1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
755 
proved till they do the work well and rapidly enough, 
but cost $450 to $500 without any power. When they 
can be sold for $250 to $300 with the present largest 
capacity, they will go like hot cakes. The field is 
open now and a good live demand, but $500 can be 
paid only for a machine that can make a business of 
thrashing around. There ought to be enough ma¬ 
chines in every neighborhood to shuck out the 
corn and shred all the fodder in two weeks of good 
weather. 
I will name a few faults in the machines now offered, 
as seen from the practical side. The carriers are not 
long enough. A farmer said to-day, “They make 
them so short (20 feet) as barely to land the stuff on 
the mow floor. That takes a gang of men in the mow 
with forks, the old, old way. We made an extension 
of 12 feet, and run our feed into the gable. It falls 
in a pile, and one man can scatter it.” One farmer 
invented a pipe or tube made of old coffee sacks and 
long enough to take the feed at the gable and reach 
the mow ; one man carries the lower end of this 
around like a water hose and distributes the stuff 
evenly. One other fault is that, with most machines, 
the shattered corn is passed up with the feed. This 
is a more serious drawback than supposed. It does 
not render the feed too rich, but it is the first to start 
to ferment, and feeders say that, if feed is moldy at 
all, it is always where broken corn has collected; 
also, that in feeding, the animal will work his nose 
right down through it, hunting for grain, and often 
throw much out of the manger. Sometimes one- 
twentieth is thus shelled, and the success¬ 
ful machine of the future will not only 
furnish a carrier 40 feet long, but a screen 
and fan to take out shattered corn. 
Some manufacturers still make knives 
to cut down, when it is a great saving of 
the edge for them to cut up. Corn 
butts so often carry a little gritty dirt, 
and a knife will seldom dull on a pebble 
in cutting up. It is a common complaint 
that they are hard to feed; the rollers 
have to be close to bite off the ear, and 
if the rough projections are made too 
long, they shell off corn worse. Some 
machines are more dangerous than 
others; it is not uncommon for a band 
to be caught and cut into mincemeat 
nearly to the elbow. This, too, would 
be avoided if they could be made to 
feed more easily. When fodder is quite 
dry, as this last month, it breaks at the 
joints so badly that one can’t feed near 
up to the capacity of the machine. 
We had to drive the water-tank through 
the field during this dry weather, and 
pump water into the shocks to remain 
over night to toughen the stalks. The 
self-feeders are not very successful yet. 
Shall I buy a machine or not ? Or 
would I better waste feed awhile longer waiting 
for them to be improved ? k. h coli.ins. 
Central Indiana. 
WINTER OR SUMMER DAIRYING. 
The Two Methods Fairly Compared. 
I have had no experience with regular winter dairy¬ 
ing—that is, with the cows all fresh in the fall and 
dry in summer. Many years ago, I practiced summer 
dairying with the cows all fresh in March and April. 
They had good pasture in summer, and plenty of hay 
in winter. No attempt was made to keep up the flow 
of milk by feeding grainain winter, and they went 
dry three or four months each year. Only a small 
amount of hay butter was made, and milkers and 
butter-makers had a rest of several months. The 
cows averaged 4,500 pounds of milk in the year, the 
net value of which at the cheese factory at present 
prices would be $33.75. With cold stables and cows 
that will average less than 5,000 pounds of milk, sum¬ 
mer dairying is, no doubt, better than winter dairy¬ 
ing. Pasture lands are cheap, and milk can be pro¬ 
duced at less cost in summer than in winter. This, 
however, is no argument against forcing milk produc¬ 
tion in winter with improved cows that are persistent 
milkers. With such cows, all-the-year dairying is 
possible, and may be profitable, even when grain is 
added to the winter ration. Last year, one of our 
cows calved in November, and in six months from 
December 1, she gave 8,627 pounds of milk. Her milk 
has been tested several times, and gave an average of 
3.95 per cent fat. If there was no loss, that amount 
of milk made 400 pounds of butter which, at 18 cents 
per pound, would amount to $72, The value of 8,000 
A SUBSCRIPTION AGENT: WHAT HE DID. 
Fred H. Johnson, of Massachusetts, may not be 
elected President of the United States; but for all 
that, he has made a mark in the world. He has made 
hundreds of marks, we might say, for during the past 
few years, he has secured 760 subscriptions for The 
R. N.-Y. The man who does that certainly deserves 
well of his country, and we are glad to give our read¬ 
ers a chance to see what such a man looks like. At 
Fig. 317, is shown a picture of Mr. Johnson with the 
wheel which he won this year. He is certainly big 
enough to handle a plow or take half a big cock of 
hay at one forkful. On a football team, he would be 
likely to make a hole in the opposing line. It isn’t 
beef and bone alone that capture subscriptions, how¬ 
ever, for W. S. Moore, who has run Mr. Johnson a 
close second in several contests, does not not weigh 
half as much. It is quality —that is, persistence and 
pluck—that brings the single subscriptions together 
into a large club. Other qualities are confidence and 
faith. 
You will see that Mr. Johnson carries The R, N.-Y. 
right in plain sight where all can see what he repre¬ 
sents. He doesn’t drop a sample copy in a farmer’s 
dooryard, and then jump on his wheel and ride as 
though a yellow fever germ were after him ! He stays 
right by his man and convinces him. We are glad to 
print a picture -of the bicycle. We would like, also, 
to show the faithful old wheel that carried Mr. John¬ 
son up hill and down dale, through mud and frost, by 
day and night, in the hunt for subscribers. It was 
worn out in public service. It has earned a pension, 
and Mr. Johnson is drawing it as he rides his new 
wheel. There ought to be a similar wheel for you 
spattered over the farms of your county. 
THE CHAMPION SUBSCRIPTION AGENT AND HIS WHEEL. Fig. 317. 
pounds of skim-milk and buttermilk at eight cents 
per 100 pounds is $6.40. The cost per day for feed was 
as follows : 
50 pounds of ensilage, at $3 per ton.$0,075 
5 pounds of clover hay, at $10 per ton.025 
12 pounds of mixed grain.10 
Total cost of feed per day.$ .20 
Total cost of feed for 182 days. $36.40 
Cr. By 40C pounds of butter, at 18 cents.$72.00 
Separator milk. 6.40 
Total. $78.40 
Profit for six months. $42.GO 
She gave an average of 47 pounds of milk per day, 
and on the last dayaof May, she gave 46 pounds. 
Several years ago, a number of “ springers ” were 
sold in November. One small cow with white skin, 
supposed to be inferior as a butter-maker, was offered 
for sale, but as she was then giving four quarts of 
milk per day, the buyer would not take her. She 
calved in four weeks from that time, and in January 
was giving 40 pounds of four-per-cent milk per day. 
She has, probably, made 400 pounds of butter in a 
year since that time. Up to that time, the Babcock 
test had not been used in the dairy, and the quality 
of milk was unknown. She is now nearly 14 years 
old, and is still doing good service. In the year men¬ 
tioned, there had been a mistake in the record of her 
time, and when it was discovered, it was too late to 
dry her off that season. This cow has been fed grain 
in winter, has had good care, and has given milk 
nearly all the time for 12 years. 
Experience with these cows and many others has 
proved to my satisfaction that a fairly good cow fresh 
in November may bo fed well enough to keep up a 
profitable flow of milk through the winter without 
endangering her future productiveness, health or 
longevity. Under favorable winter management, I 
think that the greatest yearly yield can be had with 
the cow fresh in December. I would have cows fresh 
in every month from October to May, let them have a 
short rest of four or six weeks in winter, and give 
them a good grain ration all the rest of the time. 
Lewis County, N. Y. c. s. bice. 
A Champion for Winter Dairying. 
I consider winter dairying the more profitable. 
With a herd of dairy cows bred for dairy purposes, 
coming in in the fall months, a good supply of corn 
ensilage made from mature corn, some oats and peas, 
a comfortable stable, and a separator or a good place 
to cream the milk, I can make butter cheaper in win¬ 
ter than in summer. First, the flow of milk is more 
easily controlled in winter than in summer, for with 
a good barn, well ventilated, a more even tempera¬ 
ture can be kept, there are no flies to worry, short 
pasture to contend with, and no useless exercise hunt¬ 
ing for feed, for that commodity is within reaeh, and 
each cow gets her allowance, all she can convert into 
milk. If she does not pay her way by the Babcock 
test and scales, she is doomed to the shambles, be she 
purebred or scrub. 
I hardly dare say how cheap butter can be made in 
winter, for fear that I may be called to account, as I 
once was at a New York State Dairymen’s Association 
for making the assertion that I could make butter for 
nine cents per pound. After giving my account by 
debit and credit, having to give the cost of ensilage, 
etc., the veteran dairyman, W. H. Gilbert, arose and 
said, “ Mr. Baker has not given his secret away, for 
he does it with good cows. I have tested his cows, 
and I know that he tells the truth.” R : ght here is 
the point—good cows are what make 
cheap butter, and the better the cows 
and the cheaper the feed, the cheaper 
the product. Prof. Haecker, of the Min¬ 
nesota Experiment Station, has fully 
demonstrated that, with such cows as 
Houston, butter can be made at five 
cents per pound, with Minnesota’s cheap 
feed. While we cannot get bran in New 
York State for $5 per ton, and other 
feed at like prices, we can have good 
cows, and know that they are good. 
Corn ensilage and clover hay can be 
grown upon the farm, and converted 
into milk at more payipg prices in 
winter than in summer, the products be 
more easily shipped to distant places, 
thereby receiving more remunerative 
prices than in summer. If I had only the 
summer for making butter, I would sell 
my cows and dairy outfit as soon as I 
could advertise them. 
I do not wish to go into details, at 
present, of the cost of a pound of butter, 
for the cows are not yet on winter 
feed, but have been stabled nights for 
a long time. Some time during the 
winter, I will give an itemized account 
of what our dairy will do for a week ; 
also a few separate cows, to show that the cow 
is the first factor for making cheap butter, the 
feed consumed the next, and I think the man has quite 
a little to do with it; he must, at least, be endowed 
with good cow sense. A. d. baker. 
Cayuga County, N. Y. 
Why Not Draw Salary in Winter? 
I don’t want to give up winter dairying as long as I 
am dairying. Winter dairying has not been very 
profitable in this section until within a few years. 
This fall, you may go over our hills, get six or eight 
miles from the railroad, and you will see the hustling 
farmer getting new water conveniences into or near 
his barn; silos that have just been built are being 
filled, stables are being fitted up warmer, and some 
are drawing grain from the nearest depot, which they 
have bought while cheap. Are these winter or sum¬ 
mer dairymen making improvements ? Almost every 
time, a winter dairyman making milk for some cream¬ 
ery. Some who use a separator make their own 
butter, and get the same price the year around. 
I hear that New York City takes milk from a dis¬ 
tance of 200 or 300 miles. Ami right? [You are.— 
Eds.] I knew a case about six years ago, where a 
party paid as much for grain as he received for milk, 
in the three coldest months. The reasons were, sum¬ 
mer cows, cold stables, dry stalks and winter prices 
for grain—about $30 per ton that winter. Have the 
cows come fresh in late summer and fall; they will 
milk well in summer then, and you will have a product 
to sell when that article is scarce, or when every 
farmer can’t furnish a good supply, then you can roll 
in the coins without begging some friend to buy. 
Buyers will be begging for the product. The goods 
must be topnotch. There is always room at the top I 
Get on top by winter dairying. Why hasn’t a farmer 
as good a right to draw a salary in winter as aay one ? 
He can if he wili. w. w. cobkwali,. 
Erie County, N. Y. 
