456 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Publisher s Desk. 
Labor, Life: Shirking-, Death. 
Attention is called to the department 
headed “ Live Stock” and also to “ Poultry- 
Yard.” It is proposed to continue these 
departments and increase their scope and 
usefulness as rapidly as possible. Except 
in certain favored localities the success of 
' American agriculture is soundly based 
upon the feeding and breeding of live 
stock. In fact, it is generally recognized 
that as a factor in preserving farm fertil¬ 
ity, chemical fertilizers are designed to 
help out animal manures rather than to 
supersede them. The R. N.-Y. wishes to 
interest its readers in the importance of 
improving the quality of their animals by 
judicious breeding to the best specimens of 
the desired breed. Breeders of such stock 
will readily see that it is to their own in¬ 
terests to show our readers what they have 
to sell while this discussion is going on. 
The able article by Prof. W. A. Henry 
on another page of this issue, ought to be 
read by every farmer boy in the land. “ I 
am too old to go to college now !” We fre¬ 
quently hear young men make this state¬ 
ment. Nonsense 1 It is a foolish idea that 
college life is for young boys alone. It 
seems to us that Prof. Henry has fully cov¬ 
ered this objection. Let no man under 50 
years of age feel that he is too “ old to go 
to college.” Boys, read Prof. Henry’s 
article, and then plunge in harder than 
ever for those free scholarships. 
A little later in the season farmers may 
expect to be overrun with “ sample copies” 
of so-called farm journals that promise all 
sorts of tempting “ premiums” and pres¬ 
ents. Everv year just before the fair season 
opens, dozens of these catchpenny sheets 
are issued. The publishers secure all the 
yearly subscribers they can, and then, after 
issuing one or two numbers, suspend publi¬ 
cation, the subscriber thus losing the sub¬ 
scription price which he has paid. It is 
astonishing that men who are supposed to 
be intelligent and sensible are caught year 
after year in this same trap. The rascals 
who issue these fraudulent sheets do a 
great injury to genuine papers like The 
R. N.-Y. They should be hunted out of 
business whenever they begin their fraudu¬ 
lent work. These sheets derive a large part 
of their revenues from advertisements. No 
reputable advertiser should patronize them. 
Any legitimate business will be ruined by 
association with such concerns. 
*‘ I thought The Rural could not be im¬ 
proved, but it does seem to me that it has 
forged ahead very noticeably since the 
‘change.’” m. h. c. 
Orange Co., N. Y. 
‘‘You are putting lots of fresh blood into 
The Rural, and where you are to stop, I 
do not know. The last one is a ‘ record- 
breaker’ sure! You make some of the 
other agricultural papers look, ‘thin.’ 
Well, you have my profound wishes for 
good luck and appreciated effort.” 
Aurora, O. JOHN gould. 
By the way, it may interest you to know 
that we are having a big run of inquiries 
from the advertisements that we are run¬ 
ning; but we credit to The R. N.-Y. cer¬ 
tainly a greater number than to any other 
paper. hoover & prout. 
Avery, Ohio. 
I do not see where any improvement could 
be made. C. h. d. 
Rochdale, Mass. 
Of course, I wish to continue my subscrip¬ 
tion to The R. N.-Y. No farmer small or 
great should be without so valuable a paper 
as The Rural. You must please the 
women, however. There are now so many 
ladies in the poultry business, that you 
ought to devote at least one page to that 
interest. The present census will show us 
that it is second to no other in food produc¬ 
tion. E. c. M. 
Windham County, Conn. 
A friend of mine says he made $150 by 
taking The Rural’s advice and holding his 
potatoes, and so he cannot afford to be 
without it. F. s. w. 
Des Moines, la. 
Readers will kindly bear in 
mind that the R. N.-Y. clubs with 
all respectable periodicals and 
will guarantee to them the low¬ 
est possible combination rates. 
We cannot afford the space 
which a standing list in detail 
would require. The following 
may serve as illustrations : 
R N.-Y. and the New York Weekly 
World, $ 2 . 25 . 
R N.-Y. and the Chicago Inter-Ocean, 
$2.50. 
R N.-Y. and Harper’s Magazine, $5. 
R N.-Y. and The Century, $5.50. 
R N.-Y. and American Garden, $3. 
R N.-Y. and Christian Union, $4.50. 
Live Stock Notes. 
s 
THE MERINO AS A FEEDER. 
The Merino sheep is distinctively a wool 
sheep. Sheep of this breed have been bred 
for many years with the one end in view 
of making the most wool with the least 
amount of feed, without proper regard to 
size and bone, and as a result the best- 
bred Merinos are small compared with the 
other breeds, especially the Downs. When 
they are put into the yards for fattening 
the larger part of the food seems to go into 
the building of wool, wrinkles, and grease, 
rather than to the formation of fatty tis¬ 
sues. The breeders of these sheep claim 
that a sheep eats according to its size. This 
may be true, but not necessarily so, yet it 
is a commonly accepted fact, and so they 
claim that a quarter more Merinos can be 
kept on the same feed than of almost any 
other breed. 
Merinos are not very profitable if kept in 
the yard and fed one winter and then sold, 
because in such a short time one would not 
be any too well paid for the feed consumed. 
But if a man is so situated that he cannot 
sell lambs to advantage and raises wethers 
and then sells them at three years of age, I 
know of no breed that would pay as well 
as the Merino. In the three years the 
wether would produce 30 pounds of wool, 
which, at the present prices, would be 
worth $6. This would more than pay for 
the cost of maintenance while growing the 
carcass, which would be worth at that age 
from $5 to $7—a net profit. No, the com¬ 
mon wrinkly Spanish Merino is not in de¬ 
mand among feeders; but there is a de¬ 
mand for another kind of Merino, and one 
that is never filled. I refer to what are 
known as the Ohio, Michigan, Delaine, or 
Black-top Merinos. These sheep are of an al¬ 
most totally different type, with large frame, 
a smooth, not very greasy, long, silky staple 
of wool, on well bred species measuring 
four inches in length. There is no trouble 
in getting a flock that will shear 10 pounds 
each, ana the wool is worth several cents 
er pound more than common greasy 
erino wool, and when these sheep are put 
into the yards, whether as lambs or 
wethers, there is a frame to build on. 
Food given to them makes muscle and fat, 
and in the spring they are sure to bring 
f ood prices in New York. Our sheep are 
ought in Buffalo in the fall, and we like 
to get Ohio or Michigan lambs and wethers. 
Half-bred Merinos from South Down 
rams are also desirable sheep for feeding, 
uniting, as they do, the best qualities of 
both breeds. 
Merino breeding in Western New York is 
at a low ebb at the present time, and many 
flockmasters are considering the advisabil¬ 
ity of introducing Down blood, in hopes of 
making the offspring more salable. There 
is another, and better way, out of the wil¬ 
derness than that, and that is to breed 
away from wrinkles and grease, and to¬ 
wards good-sized carcass and mutton qual¬ 
ities, still keeping the blood pure. This 
can be done by using Delaine rams. I saw 
several the other day, that had been 
brought from Ohio last autumn, that 
weighed from 170 to 180 pounds. The 
lambs sired by such rams from small ewes 
are very desirable feeders. Their wool 
qualities are nearly as good as those of the 
Spanish Merinos, while they weigh nearly 
as much as pure Delaines. The mutton is 
fine-grained, and when properly fattened 
they are the best selling sheep of their 
weight in the New York market. Though 
not a breeder myself, it seems very im¬ 
portant that breeders should keep the 
blood pure. The depression in the sheep 
business is merely temporary, and the time 
is coming when there will again be a lively 
demand for thoroughbred Merino sheep, 
but the call will be for larger sheep than 
formerly. One man in a neighboring town, 
who keeps nearly 1,000 sheep, realizing this 
fact, has bought a number of Delaine rams 
to cross with his ewes, and the product will 
find a ready sale in this vicinity, because 
the farmer would rather buy of his neigh¬ 
bor, when he can get what he wants, than 
from any one else. Sheep feeding is on the 
increase in New York. New men are going 
into it year by year, and I venture to pre¬ 
dict that in a short time the mutton Merino 
will become one of the most popular sheep 
of the day. edward f. dibble. 
Lima, N. Y. 
“DRYING OFF COWS.” 
A few data from my books may aid in en¬ 
abling others to draw probable conclusions 
as to the management of cows, 30, 60 or 90 
days before calving. 
No. 1 was bom April 5, 1882. The follow¬ 
ing table explains her record : 
Date 
of 
Calving 
Date 
Dry. 
No. of 
Days 
Dry. 
Period 
of 
Gestation. 
Feb. 29, ’84.... 
270 
Apr. 3, ’85. 
Mar. 12, ’ 86 .... 
Feb. 1, ’85. .. 
61 
268 
Dec S3. ’85 ... 
79 
272 
.Tan. '5,’87.. .. 
Nov. 14, ' 86 ... 
61 
275 
Feb. 27, ’88 _ 
Not known. 
281 
Apr. 8 , ’89 .... 
•• 
274 
On September 29, ’87 she was giving 8 % 
pounds at each milking. She is a persistent 
milker and would give milk the entire year. 
She has always been liberally fed while 
giving milk and soon after becoming dry. 
At the time I began to “ dry her off ” I al¬ 
ways diminished the grain ration. She 
“ dries up ” with difficulty. I see nothing 
against my management of this cow. Her 
udder since she was two years old has al¬ 
ways been fully distended at the time of 
calving. She increased her milk flow from 
40 pounds in a day when two years old to 
T2 pounds when 7 years old, and her udder 
developed accordingly. 
No. 2. is a very persistent milker, of the 
same breed, and dries up with great diffi¬ 
culty. Once in the four years of her milk¬ 
going I neglected to dry her up 60 days be¬ 
fore calving, One month before calving 
her milk began to increase and then I con¬ 
sidered it bad policy to try to dry her. The 
result was that though one year older she 
gave less milk and came in with a half-dis¬ 
tended udder, and did not give thequantity 
of milk I expected, judging from her pre¬ 
vious records. The calf was healthy, active, 
strong and hearty, and I could not see any 
difference between it and calves from cows 
that went dry 60 or 90 days. 
No. 3 is not so persistent a milker as 
Nos. 1 and 2. 
Date 
of 
Calving. 
Date Dry. 
No. of 
Days 
Dry. 
April 23. 1834. 
January 11, 1885 .. 
March S, 1835 . 
November 22. 1885 
58 
February 18,1886. 
November 2, 1886. 
75 
January 10, 1887.. 
August 24. 1887.... 
69 
This cow did not dry up with difficulty 
and gave milk for 257 days when two years 
old, 259 when three years, 259 when four 
and 228 when five years. She has never had 
any trouble with her udder. 
No. 4 was milked to within 73. 80 and 
91 days respectively of calving. She dries 
off with ease. 
No. 5 is a heifer that certainly proves 
that the policy of commencing to dry off a 
cow one month before calving is not a good 
one. She is a very persistent milker and 
dries up with difficulty. When she was 
two years old, in June, and on good pasture, 
she gave 40 to 45 pounds of milk per day 
for a considerable time. She was milked 
only twice a day. The very next year, 
through my neglect in putting the date of 
the next calf on the cow-stall, she was 
milked to within a month of her time be¬ 
fore the omission was discovered. Every 
milking showed that she was increasing 
slightly, and I considered it uuadvisable to 
attempt to dry her off. The effect of this 
was, as might be readily inferred, a much 
smaller quantity of milk for the following 
year, although she was liberally fed. Her 
highest daily record after the second 
calf, was 30 to 82 pounds. She should have 
increased three or four pounds above her 
two-year old record. I continued to feed 
her liberally and milk regularly to calving 
time. The calf seemed as hearty and strong 
as any other. I could not see any differ¬ 
ence in appetite or otherwise. 
CONCLUSIONS. 
I have never used drugs either before or 
after calving when the cows were in a 
healthy condition. I always keep the dates 
of service and intend to have a cow go dry 
60 days before the next calf. There is great 
difference in cows of the same breed as 
well as between these and cows ot other 
breeds. In general, the Short-horns and, 
in fact, the beef breeds are the least persis¬ 
tent milkers, and the Jerseys, Holsteins 
and Ayrshires the most so. I think, from 
my observation, that the Jerseys and Hol¬ 
steins will usually give milk for 10 months. 
There are very many exceptions in both 
breeds, however. I have commenced to dry 
off a Holstein cow when she was giving 
eight pounds at a milking by milking her 
every second time for two or three days and 
afterwards every third or fourth time. 
At this time I diminished her grain ration. 
Some men are afraid that they will in¬ 
jure the udder by this procedure with 
a cow giving so large an amount of 
milk. I have never experienced any 
trouble in that regard. A Jersey friend 
told me recently that it seemed almost 
impossible to get some of his cows dry. 
He said : “ I am satisfied that a cow should 
go dry 60 days, but I have milked several 
up to calving.” He acknowledged that in 
many cases, the cow thus managed gave 
less milk than she had given the year be¬ 
fore. There is a great difference in the 
ease with which cows of the same breed 
dry up. If you know the disposition of 
your cow is to “holdout” long, begin to 
dry her up, say, 66 days before calving. 
Take away the grain feed, and if necessary 
give her a small allowance of grass and 
pasture, or hay, and milk her once a day 
or every other day. I have four cows that 
I have milked three times a day for two 
and three months and then commenced 
milking twice a day. At the time of mak¬ 
TULY 12 
ing the change they would bellow and 
seem to be in pain, but in a few days they 
were all right. I have done this without 
decreasing feed at all, and without any 
noticeable injury to their udders 
J. N. MUNCEY. 
Milk Fever in Cows.—Who has ever 
heard of poor cows having this disease ? 
I lost two registered Jerseys from it years 
ago, and then learned a remedy or pre¬ 
ventive, or both, and its constant use 
since has saved me all trouble on that 
iPUrrHancousi 
In writing to advertisers please always 
mention The Rural. 
WANTED 
to purchase a pair of ENGLISH ROAN COACH 
HORSES, I 6 J 4 ; hands high. Address 
J. S. KELLEY, 
75 North Carpenter Street, Chicago, III. 
HOLSTEIN-FRIESIAN CATTLE 
DO YOU WANT THE BEST? 
'Inen send fora Catalogue of the only 
herd in which 100 Cows have averaged 
19 lbs. and 18 have averaged 24 lbs. of 
butter per week. In which 96 Cows 
have averaged 1G,019 lbs. of milk per 
year. 
HORSES, 
Clydesdale, Percheron, French Coach. 
American-bred Coach, Standard-breo 
Trotters, of the best and most Popular 
Breeding. 
Also Berkshire and Cheshire Swine. 
Separate Catalogues of Horses and Cattle. Prices 
low for high quality of stock. (In writing mention 
this paper.) 
SMITHS, POWELL &. LAMB 
8 V RAOCSE. IV. Y. 
oiirrn southdown, ■ a im d c 
O n El EL ir SHROPSHIRE. L A IV1 D O 
COTSWOLD. OXFORD DOWN AND MKRINO. Bred 
from highest class prize winning stock. Lambs 
ready for shipping August 1: also a few choice Rams 
and Ewes. 1. 2 and 8 -year old. of all the above breeds. 
A number of prize winners ready for shipment about 
the middle of October. 
YORKSHIRE PICS. 
JERSEY REDS. CHESTER WHITE, POLAN > 
CHINAS, BERKSHIRE. Spring litters ready for im 
mediate shipment. Also several Rough-Coated Scotcn 
Collie Bitches. 1 to 2 years old. Write at once for 
prices. \V. Atlee Burpee & Co., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Berkshire 
A.ND 
Yorkshire 
Pigs of cho'ce 
prize strains, 
eligible to reg¬ 
istry. Pigs of 
different ages 
for sale. Price* 
reasonible.W. 
B. HARVEY, 
West Gbovk, 
Pa. 
YOU CAN SECURE ANY 
ARTICLE NEEDED 
ON THE FARM OR 
IN THE HOUSE, 
From a reaper to an ice-cream 
freezer ; from a Percheron stal¬ 
lion to a Wyandotte cock, with¬ 
out money cost, or by paying 
only a portion of the same, by 
getting subscriptions for The 
Rural New-Yorker or The 
American Garden. 
The Rural Publishing Company, 
Times Building, IVew York . 
ffn. Qo Ip A 1,800 acre Virginia Farm, lo- 
■ "I wtl I v» cated 55 miles above Richmond 
on the line of the Alleghany Railroad. One of the 
tinest farms In the State. Price *60,000. which Includes 
stock, Implements, growing crops, etc. For full par¬ 
ticulars address .1. M. NORVKLL, Island P. O., Gooch¬ 
land County, Va. 
