144 
T.'HE JRUK-A.lv NEW-YORKER. 
January 31, 
Farm Management. 
FIGURING THE PROFIT ON COWS. 
Three years ago Banks invested $3,500 
in the dairy business in a town of 3,000 
population. He bought: a small farm near 
the town for $2,000, and spent the bal¬ 
ance for 20 head of cattle at an average 
cost of $60 each, and for wagon and 
horses for delivery, bottles, milk cooler, 
and other equipment necessary in his 
business. He gave his personal attention 
to the work, from about 3 a. m. to 9 p. 
m., and was assisted by his wife, an 18- 
year-old son, and a 16-year-old daughter 
when she was not in school. At the 
close of three years he found himself in 
debt to about every tradesman in the 
town who had trusted him, and “up 
against it” good and rocky. He wailed 
and railed at his lack of success, and con¬ 
demned everyone who had advised or as¬ 
sisted him in his business. 
A friend approached him and said: 
“Jim, how much does it cost you to pro¬ 
duce a quart of milk?” 
“I don’t know.” 
“How much does it cost you to sell a 
quart of milk?” 
“That’s a fool question to ask.” 
“How much does it cost to keep a cow 
a day?” 
“How can I tell?” 
“What percentage of your sales do you 
fail to collect?” 
“Oh bother! What are you driving 
at?” 
“Just this; you don’t deserve to suc¬ 
ceed. You haven’t learned your business 
yet. You are a business menace. You 
are the type of man who tears down the 
business of another without building one 
for yourself. 
“Be just with yourself. Get your fig¬ 
ure facts before you. Before you can 
succeed you must know all these things 
and more. You must keep before you the 
costs so that you know what your farm 
produces, and what it earns. And when 
you sell your farm produce to your dairy 
business, deal as if you were dealing with 
a stranger. Find what your overhead is 
—what the limit is where a cow ceases 
to be profitable—you have fine-looking 
cows—that gets you nothing—you’re sell¬ 
ing milk, not cows. 
“Why Jim, when you pay $25 a ton for 
hay to feed a cow that eats two tons of 
hay a year, you can realize that your 
cow costs you a dollar a week for hay. 
And add to that 35 cents a week for 
grain. And add in her proportion of 
‘overhead’ such as interest, taxes, insur¬ 
ance, depreciation—you realize that a 
dairy cow is a good cow for only four 
years, you have to charge off one-fifth her 
cost to depreciation every year—and 
the bottles and wear and tear on wagon, 
the keep of your delivery horse, the wages 
you pay to deliver must all find a unit 
value somewhere that you can charge 
against-” 
“What is a unit value?” 
“A basis for your fixed charges. l r ou 
have 20 cows. Against these 20 units 
you have to charge all your expense and 
credit all your revenues. 
“For instance, your interest on $3,600 
at six per cent is $216. Your taxes are 
$40. Your insurance is $10. Your hay 
bill is $600 a year. Your grain bill is 
$200. Your wage bill for your son is 
$300; for your wife $300; for your 
daughter $150. You yourself should be 
put on a salary, say $600. Any one of 
you would earn more than this working 
as you do now, for some one else. Your 
depreciation of cattle is $240. Your 
breakage of bottles and depreciation of 
equipment is fully $50. Look a fact in 
the face, so it won’t rise up later from 
a business shroud and look you in the 
face. Just off-hand, without counting 
tickets and bottle caps, and advertising, 
and sickness and the thousand and one 
leaks that you must consider, nor the 
loss from customers who don’t pay, you 
can see that your cows have got to earn 
$2,706 a year, or $135 and better a year 
apiece. And that reduced to quarts of 
milk at six cents is 2,250 quarts per 
year, or between six and seven quarts of 
milk per day. 
“And so by getting your figure facts 
right, Jim, you find that a cow that gives 
six quarts or less of milk per day is a 
financial loss besides the labor she causes. 
Now if while a cow is fresh and for two 
months she gives 12 or 14 quarts of milk 
a day, and then for two months more 
nine or 10, and then for two months 
seven or eight, you will see that for the 
two months that she gives five and six 
and the two she is dry she is a loss, and 
if you will get your figure facts right 
you will find that you can afford to keep 
her at $40 and buy a fresh one at $60. 
“And you will know that your loss of 
collections is confined within certain 
families, and that by cutting off the trade 
of same, and going after others you will 
save yourself and your business. 
“What you need, Jim, is a system, so 
that you can figure and reason and an¬ 
alyze without getting tired. You had bet¬ 
ter have 12 cows, fresh, and a system, 
than your 20 cows as you are now. 
E. G. WHITMYRE. 
for big 
p r o f i t s 
Grow This Berry 
and sure yields. It is hardy and wonder¬ 
fully productive, coal Black and very 
large; almost as thick through as long. 
In luscious flavor it surpasses by far all 
others I have ever grown. In my long 
experience with this berry its canes have 
never been affected, even slightly, by 
orange rust or other fungus disease, and 
rr- «« 1 believe im ' 
* ■ 1 mune to them. 
Blackberry 
brings joy to all who grow, sell or eat it. 
It is immensely profitable to the market 
grower, and “a joy forever” to the 
amateur gardener. The canes are of 
ironclad hardihood, need no staking, 
and are literally loaded with fruit 
every year. I know this berry thor¬ 
oughly, and willingly stake my rep¬ 
utation upon it. Illustrated catalog 
replete with cultural instructions, 
free to everybody. Established 187S. 
200 acres. Qual¬ 
ity unsurpassed, 
prices low. 
J. T. LOVETT, 
Box 162, 
LITTLE SILVER, N. J. 
STRAWBERRY PLANTS ? 2 5 0 ° 0 P 0 ER 
Aroma. Klondyke and Gandy, Cabbage plants $1 
per LOUD. John l.iglitfoot, E Chattanooga, Tennessee 
Strawberry Plants 
RASPBERRY, BLACKBERRY and all small fruit plants, 
fresh from our own grounds: first-class stock, 
Eges for hatching. Catalogue Free. STAHKI.IN 
& SON, Bridgman Nursery Co., Box 36, Bridgman, Mich, 
STRAWBERRY PLANTS 
We have eight that have been selected out of a 
hundred: eight that are TRUE BLUE. If you wish 
that kind send for our 1914 catalogue. Do not cost 
any more than common stock. ROMANCE SEED. PLANT 
AND TRUCK FARMS, Caleb Boggs & Son, Cheswold. Delaware 
A Good Garden 
I have selected these Vegetable Seeds solely to 
show you how good Wilson's Seeds are: 
Bountiful Green Pod Bush Bean, first 
quality, earliness, yield. Detroit Dark Red Beet, 
for quick use or for winter. Improved Rubicon 
Cirrot, medium-early, coreless, orange-red. Swiss 
Chard used like Spinach, can entail summer. Selected 
Bic Boston Lettuce, crisp and tender. Early Scarlet 
Turnip Radish, quick grower, white, crisp flesh. 
Six packets (one of each) 25 cts , postpaid. 
Get my new Seed Annual and learn about Wil¬ 
son’s Seeds, and why they are better. 
J. J. WILSON SEED CO., Box D, NEWARK. N. J. 
For 25 Cents 
DON’T WASTE MONEY 
buying a land roller, clod crusher, pulverizer and leveler. 
You get ALL in ONE machine, and save the work of two 
extra trips over the plowed ground, when you buy the 
IMPERIAL PULVERIZER 
and It i« the ONLY machine th.it packs the subsoil, and 
leaves the surface loose. Makes beat seed bed. Soil retains 
moisture and produces bigger crops. 
Write today jgj&S&L Pe ‘ e ™ n C °' 
_ r* J4o Kiver M. f 
for Booklet *5URU!w Kent, Ohio 
v 
A Farmer’s Garden 
<111111 1111111111111111111111111111111111111111 . innnnnnnnniiniiinnn* 
Helps his wife to plan her table in busy times. Saves work £ 
and worry, saves buying so much meat, gives better satis- S 
faction to the help. A good garden will be almost impossi- E 
ble in your busy life without proper tools. They cost little E 
and save much hard work. 
WHEEL HOES 
AND DRILLS 
1RQNAGE 
will sow, cultivate, ridge, furrow, etc,, better than you can 
with old-fashioned tools and ten times quicker. A woman, 
boy or girl can do it. Can plant closer and work these hand 
tools while the horses rest. 38 combinations 
from which to choose at $2.50 to $12. One 
combined tool will do all of the work. 
Ask your ’dealer to show them and 
write us for booklet, “Gardening 
With Modern Tools” and “Iron 
Age Farm and Garden News” 
both free. 
BATEMAN 
M'F'GCO. 
Box 1022 
Grenloch, N. J. 
tiiMiniimiiniiiiiiia^ 
HAY 
BUFFALO AN IMPORTANT CROP 
Top Dresser 
FERTILIZER 
RAISE 3 4-5 TONS PER ACRE 
This is what Mr. L. S. Combs, of Northamp¬ 
ton, Mass., did with an application of 500 lbs. per 
acre of Buffalo Top Dresser (7-6-5). Mr, Combs 
produced about three times the average yield. 
BUFFALO BRANDS not only increase the 
yield, but improve the quality of the crops. They 
are soluble, available and in perfect drilling con¬ 
dition, which count in the field results. 
“ Conservation of Soil Fertility ” 
a valuable reference book, will be mailed free 
upon request. It will help solve your soil prob¬ 
lems. Also write us for our pamphlet on The 
Corn Crop, Hay, Forage Crops, useful memorandum 
book, and attractive Calendar. Agents wanted in 
unoccupied territory. 
INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL CORPORATION 
BUFFALO FERTILIZER WORKS 
BUFFALO. NEW YORK 
P. O. Box 976 
LCOX 
“IM.ZERS 
DON’T PERPETUATE 
PLANT DISEASES 
Certain soils teem with plant disease from wrong ^ _ _ 
fertilization or improper rotation of crops. 
When you break up a new piece of sod land put down 
the crop with properly selected Wilcox Fertilizer, 
the fertilizer that fertilizes, and plan to rotate prop- , 
erly eacn year. Scab, acid soil and other evils will 
not appear, whijp bumper crops will be your reward. 
Send today for our book 
THE WILCOX FERTILIZER CO. 
MYSTIC, CONN. 
isii 
SURE 
CROP 
ETjclins’s ^ 
Hardy Seeds^ 
Greater vitality because grown in a colder climate. ^ 
Imported AUSTRIAN 2-ROW BARLEY. Weight r>6 lbs. to meas¬ 
ured bushel. Stiff straw. No lodging. Each kernel stools 3 
to 6stalks. Sow lU bUfibel to acre. 1913 an “off” year grew 
55 mcas. bushels to acre. Equal to nearly 65 busheia weight. 
Price $2.00 bushel. 
WINNIPEG CLUSTER SEED OATS—Canada grown, kernel very 
fat, 46 lbs. to bushel. World’s greatest yielder. Price $2.00 
bushel. 
Other tested seeds of high germinating qualities. 
American-grown Alfalfa, tested in Washington — 99:91 pure. 
Genuine Eureka Ensilage Corn, Pedigree Pride of North, 
Learning, Iowa Gold Mine, Spring Wheat, Rye, Vetches, 
Green Soy Beans, Maine-grown Seed Potatoes, Timothy, 
Clover and Alsike of the highest purity. All freight prepaid. 
Special qunntlty prices on application. 
Write for free illustrated 90-page catalogue—Everything for the 
Farm. Packets of Pansy and Alyssum for 6 cents. 
V 
F. H. EBELING, 
215 S. Warren Street, Syracuse, N. Y. 
Established 1868 
Ref erencc—any bonk in Syracuse. 
J 
LAKESHORE GROWN 
Rugged Healthy 
Fully Guaranteed 
WHOLESALE PRICES 
FREIGHT PAID 
Write for catalog 
Lakeshore Nurseries 
Box 110 GIRARD, PEHNA. 
APPLE 
3 yr. lOO 
3-4 ft. $5.00 
6-7 ft. 13.50 
PEACH 
3 yr. roots 
3-3 ft. !$3.75 
5-6 ft. 8.75 
wtgyQnion Seed 
Grown from carefully-selected bulbs, will 
i produce big crops and bring the highest 
\ prices. All our varieties are good ones. 
f Ford’s Sound Seeds 
for the garden or farm are noted for their 
purity, productiveness and vi¬ 
tality. The Ford Plan of 
seed-selling guarantees satisfaction or 
money refunded—it will pay and please , 
you. Get our new Catalogue today—free. 1 1 If., 
FORD SEED CO, Box 24. Ravenna, Ohio Nk'X'M \ 
Sweet Clover 
/F 0R worn out farms it is the 
Feeds Stock and 
Land Best _of All 
reatest fertilizer 
known. Will inoculate lan5 for alfalfa per- T 
feetly. CATTLE pastured on Sweet Clover fatten 
as if fed on prepared food. Sown in the orchard it 
loosens the soil and promotes growth. Ploughed under 
it increases crops from 60% to 100%. Write for prices 
and free seed book. 
GRISWOLD SEED COMPANY 
227 S. 10th Street,Lincoln, Nebraska 
A Postal Brink's 
SBELL’S SEEDEI 
CATALOG fl 
Fffi 
Northern Grown Seeds 
^At Moderate Prices—Satisfaction Guaranteed 
Get ISBELL S OFFERS in beautiful new color- 
’illustrated catalog before you buy seeds. Tells 
'all about seeds, planting, etc. 
120 Pages Packed With Bargains 
Isbell’s Seeds are NORTHERN GROWN— alive 
vit^i vitality. Everything for your farm, vege¬ 
table or flower garden ut bargain prices. 
_ Send lOc for 5 Packets Choicest Seeds 
yThis “Samples Collection” includes packets of 
^ fine now Melon and Cucumber. All for 10c, 
i which wo return as a Duo Bill. Let’s get 
\ acquainted! (1) 
; S- M. ISBEIX & CO. 
/834 Pearl £t., Jackson, >1 leli. 
of*" 
J 
Do You Have to 
be Shown?- 
I’m told that I have the best 
quality of seed, give the largest 
packages and have the most com¬ 
mon-sense Seed Book in the bunch. 
And I’m willing to admit it. 
Do you have to be shown? 
All right. I llveclose to theMIs- 
sourl line and I’ll “show” you. 
I’ll send you the Seed Book and a big pack¬ 
age of garden seed, and you can judge for 
yourself. NO CHARGE FOR EITHER, 
and you need not even send the postage un¬ 
less you wish. 
I also have guaranteed Clover and Al¬ 
falfa, and all kinds of farm seed at 
Farmer’s Prices. Shall I send you free 
samples of these also? 
henry field. Proa. 
HENRYFIEL^EE^C^Boi^B^Slienando.lijJow^ 
REGISTERED 
ALF 
Seed Guaranteed as to 
Purity, Germination and Quality. 
None but Hardy Tested Northern Grown Seed of¬ 
fered. Send for FRI* Kcopy of DISCO ALFALFA BOOK, tell¬ 
ing all about Disco Alfalfas and how to grow alfalfa profitably. 
DAKOTA IMPROVED SEED CO., 9 Main St., Mrtch.il, I.D^ 
Wing’s Quality Seeds produce the choicest vegetable, 
and flowers. Grown with great care for those who 
appreciate quality. No matter what you need. Garden, 
Field or Flower Seeds, wo have them aiuhoffor only the 
best varieties grown. Fully described in our free 
catalog. Write lor it to-day. 
WING SEED CO., BOX 123 MECHANICSBURG, O. 
QOD SEEDS 
“ best in the world 
Prices Below All Others 
I will give a lot of new 
sorts free with every order I 
fill. Buy and test. Return if 
not O K.—money refunded. 
Big Catalog FREE 
Over 7 00 illustrations of vege¬ 
tables and flowers. Send yours 
_ _ and your neighbors’ addresses. 
R. H. SHUMWAY, Rockford, Illinois 
STRAWBERRIES to November 
.- from Superb 
and other new seedlings- Plants for sale by the orig¬ 
inator. Circulars tree. SAMUEL CUOPER, Delavan, N. i, 
