Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1877-03-30
Will 1t Pay to Feed Concentrated Food
to Cowsi

1t will depend upon circumstances. Some
cows it will not pay to feed any way; and
some men will not make it pay to keep
cows let them feed what they will. The
man who has no system or regularity in TAX.
ing care Of his cows will not make it pay
The man who does not feed his cows from
he time they can get enough in the pasture
to keep them alive, until the snow drives
them to the barn in the fall, will not make
it pay. The man who makes butter that he
gets but 20 to 20 cents pound for when
his neighbor gets 80, will not make it pay.
The man who does not begin hayiug until
the middle of July, certainly will not make
it pay unless he does feed concentrated
food.
1t is conceded by every one that there is no
better feed for cows than good sweet pas.
ture in June THE best pastures have ev-
er known are those that have northeast
cant.) Now claim the nearer we can keep
our feed like this the more butter we shall
make.
The FIRST thing we should do, and with the
best economy is to cut part Of our hay from
June Goth to July 10th. | would have
the meadow where l cut thus early so highly
cultivated that could cut second crop in
August, except land too moist to cultivate.
The next would be to SOW, in drills, corn or
some other crop to feed when the pasture
begins to fail. With the best of pasture, l
am satisfied it will pay to feed at the barn
every month IN the year but June, for in
order to keep up good flow of milk, COWS
must have good supply of good succulent
or concentrated food.
Then we should raise some kind of roots
Il have the best success with potatoes) and
grain to feed in winter and spring. Some
can raise grass cheaper than grain. With
such it will pay better to sell hay and buy
grain aud | belive oats are better to cut
when they begin to turn, and feed on the
straw. The best grain feed have used is
oats and corn ground together, two bushels
of oats to one Of corn. l suppose wheat
bran is as near like grass as any grain feed !;
l am Of the opinion that bran and corn meal
make superior feed. How much to feed
depends some upon the quality of hay used,
and the price of butter would be q consid-
GRAFTON, also the comparative value of hay
and grain. l think ton of hay is worth as
much for feed as ten to fifteen bushels of
corn, according to the quality of hay, and
oats and bran are worth as much as corn by
weight, to mix with corn to feed COWS. Tho
way to feed meal is to pour boiling water
upon it, stir, let it cool until about blood
warm and mix with chaffed hay. Every
thing else being equal the nearer we can
keep our feed like good pasture in june will
give the most profit with milch COWS.
We should never keep more COWS than We
can feed what they will digest, aud keep in
healthy condition. Some claim that if We
feed meal cows will not do as well when
turned to pasture. Change of diet should
always be gradual, and If we have not good
pasture we had better adopt the soiling sys-
tenn, in part at least When nine out of ten
that use concentrated feed claim that it does
pay, if l were the tenth, should feel that
perhaps the trouble might be somewhere
else.
hyde Park, March 81 ~ ~ rAhRAND.