iai4. 
THE RUR-A.lv NEW "YORKER 
113© 
THE DAIRY COW SITUATION. 
AST Fall I wrote you concerning the 
dairy situation in this locality, and 
especially about the supply of dairy cows 
and the prices that they were bringing. 
At that time I made the prediction that 
the Spring of 1014 would see dairy cows 
selling at a higher price than ever before, 
and on the strength of that belief, 1 
bought a number of young cows with the 
idea of carrying them through the Winter 
and selling them again in the Spring. 
We had a long hard Winter, and the 
cows ate a great deal of high-priced feed 
—but they did not bring the anticipated 
high price. Why? Well, when the Bor¬ 
dens announced the price that they would 
pay for milk the next six months, that 
price was below that of last year, and 
therefore there was no incentive for the 
dairymen to stock up with more cows. 
Funny situation, isn’t it? Cows scarce, 
feed high and every prospect of good 
prices. Yet the Bordens calmly say, “We 
can’t pay as much as last year.” So the 
price goes down. 
In this immediate neighborhool there 
have been pastures without a foot of stock 
on them because the owners say that they 
don’t like to milk well enough to do it 
just for fun. At present there are but few 
cows for sale, and those are being picked 
up as they near freshening at about $100 
a head for the good ones. The poorer ones 
sell for less, and the best ones go higher. 
For the past few years but few heifer 
calves have gone fur veal, but this past 
season a reaction has set in and fewer 
heifers are being raised. 
This of course does not apply to the 
purebreds. Madison and Chenango Coun¬ 
ties contain more registered Holsteins 
to the square mile than any other section 
of equal size in the country. The desire 
to own purebreds has got hold of most of 
the farmers, mainly, I suppose, because 
more money is to be made from the pure¬ 
breds if rightly handled. But I also think 
that a good many buy purebreds just be¬ 
cause it is the fashion to do so, just as 
Smith buys an automobile because his 
neighbor Brown has bought one. A few 
years ago plenty of registered Ilolstein 
heifer calves could be bought for $50 
each, but now it is hard to find one at less 
than $100, and those from good A. It. O. 
dams go at higher prices. 
Last Spring the Madison-Chenango Hol- 
stein-Friesian Club organized an auction 
sale, and about 200 head of cattle changed 
hands, but the greater part of them 
never left the two counties. There were 
plenty of farmers waiting for a chance to 
make a start in purebreds. There were 
some excellent cattle in this sale, one bull 
calf selling for $3500 and at least two 
cows at $2000 each. J. grant mouse. 
WHAT CROPS FOR THE SII.O? 
IIE question is asked as to mixing 
crops for silage, and the drift of 
opinion about this plan. In my own 
section, the corn plant has proved so em¬ 
inently successful and superior for silage, 
that mixing other crops in with the corn 
as it goes into the silo, practically using a 
“filler” with the corn, is seldom if ever 
heard of now. The idea is to get, by the 
mixing, a larger proportion of protein 
from the added crop to balance up the 
corn part. North of the Ohio River, the 
difficulty is to get two crops to mature at 
the same time, so to make a good quality 
of silage or even “harmonize” in the fer¬ 
menting stage in the silo, and the result 
is, as corn “cooks” at a much lower temp¬ 
erature than the proteins, one get a flav¬ 
or and taste that it not well relished by 
the cows, and possibly rejected in part, 
and roundly berated by the milk inspector. 
In the droughty sections of country, sil¬ 
age can be made with more success when 
Kaffir corn, sorghum, and beans are used, 
but even then the advice is to silo them 
separate. Any of our larger protein pro¬ 
ducing crops, when siloed with corn, cause 
a great loss of digestible matter in the 
latter, and the waste is far greater, and 
more than counterbalances the advantage 
of mixture. 
Cow peas, Soy beans, and the like make 
good silage when pitted each by itself, 
but great care must be taken in putting 
them in, or the ferments will go too far, 
and the silage will be a close approach to 
decay, filling stables with an odor that is 
not “passed in silence” by the milk in¬ 
spectors. All of these protein crops if 
siloed, need especial care in putting into 
the silo. They must not be too mature, 
thoy must be cut into the pits, the finer 
the better, and well distributed, and un¬ 
like corn, the more it is packed and 
tramped to force the air out the better. 
I)o not rely upon its own settling to ex¬ 
pel it fully, as it will not pack down by 
the heating, as will corn. 
Now and then one hears of some one 
who tried cutting in Soy beans with the 
corn, and the plan was liked, but is never 
heard of more; the dry curing of the clov¬ 
ers and beans goes on as before. With 
the advent of Alfalfa, its perfect blending 
as cured material with the silage, and the 
great amount of protein it affords to the 
acre, it does not seem that there is long¬ 
er any reason why the raising of uncer¬ 
tain protein crops should be continued, or 
even fabulous prices paid for mill feed 
to balance up with. It may be in more 
southern sections, and may yet be the 
better w'ay to raise them instead, but it 
is far from proved, that mixing them in 
the silo pits, with the corn, is the better, 
or even a more profitable way. 
Ohio. JOHN GOULD. 
LIVE STOCK NOTES AND PRICES. 
Sept. 1. Good rains ended the drought 
here Aug. 10 and all last week was rainy; 
is too wet to plow stubble land. The 
creeks, branches and ponds were full for 
the first time since February. The pros¬ 
pects are good for tobacco, late corn and 
potatoes. A great deal of Alfalfa is being 
started. Pastures are good, stock looking 
better. A large acreage of wheat will be 
sown this Fall. Several new silos are 
being built. Plenty of_ peaches and ap¬ 
ples seling at from 25 to 75 cents a 
bushel; wheat $1.03: corn 90; hogs $9 ; 
hens 11; Spring chickens 12; butter 18 
to 25; eggs 19. R. s. K. 
Boon vi He, Ind. 
Sept. 1. We are in the Pittsbur^ mar¬ 
ket milk territory, and the tendency is 
toward higher prices each season, with 
more and more restrictions laid down by 
the city inspectors. There is some butter 
and some cheese made around us, but the 
amount of milk available at butter and 
cheese prices is growing less each year. 
Good grade cows have sold as high as 
$125 at public sales. This high point 
was about two years ago. Now the best 
grades usually sell at $80 to $100. There 
are not very many for sale just now at 
any price; almost everybody is wonder¬ 
ing how matters are going to shape up for 
Winter. Prices are changing so rapidly 
that it is a decided gamble when you 
buy more than a day’s supplies. Our 
people depend very largely on mill feeds, 
and if feed goes up while milk does not, 
a large proportion of our dairymen will 
talk sell, an some may actually cut 
down. We have now quite a large num¬ 
ber of registered Holsteins around us. 
They seem to sell well, and at reasonable 
prices there is always a market. 
Orwell, O. w. ii. p. 
The hay crop in my immediate vicinity 
was very large, but I hear it was below 
the average in many places. The crop 
was put in good condition although the 
weather was very uncertain. The out¬ 
look for the oat crop is exceedingly bad. 
Although the crop promised to be very 
heavy the weather has been so uncertain 
and rainy that many farmers have not 
been able to bring their crop from the 
fields since cutting, and in many fields 
the oats are beginning to grow in the 
bundles. I do not know how widespread 
this wet weather has been, but if it is 
very extensive I believe oats will he a 
very expensive feed this Winter. Corn 
bids fair to be a very good crop, and the 
farmers in this district will not lack for 
fine silage unless the crop is spoiled by 
an early frost. Potatoes are looking well 
and a fine crop is expected. Milk is sell¬ 
ing at $1.40 per hundred this month. The 
prices for the coming six months will ap¬ 
pear soon and they are expected to be 
higher than those of the corresponding 
time last year. Both beef ,.nd. dairy cat¬ 
tle are selling well. Beef cattle run from 
$50 to $05 per head and milch cows from 
$75 to $100 per head. Grain rose a little 
a short time ago, but is steady at present. 
Bainbridge, N. Y. c. P. 
August 31.—The dairy business in 
Southern Missouri is on a firm basis and 
growing. All the milk on the Iron Mount¬ 
ain It. R. goes as milk to St. Louis. South¬ 
western Missouri puts it into cream. The 
future for the dairy interest in Southern 
Missouri is very encouraging; in fact it 
is better adapted for that than grain. 
Cows have been shipped out for the last 
two years, on account of drought, so that 
there will be a shortage of cows in the 
Spring, and I expect good ones will bring 
a good price. Just now they are down 
to bed rock, as Southeastern Missouri, 
Southern Illinois and Northeastern Ar¬ 
kansas have had almost a total failure in 
corn, meadows, oats and pastures. This 
drought has hit us harder than the 
drought of 1891, as there is no surplus 
left over from last year. Last Spring 
cows sold at $40 to $100. According to 
quality, and today ordinary cows go at 
$30 to $40. Of course good cows would 
bring more. I do not think that there 
are many cows for sale that you would 
call good. w. R. 
Potosi, Mo. 
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