ee ————— [ Continued from 1st page.] this system cost annually for food alone, $310 20 more than they pro- duce? Is this necessary? Is there not a better way, a cheaper way than this? If there is not, I submit the uestion to your judgment as practical thinking, careful men, would it not be far better to sell off every hoof of cat- tle from your farms and refuse entirely to own’or keep such unprofitable, or rather such exceedingly expensive stock? It seems to me that there can be but one answer given in reply. Let us examine and see whether there is not another and better way. The losses that have been enumera- ted have occurred mainely from the expenses necessarily attendent upon the grazing of cattle. “Can these expenses be lessened ? If so, how? We 1, 1st. The inside fences must be gotten rid of. They are all loss and no profit. This could be done were farmers to do as has been suggested. Sell off all their cattle and keep none at all during the grazing season of the year. This would not only enable the farmer to abandon his inside fences, but would at the same time cut off the other sources of loss growing out of the whole system of grazing. This, of course, would make it necessary that for part of the year the farmer would have to buy his milk and butter. If all farmers were to adopt this plan, these articles would | have to be dispensed with and great discomfort be ood occasioned. So the plan becomes impraeticable, because enough butter and milk for the farmer's family is nearly a necessity and ¢nough COWS to supply this necessity are there- fore needed, even should they cost some- what more than they produce. If the figures that I have made are correct, it would follow that more cattle than enough to supply this need would only lead to greater loss. So that it would seem most advantageous to keep as few as the necessities of the case will ermit. Three Goon cows will sup ly this want during the summer, and al the rest can be sold. A small portion of land may be fenced in for these three, and they be permitted to graze as before. This or a rectangular piece 8x82 rods with a division fence, making in all 154 rods of fence which at $1.65 per rod is equal to $254.10, or only about 15 per cent of the cost of fencing under the former method or a saving of 85 per cent. This would be a step in the right direction. But, however great an improvement it may be upon the plan commonly pur- sued, still it is open to objection. Some fence yet remains and although com- paratively a small amount, yet it is costing night and day, and you are also still paying more for your butter than it would cost you at the store; besides there still continues the losses caused by the tramping of the cattle and the waste of their manure. Cannot even this enclosure be avoid- ed? Suppose these three cows were placed within your barn yard and sup- plied with plenty of nutritious food, with free access to pure fresh water, and an opportunity to get into the shade away from the heat of the sun in sum- mer, and from the cold driving rains of the Spring and Fall. Suppose this were praeticable, would not all their objec- tions be fully met and the question an- swered ? Can this be done? Is it practicable ? This is the problem, that must first be solved, if we would abolish the system that has been shown to be so injurious to the land and expen- sive for the pocket. Is it practicable to enclose cattle in a yard during the summer and supply them with food ? Let us sce. The ob- ject the farmer has in turning his cattle out upon the pastures, is that they may secure, daily a supply, of nourishing food sufficient to sustain life, promote growth, contribute to the supply of milk and add to their quality of flesh. His object, whether he attains it or not is another question. His object in keep- ing cattle at all and supplying them with food is not mainly for the amuse- ment that they afford, but that they may be u source of profit to him and thus increase his wealth. "What isthere to prevent this object being attained in ayard 100feet square as well asin a field 100 rods square ? There is of course, in the first no pasture, but whilst this is true, it does not therefore follow that there is no food. Is it necessary in or- der that an animalshall exist and thrive and fulfill the conditions mentioned, Would. take six. acr that it shall fot its living by cropping grass for itself? . Would it make much difference in the nutritious quality of the forage, or in its acceptability to the animal, if it were cut with a knife instead of being pulled off between teeth and gums ? Does it add much to the product of the animal, to be compelled to walk miles in the hot sun or cold rain in order to appease the cravings of hunger or to satisfy its thirst? Is there any great advantage to be gained by causing ani- mals to eat crushed and mangled grass, saturated with urine and defiled with excrement, that would not be accom- plished by supplying them with Panty of fresh, sweet, nutritious, wholesome food in a quiet, dry and cool enclosure ? But some one says where shall we go to get the grass? I reply just where the cattle get it, right out in the fields where the cattle go. The very same grass, differing only in that it is clean and sweet and free from noxious and bitter weeds. Give it to them in their racks or mangers in the yard, morning, noon and night, fresh from the field, full of all its juices and rich with every ounce of nourishment that it can hold. Does any one think that they will not eat it ? You know that they will. Experience has demonstrated that they will not only eat it, but will thrive and produce more milk and butter than by any sys- tem of pasturage ever yet devised. In many counties it is about the only sys- tem that is pursued. In Germany it is the common practice. In France trav- ellers say that one can travel for days and see no fence. In the Netherlands cattle are fed in.yards. In parts of England the same is practiced, and here in our own country there are nu- merous instances of the successful prac- tice of keoping cattle during the Sum- mer in yards. In the Connecticut val- ley for part of the year cattle are soiled. In parts of New York State the same is done, whilst many dairies are conduc- ted upon this principle in the vicinity of large cities. All statistics and expat rience upon the matter go to show that with plenty of green food supplied in yards, eattle will not oly eat with avidity but thrive more rapidly than by any other system now inuse.” p But, says the objector, you cannot get green forage for your cattle as early in the Spring as if they were turned out to grass, and in the Fall you have nothing except dry food to feed. To avoid this sow rye the pre- vious Fall and you will be able to start with green forage as carly as and even with your pasturing neighbor, and by sowing a patch of corn you can have abundance of forage for the Fall until the frost appears, and after that “ig have the second crop of grass, and y a little care can have roots and other succulent food to feed along with drier forage. But the objector contends all this is expensive and troublesome. Let us look for a moment at the expense. By the System of pasturing, it took two acres of land to keep each cow, and in estimating the cost of keeping wo sup- posed that each acre of pasture would produce, notwithstanding all the de- stuction occasioned by tramping and the other injuries involved by the sys- tem of pasturing, one ton of hay. "Is there anything in this theory of tramp- ing, oris it but a bugbear to scare the timid? By the plan proposed there could, of course, be no loss from these sources named, but every spear of grass can be used for food. Mr. Josiah Quincy writes that for years he has kept twenty head of cows upon geventeen acres of land that by the other system took 50 acres, and that he never lacked food. Here is a saving of 83 acres, out of 50. Joshua St. Clair states that 80 head were soiled on 17} acres from May 20 to October 1. (Am. F. Book 272.) In general it has been shown that in this country half an acre to the head is sufficient for Sum- mer food or a ratio as compared with pasturing 1 to 4. In England the pro- portion is still greater being, as 1 to 7. In order that we may be safe, say that the proportion is as 1 to 4, or that 4 an acre will keep a cow. There would be saved three fourths of the land em- ployed by the other method, and this saving is due almost entirely to the plants being free from the injuries they formerly sustained. The labor or the trouble consequent upon the adoption of this plan may be reduced to a mini- mum, by using plots of ground conti- guous to the cattle yards, so that, ina few minutes, less time indeed than it often takes to bring these cattle from the field, fresh forage can be cut and placed in the racks. Suppose the labor and trouble were far greater than by the other plan, the manure saved would amply repay it all. Taking then the figures as given in the estimates already made, what do we find ? That the three cows soiled cost as fol- lows : Produce on 1}4 acres of land cultivated a8 before $ 15 00 Bix tons of hay during winter... wu. 60 00 Interest on 8 acres @ 00 each@.06 7 2 18 bush. of corn @ 50..ccereeevereees sericirriests 9 00 THOMAS A. HICKS & BRO., [Successors to Wilson & Hicks.] Wholesale and Retail HARDWARE DEALERS, 0 Iron, Paints, Oil, Glass, &e, Buildér’s Hardware. Coach Maker’s Goods. STOVES OF ALL KINDS, Making a total cost of the said produce 0 Cows produce same as by the other plan 112 50 Leaving a net profit of.......oee sessasnesenene 21 30 er year. Not an enormous profit to be saved, but the important matter is there is no loss. The limits of this paper forbid more than this brief and imperfect reference to this soiling process, but inquirers after more particular information are directed to consult the admired work of the Hon. Josiah Quincy, of Mass., who probably gave the subject more careful trial oe investigation than any other practical experimenter in the country. Here then is a way, a better way, a cheaper way than the one heretofore ursued. And ‘there's millions in it.” f have estimated from the census of 1870 that the inside fences of the farms of Centre county have actually cost more than two millions, or an amount equal to the entire products of all the farms of the county for one year, or twice as much as the value of all the live stock in the county. These fences represent a yearly cost to the farmers of the county of about five hundred thousand dollars, ($500,000) an amount nearly equal to the value of all the wheat raised in the county in one year, or the entire value of the corn crop of the county, and is equal to an annual tax of $15.00 per head upon every man, woman and child in the county. All this might be saved to go into the im- provement of lands, the education of children, self culture and the promotion of christian morality throughout the land. Nature, reason and observation cry out against the old practice and ucement that can be offered 18 held out to those who would “ry the new. New to us, but old and tried and successful in those other lands, where our wasteful system would drivefarmers into the lowest poverty were they to pursue it. Thus millions upon millions are thrown away by the farmers of this county every year for want of knowl- edge and for want of thought, and now to the question of your committee : “What is the best plan for Centre county farmers to pursue with reference to inside fences under existing laws ?’’ I reply throw them out and keep your cattle in your yurds. 1776. 1876. MONTGOMERY ¢& CO., MERCHANT TAILORS AND CLOTHIERS, Hats, Caps and Men's Furnishing Goods, No. 7, Brockerhoft Row, Bellefonte, Pa. Sat- isfaction guaranteed in every sale. SUITS READY MADE AND TO ORDER, from $16, $18, $20, $22, $25, up to $40, warranted all wool, finest fabrie, sure fit. Overcoats all kinds of prices—$10 UPWARDS. Will not be undersold in anything in our line. The largest, latest aud most complete stock of Hats in Central Pennsylvania. SHIRTS A SPECIALTY. Grain taken in exchange for merchandise— at the highest market rates. SCHROYER & SON are selling FURNITURE OF ALL KINDS very low for eash, They have just filled their ware-rooms with new style, Bed room Sets. Call before you buy or you will miss it. UNDERTAKING GOODS always on hand, and funerals attended with a good hearse. Call on Schroyer & Son, Bishop street, opposite McClures saddler shop before you buy and save 25 per cent. GROCERIES! GROCERIES! GREAT EXCITEMENT ! Over great reduction in prices at the Grocery House of S. A, BREW & SON, in Humes’s block next door to Post Office. The undersigned announces to the public that they have lately reduced their prices to the lowest possible cash basis and are determined not to be undersold. We claim for the fol- lowing reasons to be able to sell at small profits : 1st, we pay small rent, 2d, we pay no salaries, 3d, we let the price and quality of our goods advertise for themselves, 4th, we are at all times ready to deal in country produce, both for cash orin exchange, Will be pleased to have you call and examine our stock. S. A. BREW & SON. GO TO »rJOHN BRACKBILLS.es WHERE YOU WILL FIND A GOOD VARIETY of all kinds of FURNITURE AND WALL PAPER, at a great reduction of prices. SPRING STREET, BELLEFONTE, PA. W. McCLELLAN, Merchant Tailor. Clothing made at the Shortest Notice and in the most Fach: ionable Style. BROCKERHOFF HOUSE, BELLEFONTE, - - PA. DUNCAN, HALE & CO., Bellefonte, Pa. MANUFACTURERS OF Flour, FeeaQ, and dealers in ALL KINDS OF GRAIN. The highest market price paid for WHEAT, Ry" T CORN, OATS, &C. BOOTS, SHOES & LEATHER. GRAHAM & SON Have, without exception, the largest and best stock of Boots «& Shoes in Centre gouniy. We have the exclusive sale of Edwin C. Burts, celebrated fine shoes, in Bellefonte, the best in the world, 8 widths. In addition to our stock of Boots and Shoes we have a splendid assortment of Sole Leather ; French, German and Country Calf Skins ; Moroccas, Lining and all kind of Shoe Findings. Bellefonte, Pa. HARPER & BROS'., Dealers in DRY GOODS, NOTIONS, GROCERIES AND PROVISIONS, READY-MADE CLOTHING, HAT, CAPS, &c. — 100 000 Bushels of Grain wanted atthe ) highest Lath prises, Spring Street, ellefonte, Pa. It will pay you to go to HERRINGTON'S DRUG STORE, on Alleghany Street, next door to Hicks & Bro's., Hardware Emporium. A full stock of DRUGS AND CHEMICALS constantly on hand. All the leading Patent Medicines and everything usually kept in a first class Drug Store. Particular and prompt attention given to the wants of Farmers and others who live in the country, THE BEST PRAIRIE LANDS Towa and Nebraska, for sale by the Burlington & Missouri iver B. B. Co. on ten years’ credit at 6 per cent interest. One million acres in Iowa and Southern Ne- braska. The finest country in the world to combine Farming and Stock Raising, Products will pay for land and Improvements. LARGE DISCOUNT FOR CASH. For circulars that will describe fully these lands, and the terms of sale, apply to or ad- dress, LAND COMMISSIONER, Burlington, Iowa, for Iowa Lands. or Lincoln, Neb,, for Nebraska Lands. a ——