The Houston Post. (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 33, No. 137, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 19, 1917 Page: 8 of 62
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wwyyyw ay-wsiwyrj
fope of Harris
Dairy Cow
v.;
From Poverty to Prosperity Along the Milky WayTiirnibgCro Fron1 orty t r
Acres Into Milk for Houston Markets Is Now Making Many; Dairy; Farmers Rich ' '
-Ir!-. wvT";
Si m NV
1
w
' xi? frizes' ' i.:1 ' V'
By Burton Davii.
Ken re growing rich on -40 acres of
Karri county land ordinary land.
Where no oil wells have been brought in.
They are growing rich not rapidly but
teadily. on a "sure thing."
It la not fabulous wealth these men
an winning to. but it Is the riches of
health contentment good food fresh air
and money to put away in the bank
or Into something that will make them
till more money. There are few 000
a-year.raen in the city who make half aa
I much progress on' the road to riches aa
"these men in Harris county do.
f They are not raising ginseng or fabu-
' tous crops of oranges or figs or Japa-
tMese persimmons or any get-rich-qulck-'asaybe
crop.
They are producing and marketing
t DAIRY FARMERS ARE
MAKING GOOD PROFITS.
Dairy farmers in Harris county today
are making KiO per cent on their taTest-
nts in miiK cows.
' J Harris county men who own less than
. S cows are getting in as much as $100
m week selling their milk at 27 cents a
.Ballon h noiesaic. to creameries n&u ui :
. A this J10C i.. profit. The profit returns I
J.100 per cent a year on the value o( the
; Scows that produce it. In othei words.
f a cow pays for herself in u year wito I
t jhr milk and produces a valuable calf
T Stid much valuable fertiliser besides.
i This is in face of such dirges as: "Tbe
liever tick will eat op any dairy cow
-"you bring into Harris county." "You
-can't raise anything more profitable than
. fa fuss in Harris county." and such gems
Surf moss-grown lore.
There is nothing uncertain about the
'milky way to prosperity that these men
fare traveling. There are certain facts
Kbout it: certain conditions that govern
v fit; certain reasons behind it.
First a bit of history. It will be short
because it is painful to dwell on.
Two or three years ago Harris county
(farmers as a class would have been
economic jokes if they had not been
! tragedies instead. This does not apply
la the farmer of means but to the small
farmer who had to make his whole liv-
ting from bis land. It does not apply
(to the man who lived close enough to
Houston to make market gardening
profitable on soil where market garden-
ting was possible. But the small fanner
:who was not a market gardener was
wringing water from stones in a strug-
' tite to survive.
STORM BROUGHT
ABOUT THE CHANGE.
After the storm of August. 1915. had
swept over the county a condition that
bad been an economic disease grew Into
Ian epidemic. It is no exaggeration to
y that hundreds of small farmers many
j of them lured here from the north anc
least with sirn songs of fortune threw
Jihey had i-ome. or went into cities to
(begin life over again.
cnnTlallmrinVIatigor; -
ef forbidden lands cursed that only
-i weeds and tmslies mignt iiounsn upon
Vthem.
V Tbe dairy cow the plain sob -bossy
saved the situation.
I Bossy is putting the Harris county
j farmer on his feet and is putting money
- into his plant with which to make more
! money and money in the bank besides.
i There is sound economic sense behind
llfoflsy's regenerating work.
I Draw a circle with a radius of 30 miles
;around any city as large as Houston
f CITY AFFORDS
lAMPLE MARKET.
f Outside that circle if the country is
f adapted to raising general crops there
(may be general farming done with prof-
jit. But inside that 20-mile circle there
-is Ho spare room for crops that must
cover' broad acres to make a living for
the grower. All the farming done with-
jte that 30-mile limit should be special
; farming mainly market gardening and
- 'dairying. It is sound economic sense
that brings dollars and cents to follow
ithia logic. The city is there within
"easy hauling distance. The city is a
.market for green garden stuff and for
milk. It is a market that never fails
Awhile the city endures. The man who
haa land within 30 miles of the city has
an opportunity thrust under his nose
" ;.te take or leave. He can make a meager
Jiving or Just a good living with gen-
feral crops on his valuable land. Or he
4 may turn to his own advantage the
presence of that city that makes his
(land valuable his taxes high and the
t truck or milk he can produce marketable.
! Practically all of Harris county lies
Inside a circle orawn with a 30-mile
f radius out from Houston. The few
points that are more remote than 30
miles are so little farther away that they
may De counted in. ery well: the
whole county is within the 30-mile limit.
1 Within the 30-mile limit the two great
channels of production should flow into
r the city with garden truck and miut.
: Harris county should produce garden
track and milk as its main crops on all
'idle agricultural land
i la this article the market garden tn-
l stastry will not be touched on. It Is
1 worth an article of its own. This ac-
count will have to do solely with milk
production actual and potential in Har
ris county.
Strip will cure
skepticism.
f The quickest and most painless cure
I for skepticism about Harris county dairy-
ling possibilities Is to take a trip out Into
the country see Harris county dairying
actualitlesv talk to the men who are mak-
Ing good as milk farmers and draw your
own conclusions.
. X representative of The Post last Mon-
day took such a trip. With L H. Mow-
ry animal husbandry expert of the
Chamber ml Commerce an Agricultural
id Mechanical college graduate for two
-nr saUk inspector in the health de-
' tment of the city of Dallas he went
t to Aldine where a typical dairy ren-
- hag grown up In the last two years
ml of a dosen suck centers at Ala-
. a Webster. Cypres Addicks. League
r and other points in the county.
lin la II miles out Houston on
international and Great Northern. To
h K Mr. Mowery aad The Post man
teres out the Clark atraet road- then
d-ore Ut -(ha left on -a smooth hen
I that ran ahead like) a white rtbueu
! over the span prairisv.
He there la a greup of nine
ha markat . their jaSk Mik
Houston creamery sending It in every
morning on a community truck; a one-
ton trailer attached to a Ford car. An
average of S25 gallons come In daily In
that one truck. On a basis of TO cents a
pound for butter fat they are now getting
27 cents a gallon for the milk strained
Into cans after milking sealed and
rushed away to the creamery without
further trouble to them. That gives the
nine men $614 2a weekly from their milk
sales alone. Simple arithmetic will show
that the average income of each would
be $68.25 if each sold the nma quantity
of milk. None of them milk more than
30 cows: some milk fewer than others.
Allowing for time when some of the cows
may be dry. it still gives an average of
$3000 a year income to each of these nine
men. Some make more some less. A
man living in the country making $3000
a year is better off financially than the
city dweller who earns $5000 a year con-
sidering what it costs the city man to
live.
The nine Aldine men are: J. C. Patter-
son. TV. B. Lowry. C. M. Sellers. William
Layburn. C. A. Anderson. F. Anderson
O. Henry William Roush. J. K. Mat-
thews and A. T. Nelson.
MISSED GOOD STORY
AT FIRST STOP.
The first dairy farm encountered on
the road to Aldine was that of C. A. An-
derson. Mr. Anderson was In Houston
j when the Investigators called.
Two rosy-
cheeked children. playing under the
laden pear trees in the yard said he
might be back any minute. There was
no time to wait and the two in the car
had to go on knowing that they had
missed one of the best stories in thej
Aldine community for Mr. Anderson is
one of the most successful dairy farmers
there.
Up the road a short stretch Just a
mile east of Aldine is the farm of J. C.
Patterson. It is Mr. Patterson who
haula in the milk for the cSmmunlty in
his Ford trailer shown in the picture on
this page. It costs 2 cents a gallon to
haul the $25 gallons of milk that go in
daily to the creamery in Houston.
Mr. Patterson was not at home; he had
not returned from his morping haul Into
Houston. He was met further up the
road coming back with empty milk cans
and sacks of feed and there he told his
story.
"Dad and I landed in Aldine nearly
eight years ago." he said "with a team
of mules four cows a couple of heifers
$2 in cash and two big appetites."
Several years of struggle with the land
gave them a fair start to success. When
the younger Patterson married and
bought 16 acres of his own he had
through working in partnership with his
father enough stock to start on. But up
to the time he took up milk production
on a scientific basis he did not make
much more than a living. Yet the hard
work of those years did not wear him
down. His neighbors say he is about 48
years old; he looks to be no more than 30.
GOT WEEKLY MILK
CHECK FOR $96.50.
-ow he is milking 26 cows. His weekly
. milk check last week was for $96 50
!. -
3; for fed and $7 for hauling; it in. at 2
cents a gallon. At present he is buying
all feed. His labor bill is about $10 a
week all told. This leaves him $44.50 a
week clear profit.
He his tied up in milk-producing stock
$2080. for 26 head at $80 a head. He
"u.u"1 "ol " 's cows at that.
i J estimate of what it would cost him
to replace them
.In a year's time those 26 milk cows
clearing him J40 a week. $4 less than he
made last week would net him $2080.
That is exactly 100 per cent of the value
of the stock. In other words the cows
pny for themselves over again each year.
The objection may be raised that there
may be times when a good many of those
cows may be dry. A good. dairyman avoids
this by breeding his animals so that they
wllj bring in calves and come in fresh in
rotation and Patterson is a scientific
dairyman learning more of the science
of the business every day.
On the other hand he Is planning to
raise the roughage for his herd from now
on. and cat down his feed bills.
SILOS WILL CUT
DOWN FEED BILLS.
Towering over the modest group of
buildings that is the Patterson homestead
a group that will be replaced and added
to with modern buildings that will be
built on a foundation of milk dollars hi a
handsome twin silo; two Shiny black cylin
ders topped and connected with
green
roof. The twin silo is shown In a picture
on this page. That silo will be filled with
ensilage ot corn or some other silage crop
grown on Mr. Patterson's 16 acres and
on about 50 acres near his place that he
can use. Then his weekly feed but
counting the full cost of the crop and the
filling of the silos will drop decidedly.
Kadi of the silos holds 50 tons of en-
silage. The two cost Mr. Patterson $400
Part of the money to pay for them he
borrowed from the Houston Dairy Fund
association at 6 per cent interest on long-
time payments.
The Houston Dairy Fund Association is
really the crux of this atnrv ii ha. of
fered tiie opportunity to those Intelligent
wiuvi w gei a suit in metiairy busi-
ness. What it is how It works and what
It has done so far will be recounted in
full in the course of this account.
Corn planted on ground properly pre-
pared and broDerlr manured with fertil
iser that is a valuable by-product of the
dairy herd and costs nothing but the labor
of applying it. should and aoes produce at
least 10 tons of silage to the acre on
Harris county land Mr. Mowery told' the
." . mi siiage sioreo in the silo
is worth from $10 to $12.50 a ton. yielding
from $100 to $125 from an acre planted
It costs from one-fourth to one-third of
this to produce it depending on Varying
conditions. On every ton of silage Mr
Patterson and the other owners of silos
in Harris county put away for feed they
save at least $7.60 of what they would
have to pay for the same roughage on the
market By filling his silos once Mr
Patterson will save $750 that he would
otherwise have to pay out for feed. The
silos cost him as stated before only l40u.
Including Interest on the money he bor-
rowed irom the dairy fund to pay for
them and labor In setting them up from
the knocked -down condition la which
they ame from the factory. The figures
apeak' for themselves. ' '
COWS PAY FOR THEMSELVES '
IN YEAR'S TIME.
bt all Mr. Patterson has bought eight
milk cows through the Houston Dairy
Fund association and a yearling ban that
to now the bead'of his herd. The nine
nalmala cost him less thai tOMt sat tat
rows will nav for themselves in a year:
tune as has been shown. Th bull will
pay for himself manv times over for
good bull is half the herd."
The bull shown in an accompanying
illustration cost $200 delivered. He is
owned Jointly by Mr. Patterson and Wll-
bur Koush his neighbor across the road.
The youngster Is a registered thorough-
bred Jersey from the Ed C. Lessiter herd
and is a descendant of a line of heavy
milk-producing dams qualities that will
be transmitted to his offspring. With him
as sire to the herd Mr. Patterson will be
able to build up his herd of grade Jer-
ses. none of them particularly valuable
animals or particularly heavy milk pro-
ducers to a herd of cows that will give
many times their own weight in milk each
year. By keeping- a record of each cow's
daily production by weight of milk he j
win oe aoie to cull out ana sell me cows
with a poor milk flow and eliminate the
"star-boarders." which is what a dairy-
man calls the cow who eats as much as
any cow In the herd but gives less milk
in return. Keeping the heifer calves from
the best milkers and selling off the oth-
ers in five years" time he will have
hera from five generations of selected
heavy-production milk cows that start
with ordinary Jersey stock and a year
ling thoroughbred sire that cost but $20(
The Patterson-Roush bull deserves :
paragraph all his own. He is a thorovil
gentleman worthy of his breeding-
Memories of man-killing hulls faded uwi.
before this docile little 2-year-old. wlu
has been in the barnyard family for ;
year and is so gentle that he made only a
j mild rumble of protest when a rope w as
; run through his nose-ring so that Mr.
i Mowery could make him hold his head up
: and still while the camera man shot him.
Mr. Pa:terson would refuse double what
he paid for him for his naif-interest.
WILL BUILD MODERN
DAIRY BARN.
Plans for improvement at the Patterson
homestead do not stop with the breeding
up of the herd and the new silo equip-
ment. Onto the twin silos that will stand
at one end will be built a modern sani-
tary dairy barn and you have Mr. Pat-
terson's word for it that the barn will be
the last word in barns built so that it can
be added to. as the herd grows. The
foundations of the silos were put in with
the future in mind. Two feet of concrete
a foot wide at the top and Is inches wide
at the bottom they will carry the weight
of a much larger twin silos when the time
comes to replace the present oO-ion
cylinders.
Hight now there is more to the Patter-
son insme than the $44 a week clear
profit from milk. There Is the value of
the manure fertilizer that the herd pro-
duces hard to estimate bat of high value
when applied to the land. In the last year
his herd has given Mr. Patterson 20
calves worth on an average $-5 apiece
or $500. Besides this he has 40v chickens
raised from a small flock to start with
that are each worth $1.25 a year to his
Income he says. This adds another $500.
Then he is stocking the farm with thor-
oughbred hogs and so much pork is so
much gold almost these days. The hog
plant is still in the making and he has
no figures on it to give as yet. All tile
figures he did give were results not rosy-
hopes. J. C. Patterson's record was gone into
rather extensively because it :s tyuical
of what has l.een done anu can be done by
others in Hams county.
And we haven t really got started
yet" said W. B. Lowry who had heard
Mr. Patterson s replies to the reporter s
questions. Mr. Lowry had come out from
Houston on the milk car witli Mr. Patter
son. V hue his boy was unloading the
empty milk cans of the Lowry and Sellers
tarms from the truck Mr. Lowry was an
interested listener to Mr. Patterson's
story and substantiated every statement
made. The picture of the truck was
made after the Lowry and Sellers cans
had been taken out of the trailer.
Mr. Lowry lives two miles south of Al-
dine station a short distance off the
North Main street road at the point
where the picture of the milk truck wast
snapped. '. M. Sellers "us near neigh-
bor was out mhen The Post representa-
tive and Mr. Mowery called.
BACKED IT UP WITH
VISIBLE EVIDENCE.
Mr. Lowry as he rode the rest of the
way borne in the car with the two inves-
tigators told of what he had done and
backed it up with the visible evidence
when they arrived at the farm.
W. B. Lowry has lived on his 40-acre
tract for seven years. Prior to (hat he
lived in the city. But he started on the
soU.
"I was raleed on a stock farm" he said.
"As many other foolish farm boys have
done 1 went to the city and served my
time there. Seven years ago I took stock
of ray funds my health my satisfaction
with life better say lack of it and de-
cided that it was high time to get back
to the land."
Mr. Lowry bought his 40-acre tract for
approximately $2000 without Improve-
ments. He started wll'.i a $1650 mort-
gage on tho place for he nad only UtiO
to snow . ior iv years' work as an elec
trical engineer for fffe Pittsburg bleel
company at a good salary.
His early training made him a good
Judge of farm possibilities. He was fa-
miliar with conditions and "went at it
easy" not expecting to get rich overnight
but satisfied to make a living while he
was building up his plant.
Up to a year ago he had a few head of
dairy stock and sold a little milk. But a
year ago he really started into dairying
in a sizeable way under scientific prin-
ciples. "You can see the result" he said with
Justifiable pride. "That litUe shed over
there was good enough for my bam when
I started dairying. Now I have a barn
that is a barn. Cost me 1660. and the
silo at the far end cost $350."
CAMERA SHOWS
"BEFORE AND AFTER."
The camera man promptly took a pic-
ture of the old barn and the new. It af-
fords a perfect contrast between what
Mr. Lowry Jokingly called "before and
after taking the dairy prescription."
Mr. Lowry bought 22 milk cows through
the dairy fund at a total cost of a little
more than $2000. He paid from $$0 to
$160 apiece for. the milk .lock and
bull to head the herd cost him $105 when
14 months old.
The cows began paying their way right
from the Jump Mr. Lowry said. He Is
milking 20 now and last week nis milk
check from the creamery was for 121.2.
For feed and hauling be paid 231. The
labor is his own and Ills son's. Ttiat
leaves 264) net for labor' and profit.
At that . rata his herd paid back the
22000 he borrowed from Ah loan land to
bar thesa 1 net week-' time. They
win par for ui wsxns oairy tuaai: nerd.
zvw; Mra wf; is-ion siio iiue er
isyvu is.w..wsiu inwv uuw a years
" iifrr I'll5 " . it- :
list -v - 1 i&mvtJSr 1 -Ur NwVti'
Top. left This barn was good enough for W. R. Lowry before he took to the milky vay
to wealth a year ago.
Top center Now Mr. Ixwry ho'ises his stork in this modern barn. Standing In front cf .
the silo is Mr. Lowry with "Goldon Jolly of Falfurrias.'
Top right How the milk is hauled to town; the Aldine trailer J. C. Patterson driving.
Bottom left The Patterson-Roush bull talking over the dairy business with I. H. Mowery.
animal husbandry expert of the Chamber of Commerce snd field man of the Houston Dairy Fund
Association.
Bottom left Twin 50-ton silos on the Patterson place.
time or 58 weeks. Already he has wiped
out the $11)50 mortgage on the farm.
Those figures are from milk sold alone.
His 22 tieai of cows should give him ?500
worth of calves a year besides and ma-
nure to fertilize and build up his ficl.is.
Mr. Lowry is using the Killoug'n sys-
tem of farm cost accounting since he
started scientific daiiyinK a ear ago.
He started with an inventory figures ui
Just what he puts into the plant incIul-of
Ing a charge for his ov.ii anil mu sous
labo- allowance for time of teams cm-
ployed depreciation interest and any
other charges then subtracts this from
the value of everything produced plus
the Inventory to be taken at ttie end of
the year. When he finishes the first
year shortly he expectt to have some
highly Illuminating figures on what can
be done on ordinary sandy soil in Harris
county 12 miles from Houston in a sec-
tion of which it has been said that "a
man can not even raise a fuss on that
land without considerable help.
HAS PAID FOR '
HOMESTEAD.
"My Yiomestead is paid for" said Mr.
Lowry. "My dtibt now is to the dairy
fund for the cows and they are taking
care of that and will from now on.
"That saying that a man can't raise a
respectable fuss on Harris county sand
without plenty of help; do you know-
where I first heard that?" lie added.
"The salesman in the implement store
in Houston where I went seven years ago
to buy tools for my farming venture
gave me that bit of free advice. I thought
It was funny tack for a man interested
in selling implements to take but 1
suppose he took pity on my ignorance and
gullibility. I'd like to have that fellow-
out here for a good farm dinner some
day show him my place and tell him what
a dickens of a fuss we are raising here
in Aldine. He really owes me a dinner
but I am probably better able to pay
for It than he is if he is still alive."
"One great drawback -to the develop-
ment of Harris county Is that Houston
people know next to nothing about what
can be and is being accomplished on the
Boil that they despise out here. It is going
n riirht under their noses in every direc-
I tion on the black soli down toward the
tsrazos valley as wen as on iue nuiuj
and poorer soil up around Aldine here to
the north of the bayous. Houston people
have been knocking Harris county long
after there was no reason left for knock-
ing. Memories of the first 'sucker' wlu
bit on the citrus fruit bonanza and bought
land at fancy prices only to split wide
open on the rocks of sure failure are
coloring the whole conception of the
county that the city man has formed
if he has formed any at all. And that
perverted opinion has spread widely it
Is about time that the -facts be known.
"Two years ago if a Harris county
farmer went into a Houston bank to
borrow money he could get it on pawn-
broker security. If he had no diamonds
or watch to Dawn ht Was turned down
i flat. Ask a bank president at tlislt time.
jto lend you money on live stock or grow
ing crops and his face would take on a
hunted look as he pressed the button for
the detective to come in and lead you
by the elbow to the front uoor.
PUTTING THE
COUNTY ON ITS. FEET.
"Now things are changed. The Hous-
ton Dairy Fund association was formed"
and formed largely by bankers who had
faith in Harris county as a dairying field.
It Is putting the counfy. on Its feet giving
the farmers self respect confidence and
a start on the sure road to success if
they will follow the best rules obtainable
and the fund managers see- to it that
they get acquainted with those rules. It
1 ciproctty applied between city man
and farmer. Helping the farmer to enrich
the county enriches tbe city thah) draws
its life blood from the county. The rule
works both way. -
"Another trouble With building up this
county by bringing In outsiders to settle
Is tnat mere is noimng nere iu
them. People com down from the North
look around and say 'Where are your
MSLeSSn
white fences where aleek cattle graze big
harna .hauutlful cnuntr homes. Except
ing the few places beautified with the
money of wealthy men who make their
farms show .places there are no such
farms in Harris county.
"But mark my words we are growing
prosperous day by oar with dairying; ana
scientific soil cultivation. And in a year
or so we are gplng to look prosperous.
I don't want to boast but ram going
W hav one. of those electrie i lighted
country home with aUlh modern Imi
provements and somethat haven t been
Invented. rt iaft. - tim.4jwd . I
am nof going to be ahead of my neigh-
bors either. Have you ever seen the
beautiful dairy farms and outside of a
city like St. Louis for Instance? That
is the way Harris county is going to look
after a few years time."
GOLDEN JOLLY
SIRE OF THE HERD.
"(loldcn Jolly cf Falfurrias" is the sire
Mr. Lowry's dairy herd. His family
tree was brought out for inspection. It
is long and honorable there is a blue
ribbon on every branch almost. His
mother if you please was Handsome
Violet who produced In one year more
than four tons of milk of high butter fat
test. On his father's side he is de-
scended from a National Dairy show blue
ribboner the best 2-year-old in the show
"Golden Jolly" by. name if a tricky mem-
ory Is to be depended on for that fact.
of which no note was made at the time.
Anyone who knows fine dairy Jerseys
will tell you off the tip of his tongue
that "Golden Jolly of Falfurrias" came
out of Kd Lassiter's famous herd at Fal-
furrias. Iissiter is a name to conjure
with in the dairy business.
The youngsipr cost Mr. Lowry $205 at
14 months. Now be is two years old.
What miracles he will accomplish in grad-
ing up tiie Iiwry milk herd in a few
years time will liave to be seen in the
records to be believed unlesa you happen
to know the power of selective breeding
in working such miracles. If you have
sharp eyes you can see Mr. Lowry in
the picture with his arm around the
clean-cut head of "G. J. F." which is
short for the youngster's longTiame. They
are standing over against the new. silo.
T'p the road from Lowry's. nearer Al-
dine is the 10-acre farm of the tw6 Lay-
burns W. M. Lavburn and his son.
Mr. Mowry hoped to be able to show
The Post reporter four and one-half acres
of seeded ribbon cane on the Layburn
place that stood 11 feet high in the stalk
with some as higli as 16 feet. But It
had been cut run through the silage cut-
ter and stored irf the new silo a few
days before. The four and one-half acres
produced 48 tons of silage.
GOT MONEY FROM
THE DAIRY FUND.
' The new silo holds 112 tons and cost
all told $490. The Houston Dairy Fund
association -made It possible for the Lay-
burns to Install it. ' '
There may be some city-bred readers
of this article who are hazy about what
silage or ensilage if you prefer the
extra syllable may be. Mr. Mowery the
Chamber of Commerce expert who pll
oted the trip had this to say about It:
"Every one who has had any practical
dalrv experience realizes the Importance
of raising his own feed stuffs as far as
possiDie u ne expects to maae me most
profit out or me dairy business.
"The very best and cheapest feed that
can be raised for the dairy cow is en-
silage. "The time to plant ensilage crops
In the early spring as soon as danger
cf killing frost Is past. Silos should have
been filled a month ago. now. The best
ensilage' crop to raise Is corn and after
that' the small grains such as sorghum
reeded ribbon cane milo maize feterita
and the like.
"It Is money In the pockets of the
dairymen of Harris county to have filled
their silos with winter feed and there
are a surprising number of alios filled
filling under construction or contem-
"plated."
When the ensilage crop is matured it
Is cut down In the ordinary way and
then fed through a silage-cutter tha(
chops It into shreds and elevates It into
the silo. This is an- air-tight cylinder
of wood lined with paper. There the
silage stays while the topmost few
inches ferment. This fermentation pro-
duces an acid that effectually kills out
the bacteria of fermentation In the chop-
ped up green stuff below. When the
stlnge Is to be used the top layer. which
has rotted down to form an' air-tight
seal is forked off and thrown away.
SMELLED LIKE
CIDER-MAKING TIME. . ''
i The Post reporter believes In going
Into a subject thoroughly from every
possible angle so he want Into the Lay-
burn silo from the top and picked up
Vleces of the ensilage smelted themH
Chewed them ana looked wise. The top
layer was Just beginning 'to ferment and'
the inside of the big" barrel ameued heav-
enly like .clder-maklAg time in old Mis-
souri. ' There arti some advantages in
being a cow evidently. " -
There are certainly advantages in be
ing the owner of a alio ''if that won't
save us money this winter" said the
elder Mr. .Layburn. "Last winter the
feed bins neany broke ray back.""
- But Mr. Layburn was exasreratlmr.
Bis back is not even bent though - he
Confesses pearly 2.0 years pt tusefu
i rat m m vax..- s .v "o:: .....a
life. He seems to be a man of about
40 whose hair has gone prematurely
gray.
He never had worked on a farm for
five minutes up to the time he came -to
Harris county six years ago. He came
from Pittsburg Pa. where he was a
die Inspector for the Pressed Steel Car
Works for 15 years. Hie son wns a pat-
tern maker. Hoth were skilled workers
commnnding high wages.
The Lttybums. father and son brought
one- asset to farming with them: open
minds. They had no "moss-back" farm
traditions to hamper them. And they
)re kqen and crltlcnl students of farm
theory and practice considering all
things well and holding fast to that
which is true.
SHOWED WHAT
SCIENCE WILL DO.
The success they made of the seeded
ribbon cane crop oh that sandy soil
shows what science will do even on ad-
verse soil. They plowed early and deep
in the fall. In the spring they manured
the land heavily before seeding follow-
'ng the advice of W. L. Stalllngs. ag-
ricultural eapert of the Chamber of
Commerce. They planted the ribbon
cane from seed on April 15. They cut
it a few days before full maturity. It
would have been mature by August 15
120 days after planting. On four and one-
half acres they raised 48 tons of ensilage
or more than 10 tons to the acre.
This land has never had an ounce of
commercial fertiliser on It. Manure from
the SO milk cows in their herd supplied
ail the added fertility.
The difference between manured corn
and unraamired they demonstrated with
thia year's crops. Off of (0 stalks of
unfertilized corn they might get as many
as two or three bis? full ears. Manured
corn gave them a fat ear to practically
every stalk with two on some.
The Layburns are practicing seed se-
lection in their corn. They look over
the stalks while standing and mark those
that are of the type they want with a
colored thread. The ears from these
stalks are picked and set aside. From
these the ears . with the best-shaped
meatiest grains are picked out. The lot
Is culled over until only the choicest
ears are left for next year's seed. Only
the middle sejctlon of the ear between
the taperlng-off places of the ends Is
shelled and planted.
SEED SELECTION
IS IMPORTANT.
Corn inherits traits Just as animals
do. and each year the yield of Layburn
corn will Improve as the result of this
careful seed selection. .The stalks are
gone over first In order to get those
whose ears are borne well down on the
shaft between knee and breast high on
a man. The offspring of 'the seed from
such stalks will have te ears .placed
low down. This will save the standing
corn the next year when the ears begin
to grow heavy and one of those sudden
i ralrte winds blows up. Corn that had
Its ears high up on the stalk would blow
down at the first gust but the stalks
with the weight placed lower simply
bend over before the puffs and whip up
etralght again.
How la that for the romance of agri-
culture? If animal breeding oes not fill
your attention and take aji your spare
time for study there is the whole en-
thrall rrg field of plant breeding open for
experiment and research. Every man his
own Luther Burbank.
The Layburns are milking 30 cows and
making money from them. But they are
not satisfied with that They want floe
dairy stock .cows that! will cost 2204 each.
Such stock Will hkve to be bought In the
North said shipped. here. Vntil tbeiTexas
fever tick is eradicated in Harris county
there will be no such stock owned here;
the tick would klU them as fast as they
ere brought in. But the farmers out
Aldine way votetttolldly for tick eradica-
tion in the late election they say and
next summer 'ootnpuisory dipping of all
stock wilt begin. By autumn the tick will
be a memory and then tat kipe may be
brought in Such as will' gladden th
hearts 'of auchvdatrymetr aa. the ' Lav.
burns. They realise that It pays best to
Work with the Mat stock and they in-
tend to have auoh -stock as- soon as tbe
tick to eliminated.- '
ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUf J
ftOSSIBILITIKS
;.The Lay buna fare enthusiastic about
Harris county farming and dairying pos
sibilities. They Wn been here six years
and they should know . whereof . they
peak.' vr ..; JiV;:-' 'vV' ' rlii
r "irvo believe la man-jcan .fnow Just a-
much corn to tbaar ana as good etafL
her as in the famous corn belt of th
Middl -ttte- saJd th senior Mr Ly.'
burn. "Her w have the added advan-
tages of lopf seasona.'IiButo do Jt y0
have got to fertilise your crops with
brains. . '
"We believe In Harris county's future
particularly because of the sort of busl-.
ness men you have In Houston. I bv
never seen a brighter keener bunch of
business men anywhere. The sooner the
business men In any community gets ac-
quainted with the farmers in the coun-
try round the better It Is for both city
and country. The farmer Is also busi-
ness man. Houston will have to realize
that Its prosperity depends on the-country
that surrounds 1L It Is because the
business men of Houston are waking up
to the fact that we farmers have come .
to believe In them believe more in -our- .
selves and believe in th future of Har-
ris county.
"The dairy business will make this
county. The new and successful farmers
and the hustling business men will have
to get behind the .old-time hardheaded'
farmer and push him out Into tbe light of
day where he can wake up and revise his
methods.
-"Up her around Aldine this gandy soil
Is not the most fertile in the world by
far. It is rather tha other- way. But
when you get down to It study -die soil'
add humus to It coax it along and grow
crops that are suited to It instead ot im-
possibilities you get along better than
a fool would on the fertile soil of the '
Nile valley or any other soil-heaven you
choose to name
IDLE ACRES IN COUNTY
WILL DISAPPEAR.
"What the dairy business has donO to
Aldine It will do to the whole of Harris
county. It Is fetching more money Into -the
neighborhood now In one week than
figs and everything else produced could
bring in eight weeks. Milk is bringing
nine men more than $00 a week tight
now and we have Just started. With
the tick - eradicated we will be getting
in really fine milk stock blooded Hoi
st eins and Jerseys instead of grade
stock and our milk production Income
and wealth is going to .mount steadily
and surely -. Ten years from now there
will not be an Idle acre In Harris county
and most of the acreage will be given
over to dairy farms and market gardens
the gardens close In to the city the dai-
ries farther out. Thia Is as it should be.
As an analysis of-' supply and - demand
population increase and aoceaelbllity
with motor-truck transportation rwill
prove to anyone who will go over the
findings of experts analysing oonditions
around other cities. What will hold' for
other cities and their - tributary territory
will hold for Houston-and Harris county.
Watch it come true." -
a hese are records of three typical -Harris
county dairy farmers. They were net
selected to prove a case.' Aldine was
chosen to visit because there wms only
time enough to visit one center. It might
have been Fairbanks or Cypress or any -one
of a dozen other points whe-e dairy-
ing Is blinding up the county. The three
men who were seen were the men in Al-
dine who Happened to be at homo at the
time the two investigators called. With
the trip postponed a day It might nave .
been a different set of men. Of Am thing
The Post representativ-came away con- -vinced:
Their story would have been
Just as encouraging.
Now that the result of building up the '
dairying Industry around Houpston has
had its inning it la time to turn to th
motive force behind It all.
DAIRY FUND 'ASSOCIATION
LARGELY RESPONSIBLE - - .
Generally speaking what Harris coun-
ty haa don In dairying "may be traced to '.
the Houston Dairy -Fkiid association. - --
The -association wag' organised In July
11 with 50 subscriber baakers and s
other business .men. The fond Is ot f '
2100000 half of It paid in. . - - i v
Up to date some 257000 ha bean loaned i -(
tt Harris county farmers for ...the pur- f vU i
chase of graded Jersey cattle thorough- ' -.
bred bulls and silos. -'As fast as the'
money la. returned by the borrower it Is .
put into circulation again on another V. .
ThV borrowr pay 0 per sent intereet ' V
No loan will be mad without "satlsfao- .;'
tory" security but th interpretation of
"satisfactory'' depend on tbV Individual l V j
case. It depends first of all on the ap-
plicant's charaoUr whether tie la a hlgh".w
grade or a scrub man. Judged by hi rep- '
utatlon in the community "Then the ' i .
fund officers consider v.Siethr he has the
proper barn' and Vh land on which to "
raise feed ThcyMiaM Into consideration .
hi alertness to grasp new Ideas 'and to (
profit by. th export.. advlce that Is . '
How well the of 4r have Judged their '
risk la shown br the tact that tit out-. v -
right lose on loamr 4na0 so far haa been ' it
but 2100 . and thia was oft some stock that . '
strayed or was stolen snd never -was re-
coveied' rravilcuii all the. account at
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The Houston Post. (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 33, No. 137, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 19, 1917, newspaper, August 19, 1917; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth610614/m1/8/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .