907 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Working Away From Cows 
I would like very much to see this question discussed 
in The R. N.-Y. by good authority : Can one earn a 
good labor income, or in other words, make a success 
at diversified farming by leaving out the cows and stock¬ 
ing heavily with sheep and hogs? I do not like cows 
and hens, although they have made me good money. 
E. M. 
Must Know What He Is Doing 
W ITH the conditions and the situation of the 
inquirer entirely unknown, it will he very 
difficult to formulate an answer that will be helpful 
or satisfactory to the questioner or to the writer. 
That hogs and sheep are made profitable is well 
known, but the conditions must he favorable and, 
at the very first, the party undertaking this work 
must be well versed in the care and feeding of these 
animals, and the farm must be favorable to the ven¬ 
ture and the markets 
farm which can be used for raising pigs. The silage 
can be steamed, and mixed with grain for the mature 
stock to great advantage, but unfortunately hogs 
won't stand in stanchions. Contrary to common be¬ 
lief, suitable housing and pastures for hogs cost 
considerable money. Woven wire fencing notably is 
extremely high in price. From a market standpoint 
I seriously question the advisability of a man start¬ 
ing in now to raise pork, if your correspondent 
aims to be a breeder let him figure about 10 years 
before he can “arrive.” Then he will need his cows 
to give him a supply of skim-milk. So if this man 
likes hogs and sheep let him start with a small 
number and decrease his cattle and increase his hogs 
or sheep until he finds his own balance. On every 
farm there is a certain balance which can be main¬ 
tained most profitably, the numbers of each kind of 
must fie ready and easy 
of access. Tf the writer 
is sure these conditions 
exist and that he is pre¬ 
pared to change his 
habits of caring for ani¬ 
mals and put all there 
is in him into the 
sheep and hogs as 
he evidently has into 
the cows and hens, lie 
will be fairly sure of 
success. Generally speak¬ 
ing. it is not well to 
make any radical 
changes in our habits of 
life or in its labors. If 
the cows do well for 
you. better stick to the 
cows, and by taking ad¬ 
vantage of modern con¬ 
ditions improve the bus¬ 
iness and make it pay 
still better. If the farm 
is well adapted to graz¬ 
ing and the general con¬ 
ditions are such that 
sheep can be cared for 
readily, and good stock 
is secured, they will pay 
well. If hog feed can 
be produced on the farm 
with the capital and 
labor at command, the 
hogs will return a good 
profit, but not to go into 
the market and procure 
the foods, or any great 
part of them, for them. 
One would think that a 
person who has good 
profits with cows and 
hens to his credit could 
do almost anything he 
wishes with any other 
farm animal but at the 
very start there will be 
such a difference in the 
labor required and in 
the general care that he 
may meet with obstacles 
that will daunt his 
courage. Beginning at the bottom is the safe rule, 
and while the business is small the profits of the 
cows and the hens will lie missed. There will have 
to be something to tide over this lean time and this 
will have to be charged to the sheep and hogs. The 
sheep is essentially more of a grazing animal than 
the cow. The hog makes no money for the farmer 
who purchases his feeds. n. walker mckkex. 
Oxford Co., Me. 
Diversified farming is good practice, but can¬ 
not be done and make a good labor income by 
leaving out the cows and poultry. The feed problem 
knocks out the hog question in the East. Sheep at 
their first cost would not warrant stocking heavily. 
Diversified farming is good, but you must have some 
of all. not a large stocking of one kind, for then it 
would not he diversified farming, as this inquirer 
wants. \Ye have all to come to it: then we can pro¬ 
vide for our own wants, for a considerable saving in 
cash and have more of that dollar than the 35 per 
cent we are now getting. r u i. c. woodxl tt. 
Columbia Co., N. Y. 
Making such a change is not one which can be 
done like changing a field crop, but must of necessity 
be done gradually. First of all. especially in refer¬ 
ence to hogs, there is little equipment on a dairy 
■■ ■ 
.1 Simile Transplanted /*Unit of Cossack Alfalfa 
The root was planted iu 1015. This root was dug May 7. 1010. It had then made a growth of 24 inches, the 
crown being 13 inches wide. Fig. 240. (See Hope Farm Notes) 
animals depending on the personality of the boss. 
Hampshire Co.. Mass. ix. c. bartox. 
Expense with Hogs and Sheep 
There is no question about the hog business being 
profitable at present. With good hogs beyond $20 
at Chicago and worth 17 cents locally, pigs are a 
mighty fine investment now. The only question is, 
have you the hogs and will the present prices last? 
With pigs worth, say $7 at four weeks, and brood 
sows from $30 to $100, it is a big investment to stock 
very heavily, but if the present'demand from Europe 
keeps up to killing time one would be a big winner 
even with $4 corn. I have played waiter and cham¬ 
bermaid to a bunch of hogs some 20 years, always 
with some, usually with a bunch, and am familiar 
with the ups and downs of the hog business. The 
cow seems to be the natural side partner to the pig, 
and few farmers in this section are without two or 
three cows anyway, so we will assume the inquirer 
has some cows left to start his pigs. When I made 
my first grab after a dollar on this farm I kept a 
few c.. v- and several brood sows, and aimed to turn 
oft’ a _.v»od bunch of sliotes Spring and Fall. 1 had 
big pastures and woods fenced, raised considerable 
corn, and could ge.t all the first-class middlings and 
bi;au 1 wanted at $23 per ton; also had two pro¬ 
ducing orchards. When 1 could get six cents per 
pound T knew there was good money, although there 
was no cost accounting or any other way of arriving 
except that I was able to pay interest. 
Later I had a small bunch of purehreds for exhi¬ 
bition purposes and when the cholera got them I 
bought four or five “just pigs” in the Fall, and 
carried them around to August 1 on skim-milk, cull 
beans and potatoes, etc., and always made good 
money. Usually I could make them weigh about 
300 pounds, and when I got eight cents per pound 
they made me money. Last Winter I had a farrow 
sow and two pigs which I paid $7 for in October. 
I sold April 12 for 16 cents per pound, and they 
weighed 235 apiece. All they ever cost besides the 
first price was about 300 pounds of middlings and 
bran; remainder was baked potatoes. My potatoes 
got killed early and 
were very small, and 
the new grader gets that 
kind, but fed to the pigs 
they made good profit. 
I prefer baking to boil¬ 
ing. The pigs do better 
if anything, and an old 
kettle on the stove is a 
great nuisance. But 
shove a pan full in the 
oven and they are little 
bortier and the pig does 
sure relish them on a 
cold Winter's morning. 
I have two neighbors 
who milk from six to 12 
cows, and always have 
a bunch of sliotes. I 
know nothing about 
their finances, but both 
they and the hogs look 
prosperous, while their 
farms are producing, due 
to plenty of manure. 
But to go after hogs 
commercially one needs 
good corn laud and 
plenty of range, prefer¬ 
ably Alfalfa, as they 
have arrangements in 
the West. Then if you 
can sidestep disease and 
get 20 cents per ponnd 
you are a winner. I 
have had sheep here a 
long time, usually 50 
ewes or more. Several 
neighbors run twice 
that. They are fairly 
profitable on cheap 
lands with hay at $25; 
oats. 7<) cents and bran 
scarce, when wool is 50 
cents per pound or more 
and lambs 14 cents off 
grass. I have stuck to 
them with wool worth 
is cents and lambs five 
cents. But I have a big 
acreage of old hills, and 
after we did all we 
could there was plenty 
dollars from the sheep 
of idle land. So the few 
were about velvet, and came in handy when debts 
were pressing. Also 1 think even now with feed 
and fodder scarce and high it is good policy to feed 
the sheep instead of drawing produce eight miles 
over the awful roads. Good ewes cost money now, 
but I infer this man has cows, so he can trade at 
about even value if he can find anyone who will sell 
him the sheep. Fifty ewes at present prices will 
turn' around $500. with good luck more and keep 
the flock up. Of course one can feed his lambs out 
and realize more, but the general custom here is to 
sell early off grass. A few men feed, but they have 
very productive farms with hill lands for pasture, 
and it is a question if they "could not make more 
with cows if they liked to milk. As I say. sheep are 
not highly profitable, but given cheap lands aud a 
long haul they solve the labor and transportation 
problems very successfully. b. l. Hathaway. 
Schuyler Co., N. Y'. 
Look Before You Leap 
Although my own experience is mostly with hens 
and cows. I believe it would be quite possible to make 
a good living from hogs and sheep. It looks to me 
as though pork, mutton and wool were likely to bring 
fair prices for some time to come; Of course pork 
