1086 
7ht RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
August 16, 1924 
tains but 40 acres however, one-half in hill pasture, 
the other half in hillside meadows. A farmhouse 
equally large, in a setting of lawn and trees that a 
real estate agent would wax enthusiastic over, a 
nearly new basement barn and other outbuildings. 
Not in as good repair as the first mentioned place. 
Perhaps $3,000 would replace the buildings in as 
good condition as they are now. The owner asks 
$1,500 for this place. 
Now, don’t flood me with inquiries as to the loca¬ 
tion of these farms. It will not be disclosed and, 
besides, like values can be duplicated all over the 
State. I have described these two farms merely to 
illustrate farm values and farm costs in New York 
State. They stand as monuments to the decadence 
of rural life in the East. A generation ago these 
farms supported large families, the children of 
which were educated and sent out into the world 
with all the traditions of the finest old American 
homes behind them. They were owned and tilled by 
men and women who had been taught the real values 
in life through the discipline of toil and sacrifice. 
Today they are for sale and, as A. H. says, “nobody 
wants them.” The real tragedy here is not that 
nobody wants the lands and buildings; it is that 
nobody wants to continue there the kind of homes 
which they once supported. 
However much we may dislike the bald statement 
of the fact, men work for money. In saying this 
we are merely saying in a few words that they work 
for opportunity to obtain those things which seem 
most desirable to them. If these things cannot be 
obtained by working upon farms, men who are at 
liberty to choose their occupation will not work 
upon farms, and if men will not work upon farms 
there will be no demand for farms. These are gen¬ 
eral principles, subject to exceptions, but the basic 
fact behind cheap and unwanted New York farms is 
cheap farm produce that will not bring in open mar¬ 
ket a fair profit over the cost of its production. 
Whenever and wherever this condition is got away 
from there is a rush back to the farm, for men’s 
hearts turn to the land today, as they always have. 
The struggle to place the production of raw ma¬ 
terials upon the same basis as the production of 
finished ones has been a long and heart-breaking 
one, and it has not yet succeeded. The end is being 
sought through education, co-operation, and even 
legislation. In many ways, the very efforts made 
defeat their own ends, as when instruction in the 
natural laws of production augments an already 
overproduction. Statisticians and economists delight 
in predicting the near approach of the time when 
the older communities cannot produce the food need¬ 
ed by their “teeming millions,” but a few hours’ 
drive through almost any section of the Empire 
State will show the observer that not a fraction of 
its surface is producing at anything like its capacity, 
and that the time when it will not suckle its own 
children is in the almost inconceivably distant fu¬ 
ture. M. B. D. 
A Thrifty Ayrshire Cow 
T HE picture on our first page shows the Ayrshire 
cow, Mauehlin Snowdrop 2d. who has quite a 
reputation in New England. This cow was bred and 
developed at the Connecticut Agricultural College 
and a close record has been kept of her milk yield 
since 8he first began milking. It appears that she 
has produced in 11 1/3 calendar years 101,729 lbs. of 
milk. That milk tested 4.25 per cent butterfat, 
which means 4,321.5S lbs. since this cow began milk¬ 
ing as a two-year-old heifer. Her latest official rec¬ 
ord for a year is 13,043 lbs. of milk, containing 
516.20 lbs. of butterfat. This was completed at over 
13 years of age. and is said to be the largest produc¬ 
tion ever made by a cow in Connecticut at this age. 
They have even figured the value of her lifetime 
production of milk. Her entire production was sold 
for $3.51S.22. The net profit above the cost of feed 
was $1,557.76. Even when milk was at its lowest 
]trice, which was $2.35 per 100 lbs., she returned a 
substantial profit. She made her best record in 1918 
when she gave 14,680 lbs. of milk, testing 4.21 per 
cent butterfat. During that year she received an 
average of 15 lbs. of grain per day, and in her 
thirteenth year the profit on her milk amounted to 
$249.5S. 
In addition to this immense quantity of milk this 
cow has added to the college herd nine calves and, 
of course, there are many grand-daughters. One of 
her sons is heading a dairy herd in Porto Rico. Two 
of her daughters which have completed records show 
that they have inherited their mother’s producing 
abilities, for one of them fn three years produced a 
total yield of 26,753 lbs. of milk, which sold for 
$1,070.17. 
It is no wonder that the Ayrshire cattle are pop¬ 
ular in many parts of New England. They are 
hardy, active and strong, well fitted for life in the 
hilly pastures of that section. Of course this is an 
exceptional cow, and very few cattle of any breed 
can match her in profit; still, good Ayrshires and 
their grades will be found in many New England 
herds, and they are generally the leading cattle 
where they are found. 
Some Alfalfa Notes 
W ONDER if I will have to give it up, after all? 
Guess so; in part, anyway. For 20 years, 
perhaps, we experimented with Alfalfa here on a hill 
farm where Alfalfa does not grow naturally. We 
had to learn mostly by trials, and I now know of 
many mistakes made. Some years ago we settled 
down to the opinion that on this soil in this locality 
it is better not to trust to clear seeding alone, but to 
mix some amount of some other seeds with the Al¬ 
falfa seed. Often we used a little Red-top, a sprink¬ 
ling of Timothy, perhaps some Red clover and a bit 
of Alsike. Not that there was a very considerable 
amount of the other seed, but always some of it. 
The other day I went out to see how some of the 
newer seeding is doing. For a year or two a little 
This is ‘'When a feller needs a friend” 
has been seeded clear for a trial, and I had to give in 
that it is as good as any that we have grown. Four 
big loads to the acre, or a little more, at the first 
cutting, is enough, and that is what was taken on 
some of the newer seedings. All the same I am not 
going to give up entirely, for it may be that unless 
the ground is one Of the best suited pieces there is 
on the farm a little other seed may well be added, 
unless one desires to try it out further with clear 
seeding to see what will come of it. I am pretty 
well convinced now that the Farm Bureau man was 
right when he suggested trying to seed with Alfalfa 
alone on a field that is as nearly right for it as our 
best fields go. On a less favorable location it will 
be policy to be cautious. 
Quite a little has been said of late about the 
proper time to cut Alfalfa. The academic side of 
this matter has never troubled me particularly, but 
the practical has bothered a good deal. The exact 
time for cutting to get the best results is something 
worth knowing, but it is too difficult to get it cut and 
cured to worry very much about delaying a few 
days for proper maturity. Likewise one who has a 
big haying to do and is short of help always notices 
that some of the fields go somewhat too long before 
they are harvested. It is not so much a matter 
whether we make arrangements for three cuttings 
or content ourselves with two. Some say that we 
should do the latter. To tell the truth, I have usual¬ 
ly done so, but not so much from preference as from 
necessity. 
About the only thing that I strive for more than 
what necessity favors is not to cut it too late in the 
Fall. Some has gone into the Winter with a really 
big growth rather than cut late. I have had some 
experience with late cutting, and it shows the next 
year in only a few plants left; those gone are never 
to return until the field is again seeded. Of course 
I would like to follow the suggestions of experts 
and cut right on the day that they designate fre¬ 
quently; but having found that impossible I cut 
rather earlier than they indicate, and then some 
very much later. My idea is to secure a good stand 
of 6 to 12 in. for tVanter, preferably* with us not 
much under S, and if it gets 15 it does not worry me. 
Two cuttings are now advised by some authorities, 
and I have followed that plan more than any other, 
not because experts said so, but from necessity, in 
order to have a good growth for Winter protection. 
H. H. L. 
Truth About the Rye Crop 
If there is any permanent market for rye straw, I 
have lots of land suitable, and, can easily acquire as 
much cleared land adjacent, for $4 per acre or less. 
Land is situated 50 miles north of Ottawa, Canada, 
close' to railroad. There is a grist mill there. If rye 
straw is in good demand when thrashed; the grain 
ground into flour makes more nourishing bread than the 
bread made from the white flour used in this part of 
the world; if any person wants to go into the business 
on a large scale, I would co-operate. Taxes in that 
part of Canada, about $20 for 100 acres. w. h. 
E want to make it clear that what we have 
said about a revival of rye growing refers to 
localities near the large cities where there is a good 
local market for rye straw. The price of bundle rye 
is quite high, the demand is good, but any general 
rush into rye growing would soon ruin the market. 
The scheme of growing great tracts of rye in Canada 
would not pay, for the freight and tariff would soon 
eat up any possible profit. There are some Eastern 
farms located near large cities where the hill or 
Waste land might well be seeded to rye, to be sold 
as a local crop, but it would be nonsense to conclude 
that because the local production might pay a gen- 
eral increase of the rye crop will be profitable. 
A Chance the Shoot Woodchucks 
I am informed that there are certain sections of your 
State where woodchucks have become quite a problem 
to farmers, but have been unable to obtain any specific 
information regarding this subject. I have heard it said 
that in the region around Cambridge and Shushan there 
are a large number of these pests, and am wondering if 
you can confirm this report. If it appears that there 
is some truth of the prevalence of these animals in and 
around Shushan, would you be in a position to give the 
names and addresses of some of the leading farmers in 
that locality? 
Any information that may come to your attention in 
connection with woodchucks, in more than ordinary 
numbers, would be much appreciated by me, especially 
as to the particular location. There are several expert 
riflemen, members of this club, who would very prob¬ 
ably spend a week or two in cleaning up the woodchucks 
of a locality, if they could but find inviting shooting 
grounds; and there is no doubt but what there are farm¬ 
ers who would be very pleased to have these men come 
and thin out the rodents for them. The men who would 
go would 'be of that type and class that would at all 
times exercise most careful attention in placing their 
shots and would not in any way at all endanger or 
jeopardize a farmer’s live stock, so there need not be 
any apprehension on your part for this phase of the 
question. It has been said that three men from a Bos¬ 
ton club killed upwards or 600 or 700 woodchucks on 
one two week’s trip in Eastern New York ; all this just 
for love of the sport. A. T. hampson, 
Secretary Providence Revolver Club. 
W E do not know that the woodchuck popula¬ 
tion around these points is greater than at 
other places. We recently met a boy who lives in 
that territory who has caught 100 woodchucks in 
traps. We know that the animals are becoming a 
pest in some places. This plan of club shooting 
might find favor with some farmers, though too 
many hunters will shoot at a woodchuck and hit a 
cow or a sheep. 
What of the Poultry Future? 
It is reported that many dealers lost money on cold 
storage eggs last season, which shows that the increased 
production of eggs and poultry in the United States 
since the war is having its effect upon prices to such an 
extent that eggs will probably go into storage this year 
at about 5 cento per dozen less than last year. All 
through the Middle West and on the Pacific coast the 
production of eggs is increasing this year, and Utah, 
with nearly 1,000,000 laying hens, is becoming a factor 
in the production of market eggs. The baby chick in¬ 
dustry is flourishing, and the country will soon be flood¬ 
ed with baby chicks of all kinds and descriptions, which 
will naturally increase the number of laying hens for 
next year considerably. All this will contribute to 
lower prices, and means, in plain English, that the 
poultry business is headed straight toward the same sit¬ 
uation in which the dairy business finds itself—over¬ 
production and unprofitable prices. 
Poultrymen who know their business, keep good 
(Stock and study economical production costs and intel¬ 
ligent marketing, have nothing to fear, but the novice 
who goes into the poultry business, or continues under 
the present conditions of high-priced labor, feed and 
equipment, for the sole purpose of making money with 
stock of poor or average quality, would better watch his 
. • C. S. GREENE. 
