THE SKIM-MILK TRUST
The third quarter of the year made a better showing than any previous
one, due chiefly to the sale of hogs in August. The hens did well up to
September, when they began to make new clothes for themselves and could
not be bothered with egg-making. There were a few more than seven
hundred in the laying pens, and nearly as many more rapidly approaching
the useful age. The chief advantage in early chickens is that they will
take their places at the nests in October or November while the older
ones are dressmaking. This is important to one who looks for a steady
income from his hens,--October and November being the hardest months to
provide for. A few scattered eggs in the pullet runs showed that the
late February and early March chickens were beginning to have a
realizing sense of their obligations to the world and to the Headman,
and that they were getting into line to accept them. More cotton-seed
meal was added to the morning mash for the old hens, and the corn meal
was reduced a little and the oatmeal increased, as was also the red
pepper; but do what you will or feed what you like, the hen will insist
upon a vacation at this season of the year. You may shorten it, perhaps,
but you cannot prevent it. The only way to keep the egg-basket full is
to have a lot of youngsters coming on who will take up the laying for
October and November.
We milked thirty-seven cows during July, August, and September, and got
more than a thousand pounds of milk a day. The butter sold amounted to a
trifle more than $375 a month. I think this an excellent showing,
considering the fact that the colony at Four Oaks never numbered less
than twenty-four during that time, and often many more.
I ought to say that the calves had the first claim to the skim-milk; but
as we never kept many for more than a few weeks, this claim was easily
satisfied. It was like the bonds of a corporation,--the first claim, but
a comparatively small one. The hens came next; they held preferred
stock, and always received a five-pound, semi-daily dividend to each pen
of forty. The growing pigs came last; they held the common stock, which
was often watered by the swill and dish-water from both houses and the
buttermilk and butter-washing from the dairy. I hold that the feeding
value of skim-milk is not less than forty cents a hundred pounds, as we
use it at Four Oaks. This seems a high price when it can often be bought
for fifteen cents a hundred at the factories; but I claim that it is
worth more than twice as much when fed in perfect freshness,--certainly
$4 a day would not buy the skim-milk from my dairy, for it is worth more
than that to me to feed. This by-product is essential to the smooth
running of my factory. Without it the chickens and pigs would not grow
as fast, and it is the best food for laying hens,--nothing else will
give a better egg-yield. The longer my experiment continues, the
stronger is my faith that the combination of cow, hog, and hen, with
fruit as a filler, are ideal for the factory farm. With such a plant
well-started and well-managed, and with favorable surroundings, I do not
see how a man can prevent money from flowing to him in fair abundance.
The record of the fourth quarter is as follows:--
Butter $1126.00
Eggs 351.00
Hogs 1807.00
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Total $3284.00