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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
I regard that as conservative and moderate, for an 
estimate. As to the milking of a cow, I am in a sec¬ 
tion of mountaineers, who are hard workers and men 
of firm fibre, and we get our cows milked for about $10, 
but that is below the average cost of milking cows.” 
“Don't you include the feeding and care of the cows?” 
“No. The handling of cows, the general feeding and 
care of the cow, I think you would find to-day on 
careful investigation would cost rather more. The 
milking of the cow would cost more than $10 a cow. 
I place it at $10, not to mislead you. The hay required 
will be something like three tons; it will require three 
tons. For Summer feed the average pasture will re¬ 
quire at least five acres to carry a cow. The man who 
relies upon this alone will have a very unsuccessful 
and unproductive dairy, and here 1 want to say that 
evidence will be presented to you by some, that the 
Summer cost of milk is less, than the Winter cost, and 
from this you will understand that this present conten¬ 
tion arises over the cost of Summer production of milk. 
The contractors insist on a reduction in price in the 
Summer, because they say we can produce milk cheaper 
in the Summer and here is where I think I can throw 
some light on the problem. 
"After the first of July our pastures require the 
hardest kind of work for the cow, with meagre and 
unsatisfactory results. The milk flow will fall off till 
barn time. These pastures have to be supplemented by 
grain, and have to be supplemented by hay, for after 
July the growth is almost nothing in these pastures, 
and the amount given should be very nearly the Winter 
cost. But the crux or the vital point of my position is 
this—that the milk flow, unless full feed is given, will 
constantly decrease. That decrease in milk means a 
decrease in revenue. But associated with the decrease 
in milk flow is always a decrease in the weight of the 
cow. If the farmer lets his cows run down say 100 
pounds that 100 pounds has got to be restored. That is 
the stored-up energy the cow has lost. It has to 
be placed back before the cow can do her full work. 
From my own investigations and those of Professor 
Henry and others, I feel I am within the proposition 
when I say that the very best that genius can do in 
maturing stock will require to pounds of feed for a 
pound of growth. That means that the farmer has 
to put a thousand pounds of food in the cow, when she 
comes to the barn, to restore that weight. We would 
better put it in, in the pasture, before her milk flow 
has run down, for this can never be restored, even by 
high feeding, and he has to make two losses, from 
decrease of weight and also of milk flow, when she is 
underfed, and that decrease of milk flow continues 
until the energy is restored. In other words, it is 
my honest conviction that the cost of milk production 
in Summer equals or exceeds that of milk production 
in Winter. 1 wish to supplement this statement by 
saying that covering thousands of cows, by investiga¬ 
tion in Holland, Denmark and this country, where ac¬ 
curate data has been kept, it is found that cows that 
calve in the Fall give a thousand pounds more milk 
than those that drop in the Spring, and 1 would rather 
to-day rest my success on Winter cows than Summer. 
There is no reason, either scientific or practical, no valid 
reason, why there should be a change of price in the 
Summer months, if indeed it should not be more in¬ 
stead of less. • C. F. DICKINSON. 
(To he continued. ) 
PRACTICAL FARMERS AT CORNELL. 
In an editorial on page 648 you say, "At one of the 
best mining schools in the country students are re¬ 
quired to do actual miner’s work as a part of the 
course. They spend at least one year as a miner do¬ 
ing actual work, and the record they make as work¬ 
men is considered when they graduate. When shall 
we have such a system in agricultural colleges?” I 
would call your attention to the fact that at the New 
York State College of Agriculture at Ithaca this mat¬ 
ter is not overlooked. On page 21 of the Announce¬ 
ment of Courses, 1909-1910. regarding admission to 
the college, we find this: “Those contemplating en¬ 
tering the college, who have not lived on farms or 
received considerable practical experience in agricul¬ 
ture, are urged to spend at least one year on a well- 
managed farm to familiarize themselves with common 
farm affairs and operations before entering the col¬ 
lege.” At the present time the propriety of changing 
“are urged to spend” to “are required to spend” is 
under discussion. 
On page 24, regarding requirements for graduation, 
we find, “All men students who do not specialize to 
the extent of 15 hours in entomology, plant breed¬ 
ing, plant physiology, rural art or home economies, 
must pass, before graduation, the examination of the 
farm practice department.” To pass this examination 
the student must secure credit for at least 60 points 
on a schedule covering experience with horses, cattle, 
sheep, swine, poultry, farm crops, horticulture, farm 
machinery, etc. The boy who has grown up on a 
farm, taking part in its operations, can usually pass 
this examination without difficulty upon entering col¬ 
lege. The city boy can scarcely pass it at graduation 
by spending his three Summer vacations on farms 
and taking numerous courses in college that have prac- 
ticuins that familiarize him with the common affairs 
of the farm. This is why it seems desirable to have 
the city boy spend at least a year on a farm before 
entering college. With students numbering nearly a 
thousand, it seems impracticable to furnish them with 
enough practice work during term time to meet the re¬ 
quirements, and, furthermore, the students themselves 
cannot spare from their regular class work sufficient 
time and energy to get the needed practical experi¬ 
ence during term time. j. l. s. 
Ithaca, N. Y. 
WEED SEEDS IN MANURE. 
Stable manure can be bought in our town three miles 
distant for 50 cents a wagonload. Ilut there are so 
many farms furnishing the hay supply that are infested 
with white daisy that those of us who care for our farms 
have quit buying. Is there any way we could treat the 
manure so as to insure freedom from weed pests, and at 
the same time avoid serious loss in manurial value? 
Titusville, Pa. j. r. 
We do not know of any sure method of destroying 
weed seeds in manure. If a manure pile were per¬ 
mitted to heat so that it -would “firefang” many of 
these seeds would be killed, but not all, and such 
heating would hurt the manure. Any chemicals that 
would be strong enough to kill the weeds would be 
likely to injure the soil. If the manure was rotted 
fine so it could be used as a top-dressing and used on 
hoed or cultivated crops, the weeds could be kept in 
check. There is no doubt that weed seeds live through 
WEED SEEDS IN MOLASSES FEED. Fig. 30G. 
Whore the ;ow was fed this feed. Where she was not thus fed. 
the manure pile and grow. The picture shown at 
Fig. 306 is taken from the Vermont Station bulletin. 
A cow was fed on “molasses feed” and the manure 
from such feeding mixed with soil. The left of the 
••picture shows what grew from this manure. At the 
right is another part of the box with manure from 
the cow when not fed on this class of feed. This 
shows how the manure spread weeds. The weedy 
manure would be a sure means of seeding down the 
farm. 
BUILDING STONE DRAINS. 
In a recent issue of your paper Irving D. Cook of 
Genesee County, N. Y., writes about ditches and stone 
drainage. We cannot afford to put in tile, but have plenty 
of all size cobblestones, and need several drains very 
badly. Could Mr. Cook explain how to begin and con¬ 
tinue the work? Should we ditch to an outlet, or will 
the water drain down through the stones? c. r. c. 
Argenta, Ark. 
Replying, I may state that many years ago, at a 
time when “blind drains” were first being introduced 
in this locality, the only material used for this pur¬ 
pose was the common field stone that more or less 
encumbered the ground on nearly every farm. That 
drains of this character when well constructed will 
prove effectual and permanent is evident from the fact 
that I have in mind a drain thus constructed by my- 
sely nearly or quite 60 years ago that is still faithfully 
performing the work for which it was intended. But 
the advent of tile drainage through that pioneer, John 
Johnston, who if I mistake not, first introduced this 
method by using tile of foreign importation, and the 
wonderful results attending it, soon resulted largely 
in the abandonment of utilizing stone for this pur¬ 
pose. At the same time circumstances and conditions 
may exist in some localities where it would seem pos¬ 
sible that stone would be more profitable to use. 
When they are used one should be governed by the 
same general principles as when using tile. A free 
July 16 
and unobstructed outlet is all-important, as well as a 
uniform grade, and the required fall for ready dis¬ 
posal of surplus water. The ditch should be not less 
than 30 inches in depth, three feet would be prefer¬ 
able, and of sufficient width to allow when two courses 
of stone are placed on either side the ditch and cov¬ 
ered with the larger cap stone there will remain a 
“throat” or water course of about four inches in 
diameter. Such cap stones are not to be necessarily 
flat, but those of ordinary shape and of a size to ex¬ 
tend well across the ditch, with the round or oval 
side bearing on the side stones, their shape and posi¬ 
tion thus tending to prevent the side stones from 
working toward the centre of the ditch to obstruct the 
flow of water. 
To accomplish the ramaining work merely level up 
with a course of smaller stones to a depth of four or 
more inches, first carefully fitting the crevices between 
the larger stones with those of still smaller size. Over 
this place a coat of straw or coarse grass, and when 
filled in with well-packed earth it is ready to accom¬ 
plish the work for which it is designed. At the same 
time, considering the present price of tile and the 
high cost of increased labor required in the building 
of such a ditch, it is a matter for each one to decide 
regarding the expense of either system. At all events, 
let us get rid of the surplus water, for no plant de¬ 
signed for farming purposes can be expected to thrive 
with wet feet. irving d. cook. 
Genesee Co., N. Y. 
A COUPLE OF FARM LADIES. 
They are Percheron ladies, solid and broad, and big 
enough to do their share. The team of mares shown 
at Fig. 307 are owned by the Riverside Stock Farm, 
Ashtabula Co., Ohio. These mares were bred in 
Illinois and sold through a dealer for $1200. They 
are five and six years 'old, and weigh 3600 pounds. 
They will be used for breeding purposes and also for 
farm work. Registered mares are not very common 
in most farm sections, but in most Ohio counties 
farmers can find very good registered stallions. These 
when matched to good grade mares, together with 
good care in feed, are bringing out a better class of 
draft horses which find a ready market at good prices. 
POTATOES UNDER STRAW. 
The potato patch shown in Fig. 308 is about half an 
acre in size, and is covered seven or eight inches deep 
with straw. The potatoes were planted late in March 
and covered soon after planting with straw from a 
nearby straw rick. The potatoes were slow in coming 
up, and thus they escaped the freezes which so severely 
injured other patches, but they are now blooming at 
practically the same time as unstrawed potatoes. The 
chief advantages of strawing potatoes are that no cul¬ 
tivation is needed and the potatoes are easily dug. It 
is also claimed that the yield is much increased, and 
that there are no sunburned potatoes at digging time. 
Ohio- _w. E. DUCKWALI.. 
THE FRANKING MAIL PRIVILEGE. 
What about the franking privilege or free mail for Con¬ 
gressmen? Is not this abused so as to run the Post Office 
Department in debt? 
There is not as much abuse of the franking privi¬ 
lege as formerly. Still much questionable matter is 
sent. 1 he law states that Congressmen, department 
officials and others shall have the privilege of sending 
free, and under their frank “any mail matter to any 
Government official or to any person, correspondence 
not exceeding four ounces in weight, upon official or 
departmental business.” That is the only right granted 
them, yet it seems evident that some Congressmen 
send typewriters and similar things by mail. Quite 
frequently, small cedar chests containing laundry go 
through under frank. Office furniture, including 
safes, are sometimes mailed, and we understand some 
of those things have been held up by the postmaster. 
There is, however, no such abuse as was formerly 
practiced. The average mail which leaves Washing¬ 
ton during the year is about 75 per cent free. On 
some days 150,000 pieces of free matter are mailed. 
This will be Government documents and speeches of 
Congressmen sent to the people in their districts. 
Every bit of this free matter should be accounted 
for and charged up to the departments at regular 
rates. That would help wipe out the postal deficit 
and show that it is not the rural mail routes which 
run the department in debt. A large share of the free 
matter is distributed on those routes. 
What is “standing grass” worth in your section? With 
us not over one-third the selling price of the cured hay 
would be paid. 
The most common chemical for killing weeds in grain 
fields or on walks is 75 pounds of sulphate of iron in 
about 50 gallons of water. 
At city restaurants bread is usually served free with 
other food. There is now a move on foot to make a charge 
for “bread and salt” as is done in European eating houses. 
