Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1869-04-01
farmers 1epartnlsrlt.
Feeding Dairy Stock.

refer to the Importance of the root
crop in the feeding of dairy stock:
and to regret that it is not more high
ly appreciated in this country.
It will be recollected that Id our
remarks upon the management OF
nastures and the feeding OF dairy
stock in Holland, we said that roots
of various kinds form o prominent
article OF food.
To show how very important the
root. crop is considered in those parts
of Europe where the dairy is an OBJ
iect of attention, let US allude to the
winter management of cows in Flan-
ders, quite equal to Holland in the
minute economy of its system of ag-
riculture. In travelling through
Flanders you never see cows at pas
ture as you do in many other coun-
tries. You see no fences, either
along the highways or along the dl-
visions of land. The whole OF the
land is arabic, and nearly the whole
of it is actually under cultivation
A traveller who has been through that
country many times, and in every di-
rection from one end to the other,
does not recollect having seen rod
of fencing in any part of it, but they
keep a great many cattle and COWS Of
very high dairy quality, so high
that the Flemish cow is considered
the best dairy cow of France.
The number of COWS, indeed, in
Flanders, is a matter of surprise to
all not acquainted with the mode in
which the feed is prepared.
A cow for every three acres of
land is common proportion, and in
very small holdings the proportion is
even greater than that. Now in flan-
ders every farm devotes fifth, at
the least, of its whole area, to tur-
nips as second crop after harvest.
These turnips are of quick growing
sort, sown from July, after COLA and
winter barley are gathered, to Au-
gust, after rye. In September and
October they get to be ofgood size,
when they are stored in cellars for
winter use.
Many potatoes are raised also, and
all not required by the family are
consumed by the cattle. Carrots,
also, are sewn in spring, sometimes
alone, but often with barley, flax and
COLA, and these complete the store
of provisions for theacows. These
roots are chopped up together In
tub, when some bean meal, rye meal,
or buckwheat meal is added. Boil
ing water is then poured over the
mixture and allowed to stand and
cool. Whenever they can get fuel,
which is surprisingly scarce in that
country, the whole is boiled together.
This mixture is called brassin, and
two pailfuls are given warm morn
ing and evening to each cow, and
this is her food all winter, with the
addition simply of little wheat or
barley straw. Hay is very rarely
given at all except in a very few dis
tricts, and never in the unlimited
quantity in which we feed it out
With the exception of one or two
districts no hay is made to speak of,
AMI very little indeed in any part of
the country, and this is reserved for
hard worked horses.
In this manner Of feeding, a far
mer of ten or twelve acres, of light
arabic land, all under cultivation,
will keep and maintain in good con-
dition four or five cows, which con-
stitute, in fact, the chief object of
attention. The butter Is sold every
week, and pays the outstanding bills
of the farm, while the buttermilk
feeds the family and the pigs.
Less than a century ago the root
crop was as little cultivated in Great
Britain as it is here at the present
time. The farming land was as run
down and as exhausted as our own
average lands at the present time
The introduction of turnip and 9TH
er root cnlture there led to COM
plete revolution, the land improved
in consequence of the great increase
of live stock to augment the manure
heap, and in fact the culture of roots
was the salvation of English agricul
ture. The time will come when our
own soils will be renov ated in the
same way.
On the dairy farm, after growing a
sufficient amount and variety of gar
den or other crops, for the supply of
the family, or in other words, for
homo consumption, the chief atten-
tion should be devoted to the root
crop, and this course of cropping
will give an abundant supply of ma
nure to keep up the grass crop by
means of surface manuring. The
time will come when it will be mat
ter of surprise that any one could
ever have thought otherwise, and that
the introduction of root culture on
the dairy farm should have been SO
slow.--jNassochusetts Ploughman.