The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1874-12-05
'Mmke 1Aarm+
Winter Food and Care Of Dairy Cows.
BY HARRIS LEWIS.


white over the greater portions OF the
dairy districts of North America, now
is the time for every dairyman to ask
himself the following questions: First,
Have all the necessary provisions been
made to secure for my herd entire ex-
emption from the cold and storms of
the Winter now upon us? Second,
Have provided an ample store of good
nutritious food for my cows, Of those
kinds best adapted to their wants? 3,
Have | resolved upon, and made pro-
vision for, that kind care and gentle
treatment which will render my herd
not only contented, but happy?
To those dairymen who cannot an
swer the first question in the Affirmative,
l would say, there is no time to be lost;
that, aside from the question Of dollars
and cents, every owner of a COW, or
other domestic animal, is in duty bound
to provide good, comfortable Winter
quarters for that animal, or sell it to
some human being who will. In this
county, (Herkimer), where the dairy is
the leading agricultural interest, we
have all kinds of COW stables-from the
dark, damp hole, dug in the ground,
from which the stone wall surrounding
it excludes the pure air and beautiful
sunlight of heaven, without which no
animal, or even vegetable life, or health,
can he maintained, to the airy stable
set upon stone abutments three or four
feet above the ground, with siding SO
open that perfect ventilation is the only
desirable thing secured. The stable
first described stands as an open grave
for the dairy COW, while the last remains
a constant witness to the refined cruelty
and consummate folly of its owner. A
COW stable above the level of the ground
surrounding it, so constructed that an
abundant supply of light and pure air
can at all times he admitted, seldom
cold enough to freeze the manure, is the
kind of stable every dairyman should
have, if economy in feeding and the
comfort of the COW is desired. Good
water, easy of access, is very impor-
tant item in the Winter care of dairy
stock. By far too many dairymen al
low their cows to travel long distances
through the fields to brook or spring
to obtain their drink. The accumulat-
ing snow along the cow path, and at
the place where they drink, is contln-
uaIy enhancing the labors and increas-
ing the dangers to the COW, as she be-
comes less and less able to endure them.
The stronger cows drive the weaker
ones from the path, whenever they meet,
into the deep untrodden snow, which
has accumulated by the side of it, and
all are compelled to stand almost on
their heads while drinking, and change
themselves from cows to suction pumps,
for the purpose of obtaining their drink.
4 COW will do much better in a good,
comfortable stable in this latitude, (43
deg ! min. north if kept in all the
while, except sufficient time to allow
her to obtain her drink.
After carefully testing the various
methods of feeding and watering dairy
cows, l have adopted the following prac-
tice, and am content Herewith: Be-
tween and 6 o'clock in the morning,
the cows are fed all the good hay they
will eat up clean, with the addition of a
peck of mangel-wurzels. After eating,
the cows are let out to drink, few at a
time, the stable cleaned, new bedding
put down, and the cows returned to their
places, where they remain until O'Clock
in the afternoon are again let out to
drink, stables cleaned, bedding put in,
cows returned and fed their nights mess,
the same as in the morning Cows that
are kept in the barn so large portion
of the time should be carded each day.
There is, perhaps, nothing in the care
of the COW so much neglected as the
daily carding, yet no one thing which
will pay the owner better, or give the
cow more satisfaction and comfort.
WINTER FOOD.
AS good grass is the perfection of
food for the COW during the Summer
season, so early cut hay, or grass cut
while in bloom, is the very best Winter
food Grass, while in blossom, contains
all the elements of nutrition that it ever
does, or ever can contain, during any
stage of its growth, and if cut at that
time, and nicely cured, is easily masti-
Gated and thoroughly digested by the
COW, without cutting or steaming, and,
when fed in connection with roots in
proper proportions, is in my opinion,
the best Winter food for the dairy cow
we can furnish. l do not regard the
too common practice of stutfing dairy
cows with worthless straw and other
good for nothing rubbish as very great
feat, or as an exploit worth boasting Of;
yet l often hear dairymen and other
stock feeders boast of having fed so
many tons of coarse fodder, thereby
saving SO many tons of hay. The love
of life, and her instructive efforts to
maintain it, will, of course, justify the
COW in eating worthless trash, when she
can get nothing better, and the love of
making money may justify her owner
in feeding it; but | confess that | can
not see it in this light, owing, perhaps,
to my ignorance, or blindness, or both
COlilDllc'. cl w ScC lON INC CON
is cheated out of a good living, and
how her owner is defrauded by his
sharp practice, being the worst bam-
boozled of the two parties in the trans
action. In the care Of the dairy regu-
larity in feeding, milking, and watering
should be adopted, and rigidly practic-
ed. The COW being, to some extent,
creature of habit, soon becomes impa-
tient of delay, if her daily wants are
not attended to at the proper time.
Sailing.
A certain amount of salt, in addition
to that obtained from grass, either green
or dry, is required by the cow. This
should be placed where the COW will
have free access to it every day, and
should not be mixed with her food
Some cows in my herd will eat salt
every day, while others, receiving the
same kind of food and drinking of the