THE FARM.

Colonist, Volume LVI, Issue 13635, 25 November 1914, Page 8

THE FARM.

COMMON SENSE IN DAIRYING

There was never :i better time than the present to engage in the production of milk or cream looking at it from a purely money-making standpoint (says an exchange). The future prosperity of many agricultural communities depends on the success of those engaged in dairying, not only to maintain the fertility of the soil., but to get proper returns from the money invested.

Let us first consider the question of maintaining the fertility of the farm. In spite of the fact that dairying is mnv engaging the attention of many communities to a more or less degree, wo cannot c!;:im that the fertility of our soil is not deteriorating.

We must not be content with preserving the present fertility ol" the soil— we must do better than this. We must put back the excess amount that we have taken from it. This doesn't mean necessarily that we •must keep a much larger number of rows in order to do this. It means rather that we shall be real dairymen. Preserving the fertility of the soil is not accomplished alto-

gether by spreading manure. The man who runs his dairy as it should be run

will carry on his other farm operations in the same manner. He will till his land well and care for it scientifically. Dairying teachers him to be a better all-round farmer.

We will treat only of the good cow and what she will do. Perhaps to first call attention to the fact that prosperity has followed the- common cow into every community where she has been introduced will best emphasise the possibilities of dairying. If the common cow, this cow t-iat produces only 1501b of butter in a year, is a good investment for a fanning community, then what about the better cow, the one that will produce 3001b or 4501b?

It is very" easy to find individual cows in dairying comn. unities,, that arc .producing over 30Ol!> of butter in a year. It is also easy to find mauy other cow.s that -are capable of producing that much witl> good feed and good care.

The 2501b cow is just a fairly good dairy, cow. She is not a highly-bred dairy cow of tiny particular breed. She is just the ordinary common cow with a tendency to convert a maximum of her feed nutriment.

Here is another important consideration. In order to make this kind oi" a cow produce only that much buttev in a year it is not necessary, to go atv.vfrom the farm for a single pound c! grain, although it is sometimes advis able. With lucerne for roughage—that -crop which is particularly beneficial to the soil —-it is possible to make up a good economical ration of the far.^i-

grown grains

Neither is it nece>.sary to expend a lot of money for barns and bain equipment. All that she will require of her owner is comfort and good feed. Isn't that simple?

In connection with that it is well to consider what is possible with better cows than the 2501b cow. When a dairyman onoc tastes of the profits from a properly managed dairy and the right kind of cows he will not be satisfied with the kind of a cow we -have iu'st been considering.

The dairy cow—the real dairy cowis the result of selection, care and breeding, and the degree of excellence in the herd may be raised from yean, to year by selection, good care and breeding just as the dairy cow has been developed from the co.v of former ages. / We should ,not lose sight of this fact: What dairyirig has doae will be insignificant indeed when coir-pared with whfrt dairying will have lono 20" or 30 years; hence, providing fanners take hold of the business as we believe they will.—

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