Vol. LXV 1 N 0 . 2926. 
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 24, 1906. 
WKEKLY, $1.00 PKH YEAR. 
MAPES, THE HEN MAN 
Looks Up Some Good Dairy Cows. 
MAKING ORANGE COUNTY MILK. —Older 
readers of The R. N.-Y. will remember that about two 
rears ago I gave an account of the dairy operations of 
George E. Martin, of the firm of Martin Bros, of 
Orange County, N. Y. Mr. Martin has a dairy of grade 
Uolsteins, which he purchased in the usual markets 
which supply our milk-producing farmers with fresh 
cows to replenish wornout herds, using good judgment 
in selecting the best, and paying good round prices for 
them. The original purchase consisted of 50 cows, 
purchased three years ago, and 12 have since been 
bought to take the place of some that have had to be 
discarded for various reasons. He uses no silage, but 
follows the old practice in this locality of feeding hay 
and dry cornstalks, in connection with purchased grain 
feed. Many said at the time of my former article that 
he would soon ruin his cows by such high feeding. 
Bearing this in mind I have been interested ever since 
in watching the size of his load of milk, he bringing 
his milk to the same Borden plant at which I deliver 
my own. It has been a common occurrence to see him 
drive in with from 12 to 18 cans a day of 40 quarts 
each. Latelv I have noticed that his load has been 
increasing, forcing him to discard his wagon seat, and 
sit upon the milk cans. When I saw him drive in with 
23 cans I concluded it was about time to give readers 
of '1 he R. N.-Y another peep at practical milk produc¬ 
tion. 
WORKING FOR PRODUCTION.—On January 17 
I hunted up a photographer, and we dropped down on 
him about 3 P. M. unannounced. There are 169 acres 
in the farm, which is one of Orange County's best, and 
we found a number of heifers, in addition to the milking 
herd, which he is raising from some of his best milkers. 
We counted 71 head of cattle of all ages in the barn, 
in addition to the five horses. Not a pound of hay or 
other roughage has ever 
been purchased. Last year’s 
hay crop was light, but about 
20 tons of hay carried over 
from previous season, and 10 
acres of cornstalks will fur¬ 
nish ample fodder for this 
large stock. There is a dou¬ 
ble row of yokes in the main 
barn, with 30 in each row. 
Water buckets between each 
two cows furnish drinking 
water inside, but the cows 
are turned outside for about 
l‘< minutes every day. Mr. 
Martin says it is sitre to 
cause shrinking in their milk 
flow if left out much longer. 
Night was coming on, so the 
first thing to do was to get 
our camera on the scene. Pfe 
never turns out the whole 
dairy at once, so we ran out 
one row of 30 cows. The re¬ 
sult can be seen at Fig. 57. 
I he herd is headed by a fine 
registered Holstein-Friesian 
bull Segis Korndyke De Kol, 
No. 31547. He can be seen SOME OF MR 
in the foreground, with Mr. 
Muitin at the staff. I liis row of 30 cows gave 15 full 
cans of 40 quarts each that night and the following 
morning. 1 here are 51 cows now milking, and an in¬ 
spection of the milk tickets as weighed at Bordens’ 
(nss that they averaged 36 pounds each per day for 
a full week, notwithstanding that one cow was “off her 
c ed and giving practically nothing. 
FEEDING RATION.—I was particularly interested 
when it came feeding time. The feed mixture is as 
follows: Seven bushels maizeline; five bushels wheat 
ships; eight bushels Globe gluten. Those in full milk 
get a peck of this mixture night and morning, and a 
big handful of cotton-seed meal on top of that. The 
use of the scales revealed the fact that the day’s feed 
weighed 15 pounds of the mixture and two pounds of 
cotton-seed meal, or 17 pounds in all. A small handful 
SEGIS KORNDYKE DE KOL NO. 31547. Fig. 56. 
of salt at each feeding is thrown down at the last. They 
get hay or stalks three times a day, as much as they 
will eat up clean. This will be reduced to two fodder- 
ings a day later in the Winter, after prices for milk 
drop. In the row of cows not shown in the picture, 
are five heifers in milk that have been raised on the 
farm. One of them Mr. Martin pointed out as a “crack- 
erjack.” She had her first calf last October, when just 
two years old, and is now giving 47 pounds of milk a 
day. We tried the camera on her, but without success. 
to iis oiic-norsc icxrmcrs. 1 11c Dim 
only registered animal on the farm. 
How are such results obtained? 
Close personal attention is one of the secrets of suc¬ 
cess. Every pound of feed is thrown by Mr. Martin’s 
own hand. He has not missed a milking or a feeding 
since August. Only two men are employed on the 
farm, in addition to two women and a boy, who help at 
milking time. o. w. mapes. 
MARTIN’S BUSINESS COWS—GRADE UOLSTEINS. Fig. 57 
We had better luck with the bull, Fig. 56. The Scotch 
collie was bound to be “in it.” The herd test of this 
Holstein milk is 3.7 butter fat. One cow was pointed 
out that has given 68 pounds a day, testing 4.2, while 
others of the biggest milkers test only 2.8. Evidently 
these cows are not yet worn out by high feeding. 
Thirty dollars’ worth of milk a day on a farm of 169 
acres at Bordens’ prices per 100), is quite an 
COSGflOI/E'S HENS FOR JANUARY. 
A Midwinter Egg Record. 
January 7; 576 eggs laid this first week in January, 
as against 727 the first week in 1905. But there are 50 
head less than I had last year, and more than 50 fewer 
pullets. I find that early-hatched pullets are much more 
reliable for Winter layers than liens, and this year my 
flock consists principally of hens. Pullets hatched in 
March or April are what one needs for Winter eggs; 
that is, if any of the American breeds are kept. 
January 12; found a lien dead on roost platform this 
afternoon; did not notice any sick hen in the coop this 
imorning. No visible cause of death. Will follow 
practice of the “regulars” when they don’t know what 
is the matter, and call it “heart failure.” 
January 14; 641 eggs received this week, a gain of 
65 over last week. Yesterday, for the first time this 
Winter, it took three figures to set down the number 
of eggs received; viz., 103. Three pullets want to 
sit; I have put them in other coops to see if change of 
surroundings will break them up. Two hens also are 
clucking around. A driving snowstorm to-day, leaving 
about six inches on the ground. I am sorry it came;* 
unlike Mr. Tillinghast, who waters his fowls with snow. 
I have no use for it in my poultry business. Yesterday 
the bare ground invited the hens out into the yards, and 
the 90 pullets housed in the brooder house 40 x 12 
were outdoors scattered over a two-acre lot. 
January 19; my boy found 
a dead hen back under drop¬ 
pings table; looks as if dead 
some time, eyes all sunk in. 
I don’t know that she died 
this month, but will have to 
go on record. Mem.; look 
under droppings boards of- 
tener. Orders received to¬ 
day for 360 eggs to set; want 
them next week. I wish 
they were not ordered so 
early; it is difficult to get 
fertile eggs now. 
January 21; 679 eggs laid 
this week, a gain of 38 over 
previous week. Now is the 
time to look over the old 
cocks for lice. The hens— 
when thev have a good dust¬ 
ing place—will keep them¬ 
selves reasonably free from 
lice, but the old cocks will 
not. I make a practice of 
giving them a thorough dust¬ 
ing with a “death to lice” 
powder three or four times 
from January to April. With 
the coming of cold weather 
the lice leave the roosts 
and stay on the hens. Not a louse can be found on the 
roosts all Winter, no matter how lousy the hens may 
be; and not until the weather is comfortably warm will 
they return to their Summer quarters; viz., the cracks 
and crevices on the under side of the roosts. 
January 28, 768 eggs laid this week, 89 more than 
last week. I find my hens really arc getting too fat. 
Usually I dQ not bother much about that, but the hen 
