1908. 
THE RE R AL NEW'-VORKER 
626 
THOSE POOR DAIRY COWS. 
We are often told that most dairy 
fanners have so many poor cows that 
they cannot make any money. The ad¬ 
vice is then freely offered that these 
poor cows should at once be disposed 
of and good cows put in their places. 
Sometimes the assurance is vouchsafed 
that the dairyman would be better off 
if he would dispose of those poor cows 
even though he had no others to put in 
their places. Now there is more than 
one way of looking at this proposition, 
and many a man is obliged to consider 
it from a standpoint that does not ap¬ 
peal to the man who gives the advice. 
“Get rid of the cows at any price that 
are not paying a profit” is a very fre¬ 
quent assertion. It is figured that if 
a cow consumes $38 worth of feeds, 
and returns $35 worth of milk, sold at 
the creamery, that cow must be running 
the farmer in debt, and the farmer 
would be better off to be rid of the cow 
even if he got nothing for her. That 
seems like good reasoning, but it simply 
shows the deception of figures, some¬ 
times. Thousands of farmers have 
made a living and paid for a home 
while keeping cows that were no better 
than the one mentioned. It is not my 
purpose to advocate the keeping of in¬ 
ferior cows. I would say get the best 
cows possible consistent with one’s 
means, but it cannot safely be advised 
in all cases to get rid of all the cows 
at once that do not pay a profit above 
the commercial value of the feeds con¬ 
sumed. This is especially true where 
a farmer is short of funds with which 
to purchase cows, as well as to pay 
bills, interest, and to make necessary 
payments on his farm. The feeds that 
are produced on the farm must be 
turned into cash, and it must be done, 
if possible, without detriment to the 
farm. 
The feeds do not represent to the 
farmer who has grown them their en¬ 
tire commercial value. When he turns 
them into cash at the end of the milk 
route, and gets nearly or quite as much 
for them as he can get in the market 
for the feeds themselves, and still has 
the benefit of their fertilizing values, 
he is not doing so badly after all. 
Better do that than do worse. A 
better way is to secure cows which, 
while they consume the feeds grown on 
the farm, may also turn every dollar 
of these feeds into a dollar and a half 
or two dollars at the milk can. The 
former value is not very difficult to se¬ 
cure if the farmer understands cows 
and their feeding; and the latter is not 
impossible. All that I contend in the 
way of caution is that the dairyman 
who hasn’t a good bit of spare change 
with which to experiment, should go 
slowly enough so as not to suffer seri¬ 
ous loss. There are pitfalls in the way 
of the unwary when he goes about 
making a radical change in his herd. 
Better make the change, but study the 
question first. H. H. lyon. 
CEMENT PLASTERED SILO. 
Ilave any R. N.-Y. readers silos built in 
this way? What is there wrong with this 
plan? On a good foundation wall a sill 
made of 2x4’s cut in two-feet lengths to be 
imbedded in mortar; 2 x 4 studding to be 
set close together and toe-nailed to sill; 
lined with galvanized steel lath (sheets 17 
inches by eight feet) and cemented; hooped 
well with steel rods or one-half-inch boards. 
Vermont. H. M. p. 
I do not like the plan outlined for build¬ 
ing a silo. There is too much opportun¬ 
ity for decay to set in. The life of such 
a silo as this would, it seems to me, be 
limited to a very few years. The acid of 
the silage would corrode the steel laths 
and the cement would loosen and peel off. 
I have never constructed a silo in the man¬ 
ner described, and my comments above are 
simply an opinion and not based upon ac¬ 
tual observation. I have never yet seen a 
silo that improves upon the round stave 
tj P e - L. A. CLINTON. 
It would seem to me that such a silo 
would be very liable to spring under the 
great pressure of the cooking silage when 
first put In. If it did it would certainly 
crack the cement, and if the cement was 
cracked then there would be no protection 
from the air, which would enter the silo. 
I never yet have seen a silo which did not 
spring more or less under the conditions 
which I have named. I do not believe, 
either, that the proposed silo would be much 
cheaper than the ordinary stave silo, and 
it seems to me that it would not have the 
tensile strength of the ordinary stave silo. 
JOHN m’lennan. 
I have never used or even seen a silo 
of the precise type contemplated. It is 
practically the old so-called “Wisconsin 
idea” silo plus the steel lath and plastering. 
I have no doubt, however, that it would be 
all right. Good silos may be built after 
many different plans, and they will all work 
well, provided only that they are reasonably 
tight and rigid. They will be better if 
they have no sharp corners, and if the 
walls are fairly non-conductors of heat. 
While this is true, yet I cannot help-think¬ 
ing that the standard stave silo made of 
two-inch planks tongued and grooved, and 
drawn together with iron hoops, is so emi¬ 
nently satisfactory in every way that it 
seems almost useless to look for something 
better. Of course (he concrete silo would 
be longer lived. Still the stave silo en¬ 
dures better than we might expect. We 
have a stave silo of hemlock erected in 
1898 (they were just being introduced at 
that date), which is still good for many 
years. You see I am pot condemning your 
proposed silo. I am only questioning if 
there is not a possibility of trouble with 
rusting of the lath and cracking of the plas¬ 
tering, which will certainly not be the case 
with the standard form. 
JARED VAN WAGENEN, JE. 
I have no knowledge of a silo built like 
the above description. I think a silo could 
lie built like the one described, but I would 
not think it practical, as any shrinking or 
decaying of the woodwork would crack tho 
cement and thereby spoil the work, and I 
think the expense would be about the same 
as if lined with wood. A silo built as 
II. M. P. describes would want strong hoops, 
especially at the bottom, as the nails would 
soon rust and the studding would press 
out and let in air. I think it would want 
covering with wood before hoops were put 
on to protect the studding, as well as to 
make a dead air space. My experience tells 
me wood around a silo will soon decay, 
and must sooner or later be repaired. From 
my experience I would not think the plan 
as practical as some others, especially as 
one made wholly of cement, and then H. 
M. P. would have a silo almost indestruct¬ 
ible. If I were to build a new silo I should 
figure upon the cost of a cement silo some¬ 
thing after a plan a young friend of mine 
built one last season. He had a machine 
built making the required circle he 
wished, and built his own silo without the 
help of any mechanic. The silo is made of 
cement hollow blocks, thereby making a 
dead-air space and taking less cement than 
a solid wall. Small iron rods were laid 
in the cement that joined the blocks to¬ 
gether to hold studding for doors, as the 
silo has a door from top to bottom. The 
silo has stood all Winter without cover, 
as lie wished to raise it higher this sea¬ 
son if it was all right, and the last time I 
saw him he was very enthusiastic about it. 
A silo built of cement blocks would be in¬ 
destructible and good for any number of 
years. The time has come when we must 
build substantially, for lumber is getting 
scarce and decays, and a good cement silo 
is good for years without decay. 
_ A. D. BAKEK. 
I have up to date a good number of 
Belgian. Percheron and German Coach stal¬ 
lions and mares, I think the best lot I have 
ever bought in Europe. I shall ship them 
on Phoenix Line from Antwerp August 8 , 
and should arrive in New York August 20; 
will ship from there direct via express to 
Newark, Ohio. [col.] geo. w. crawford. 
Paris. 
WILDERS 
7 Self-Adjusting 
Steel Latch 
BTANCHION—a firm, safe, 
simple stanchion; fastens 
easily and holds stock se¬ 
curely. Gives cattle the 
greatest possible comfort 
and freedom standing or 
lying down. Can be open¬ 
ed and closed without re¬ 
moving gloves or mittens. 
It’s made of hard wood, 
has no cold iron to chili 
animals in frosty weather. 
A stanchion that combines 
comfort, cleanliness and 
utility with durability, 
strength and economy. 
Strong enough for dehorn¬ 
ing cattle. A most satis¬ 
factory equipment for any 
stable. Sena for our free 
catalogue and prices. 
Wilder-Strong Implement Co, 
Box 33, Honroe, Mich. 
STANCHION 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal. - ’ See guarantee, page 8 . 
THE PAPEG 
PNEUMATIC 
Ensilage Gutter 
will prepare you a better silage and fill your 
silo in less time, with less power and with less 
trouble to you than any other blower ensilage 
cutter made. 
It is the most convenient and the easiest to 
operate. It never clogs, never gets out of 
order, never disappoints. We guarantee every 
machine to be perfect and to do the work 
claimed for it. 
If yon need an ensilage cutter you need a 
Papec. Send forcataloggivingfullparticulars. 
Papec Machine Co., Box 10, Lima,N.Y. 
BUZZ AR Del 
with wind elevator, either mounted 
lor unmounted. Cuts hay, straw, feed, 
letc. Elevates to any height. Strong, 
\ durable, economical. Fully guaran- 
teed. Send for new illustrated | 
catalogue 1'KEE 
3 = 
5- 
JOSEPH DICK 
AGRICULTURAL WORKS 
Box 69, Canton, 0. 
Silos 
A good 
descrip¬ 
tion of our 
SILOS 
is given 
in our 
circulars. 
Write for one. 
VAN^LYKE 
& GO., 
North Tonawanda, 
NEW YORK. 
THINK OF IT! 
Bioknell, Ink., June 26, 1908. 
ITave used a U. S. six months; it’s 
perfectly satisfactory. I made 17 
pounds of butter the week before 
using the TJ. S. The following week 
with the U. S. I made 27 pounds from 
the same cows, under the same condi¬ 
tions. It’s the best investment 1 ever 
made. Alex. Neal. 
An Investment Paying 
33 |% 
and this is exactly what the U. S. 
earned for Mr. Neal over his 
former methods of skimming. 
If you are not using a reliable 
CREAM 
iSEPARATOR 
but skimmingyour milk by some 
other method, you are losing 
just as large a per cent, of cream 
(which Is money) as did Mr. Neal. 
It is clean skimming that 
counts, and the U. S. holds World's 
Record for clean skimming, therefore 
it is the separator that every one 
ought to purchase. 
Send to-day for Catalogue No. 159 
16 distributing warehouses in U. S. and Canada 
501 
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Wa film mako ROSS SILOS and MANURE SPREADERS. 
The kind that never falls to glvo 
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HARDER MFG. COMPANY, Box 11 , Coblesklll, N. Y. 
GREEN t MOUNTAIN 
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Superior in design, material 
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Simplest, strongest, most 
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Write NOW for money-sav¬ 
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Creamery Package Mfg. Co. 
220 West St,, Rutland, Vt. 
WHITMAN’S XXSZo BALING PRESSES 
The standards of the world for 35 years. Victorious in every contest. Made in 31 styles 
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1IEEBNER Si 80X8, 2S£ltro»d 8t., Lanmlule, Pa. 
