t- .-.lay. March 14, 1905.
PROGRESSIVE FARMER AND COTTON PLANT.
3
SOUTHERN SHEEP RAISING PAYS.
u Open Letter in Which Mr. Samuel
' Archer Gives Further Details of His
Own Experience.
Sheep Walk Farms,
Statcsvillc, X. C, Feb. 27, 1905.
Mr. Ira C. Johnston, Boston, Ga.
IVnr Sir: Your favor of 9th in
fant received. That you may un
.rctan.l about our flocks here, I will
xvrite- you more fully than your sev
,r..l .ui.stions calls for, as I have
1 .;..! vi ral letters like yours that the
(. !..:! Plant part of The Progres
Farmer, has brought me. Four
:n 1 live years ago I wrote a series
.f jlu-op husbandry articles for The
lV-.nssive Fanner. That resulted
in three of us bringing here from
Northern Illinois 200 head of fine
v., il Merino ewes and three stock
r:U!i at a cost of $74 a head for
tin ewes and $100 a head for the
ra:n. or an investment of $3,000 for
the tlock.
It was not a risky experiment to
me. for I had been much of my time
iVr forty years a practical wool
iz rower and sheop breeder, mainly
with this kind of sheep in West Vir
ginia ami Missorui, and had a thor
ough knowledge of the business in the
Kast. Middle and Western parts of
the United States. I chose the Me
rino sheep because 1 knew they had
1 1 roved successful as a basis for the
wool and mutton industry in all
civilized countries where sheep are
kept and I did not believe our South
ern States could, or would, be an ex
ception to that rule.
Any person of common sense who
may examine our sheep here and be
come acquainted with our flocks and
their history here for the last three
vears will not fail to see that our
work here has been crowned with
-in-ci---. The flock's annual weight
i w.m.I each year has been from ten
t iwclve pounds for ewes and twen-ty-sn
to thirty-eight pounds for
sto.-k ranis, sold unwashed to a fac
tory here at eighteen to twenty-one
cents per pound. This shows U3
that with common or even scant keep
ing here these flocks would average
eight to ten pounds of wool that will
cll for $l.s0 to $2 per fleece for
their wool alone, and this makes the
rams very desirable and valuable to
cros on the common or high-grade
mutton (so-called) breeds of sheep.
Hie weight of carcass of ewes, kept
in very ordinary condition, is from
to loo pounds, and when butcher
lat about 123 pounds, and rams from
low to very high condition from 100
to t.ur 2U0 pounds.
'I he mutton is as sweet, juicy and
e.c Ih nt as any other when it is fed
up for that purpose and made as fat.
I r proof of this, we may refer to
the fact that the Northern muttou
n arket is being very largely supplied
with Merino and grade Merino mut-
t'-n which, when equally fattened,
! Us as high as any other mutton in
tlie great general markets.
1 he successful keeping of this kind
"t sheep here in the South even in
large flocks needs no argument from
:i:e ..r any one else; it has been prac
tically demonstrated. The wool is
finer than any other wool, and is
used for making the best cloths for
both men and women's wear, and is
much the best for mixing with cot
ton. Its length is two and a half
to three and a half inches.
I am more than ever convinced that
a heavy fine wool fleece should be the
first and prime principle adhered to
in stocking the whole South with
sheep.
Considering the situation of our
Southern people, and the condition
of our whole Southern country, it is
not reasonable to expect that we can
at once compete with the North and
West in the mutton market; no, not
even with "spring lamb," but if we
make wool the first great purpose, it
alone will amply pay for keeping
sheep and like cotton, there is always
a cash market for it, and in the last
fifty years the price has been far
more regular than the cotton mar
ket. The mutton of these fine wool
sheep will find a ready market as
fast as we can market it for sale,
and at the highest prices when fat.
I remain, sir,
Very truly yours,
SAMUEL ARCHER.
Milk Contamination.
Messrs. Editors: The Nebraska
Experiment Station has just issued
Bulletin No. 87, on "A Test of Calf
Rations' and "Methods of Con
trolling Contamination of Milk Dur
ing Milking. The second part of the
bulletin deals with a test to deter
mine the amount of contamination
of milk that takes place during milk
ing, and its control. The four meth
ods tested were as follows: (1)
Sponging the cow's udder with water
before milking, (2) using a 5 per
cent solution of carbolic acid, (3)
rubbing with vaseline, and (4) sim
ply brushing with the hand.
A bacterial test was made of the
above methods and the results ob
tained brought forth the following
conclusions :
Some means of preventing milk
contamination during milking should
be employed.
The work required to sponge an
animal's flank and undder is but a
trifle, and great improvement can be
made on the milk and its products.
The acid solution costs two cents
per gallon, which is enough to treat
ten cows. The only objection to
this method are the disagreeable odor
and the bother of mixing.
The vaseline costs about the same
as the carbolic acid, and serves as a
good preventive for chapped or sore
teats. It is also to be recommended
for cows with short teats which have
to be milked by the stripping method
This treatment will not answer when
the cows have dirty udders.
The water treatment is to be
recommended for general use above
the other three, as it is cheaper and
does the work practically as well.
This method can be used on any farm,
with little or no inconvenience, and
the results obtained would more than
compensate for the extra time re
quired. A. L. HAECKER. !
CREW
SEPARAT
(5)
Thousands of dairy farmers are going to buy a Cream Separator
this Spring. The purchase of a separator is a most important invest
ment. Great care should be taken to make no mistake.
No other farm investment is of equal importance to the cream
separator. It makes or wastes money twice every day in the year,
and it may last two or twenty years.
There is easily a difference of from $50 to $150 per year between
the benefits and savings of a De Laval machine and a poor one. A De
Laval machine lasts at least twenty years with small cost for repairs,
while other machines last from two to ten years and cost a great deal
meanwhile.
So far as advertisements and circulars are concerned, about as
much is claimed "on paper" for poor machines as for the De Laval.
Some of the biggest claims are made for the poorest and trashiest
machines.
If the buyer wishes to be guided by the best experience of others
and best of quality he must purchase a De Laval machine, and he can
surely make no mistake in doing so.
Ninety-eight per cent of the creameries of the world, which have
been using Cream Separators for twenty-five years, now use De Laval
machines. Almost every prominent dairy user does so. Six hundred
thousand farmers scattered all over the world, or more than ten times
all others combined, do so. Every important Exposition for twenty
five years, ending with St. Louis in 1904, has unhesitantingly grant
ed Iligest Honors to the De Laval machines.
But, if from any imaginable reason the buyer wants to get his
own experience or make his own choice, then let him TRY as many
machines as he pleases, but by all means TRY a De Laval before he
reaches a conclusion and actually invests his money in any of them.
There are De Laval agents in every locality whose business it is
to supply machines in this way, and who are glad of the opportunity
to do so. If you don't know the nearest agent send for his name
and address. It will cost you nothing, and it may save you a good
deal.
By all means don't make the foolish mistake of sending your
money in advance to some "mail order" concern and getting back a
"scrub" separator not actualy worth its weight in scrap-iron. If
content to buy such a machine, at least SEE and TRY it first before
you part with any money.
The
Oe
aval Separator
Go.
Randolph & Canal Sts.,
CHICAGO.
1213 Filbert Street,
PHILADELPHIA.
9 & 11 Drumm St..
SAN FRANCISCO.
GENERAL OFFICES :
74 Cortlandt Street,
NEW YORK-
12i Youvllle Square,
MONTREAL.
74 & 77 York Street,
TORONTO..
248 McDermot Avenue.
WINNIPEG.