The star of Pascagoula. [volume] (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1873-1878, 1877-02-09

eater ibs following Interesting sspefH
mene in feeling avs n the Vermont
Chronicle
have three COWS which I an feeding
ff The double purpose ~ getting mill
and ~ the same time httsning the aul
mails for beef They afe al faffow
of them has been ~ f1r two years They
belong ~ the common breed, and have
been what would Ne called good milkefs
~ the time I commenced feeding they
certainly ~ not give milk enough 70
pay Tor the hay they ate. Ny object Nv
q experimenting was ~ find out, "a nearly
NJ possible, the most profitable feed.
began the experiment December 10th,
and continued II for four weeks, with the
following result
Tho feed the first week was eight lbs
Of Shorts" one.half bushelo Of sugar beets,
and ten pounds Of hay per day 10 each
COW. ! fed the shorts night and morning,
four pounds at q time The bects were
given at noon. They were fed all the
hay they would eat up clean, three times
q day. Thus, the first week / fed the
three csws two hundred and ten pounds
Of hay, one hundred and sixty-cight
pounds Of shorts, and ten and q half
bushels OF beets. The hay was Of n very
poor quality. ! estimate the cost IA
follows: One hundred and sixty eight
pounds Of shorts at twenty-five dollars
per ton, two dollars and ten cents two
hundred and ten pounds of hay at twelve
dollars per ton, one dollar and twenty.six
cents; ten and a-half bushels of beets at
fifteen cents per bushel, one dollar and
ffty-seven cents. Total, four dollars and
ninety-three cents. We got three hun
bred and seventy-nine pounds Of milk,
making sixteen and one half pounds of
butter, taking twenty-three pounds Of
milk to make n pound of butter. The
butter was of the best quality, and at
thirty cents per pound would bring four
dollars and ninety-fve cents. There was
in addition the skim milk, and a steady
gain of the cows in flesh.
In the second week the feed was the
same as the first with this exception-in-
stead of feeding eight pounds of shorts |
gave them eight pounds of feed, ON
posed one-half each of corn meal and
shorts. This week we got three hundred
and ninety-four pounds of milk and eigh-
teen and one-half pounds of butter, or
one pound for a little over tw~enty.one
pounds of milk. The cost of the feed
this week, calling corn as / did, two 1ol-
lars per hundred, was five dollars and
sixty-five cents. The butter was worth,
at thirty cents per pound, five dollars
and fifty-fve cents.
The third week was the same as the
first, with the exception of feeding bran
instead of shorts. Amount of milk this
week three hundred and eighty pounds.
Both butter and milk same as first week.
Fourth week same as second, only
useing bran instead of shorts. Milk this
week, four hundred and eighty pounds
butter, nineteen lbs. Cost of feed same
as second week, five dollars and tifty-six
cents; butter worth five dollars and
seventy cents.
/ have not tried corr meal alone as
grain feed, but from former experience
am convinced that it is not as valuable
for milk as either bran alone OF bran and
corn meal mixed in equal parts.
| have no doubt from the above re-
suits, and my observations since, that no
better feed can be given cows than corn
meal and bran mixed.
The cows have not only more than
paid their keeping in milk, but have
steadily gained in flesh, and are now fair
beef. Had | only fed common hay, such
as l had, they would not have paid their
keeping.
Perhaps ] should state that all the
feed was scalded and the cold water
added, making a pailful at a time for
each COW. The butter made was very
nice, far better han it would have been
with only hay or fodder. / am satisfied
that bran is fully equal to shorts in val
ne, and to mix with corn it is better.
With bran at twenty-five dollars per ton,
and corn at forty dollars | would use as
much corn as bran, and feed them mixed.
] have said little about the roots fed,
my object being to determine the best
kind of grain or feel to buy. But SO well
satisfied am | with the result of feeding
roots that / would not on any account
be without them. Every farmer would
find it to his advantage to raise from
seventy-fve to one hundred bushels for
every COW.