Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1878-12-19
.Farm ann Aoustboln.
Winter Feeding .: Cows.

During summer, when tie heritage
is fresh and abundant. COWS make theil
own milk. All that is needed then i
TO see that their grass i abundant and
their water i pure. In Tie WintoI
season it j. the owners skill more than
ANYTHING else. that makes the milk. To
keep a COW in full flow through tie
Winter i matter of difficulty TO the
most skilltul dairymln. But il can bc
done il the means are at hand and the
methods are followed. The first reqi-
site Is a warm stable, in which there j.
abundant ventilation, and where perfect
cleanliness can be observed. for com.
tort is a. necessary 10 fall milking as
feed or water. The skin OF the COW
should also be kept clean and well
carded or brushed, for the healthful &C
ton of The skin is necessary for health
and healthiul secretious. Then the feed
should be nutritious, easily diae-tible
and abundant. Hay is the principal
winter fodder Tor cows, and early cut
clover mixed with meadow grass,
chiefly what is known as June grass. OF
kentucky blue grass, with some red-iop.
is the best for product Of milk. Timo-
Thy and orchard grasses, if cut Young
and from fields thickly sown and well
inanured, will make good hay for milcL
cows. Well cured corn fodder is but
little inferior to the best hay; and th,
writer has found that sweet corn fodder
sown in drills three feet apart, grown
to maturity and carefully cured, will
make more milk than an equal weigh
OF fair clover and timothy hay. The
concentrated food supplied is of more
importance than the coarse fodder, and
1t is here that mistake. are often made
Corn meal alone is too rich in carbon.
aceous matters to produce milk food that
is richer in albumen than this is neces-
sary. Corn, oats and rye bran in equal
weights, ground together, furnish "a per-
feet food that is rich in phosphales, albu-
men and fat-fo:;aing substances. and
thus produce a good flow of milk rich in
cream. Buckwheat bran stimulates the
secretion OF milk greatly, but this food
being deficient in fat and starch pro
duces poor quality of thin milk
Wheat middlings and bran. alone. have
tendency TO reduce the yield ot milk,
at least that is the result of continuous
trial of this food tor a whole month.
Brewers grains are a nutritious food
thai helps greatly TO increase the flow
of milk, and if corn meal is added the
quality OF The milk is also improved.
The oIl-cakes are rich in both albumen
and oil, but lew dairymen care to use
these, because of the peculiar flavor
which they impart to the milk. Pata
toes, when chopped and mixed with
meal add to the yield of milk, and the
quality produced by them is good, as
might be expected from the large pro-
portion OF starch they contain. Tur-
nips should be avoided as food for milk
ing cows, as the cautious use of then,
required interferes greatly with the ron
tine of the feeding, and makes much
trouble. Pumkins are rich food and
impart good color 10 the cream: but
the seed should be removed before they
are fed to the cows, because of their
diuretic effects. Apples are justly con-
demned by dairymen, excepting in very
small quantities of the sweet varieties,
and even then it is question if it would
not be Letter 10 cart them TO the manure
heap or to the cider mill rather lhan
give them TO cows.
The best chosen foods should be fed
in moderate quantities, and at four