage of fat in 
the milk.” 
“ When a man’s milk gets poor, 
we send him a notice to feed up, 
stop the potatoes, and feed grain, 
and his milk soon becomes good. 
If the food does not affect the 
quality of the milk, does it argue 
dishonesty on his part ? ” 
The train stopped at one of his 
milk houses, and he got out. What 
do The R. N.-Y. readers think ? 
If we can get more milk from 
feeding beets, potatoes and ensi¬ 
lage, and it will remain just as rich in butter fat, 
what is the use of feeding expensive grain rations ? 
A recent New Jersey bulletin gives experiments in 
feeding potatoes and beets, which should be studied. 
It admits variation in composition, but claims it only 
to be temporary. 
However much uncertainty there may be about the 
effect of food on butter fat, there is no doubt of the 
effect of meat on egg production in friend Blanchard’s 
mind. While most flocks are down to next to nothing 
in this locality, he is getting 140 eggs per day. Per¬ 
haps 25 of these are pullets’ eggs, but the most are 
from a flock of 450 hens that laid all last winter, and 
are now moulting. It is, certainly, encouraging to 
see those White Leghorns, with only one tail feather 
left, still at it. 
“ What makes them ? ” I asked. 
“Meat! meat!” was the positive answer. “It 
may seem expensive to buy and feed prepared meat, 
but it pays every time.” 
He was not referring to green cut bone and meat, 
but the ground, dry article put up for that purpose. 
Oil meal, milk, and meat should be fed liberally to 
promote a rapid growth of feathers, mature the pul¬ 
lets, and keep up the laying. 
Hope Farm and Mapes may have had success with 
their flocks, during summer, when grain was kept 
before them all the time, but during the confinement 
of winter, there will be trouble. The hens will get 
fat, lazy and unhealthy, as they will not take the 
same amount of exercise indoors that they did in the 
yards. In our experience, the more times they were 
fed judiciously, the greater the variety, the more the 
food was covered up, the more they searched, sang 
and scratched for a living, the healthier, happier and 
handsomer they were. Without these conditions, 
their eggs are as scarce as their teeth. 
The standard Minorca is a very large fowl, and Mr. 
Proctor’s objections to size are correct; but they 
must have something to distinguish them from Black 
Leghorns. I had 10 high-bred B. Minorcas ; they 
were very handsome, and laid well during winter. 
The eggs from this strain were enormous, and would 
not pack in the ordinary fillers of the egg case. Four 
of these ten burst themselves during the spring, try¬ 
ing to expel the large eggs, and died. I saved one by 
breaking the egg before it was laid. With me, the 
chicks have been hard to raise, and either all the 
females died, or else there is too great a proportion of 
males—about eight to two. I am greatly disappointed, 
and think that, unless my luck be exceptional, I will 
stick to the Business Hen. Friends, how do you like 
Minorcas ? c. k. chapman. 
R. N.-Y.—It is now quite a number of years since 
the introduction of the Minorcas into this country, yet 
the little Leghorns are still holding their own. The 
combs of the former are very large and easily frosted. 
HOHr TO TREAT A BALDWIN ORCHARD. 
CULTURE AND FEEDING ; SHOULD HE GRAFT ? 
r. A reader In Lyons, N. Y., sends us the following questions about 
his orchard. What would you do if you were In his place?" I have 
an orchard of about 300 Baldwin apple trees, 16 years old, which 
has borne but little fruit. I suspect that the trees were grafted 
from nursery stock, hence do not incline to fruit. The trees are 
very thrifty. I think it will be best to graft anew, and would iike 
to know what varieties would be best to use. I had thought of 
Oldenburg, Pound Sweet, King, Maiden’s Blush and Spy. I 
would like advice as to how to till this orchard. I expect to use 
one of the following plans. Which would be best ? 
“I. Work the ground thoroughly until July 1 , and seed with 
Crimson clover, acid phosphate and potash, to be plowed under 
again the following year. 
“ 2 . Plow as early as possible, and seed heavily with 
Mammoth clover and chemicals, and plow under the fol¬ 
lowing spring. 
“ 3 . Plow very early and sow Canada peas or southern 
cow peas with chemicals, and when these are in bloom, 
plow again, work, and sow to rye, and plow again the 
following spring. 
“ Which would be the better for this locality, common 
peas or southern cow peas ?” 
Potash, Clover and Hogs. 
T1 ere are so many conditions to consider, 
that it would be hard to say, without seeing 
the orchard. The “ reader” may be forcing so 
much wood that the trees cannot mature 
fruit buds, and very possibly, there may be 
something wrong with the original stock. 
But if the trees were growing very rapidly, I 
think I would seed with clover and put on 
about 15 pounds of potash, in the form of 
ashes if possible, to each tree ; then make a 
hog pasture of the orchard for a year or two. 
Put in 30 or 40 hogs, and feed them some kind 
of grain. If intending to graft, I would not 
graft many of the kinds mentioned I would 
recommend, at least one-third Hubbardston Nonsuch, 
one-third Baldwin, and the other third mixed with 
Pound Sweet, Greening, Ben Davis, Sutton Beauty, 
Spy, and Gravenstein. I have had no success with 
Crimson clover, and have now seeded with the large 
kind of clover. t. b. wilson. 
Seneca County, N. Y. 
Likes the First Plan Best. 
Baldwins are not inclined to do much fruiting until 
more than 18 years old, and when this subscriber 
says “ the trees are very thrifty ”, he gives the rea¬ 
son why they have borne no more. I would not ad¬ 
vise the wholesale grafting of this orchard unless he 
has entirely too many Baldwins, and too few other 
varieties. But in case he is bound to graft it, no one 
can tell him what variety is best to put on, without 
knowing a good deal of the soil. 
I have an orchard of Maiden's 1 
Blush which is the most profitable 
of any like number of trees on 
the farm ; but not 30 rods from it, 
I have the same variety that pays 
nothing. This result is due wholly 
to the difference in soils; the 
former stand on a heavy soil with 
stiff clay subsoil. The others are 
on a dry gravelly ridge with no 
clay for many feet below the sur¬ 
face. Among the most productive 
sorts we have on different soils, 
are the Hubbardston Nonsuch, and 
Sutton Beauty. Both are hand¬ 
some apples, good sellers, and their 
fault seems to be overbearing. But 
if we can get apples, can’t we 
afford to thin ? 
Of the plans proposed, I would 
greatly prefer the first. The ob¬ 
jections to the second are that the 
weeds are liable to get the start 
of the clover, and so smother it 
that it will not amount to much. 
But more serious still, the rank 
growth of clover or weeds during 
summer will so take the moisture 
that, in a dry summer, they will 
rob the trees and have a tendency 
to make the fruit small. Again, 
the clover and weeds will make 
such a coat on the surface and about the trees in 
winter, as to harbor mice, and there will be a liability 
of their girdling some of the trees. 
The third plan is objectionable in that the peas 
growing will have a tendency to take too much moist¬ 
ure away from the trees, make it necessary to plow 
the orchard in mid-summer when it should not be 
plowed, and if followed up, will add too much nitro¬ 
gen to the soil and stimulate the already too rank 
growth. By following the first plan, plowing before 
the growth starts, plowing shallow, only deep enough 
to turn under the Crimson clover, no feeding roots will 
be injured; then by constant shallow cultivation, no 
weeds will be allowed, to grow to rob the trees, aud 
THE “LITTLE RED COW” OF DENMARK. Fig. 309. 
