The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1874-08-01


PERMANENT PROFIT
From Mr.. Hazards essay on the aboce
subject pubiished in the american Farmer.
HOW TO MAINTAIN THE COW IN PROFIT
With a good selection made, there
will necessarily follow the question, how
to maintain her in good condition for
profit! 1t must be apparent to every
thinking person that good qualities,
even in the highest perfection, will not
insure an abundant and rich supply of
milk unless proper care is taken to fur
nish the COW with the kind of food best
calculated for the required purpose.
THE ART OF FEEDING.
The first requisite is, that the animal
should have abundance of food, so as to
be able to consume all that she requires
in as short time as possible, as then she
will lie down and have the more time to
secrete her milk, and that milk acquire
richness. In short, she must not have
to work hard for her living. The pas
ture should be often changed, and if
not in pasture the food should be sue
culent, otherwise fat instead of milk
will be produced but COWS fed with
food of too watery nature, which is the
case with roots early in the season,
require an addition of more solid food,
such as meal or good clover chat, other
wise the milk, although considerable
in quantity, will he poor and wheyey,
yielding no cream. Such roots should
be carefully selected as have no symp-
toms of decay, and should be mild in
flavor or the butter will be tainted In
very cold weather, and as a change of
food, use oil cake and gound oats,
steamed or boiled The best roots are
carrots, yellow turnips and mangel wur-
eel, succeeding each other
The cow and the horse can well pas
ture together, but no other animal should
be allowed in the same field, pigs and
poultry spelling and tanting the feed
The pasture must be kept clean from
weeds, and all refuse matter. 1t must
be supplied with an abundance of pure
water, and be free from all standing
water. Cows should be taken in about
sunset, or before they are preparing to
rest for the night, and should not be
hurried to or from pasture, especially
when full of milk Experiments have
proved it better cows should not remain
out all night, after August at least, but
be stabbed in an open airy shed.
Cow should always in Winter be well
fed, regularly fed, and sufficient food of
the right kind. Regular curryng is of
the greatest utility, as it keeps the pores
open and promotes the circulation
Twice day of as much as they will
eat of timothy and clover hay mixed,
with two quarts of Indian meal IN
bolted, four quarts of wheat bran, and
half a peck or peck of carrots or sugar
beets to each. Turnips may be fed to
dry cows, but to milking cows they give
taste to the milk and butter Corn
fodder is excellent as an addition, but if
fed by itself will give an unpleasant
taste to both milk and butter Steamed
or cooked food is now much used and
to great advantage, but we doubt if it
pays where but few are kept; cows viii,
eagerly drink the hay-tea that is left
after steaming the hay. Potatoes, raw
or cooked, are excellent food, and thus
the small ones come into play. In
Summer time, or early Fall, if the pas
ture is short, fresh corn-fodder helps the
milking qualities wonderfully, and we
are glad to see it is much more raised
than formerly. The earlier it is grown
and the earlier it is fed, the more it will
help the milking qualities. A piece of
rock salt should ALWAYS be where the
cows can find it.
THE MANAGEMENT OF THE cow
The proper management of milking
cows is no less important than proper
food
1t should always be borne in mind
that the animal whose capabilities are
for milking, becomes lean on the same
quantity of food as will make the feed
ing cat lie fat. The consequence of this
is that the milking, and therefore lean
COW is more affected by changes of tenn
perature than the feeding or fat one.
Therefore, for successfully maintaining
her in profit, care should be taken to
avoid rapid and considerable changes
of temperature, as well as damp or
clay land. There should always be a
clean, dry shed in which the cattle may
take shelter whenever they feel uncom-
Portable either from heat and flies or
cold and damp. This shed should be
well drained, and opening to a warm
aspect.
An animal always cold is always un-
comfortable, and a large proportion of
the food she takes is consumed in keep
ing up the heat of the body, instead of
making milk; warmth is, therefore,
food to the cow, and may be obtained
with little cost and less trouble than
some other food. Cold and sudden
chills are a great detriment to the ap-
pearance of the COW, and are frequent
ly the cause of her falling off in her
milk so early in the season So it is in
turning them out too early in the sea-
son, much injury is done by exchanging
them from warm yard or shed to pass
the night in the open air before the sea-
son is sufficiently advanced
In proportion as the breed of cattle
has improved so has the necessity of
care increased. 1t is a question of
economy whether it is not better to
bring cows in at night all through the
year, for they spoil much grass, and are
not benefited by being in the dewy
grass too early in the morning, and the
manure would be in the yard, where it
is valuable, instead of under the fences,
where the cattle would lie for protec-
ton.
Perfect cleanliness in every part of
the cow-house is of essential import
ance; the stalls should be kept clean,
the walls free from cob-webs and dust,
and the managers clean also. Much of
the benefit of good food is lost by Civ
ing it badly prepared or in unceanly
boxes. The Importance of ventilation
is very great, but its benefits will be in
q measure lost if the interior of the |