VOL. LXVII
INDIANAPOLIS, FEB. 24, 1912.
NO. 8
A Great Dairy Barn.
nUI/T     OF   NATIVE   STONE     FOR
DTJRABILITY.
Ry Prof.  F.  B.   Mumford,  of  the   Missouri University, Columbia.
Xothing but the most durable materials were used in the new barn. The
main building is largely of native
stone, which abounds in the vicinity,
and the two silos connected with it are
eif solid   concrete   properly   reinforced.
practical, common sense purpose; to
make the building more durable, lessen the cost of repair, insure cleanliness, prevent unnecessary waste of
feed  and  fertility  and  save  labor.
The new dairy leiirn, with its modern equipment and practical appliances for the care of a fine dairy herd,
marks another step in the upbuilding
of the dairy department of the Agricultural College. Realizing that a
high-producing dairy herd is the logical beginning of a successful dairy-
project, the College has built up by
judicious     breeding     and     selection   a
falfa is preferred and chiefly grown
to feed with the silage and some corn
meal. Barley is sown with the alfalfa
for a nurse crop. Nearly all tlie corn
from 8 to 10 acres are- put into the
silo for the cows, and 6 to 8 acres
grow alfalfa. 15 to 20 pounds of
alfalfa and 4 0 pounds of silage' anel '
small quantity of corn meal seems;
best in tlie daily cow ration and is
thus well  balanced.
The milk is all sold and is the only
cash return, except the young calves,
on the farm. The milk brings $1.50
per one    hundred  lbs.—occasionally   a
of soil fertility, l'.ut it is almost impossible to maintain and build up fertility without stock of some kind.
However, before making any radical
change in one's business it should be
studied irom every viewpoint. After
carefully studying these points of interest I have decided that the keeping
of milk cows in connection with general farming here- in the hills of southeastern Ineliana is a paying Investment. I am therefore glad that I am
placed on the dairy side rather than
on the beef side of the line. And yet
there is a half dozen to admire a beef
One of the Best Dairy Barns in America Just Completed at  the  University of   Missouri,   Columbia.
fhe first cost of such a structure is
Matively high, but when once erected
" is practically built for all time, and
the cost of repair is reduced to a
minimum. Its economy becomes more
apparent as the years go  by.
1 emcrete   floors   and   mangers   with
iron stalls and  fittings  make an  inter-
"r that can    be easily    cleaned    and
kePt  clean.       Sunlight,     the     greatest
f,f a'l   purifiers   and   disinfectants,   will
!'plied  in abundance through numerous large,  well-placed  windows.  A
to   system     of  venUlation     will
'• an  unlimited  amount  of  pure
I at the  same  time maintain  a
m   temperature.    The   combina-
< leanliness,  sunlight and   fresh
the best insurance on the health
Diversity  dairy  herd   that  can
led.    It  adds  to   the  comfort
herd  and  insures large  returns
• I eaten.
'  elevators,     litter-carriers   run-
S on overhead   tracks,  and  modern
1 'tails, in which a large number of
10   be  cared     for  quickly  and
'.   are   among   the   labor-sav-
'■ which  are  to he  installed.
■'in  for receiving the liquid  mall  provide  nie^ans  of preventing
any fertility.       A     milk-
tely    "detached   from   the
taBtrtS."* a Pr°(1uct free from
IS    and     at* -"I'ltfly     Pure   and
The  building Vni  be  pipped
scales    for  keepli?B
weights   of
■*.  of feed  consumed  and  milk
Tt will  be  built Tor'business.
''-'thing in    it will be Uiv**e    f°r a
herd of remarkable producers. Five
Jersey cows of this herd have each
produced more than 700 lbs. of butter
in one year. Five Holstein cows, including Josephine, have a combined
yearly record of 95,310 lbs. of milk, an
average for each of 19.0G2  lbs.
Recently the College has added
largely to its laboratory facilities for
the teaching of dairy bacteriology and
the manufacture of butter and cheese.
Two additional assistants have been
appointed for the coming year to provide for the more extended courses of
instruction made possible by the increased equipment. During the past
year 600 students received instruction
in dairy husbandry at the University
of Missouri.
THE     ILLINOIS      TWENTY      ACRE
FARM.
By W. C. Holliday.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Yreur readers would no doubt be In-
teresteel in what a good farmer does
on the farm of the Illinois College of
Agriculture, of only 20 acres. It has
suitable residence and a small round
barn to accommodate 18 to 20 good
Holsteir. cows, the milk of which is
marketed, and horses to till the farm.
The calves are all sold soon after they
come, in about a week, and the milk
all sold in the market. More than
enough corn for silage for the cows is
grown on the 20 acres, with alfalfa
and clover to balance the ration.    Al-
little more. The cows yield 4,800
pounds of milk of over 3V4 per cent
butter fat to each cow on the average.
One man does all the work on this
20 acre farm, and the income per acre
is $80, with an average expense, labor
and all, of $41.50 per acre.
The plans of the year 1912 give
assurances with better cows, yielding
6,000 to 7,000 pounds of milk each,
and to give a total gross return of
$1,710   on  the  20  acres.
Every pound of manure, liquid and
all, is saved and put on the farm fresh
from the barn with a manure spreader, the liquid part of it saved by straw
and litter of the cow bedding. Careful accounts are kept on the farm
with each item of expense and income.
Tlie round barn is 60 feet in diameter
and arranged with stalls for the cows
in the best style to preserve all the
manure, and to insure cleanliness in
the  milking.
PROFIT   IN*   DAIRY   FEEDING.
How it Increases    the Other    Productions of the Farm.
Eelitors Indiana Farmer:
Probably few men in other callings
of life require the intimate knowledge of so many things as the farmer, and his success depends largely on
this knowledge. He needs to cultivate his judgment so that he can
readily see ahead as to the success or
failure of an undertaking. The farmer must have in view the maintaining
animal to one who admires the animals of the dairy herd. Thus it is, but
this does not prove anything.
"It is true dairy work is confining as
well as hard, and for that reason we,
that are engaged in dairy farming
should work for good results, since
there is probably no other kind of
farming that can be made to bring
such certain results since there is probably no other kind of farming that
can be made to bring such
certain results. The income from
a herd of dairy cows is quick and regular, and the farmer who owns a herd
of dairy cows that is rightly managed
can depend on ready cash with which
to pay hired help, settle grocery bills,
square  up   blacksmith   accounts,   etc.
Regular Income in Dairying.
In fact, there is a continuous income from the dairy cow and at the,
very times when we are unable to get
cash from any* other source on the
farm. The dairy cow Is the greatest
standby, the greatest mortgage lifter
and the great family provider. When
I speak of a dairy cow I do not mean
altogether that genuine thoroughbred
butter animal. Neither do I mean the
plump and rosy beef animal.
Of course in all branches of industry there are specialists. I believe in
them to a proper extent. So do I believe in the usefulness and perhaps
more or less in the necessity of all
breeds. But a great majority including the average farmer or the small
farmer,   those   who     produce     cereals.