The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1875-10-14
Meal Feed Alone for Cows Not in
Milk

Milk
1t Is necessary in this article TO give
as briefly as POSSIBLE, the process Of di-
gestiOn in ruminants, or animals that
chew the cud, so as to give our readers
more perfect understanding why it is
that fine corn meal, or any concentrated
food, is par excellence the food for a COW,
when the question of cost is taken into
consideration. In the fuII-grown OK
or COW all coarse food, such as grass, hay
or ehucks, when taken into the mouth,
Is, after very slight mastication, passed
into the Oesophagus Cor swallow usually
called) at the lower end of which are
two openings, and the first of which pass
es into the FIRST stomach the coarse food,
and also water when the animal drinks,
and with which her food is moistend.
This first stomach may be properly called
the animals store-house or commisariat,
from which she afterwards draws her
supplies. This she soon fills when grass
is abundant, or her owner gives her a
plentiful supply Of bay or fodder. She
is then comfortable and at ease and will
generally lie down or keep still, and then
the dignifed operation Of chewing the
cud begins. By muscular action this
half chewed food is forced througd an
other o~ening into a second stomach,
and by some mysterious muscular power
j 5 formed into wads or cuds, and, by this
same agency, is forced through valve
which opens upward into the Ooesopha-
gus, and then on and up into the mouth.
She then chews these small wads, or
cuds, until they become softened or pull
verified, and again swallows, This
mouthful or cud, again makes it decent,
but does not again 90 into the same open
ing as before, but is forced past this orr
fee, also past the opening in the second
stomach, into which nothing goes, pass
ing downward and enters the third stom-
ach near the end or termination of the
OesOphagus, or swallow. Now we have
the food taken into the mouth, slightly
asticated, then PASSED into the first
stomach: then by muscular action, forced
into the second stomach, then, by she
| same mysterious force, formed into cuds
and pressed up again into the mouth, re-
chewed, again swallowed, then passing
third opening, which is always closed, to
finely chewed food, also past the orifce
opening upwards, and On to the third
stomach. The third stomach is corruga-
ted with duplicatures, or more to the
point, is in many folds. These many
| folds seize upon the food and grind and
macerate it, something like the gizzard of
fowl, until all solids are reduced to
puIpy mass. From the third stomach it
passes directly to the fourth stomach, and
/ here the process Of true digestion begins
in the same manner as in the stomach of
human being The gastric juices here
| secreted canyerts it into what physiolo-
1 gists call chyme, and from this, by a
/ chemical process, into chyle. From this
it is converted, by al agency yet IN
known to science, into blood, flesh, fat,
muscle, bone, hair and horn. Thus, you
see the whole process by which We get
cur beef and afterwards, our milk, and
from which that oleagenous compound
called butter, is extracted, all of which
is the pride and delight of every home,
in town or country.
The intelligent reader is now prepared
to take in at a glance, the philosophy
and good sense Of Mr. dLinUs w. Miller
in feeding foreground meal to cows, for
it does not go through this whole process,
but passes Immediately to the point
where the true digestion begins, without
any of the re-masticating processes.
l wall now put. IN a few words as pos
sible, A.r. Miller's plan. The COW
J SHOULD first be dried Off If in milk, placed
in comfortable quarters with straw or
forrest leaves for bedding then begin to
feed her with three pints of fine ground
Indian meal in the morning and three 10
the evening, and be sure that no more is
given. II this should cause securing,
give a less quantity, but never too much
aG one tlLle-bSItef ieSN tiAGS TIMES d
day-but to prevent securing scald the
meal with boiling water Be sure that
no one animal can get the ration of an
other. or any portion Of it. for greedy
eaters viii cat too much, and securing is
sure to ensue Have your troughs so
that there can be no overreaching. Let
the meal be fine. it cannot be too fine,
for coarse meal VIII scour. Bat should
any animal, at the beginning, soour 10
spite Of every preeaution, give her solIi-
ed milk or tea made Of the common su-
mae made strong, or q con mon teaspoon
full Of copperas dissolved in water and
] mix with her meal Each animal has a
capacity of her own to digest and assiIni-
Z l. I'll -,r,, .or, Ia, Ed IN