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About The Falls City tribune. (Falls City, Neb.) 1904-191? | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 1904)
i , f y 1 . (1 , laf- . The Cost of Production. The Question Is frequently asked whether the farmer should try to t . make money'by getting a lager price for the things he grows or by cheapening . enlng vroductlon. We reply both , but In the main It must be by cheap ening production. The reason is that l the control of cost of production Is % more under his hand than the control of selllns price. The selling price Is ; 1 regulated by conditions extending far beyond the boundaries cf his own farm. This depends on the kind at . ' / a crop he Is growing. If he Is proS duclng a crop that Is perishable he , will be facing prices controlled by 10' I cal conditions largely. If he Is grows . lug wheat he will be facing prices s that are made by world.wide condl tlons. What Is the use of a man : stopping production o _ wheat and sayS Ing that before he produces any , mON wheat he wlll help shove the . " , price up to a figure far in excess of - that prevalllng at the present time Some men are saying that , but these same men can have no more effect on the price of wheat in the world than the man that owns a meadow brook can affect the tides of the ocean , which flow back and forth in response to great laws vary far beyond the control of man. The man In his wheat field has to a considerable extent the cost of pIa' ductlon under control , and his ability to manipulate the factors that enter Into the cost of production will de termine his profit or his loss. The cost of production " 7U1 be determined , . ; by numerous things , among them the r yield of crops. There Is many a \ farmer that says he Is making money tram the averages he now raises and is not particular about making more. If that is so he should be contented. But there are thousands of farmers ' ) that if they kept books on every crop , would find that they were annually losing on some of their crops. Of this they are now Ignorant. The increase . crease of the average yield Is the first and most Important means of decreasing - creasing the cost. That these yields can be Immensely Increased under better methods of culture Is proved beyond aU controversy by the results that have been attained In different I European countries. The average yield of wheat per acre In England , is double what It Is In the United' etates. This alone shows how great. r , ly we can yet reduce the cost of each - bushel of wheat grown ou our farms. I I Another great factor In reducing , the cost Is drainage , this " 'letting the , air Into the ground arid making : : : ore available by oxidizing It the manure now In the ground or that Is annually I . . Iq placed there. We go on year after rear burying manure In the ground ti and then so saturating It " with water ; that the aIr cannot make It suitable for plant food. The complete utilization ' ; . . tlon at all the fertility placed In the . . . . ( soil Is one ot the most complete ways at reducing the cost of the crops. , Hay In the Mow. , " - a . : The moisture content of hay when , l It Is put Into the mow varIes greatly , , : m this depending largely on the way in / which it Is 6ured. Some hay that is oJ made from grass cut late and cured ' In dry weather has 'In It so little ( t \ r : moisture that during the winter it may frequently Increase In weigh : . As a , usual thing hay docs not jn. t , crease in weIght durIng the \ , .nter. , If It Is cut quite green and stored In . 8n imperfectly cured condition It will often bo found with such a large per. centage of moisture In it that spon taneous combustion Is possible. Hay cured rroperly will have In It a cone sidera . .e quantity of moisture and will tend to lose this moisture during the winter , and this loss will equal ten per cent of the buIlt In many in- ' stances. AIf' I , t . r Buy a Thermometer. Wo have often advised our readers that make butter to buy a thermom eter , whether they are engaged In making butter on a large or small scnle. In fact , they should purchase a number of thermometers , as they are freQuently broken , and cost but little. In getting them , however , it Is best to be careful and get good ones , as there are many on the market - ket that are carelessly made and will not give correct results when used. A large number of agents that have thermometers handle only exceedingly . ceedingly cheap makes with the ob sect of malting as much money as possible out of them. If the farmer tries " " thermometer to buy a Udalry" from them he will be told that they do not know anything about such thermometers and never handle them. Perhaps they will refer to a catalogue and show an expensive thermometer made on an elaborate scale. The writer hat this experience In trying to get a thermometer In Chicago. Most of the stores visited had there mometers , but not of the kind de- sired. One or two had thermometers made for floating around In liquid , but costing more than they were worth for practical use. At last one place was found. that had dairy thermometers . ters that sold at 2S ! cents each and which proved entirely reliable. A dole lar thermometer Is as likely to be broken , as _ a d' twenty-five . cent . . thermom- , . , eler , anu tDlS IS a contingency lllal must be provided for. The buttermaker of the past seldom or never used a thermometer and as a result made a very uneven lot of butter , taking one make with another. It Is certain that no scientific butter- maker now ever thinks of making butter . ter without learning the temperature of his cream. There Is nothing that can be relied on to give this temperature . perature record but the Instrument created for the purpose. Drainage from Creameries. The drainage from creameries often becomes a source of much annoyance to people living In the vicinity. The drains become foul with decayIng casein and other refuse As most of our readers are aware , putrId sour milk has not the smell of roses. Residents . dents In the neighborhood of such ditches make complaint at the nul. sauce , while the cattle and. other stock that are In the habit of drinking at the brooks refuse to take the water. Some creameries undertake to remedy matters by running sewers for a long distance to some brook that Is at a considerable distance from houses , but even In such cases some of the objectionable features remain. This may be remedied by the building of large tanks that will receive from 3,000 to 6,000 gallons of the drainage material at a time. These tanks can be constructed so that the water In them will gradually run off but the' tank wlll be kept nearly full at all times. In effect , this Is a septic tank. It should be kept closed at the top , so that the air will not have free access to the tanle. The result will be that the casein In the slop will largely rise to the top and form n. l cum , In this the bacterIa of a kind that to : not use air will work and d ( ' : : ' : 'oy all the organic matter , preclp- : sting the ash only. The water then Haws away clear without odor and can be allowed to run Into any brook ! without a suspicion of polluting It. - ' - Milk Powder. At different times we have discussed In these columns the matter of mlllt powders and have cautioned our readers . ers against too quickly accepting the statements that arc going the rounds ot the press , so far as the malting of milk powders that will change back Into milk Is concerned. There never was n time when this matter was receiving ' cOl\'lng so much attention na 11t the present time. Yet In the matter or milk powder wo have made no revo' lutionary dlscoverlea The making , at mille Hour has been followed for some years anti this four 19 now 11n article of commerco. The men that put out the now processes claim to have discovered . covered some way of making a powder that will Quickly turn back Into fresh milk. On the Investigation of any one of these powders It Is discovered not to have this valuable vropcrty. A report from Germany says that an Investigation Into milk powders In that country shows that they fall far short of the mark and will not change back into milk but do change Into a liquid that has a sediment and Is little like milk. - - - The Pipette and Teat Bottle. II A good many of our readers arousing using the Babcock tester To such we would say , "Bo careful as to the core rectness of the pipette ; as n variation In the gradations of this may result In rendering the test of no value at all. For many years this matter has been discussed , and In some of the states laws have been passed In an attempt to regulate It. It has been decreed that every creamery should provide Itself with a Ipette approved by the state , this pipette to bo used to , test all the others. But a good many creameries paid no attention to the law and others bought time p1- pettes and laid them away carefully. It was easier to assume that the p1- pettes bought from the commercial houses were right than to find , out by testing them. But to the man that purchases a tester for the sake of finding out what his cows ap'o doing this carelessness will not be passed by In silence. He has his own inter- ests to act as a spur to make him careful. One of the common methods of testing bottles Is to make the tests and then , compare the results from the different bottles or pipettes. If I aU agree It Is quite safe to assume that the pipettes and bottles are cor- recto This docs not , however , necessarily . sarlly follow ; for the reason all of the pipettes and bottles may have come from the same manufactory and been all made wrong On the test bottles the neck from 0 to 10 should contain two cubic centimeters of liquid , and the pipette should have a capacity of 17.0 cubic centimeters. Where possible . ble It Is pest to send to the state experiment . perlment station and get sample bet ties and pipettes known to be accu ratc-l < 'fil'mCl'S' Hevlew. ' . - - " - , Bill Nye as a Dairyman. "When 1 was young and used to , roam around over the country , gath- ering water melons by the light of ' the moon , I used to think I could milk anybody's cow , but I don't think 80 now I do not milk the cow unless the sign Is rIght , and It hasn't been right for a good many years. The : ast cow I tried to milk was a common cow , born In obscurity , kind at a selt.mado , co v. I remember her brow was low but she wore her tall high ; and she was haughty , oh , so haughty. 1 made a commonplace remark ! to her , one that Is used In the very best society ; one that need not give ottence. I said 'so'-and she 'Soed. ' Then I told her to 'Hlst'-and she 'Hlsted. ' But I thought she overdid It. She put too much expression to It. Just then 1 heard something crash through the window of the barn end Call with a thug-slclwulng thug-on the outside. "The neighbors came to see what It was that caused the noise. They I found that I had done It In getting through the window. I asked the neighbors It the barn was : .tlll stand- Ing. They said It was. Then 1 asked them If the cow was Injured much. 1'hey said she seemed quite robust ! Then 1 requested them to go In and ! calm the cow a little , and see It they I could get my plug hat off her horns ! "I am buying all of my milk now ; of a milkman. I select a gentle milkman . man , who will not kick ! , amid feel an : though I can trust him. Then If he I feels as though ho can trust me , It's I all right. " , - I Wisconsin Buttermaklng. Prof. J. O. Moore , after an Inspec- , tlon of Wisconsin creameries , says : The methods of making butter are by no means uniform. Some butter- makers have success with high temperature - peraturo In ripening ; others with low temperature. The conditions at each - creamery have to determine for the buttermakor what plan bo will pursue to get the best results , as It Is mans featly impossible for a maker to prase tico high rIpening temperature unless he has leo or some other means at his command to control the temperature . at wUl. however , more important than methods of making , to my mind , Is the factor of cleanliness both In the handling of the machinery In the factory and In the carp of the mmG by pntrons. The pumps and pipes , through which the milk passes should bo cleaned much oftener than they are , amid to this one cause a great deal of ort flavored butter can be traced. The gates to the milk and cream V'nfB , too , are liable to become contaminated and prove a lively source- bad flav- ors. Churns are usually kept clean , although not always , as I have had frequently to clean churns this last summer. The reason for this Is In 11 good many cases duo more to ignore ance than a deliberate dcslro to be dirty. There Is more of a chance , however , to reach the slovenly maker than there Is to Impress the average patron with his shortcomings. In look- Ing over the cans brought to 11 factory It Is rather a delicate task for the maker to tell a man that his cans are dirty and his milk Impure. Not only from the fact that he Will incur his I enmity , but that he will no doubt be tolll that If' ' he does not want to take his milk In , there are other creameries . erles where they will bo gIRd to take It , and thIs Is too much the case and where a creamery Is getting hardly enough milk to pay expenses the los of a patron or two Is keenly felt. ' - - .I . J . , 1 The Eggs We Sell. I Sooner or later some system of col. letting and distributing eggs will have to bo Inaugurated In this country - try as the present system Is very uu satisfactory. Any system Is unsatisfactory . factory that gives the merchant II large percgntage of bad eggs to sell to his euato ners. ' This omes bacl < to the farmer In many ways but principally - clpnll In the lower price 'of eggs In the summer time. Men that take their meals In the hotels and restaurants . rants arc very careful about ordering eggs In the summer time , as they too often have very unsatisfactory experiences ' rlences In so doing It Is safe to say that It the eggs were always fresh avery . very muct larger number would be 1 : eaten during the summer months and the prIces would be correspondingly good. The well conducted poultry farm Is not the establishment that sends poor eggs to market ! nor does . . . the farmer that has a pOUltry hotiso and obliges his hens to lay their eggs . In It furnish that kind of eggs. The had eggs comQ"largely from the mows 1\1\11 the scaffold of the barns where the hens have bidden away their nests and sometimes lay as many as two dozen before they arc discovered Then the eggs are gathered and sold to the traveling peddler , who cares little about their freshness so long as he can get rid of them In turn to the man that supplies him with his mer chandlse. In Denmark they have a system at gathering eggs that pre. vents bad eggs from getting Into the consignment at nil. We can do the same In this country whtn we lave time to get down to a sys em. About 1,400,000,000 pounds of butter . tel' are mae In this country annu- ally. The demand for It Is such that little Is sent abroad. a
