3011. 
THR RURAL NEW-YORKER 
840 
DEVON CATTLE AS DUAL BREED. 
We see in the leading agricultural 
journals the subject of dual or general 
purpose farmers’ breeds of cattle. There 
are many breeds that claim the above 
title, and some are such, no doubt, but 
there is one breed that is not often 
mentioned in print. I refer to the 
Devons. Just why the breeders of the 
Devons do not write up their merits I 
cannot explain. Other breeds are 
lauded to the skies, as it were, but not 
a word from the breeders of the rubies. 
When it comes to the real fanners’ cow 
the Devon surely has a place among 
them. You may ask on what grounds 
the. claim of dual-purpose is made. I 
reply, on the very make-up of the breed, 
their adaptability to whatever place they 
are put, either in the dairy or on the 
block. We have now to consider what 
breed or breeds are suited to the above 
conditions. May I call to your atten¬ 
tion the maxim of some of the older 
breeders, “Every pound of weight rep¬ 
resents so much food or its equival¬ 
ent.” While we do not claim the 
Devon to be the largest, we do claim 
that for the average fanner there is no 
better breed. The Devon- per acre of 
grass or bushel of feed consumed will 
outclass almost any other breed. They 
fatten at any age, and grow to good 
size. We know steers that have tipped 
of 2 2-5 butter for the 24 hours. An 
Ohio breeder sold from four cows 40 
pounds of butter per week after supply¬ 
ing a family of eight persons at home 
with butter and cream. This shows 
that the Devon is not lacking in dairy 
qualities. A Devon breeder in Missouri 
says of his Devons, “My Devons go to 
pasture in the Spring in 100 pounds 
better flesh than any other cattle I have 
ever owned. Shippers say I must have 
them on full feed all the time. I feed 
them silage and clover hay.” - So by 
this the Devon has a place among the 
dual or farmers’ cow, good at the pail, 
good at the block, where they are not 
excelled for quality of meat—the breed 
with the three B’s, Butter, Beef and 
Beauty. l. p. sisson. 
Illinois. 
DAIRYING IN MICHIGAN. 
Climatically and geographically Michigan 
is very similarly situated to her sister 
State, Wisconsin, which has a world-wide 
reputation along the lines of dairy produc¬ 
tion and manufacture. Very little is shown 
in the agricultural press of the relative 
comparison of Michigan and Wisconsin as 
dairy States. One with a knowledge of 
agricultural conditions can but feel that 
Michigan, while without the reputation, is 
gradually approaching Wisconsin in the 
amount of dairy products placed upon the 
market during the year. Michigan is very 
rapidly awakening to the fact that dairying 
is a necessity. The farmer who has pro¬ 
A PRIZE BULL OF THE DEVON BREED. Fig. 328. 
the beam at 1500 to 1600 at three years 
old, and oxen that worked every day 
to weigh 3800 to 4,000 per pair. Bulls 
of the Devon breed often exceed 2,000 
pounds, but most of them range about 
1700 to 1800. Cows of this breed range 
from 1100 to 1600 pounds, or an aver¬ 
age of about 1200 pounds. 
As to the dairy points of the Devon, 
while they do not give ns large a flow 
of milk as some of the Holsteins or 
other breeds, their milk is very rich 
and of a fine flavor, making the finest 
of butter. Devon herds are let in Eng¬ 
land to dairymen at $50 to $60 a year 
per cow, or in English money £10 to 
£12 per cow a year. This speaks well 
for their dairy qualities. The Devon 
cow Songstress 2d 12033 gave 37}4 
pounds of milk as a two-year-old, and 
51 pounds at six years old per day. 
Lady Alice 8130 at the Worcester, 
Mass., Agricultural Society gave in De¬ 
cember 347 pounds of milk testing four 
per cent butter fat, equivalent to 16.19 
pounds butter for 31 days. She gave 
1470.5 pounds of milk containing 58.8 
pounds of butter fat, or 68.6 pounds of 
butter for the 30 days. This cow gave 
in one year 9,038 pounds of milk and 
453 pounds of butter at the Seattle Ex¬ 
position. In 1909 eight Devon cows 
were tested by the State Experiment 
Station which ran a model dairy farm 
there on the grounds. The lowest test 
was 4.60 and the highest eight per cent 
butter fat. The Devon cow Lillian, 
night milk, tested 5.80 and the morning 
milk 9.20, making an average of 7.50 
for the 24 hours, making the equivalent 
duced grains for years for the direct mone¬ 
tary returns realizes that his lands are 
not producing their former yields. His 
income is not what it was a few years 
ago. He sees that soil fertility is a neces¬ 
sary element in crop production, and that 
the steady cropping of the soil gradually 
but surely uses up the virgin plant food, 
the same as a constant call on a bank ac¬ 
count without replenishing gradually lessens 
that deposit. He has awakened to the fact 
that he must change to some line of agri¬ 
culture that will restore lost fertility to 
the soil as well as give him monetary re¬ 
turns, hence he has gone into the produc¬ 
tion of milk. Live stock of any kind will 
enrich agricultural lands. No commercial 
product can take the place of barnyard 
manure for the fertilization of soils. Mich¬ 
igan cannot grow fat stock to advantage 
because she cannot compete with the States 
of tlie plains where there are vast areas 
of pasturing lands. Michigan farms are 
comparatively small, and consequently do 
not furnish the grazing area that is neces¬ 
sary. 
It has been proven that the dairy cow 
will produce much more economical returns 
than beef animals when fed on high-priced 
feeds. The Michigan farmer must neces¬ 
sarily purchase large amounts of high-priced 
concentrates and other feeds, and conse¬ 
quently he receives greater profits from a 
dairy herd than ho would from beef ani¬ 
mals. For these reasons we find large 
numbers of Michigan farmers changing to 
dairying rather than to some other line of 
agriculture. Not many years back it was 
a very common practice for the farmers 
of Michigan in whole communities to man¬ 
ufacture butter on the farm. In those days 
it was not uncommon for dairy butter to 
reach a price as low as six or eight cents 
per pound, and the demand for it was very 
weak at that. Farmers became greatly dis¬ 
satisfied with dairy conditions, and many 
to-day are greatly prejudiced against dairy¬ 
ing for tliis reason. The dairy farmer of 
Michigan has the best of markets at present. 
Creameries, cheese factories, condcnserieS 
and the city market arc vicing with each 
other to get his product. The farmer who 
has none of these nearby has the privileges 
of the low shipping rate, and can dispose 
of his cream or milk at a considerable dis¬ 
tance from his locality. All this tends to 
make sharp competition, which gives the 
farmer the highest market price for his 
dairy products. The vital question which 
the Michigan dairyman must decide to-day 
is not the finding of a suitable market, but 
which one of the methods of disposal that 
he has open to him he shall adopt to his 
best advantage. lie is able to sell his 
whole milk; he can dispose of his cream ; 
or he may manufacture his own butter on 
the farm. In subsequent articles the ques¬ 
tion of dairy markets will be considered in 
full. w. e. L. 
Paralysis. 
Five and one-half weeks ago one of my 
horses was left untied and got her head 
Into a patent stanchion. When it closed 
on her head, she pulled back until she 
pulled the stanchion out by the roots. The 
edges of the stanchion bruised the jaw near 
where it joins the upper jaw. At this 
place the facial nerves come out, and as 
the nerves were injured, a paralysis of 
the lips ensued. She is able to eat a very 
little grass or hay, dropping the rest ouf 
again, owing to lack of control of lips. I 
feed her ground oats and molasses in 
water, which she drinks altogether. She 
now has a little sensation in the upper 
lip, and draws it up a little from the 
corners when I pinch it. I do not think 
she could do this at first, but am not 
sure. Will she be likely to recover en¬ 
tirely the use of the lips, and if so, how 
soon? Is there any treatment? I saw a 
veterinary at first, and followed his ad¬ 
vice, and applied mustard to the lips sev¬ 
eral times, but now do nothing, a. h. 
New York. 
Chances of x'ecovery are slight. Blister 
the poll of the head and over the course 
of the nerves, using cerate of cantharides 
and repeat in a few weeks if the first 
blister proves beneficial. Give fluid ex¬ 
tract of nux vomica in increasing doses 
twice daily, commencing with half a dram 
at a dose. Continue until the muscles 
twitch or the animal becomes very rest¬ 
less, at which stage go back to first dose 
and repeat. a. s. a. 
MIL, AM 
:illi«JM 
if 
nr 
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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 409 Pearl St.. New York City 
--- 
E veryone knows that if soil 
is not fertilized it will soon 
wear out. The barren con¬ 
dition of thousands of farms 
in this country proves this state¬ 
ment. A large percentage of this 
number could be improved if ma¬ 
nure were spread judiciously. 
Field experiments prove that 
eight tons of manure evenly spread 
are as good as twice that number 
spread in a haphazard way. Hand spreading requires at least twenty loads 
to cover an acre. With a manure spreader, eight loads will cover the same 
amount of ground more evenly, but— 
Your problem of soil fertility is only half solved when you decide to get a 
manure spreader. The other half—of equal importance—is in deciding just 
which spreader is best for you to buy. 
If you investigate thoroughly and decide carefully, you will select a 
spreader that thousands of other progressive farmers are having great 
success with—one of the 
I H C Manure Spreaders 
The simple design and unusual strength of all working parts of I H C 
Spreaders account for their long life and light draft. 
The method of transmitting power from the wheels to the beater is 
simple and direct. There are no unnecessary parts to wear. The beater is 
large in diameter and the teeth are long, square, and chisel pointed. By 
using this style of tooth, the manure is thoroughly pulverized and is 
thrown out before it wedges against the bars. By using 
a square tooth, rimming of the bars is overcome. 
The apron is supported by steel rollers and the slats 
are placed close together, so that manure does not sift 
down and interfere with the movement of the rollers. 
The steel wheels have ample strength to carry many 
times the weight they will ever be called upon to bear. 
The rims are flanged inwardly to prevent cutting and 
rutting of meadows and accumulation of trash. 
Z-shaped lugs give the wheel a practically continuous 
ground-bearing surface and do not jar the machine to 
pieces. There is no reach to prevent 
short turning. 
In the I H C line, you have choice of 
these three famous styles— 
Cloverleaf Corn King 
Kemp 20th Century 
All are simple, strong, and durable—all are easily and in¬ 
stantly adjustable to spread light or heavy, as the soil re¬ 
quires, and all three are made in sizes suitable to any size 
farm. See the IHC local dealer—and get catalogues from 
him, or, write direct. 
INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY OF AMERICA 
Chicago (Incorporated) USA 
I H C 
Service Bureau 
The Bureau is a 
clearing house of 
agricultural data. 
It aims to learn 
the best ways of 
doing things on 
the farm, and then 
distribute the in¬ 
formation. Your 
individual experi¬ 
ence may help 
others. Send your 
problem to the 
IHC Service Bu¬ 
reau. 
