384 
April 3, 
A FARMER’S WIFE ON HOLSTEINS. 
As tliis is the busiest time of all the 
year for the breeders of Holstein cat¬ 
tle, I fear they will be too much occu¬ 
pied to send a written protest to the 
article called “Frenzied Cow Testing.” 
So, although only a mere woman, I 
must “speak right up in meetin’ ” for 
my friends, the Holstein cows. The 
writer of that article failed to men¬ 
tion that at the Buffalo Exposition in 
the contest of 10 breeds of cattle for 
milk and butter production the Hol¬ 
stein cows exceeded all other breeds 
in the production of both solids and 
butter fat. He also failed to mention 
that at the St. Louis Exposition there 
was only a meager representation of 
the Holstein cattle. Holstein breeders 
took very little interest in that contest. 
Perhaps they thought they could afford 
to rest on former achievements. That 
article states that the cow making a 
big butter record must be constantly 
plied with an .enormous amount of 
grain. That may be true of some breeds, 
but the champion cow of the world, 
the great Holstein bred and owned by 
Mr. Gillette, when making her world’s 
record was given at the most only a 
daily ration of 24 pounds of grain, and 
that only while making her GO-day 
record for the championship. So states 
a published article written by the owner 
of this great- cow. He said, also, that 
at the close of the year’s test she was 
“in the pink of condition, bright and 
playful, showing every evidence that 
she is as good as, or even better titan 
ever.” 
The writer of “Frenzied Co\> Test¬ 
ing,” speaking of the Babcock testing 
machine, does so with slightly veiled 
contempt. If lie is so opposed to prog¬ 
ressive methods why doesn’t he dis¬ 
card the multiplication table? When 
he wants to know the product of any 
number taken a given number of times 
he should set it down the number of 
times required and instead of higgling 
(?) with the mfilliplication table, labor¬ 
iously add up the whole column and 
thus be sure he has at last the correct 
answer. Progressive Holstein breeders 
believe in and will have the official 
test of their dairies sworn to by the 
superintendent of that business author¬ 
ized by the State. This is only good 
business policy. People want to know, 
as nearly as possible, what they are 
buying. When it is learned that a 
breeder is having his cows officially 
tested the published fact draws to his 
door people intelligent and progressive, 
and it is a pleasure to meet them. 
Here again the Holstein cow figures as 
the social uplift to her owner. 
As a very humble witness for the 
Holstein cows, let me tell you what one 
farmer is doing with them. He is 
wholly untrained for the business ex¬ 
cept the little knowledge he has picked 
up in experience, and from the good 
helps that come weekly to his home for 
many years past in our R. N.-Y. Last 
year he made the first official test in 
his dairy of purebred Holstcins. In 
the bunch taking that test the seven- 
day record for the lowest one was 15.30 
pounds of butter. The best cow made a 
record for the seven days of nearly 
22 pounds of butter. At the close of 
the test every one of those cows was 
giving more milk and butter than when 
she began. They are all fresh or due 
to be fresh this month, and no “stunts” 
with medicines, etc., were used on these 
cows. This same farmer is very busy 
now with another bunch of young cows, 
now fresh for the first time this 
season. He is waiting for a super¬ 
intendent to take their official test as 
soon as one can be sent us from the 
agricultural college. Much more might 
be written of the many other excellent 
qualities possessed by the Holstein 
cow. I have only tried to touch on 
the unfair presentation she was given 
in that article which must be obnoxious 
to the many admirers of the Holstein 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
cattle. Holstein cattle have had to 
“live down” more prejudice and opposi¬ 
tion than any other breed. They are 
doing this bravely and rapidly now on 
their merits alone. As The R. N.-Y. 
believes in the “square deal” and we 
believe in The R. N.-Y., I trust this 
will find a place in your paper, which 
we count as our true friend and that, 
usually, we are as ready to “swear by” 
as “Nell Beverly’s” kids were by her. 
farmer's wife. 
NOTES ON OATS AND PEAS. 
It. O. E., Carlo, Pa. —Is .Tune 1 too late 
in tlie season to plow sod and sow Canada 
field pens and oats? The ground is in fair 
condition, and I can use lime. Would you 
apply lime on sod or on peas and oats? 
I would like to plow down peas and oais 
and grow potatoes another* year? 
J. A. T.j Scenery Jlill, Pa .—I am inter¬ 
ested in t lie sowing of cow peas with oats. 
I refer to an article appearing on page 
134, entitled "Plowing Under Canada 
Peas.” 1 ha 7e never seen a crop of peas 
grown for feed. In this community they 
are grown only for family use. I under¬ 
stand the method of growing as described, 
hut do not know in what manner they are 
harvested. We use a hinder for wheat and 
oats. Could oats and cow peas grown to¬ 
gether be harvested with a binder? When 
cured, are they then thrashed the same 
ns wheat and oats? Is this mixture ground 
and fed and does it make a balanced ra¬ 
tion? Is there not. advantage to the land 
in growing cow peas? 
Both peas and oats are cool weather 
plants, and should be sown in Spring 
as soon as the ground is in good work¬ 
ing condition. If one-half bushel of 
Canada field peas are sown with l x / 
bushel of oats per acre, I think there 
will be no danger but that they can be 
cut with the binder. I would sow the 
above amount for good, rich ground, 
but might sow more on poor soil. 
This crop can be cut for hay or har¬ 
vested ripe and thrashed and ground 
for cattle. With well-eared corn silage 
and clover bay this grain can be made 
into a “balanced” ration. But as differ¬ 
ent cows require a different “balanc¬ 
ing” of their ration no fixed rule can 
be laid down that will work well ex¬ 
cept on paper. 
I would not sow peas and oats to 
plow down for fertilizer. T never plow 
down any green crop, as I prefer first 
to let the cows convert it into a more 
“soluble” form, but, of course, where 
there arc not cows enough it is neces¬ 
sary to plow down green crops some¬ 
times. I think that the cozv pea (not 
Canada field pea) and Crimson clover 
are generally recognized as the proper 
crops for this. j. g. morse. 
Treatment of Old Meadow and Orchard. 
C. A. S., Warren, Mass. —I have 70 acres 
of meadow quite free from stone on sur¬ 
face but would plow hard. I am told it 
cuts very heavy grass soil, heavy loam, 
cla 5 ' subsoil. Brakes are growing all over; 
great patches where there is nothing but 
brakes. Neighbors say land would be loo 
wet for potatoes. What treatment do you 
advise? I have an orchard of 800 trees, 
30 to 40 years old ; have not been trimmed 
or cultivated for years. Moss cover? the 
trunks and large limbs. They yield well 
in bearing years. What treatment do you 
recommend ? 
Ans. —It is rather unusual to see 
“great patches of brakes” growing in 
a field which yields ’ a heavy crop of 
hay. I would haul all the stable man¬ 
ure you can get on to this field and 
plow it under, and then plant corn in 
the Spring, using a little good fertil¬ 
izer in the drill. Do not try to plow 
more than you can fertilize and care 
for properly. 
Trim out the dead limbs from your 
orchard and a few others to let in the 
sunlight. Do not Ixutcher the trees by 
pruning too heavily the first year. Next 
year you can prune as much more. I 
would plow "tip the whole orchard and 
if the land is poor give it a good coat 
of stable manure and raise a crop on 
it. You could sow it to buckwheat or 
plant potatoes. Do not cultivate the 
land after July as it may force too 
much growth on the trees, which makes 
them tender and easily Winter-killed 
c. s. G. 
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