The
death
in
Frederiksted
yesterday
is
announced
of M?ss
Elizabeth
Heath-
ley, native, and
an old and respected
res-
ident of that town.
;
i
TR
U R
.R RS
TSTR
Open
Letter to the
Edi-
°
°
~.
to. “St. Croix Avis
In “'St. Croix Avis’’ “ar
Monday
10th
inst.,
you
stated:
‘‘For if milk
was
worth
16
<ents
a quart,
when
the
rate
of exchange
was
26%, it is
an
arithme-
tical
conclusion,
that
it
is
wor.h
only
twelve
and
twelve
"thirteenth,
say
13
cents.
now the exchange
is 21%.”"
-
Now
I
am
very
much
interested
in
milk
prices
and
therefore
Kkindly
ask
you
to publish,
what milk will be worth,
shen
we
attain
our
old
rate,
5%
ex-
change:
-but '‘arichmetical’’,
please!
Respectfully,
Yours
truly,
C.
LAWAETZ.
“‘Little La Grange’’,-
May 11th,
1920.
West
F'nd
News,
May 12th.
Reply
to
Mr.
C.
Lawaetz,
Little La Grange.
On
the
basis
of
the
calculation
by
which the price
of milk
is
shown
to
be
12 pants
aquart,
with
an
exchange
rate
of 21%,
it may
safely be
stated
that
the
price should sink
to
three
and
one
thir-
teenth
cents,
with
an exchange
of 5%.
Lest
it be
overlooked,
the
fact
should
be
bornzin mind
that it
was
the
deliv-
erers
who
urged
the
regulation
of
the
milk
price
according
to
that
paid
in
U.
S.
currency
for cattle,
and if such
a
method
was approved
when it worked
to
the
benefit
of
the
deliverer
it
seems
only equitable
that
it should
remain
in
force
even though
its application may
re-
dound
to the aavantage
of the
consumer.
Moreover,
it
is
an
indisputable
point
of
reasoning
that
if
the
currency
in
which
the
price
of
goods
is
quoted
assumes
a
higher
value,
prices
should
be
changed
accordingly.
If
there
'is
anything
not
quite
clear
in
what
has
beea
advanced
in
this
connection
the
editor will be pleased
to furnish addition-
a)
xplanation
where
necessary.
EDITOR
"'ST. CROIX AVIS’'.
sSome
Hints For Improving
The Dairy Industry.
The present
time
seems
opportune
for
come
suggestions
to
Dairymen,
for
im-
proving
the
Dairy industry
and placing
it
on
a
more
prcfitable
basis.
Unless
the profits
from
dairying are good, it is
likely that
the irdustry
will
receive
lit-
tle
interest.
Increasing
the
price
of
milk is one
way
of making
the industry
more
profitable,
but
it is
not
the best
way,
though
it
may
be
necessary
as
a
temporary
expedient.
The
best
571 kIIX ANAS
way to make the
industry
‘more
profita-
ble, is by employing
more
scien.ific
me-
thods of production.
" In the
first
place. it
is
plain that thc
cows
of
the
island,
are
not
producing
enough
milk.
There
are
two
ways
of
increasing
the milk production.
(1)
by
bet‘ar
feeding o
the
animals
(2%
by
better
breeding
of. the
animals.
The
latter
method
is the
most
economical
and will be considered
first.
As
far
as
I can gather
che evidence from the Dairy
men,
an
average
cow
in this island gives
only
600
to
700
lbs. of
milk
per
year,
besides
raising
a calf
worth
$20.00
to
$30.00.
Probably
the
calf
is allowed to
get two-thirds of the milk and
the
dairy-
man takes
one-thir®.
Assuming
this to
be the case,
an
average
cow
here
gives
1,800
to
2,100
lbs.
of milk yearly when
fed
on
grass
and
water
only.
A really
good cow ought
to produce
some
4,000
-
5,000
Ibs.
of
mik
on
the
same
feed.
Very
highly bred
cows
in
the
United
States,
produce
20,000
lbs.
or
more
of
milk yearly,
but
of
cou'se
such
milk
yields
are
obtained
by special
feeding.
The system
which ought to be
adorted
in order to
improve
the
breed
for milk-
ing purposes,
is briefly as follows:
1.
Separate
the herd into 2 parts,
(1)
A Dairy Herd composed
of a few cows,
say
10 or 20% of the flock—the
very best
cows
of
the
herd
must
of
course
be
chosen.
(2)
A
Mecagt
Herd
composed
of
the
balance.
The
Meat
Herd
should
be
kept
in
pasture,
on
the
poorest
land
of the
Estate,
and
.no
milk
taken
from
them.
The ordinary
flock bull
of
the Estate
should
be kept with thistherd.
If it
is desired
eventually
to
have
‘only
a milk herd,
these
cattle
can
be
gradu-
ally
butchered
off,
as
the
milk
flock
increases
in numbers.
Procure
a Bull
of first
class
pedigree,
of a first class
mrilking strain,
say
Hol-
stein,
Guernsey
or
Ayrshire,
and
keep
him with the selected
cows.
When
the
calves of the best
‘cows
reach
maturity,
and give birth ito the
first calf,
separate
the calf from
the
mother.
Suckle
the
calf by
hand
'vith whele
milk and
then
skim milk.
Weigh
the
milk
from
each
cow senarately
every
day,
and
keep
a
record of the
amount
for
the whole
pe-
riod of lactation.
Keep
the
cows
with
the best milking record,
and
the
calves
of these
cows,
for breeding
with
the
pedigree
Bull.
In
a
few
years
the
milk production
per
cow,
by this
means,
can readily be doubled
or trebled.
These
facts
are probably
well
known
to
most
of the Dairymen here,
but
they
do
not
get busy
making
use
of them—now
is
the time tc start
when
th:re
is
a
good
price for milk and
a
scarcity
of
produc-
tior, all over the
world.
A start
in
“his
direction has been
made
in
St.
Thomas,
by a prominent
Dairyman there—now
is
the time for St.
Croix,
to
show
herself
not behind
the
Sister
Island
in
enter-
prise
r.
With pegard
to
the eecond
method
of
improving the milk yield of
cattle
here,
viz.
by
better
fe@ding,
1
would
offer
the following suggestions.
1.
Do not sell
any
cotton
seed
away
from
the
Island,
have
it crushed
and
feed
it
to
your
dairy
stock.
If
you
can
persuade
your
Cotton
Ginner
to
import
:
delinting
and
seed
crush-
ing
machine,
you
ecan
then
feed
the
cotton
seed
cake
to
your
stock,
and it will be
better
for them
than
the
whole seed.
One
or
two
pounds
of cot-
ton
seed
per
day
per
cow, will greatly
help the milk flow.
2.
Grow
a crop of corn,
and
make
the
grain
into
meal,
feoding
about
2
Ibs.
of meal
per day
per
cow.
The
Agricul-
tural
Experiment
Station
has
produced
a variety of corn which gives large yields
of grain,
and
a
small
quantity
of
this
seed
can
be
obtained
fr2e
by
anyone
applying for it. The
seed
should
be
sown
in
rows
34
ft.
apart,
and
spaced
Ift.
apart
in the
rows.
Grow Velvet Beans
between
the
corn,
and feed
the crushed
beans
to your cows.
One
pound
of
beans
per
day
per
cow
will be
sufficient.
Velvet
Beans
bear
prolifically here
and
cost
little to grow.
Besides
producing
a
crop
of beans,
the
vines
make
an excellent
fertiliser
for the
soil and by their luxuriant
growth, keep
down all weeds.
A crop of velvet
beans
matures
in
about
4t)
5 months.
They
should
be
planted
between
the
corn
stalks,
and preferably
1 or 2
weeks
later
than the
corn.
4.
Encourage
the growth
of
blue-wis
among
your Guir.ea
Grass,
by
collecting
and scattering
the seeds
of this
valuable
leguminous
plant in your pastures.
5.
Grow
a
few
acres
of
Elephant
Grass
on
some
of
your
best
and
flattest
land.
The
ground
should
be
prepared
thoroughly for this
grass
by
ploughing
and harrowing.
The grass
is best planted
in rows 3 to 34[t.
apart,
the
cuttings
of
grass
being spaced
24 to 3ft
apart
in the
rows.
Elephant
Grass
grows quicker and
makes
more
fodder
per
acre
here,
than
any
other
grass,
and
further
it makes
good
growth
even
in
dry
weather.
It
has Guinea
(rass
thorcughly
beaten
in
this respect.
Until the gross
is - stablish-
ed it should
be
kept
clean
by
weeding.
Cuttings of this grass
can
be obtained
by
anybody
on fapplication
to
the
Experi-
ment
Station.
6.
It is a gnod plan to give cows
at all
times
access
to salt.
Keep blocks of rock
salt in places
where
the cows
can
readily
get to lick them.
7.
Erect
a
Silo
on
your
Estate,
in
which
you
can
store
green
fodder
dur-
ing the
wet
season
and
feed
it to
your
stock
1n the
dry
weather.
In this
way
you
can
be
quite
independent
of
the
drought,
and
have
as gooda milk sup-
ply
in the
dry
as in
the
wct
weather.
For full instruction
as
to
how to
erect
and
fill a silo,
apply at the
Experiment
Station.
LONGFIELD
SMITH,