ISO—Uncaster Farming, Saturday, June 9,1979 A man and his cow, an unbeatable team 1 By JOYCE BUPP Staff Correspondent LANCASTER A century ago, it was a tune of more peaceful and simple days. Nearly everone lived on, or was intimately familiar with, a farm. Mass printed educational materials, and the technology of commonplace wireless communications, were still in the toddler stage. Farmers could not direct-dial a university specialist, or ring up the extension agent or young farmer advisor when they needed advice on a fanning problem. But there was one accepted voice of agriculture authonty. It was a slim volume containing perhaps just a few dozen finely-printed pages. Its popularity and household usage probably ranked just below the Holy Bible, and maybe just one step above the mail-order catalog. It was referred to simply as, “The Almanac.” In 1825, John Baer’s Sons began printing an annual issue of the “Agricultural Almanac” at 12 North Queen Street in Lancaster. Baer’s Almanac became a part of that heritage of tough farm stock that made Pennsylvania a leading agriculture state and, today, still publishes an annual issue of signs and sage advice for farmers. While the volume’s size has grown some, it still contains some of the same basic information, “carefully calculated for the Meridian of Pennsylvania and the adjoining states:” weather information, moon phases, astrological and astronomical details and a wealth of planting, livestock care, personal and moral habit suggestions, recipes and humorous anecdotes. Dewey Frank of York, a memorabilia collector and flea market enthusiast, has acquired several volumes of Baer’s Almanac, dating back over a hundred years ago. QB MF 760/750 COMBINES Here’s what’s in it for you Exclusive Mossey-Ferguson features that have made the 750/760 harvest leaders IMF’s exclusive Quick-Attach feature lets you change from one header to another in just minutes. Keeps you on-the go from field to field, crop to crop. 2 Unique MF paddle elevator moves the crop in a smooth even pattern to the front rotary beater and into the concave. 34-blade rotary front beater positions and directs material for optimum flow into the cyhnder/concave opening 4 Dump stone trap positioned directly below the rotary front beater collects stones and foreign objects that might damage the combine -June is daily month 5 Big hi-inertia rasp bar cylinder with heavy flywheel action increases threshing capacity and efficiency in today’s high yielding crops 22 x 6Cr (559 x 1524 mm) in the MF 760, 22 x 50" (559 x 1270 mm) in the MF 750 YOUR MF DEALERS SALUTE IRE DAIRY FARMER The collection of volumes has won Dewey awards at the York Interstate Fair. He and the publishers of Baer’s very generously offered to share their wealth of nostalgia with Lancaster Farming for this June Dairy Month look back at the dairying industry, a century ago, and beyond A cost-pnce squeeze on farm finances was evident in the 1800’s, too, as fanners carefully weighed spending or trading for a good producing “milch” cow In 1862, Baer’s offered farmers this hypothetical comparison, “Which Is The Cheap Cow,” of dairy animals: “... Suppose a man wishes to buy a cow. Two are offered him, both four years old, and which might probably be serviceable for ten years to come. With the same food and attendance the'first will yield for ten months in the year an average of five quarts ... and the other for the same term will yield seven quarts and of equal quality. What is the comparative value of each? The difference in yield is six hundred quarts per annum. For the purpose of this calculation we will suppose it worth three cents per quart amounting to eighteen dollars. Is not the second cow, while she holds out to give it, as good as the first, and three hundred dollars at interest besides? If the first just pays for her food and attendance, the second, yielding two-fifths more, pays forty per cent profit annually; and yet how many fanners having two such cows for sale would make more than ten, or twenty, or at most, thirty dollars difference in price? The profit from one is eighteen dollars a year in ten years one hundred and eighty dollars, besides the annual accumulation of interest— the profit of the other is nothing. If the seller has need to keep one, would he not be wiser to give away the first, than to part with the second for a hundred dollars?” THE MILCH COW 1H But, regardless of the price or the production, a mean tempered cow at any tune is no bargam. One of Baer’s correspondents wrote to him of a sure way to check a cow’s disposition, a method that had served the writer for 30 years. He noted that if the crown, or tuft of hair on the cow’s head, is two or three mches above the eyes, the animal would have a quiet and mild disposition. However, if the crown was two to three inches below the line of the eyes, the buyer should beware and avoid that individual “Milch cows cannot be whipped or terrified into standing quietly, gently, and patiently during milking ” While buying techniques, like prices have changed in a century, the daily handling of animals, as recommended by Baer in 1863, under the heading “Kindness To Milch Referring to an article Cows,” remains almost identical. “One of the greatest jubhcation, Baer’s indicated errors in overcoming cows that are unquiet while being :wo p er cen t of her weight d milked, is to whip, beat, kick, and bawl at them. This is required three per cent. A £ generally done, and the cow becomes afraid and angry, indicated that “two cows maj and instead of becoming better grows worse. Milch that it would take to k cannot be whipped or terrified into standing quietly, gently, and patiently during milking. They dislike to be milked, for they know that loud words and hard blows always attend the operation. They dread to see the milker as the little urchin dreads to see the birchen rod in the hand of an angry pedagogue when he expects to have it applied to his hack. A cow, kindly and properly treated, is pleased to see the milker, gladly awaits his or her ap proach, and submits with pleasure to the operation of $. G. LEWIS AND SON West Grove PA Ph (215)869 9440 869-2214 0* PETERMAN FARM EQUIPMENT 225 York Road Carlisle, PA Ph (717)249 5338 being milked.... All anima and resent abuse. See that control tbemselves, govern f kindly under almost any pn 'All! learn that they are not submit to the operation. Mil egular hours, not varying f he other.” The author added to thes aughing should be permitted What would Baer’s Alman, could hear the rock music hi arm milking parlors’ NOW LET’S Feed for the family’s few iretty much hand harvestec .’ness, luck and whatever hi •particular season or had nonths. “Two cows may bt the same amount 1 to keep three doin Prices quoted in the 1866 i; twenty-five cents per head pei wV i i y* * H > Personalii REX RUSSEL EQUIPMENT MARLIN W.! 4/Poroe, A Pitma Ph (717 i 247 7858 Ph (717)1 2 mi N Role off Rt 187
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers