OCR Text |
Show DA1KY FASidlNli. The Utah dtock-raiaera and dairy men, by the careful perusal of an article in tho October number ot Harper's Monthly, would find much valuable information. It ia an iuter eating and instructive account of a model New England stock a:id dairy farm, near Litchfield, Connecticut. It contains 400 acres of laud which, nine years ago, was a dreary, barren waste, strewn with granite bowldur and choked by noxious weeds. Tuere is not a ranch or farm in this territory terri-tory that did not ten years ago present a better natural appearance than Echo farm, the one described in the article spoken of. The surface was rough, unattractive and hilly, and the lew worthless cuttle that roamed over it in search ot food, could fiud barely enough for subsistence. Mr. Starr, an intelligent gentleman with some means, went to Litchfield for health, lie had no knowledge of farming, but simply an inclination in that diroctton. i'urohasing a patch of ground he began to improve it, and hia agricultural tastes rapidly developing, devel-oping, he kopt adding to bis first purchase pur-chase until hia farm reached its present pres-ent sizD. Strict scientific principles governed all of his movements. He made u busmen of his vooation, running his farm m if it were a factory or a store, keeping account ac-count of the cot and product of everything, and knowing at all times whether ho was losing or making money. His swamp lands were drained and his hilla were freod from rocks. With the stones substantia! and enduring fences were constructed, and the entire farm was fitted aud arranged for cultivation by machinery. ' Observation and his system of accounts led him to the conclusion that Jersey cattle were the most profitable breed,, and also that dairying would produce larger returns than anything else he i could undertake in the farming line. From five head of these cattlo ho now has a herd cumbering one hundred pure bloods. His stables, b.irns and houses for the storage of produce and maohinery were constructed wit:i a view to convenience, health and economy. Every cow is allowed 900 cubic feet of air, au:l tho utmost regard to clo.uiline.'j and sanitiiry laws is obd-jrved, The cows are milked cegul.-trly twicaa d.iy.and milking milk-ing time oi'cu-rt t the sume hours all the ye:ir round, Tho miikeia are also required to wneli acd Ex themselves them-selves up be lure atteuding to that important im-portant work, acd the utmost quiet is observed at all titnea in the stables. Toe food is all weighed, as is also the milk, the owner thus being able to tell how much a cow coats, arid what Bhe yields him. One reason for Mr. Starr's success, is the f.ict that the utmost nicety iB practiced in all of :he operations of butter-making. His butter is the best that can be pro duced, and the const qcre is that it always finds rc;dy purchasers, who" cheerfully pay $1 a pound for it. His weekly s-iles amount to 200 pounds, besides which bo disposes dis-poses of vast quantities of milk. Ol course, it cannot be expected that butter at $1 per pound will ever come into general use. The reason that the product of Echo fiirm is so much sought for is because it is good, pure, clean and rich qualities that cannot be found -iu the ordinary article that fiuds its way into tho market. The scarcity ol a thing makes it valuable, and no one realizes this truth better than tho maker of good butter. The grocer always finds :t difficult to keep a good article, though inferior butter, at half the price of the former, wi!l actually decay de-cay and spoil in bis shop. The proprietor pro-prietor of Echo farm find? hia dairy business profitable, simply because he attends to it, and brings h little reason and common seme to bU assistance. If ho cm tuocesaful in reclaiming a dreary Connecticut moor, our territorial dairyman, with their teeming valleys aud bills covered cov-ered with nutritious natural grasses, certainly ought to re.p rich harvests from their cows. The trcuble is slovenliness, 6hiftles$nes, n'hgeace and downright ignorance are too ' often the controlling forces about a ' farm, whereas thrift, a Dice attention to de'.ail, and a dash of intel'ier.ce ehould always niaui.'.st IbmMrlw-s. If the story of Echo :arm wculd be read by our dairymen, and they would pre fit by it, the public who are feed ing on rancid grease wou d turn .o the butter makers and cull them benelactore. |