Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1872-11-18
NO. 275...
Misfflla
BEST KEEP FOR DAIRY cows,

where tney should be gaining, and while
the public at large is suffering from the
very same cause as the farmer, he would
ofier a word or two of counsel whereby
we hope to bcni6t both. The butter and
cheese OF the country are in the aggre-
gate almost unfit for human food. This Is
a simple fact. Recently in England,
American cheese has been experimented
upon us TODD for hogs, and conditionally
approved. The cause of this use of the
product was not, as some of our read
ers may suppose, "a glut of cheese On the
market, but simply that the cheese in
question Was so inferior in quality that 1t
had to be sold for what it would bring 81
be entirely lost.
american butter is no better in the az
e'egate than American cheese. With
these two disagreeable facts before us, 1t
becomes our duty to seek out, and When
1ound. to remedy the causes of this double
lalltlrc. In the first place it Is more diff
cult to produce good butter and cheese in
this climate than in the milder one of the
british Isles. Again, the food OF dairy
cows with us for the greater part of the
year has TO be artificial. That is, dairy
cows require to he handled for more than
six months of the year; yet many small
farmers never hand-ieed their COWS at all,
unless we call hand-feetling permission 10
run in harnyard and struggle with one
another for a mouthfnl of bad hay and a
crunch or two Of musty cornstalks To be
successful IN dairy farming requires cs-
cessive neatncs' and nnwearying care,
both III HE manipulation Of The ieediny
and hot.>iGg al The coW-.
. or small farmers, ae they wealthy an
ateuf7 "r working men, the first step to
success Is a clean, well ventilated COW.
honsc---a she'd will not he sufficient mex,
a dairy house whore the temperature uni
form during the year; after these, con
yenient dairy utensils,--not elaborate pa.
tent machines, but well made. simply con
structed articles that admit of being kept
clean. and strong enough to bear the wear
and tear Of daily use. These having been
provided, the next consideration is the
breed Of cattle
Wealthy men ought to own nothing save
clean-bred cattle, and they may safely al
low fancy to dictate between the rival
merits of the Channel Island cattle and
the two varieti.s of the Ayrshire, or the
Kerry COW. These various families are
all noted mixers and first-class butter
makers. The working farmer can rarely
purchase clean-bred cows, but at least hc
can obtain grades, and grades of the
above named animals are the best for
him. as by having such. and then using
clean-bred bulls. he can obtain gradually
and incNpressivcly n nice herd of high
bred cows
TO the small farmer we would say,
avoid crosses. There is too much risk in
them. The third consideration is feed.
If it pays the large farmer to grow green
crops and roots for his stock on large
scale, it will pay the small farmer still bet
ter. The reduction of one gallon of milk
out OF ten is one-tenth loss, but the rednc-
ton of half a gallon of milk out of two OF
three is a much heavier percentage, and
therefore must be more carefully guarded
against 10 measure the highest quan,i-
ty Of milk and to have that Of the richest
quality, the cows should be kept in as uni
form temperature as possible, and their
feed should never vary in their nutritious
qualities. During the summer months
clover, lucerne and Italian rye gras-
should be handled to all dairy stock,
whether they be actually in milk or moi.
These grasses should be given at stated
times in the course of the day, and the
COWS ought to remain from \. NJ. until
7. NJ. sheltered from the fierce heat and
safe from annoyance of flies. One hour
before milking time, dairy cows should
be allowed access to water. This can be
done on their way into the stall in the ear
ly morning, and by turning them out oil
the stall for short walk in the latter part
of the afternoon. During the entire sum
mer cows ought to be out at pasture ali
night. This pasture need not be excess
lively rich. On the contrary we would
recommend that it be short and sweet, as
cows that are .judiciously and abundantly
fed in the stall need pasture to admit of
exercise rather than to feed upon. Long
before really harsh weather sets in dairy
cows should be housed at night, and al.
lowed their exercise during the most gen
ial part Of the day. 7f
The best winter keep for dairy cows is
sweet upland hay, given at night-a fair
allowance, according to the size of the
animal and always a little less than she
would eat. This, with Il ration Of roots
fed twice daily and what the COW picks up
at pasture is sufficient tor her. Oil cake
and linseed meal are too iattening for
dairy cows except under peculiar circum-
as in recovery from sickness
or previous starvation. Brewers grains.
cOItl III meal OF on inc COD, Stops Oh a0t
kind, and all such rubbish should be care
fully kept away from dairy cows. The
herdsma' object should be to have his cows
strong and thrifty, neither lean nor fat.
Food containing much saccharine matter
is too fattening, therefore it should be
sparingly used, and vegetable matter con.
ducive to a heavy flow Of milk given more
freeley. Among the roots best adapted
for the winter keep Of dairy cows are bsets.
wurizel and some other varieties
of the turnip. Ruta bagas, when fed in
quantity impart most unpleasant havor
TO the milk and butter; therefore only a
few should be given, mixed with other
roots. No more than one-iourth OF the
daily ration can with safety be composed
of ruta bagas, and even then they should
be fed consecutively to an entire herd.
Finally the question of water is most
vital to the success of the dairyman. Cows
require fresh spring water, free from i'm
purities and agreeably cool, but not cold
Milk vessels and all dairy utensils should
be cleansed in perfectly pure water. firsl
cold then sealding hot. One draught OF