The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-01-21
AGRICULTURAL.
Meal for Cows

In the fall of 1859, Mr.. Linus W. Miller of
Stockton, New York, happened to mention to
a neighbor that he had not hay enough to
winter his stock. The neighbor replied that
he had wintered his COW upon daily ration
of three pints of scalded meal, keeping her
in the stall and watering her be hand, and she
came out iu good condition in the spring and
yielding fair amount of milk. Mr.. Miller
Immediately repeated the experiment with a
herd of twenty cows, and was so well satisfied
with the result that he continued the practice
In 1876, he delivered an address on meal
feeding before the American Dairyman's As
ISOLATION, and in 1876, explained his method
at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania
Dairyman's Association.
BE claims that fifty bushels OF corn will
keep herd of COWS, housed and quiet, three
times as long as two tons of hay-these be-
ing the average propucts OF an acre Of farm
Ing land or meadow. He recommends the
meal of yellow corn for this purpose, to be
fed dry, two or three times q day, anu insists
that during their Information In the barn,
COWS Go not need bulky, fiibrous food, and
are actually better without it.
Last winter committee of the Weaste IN
New York Dairyman's Association visit ed
MIR. Miller's farm, and reported as follows:
We have from time to time visited L. W.
Miller's herd OF dairy of dairy COWS in Stock
ton, N. Y, during the winter while being fed
on meal, and after they were put back again
on hay,
They are for size and general appearance
about an average lot of Chautauqua county
native cows; average live weight, about 900
pounds.
The herd fed exclusively upon corn mea
for seven weeks; each animal according to its
digestive capacity, making an average of
about three quarts of meal per day for each
COW.
During the time the following points were
apparent:
The cows did not ruminate. Were very
quiet; did not evince any inordinate desire
for food when hay was shown them; not so
much as is displayed by COWS that are fed on
hay alone. In the usual way of feeding little
less than they will eat. Were much more
small feeding OF hay: say or pounds per
day. We could not discover any signs of suf-
fering or unrest in amy way whatever.
BY comparing their common condition at
the time of going on to meal with their con-
dition at the time of going back again to hay,
we could not discover that they had either
lost or gained in weight OF flesh. Visiting
them again after thirteen days on hay we
could not discover anything about them that
would denote but that they had been wintered
In the usual way; they were then filled up
again like other cows; their stomachs suff-
GENTLY distended for digestng hay and were
Eliminating In the usual manner.
We also find that the calves from these
cows are of more than ordinary size, feshy,
strong, active and healthy, and that in par
turition, cases of retention of the placenta
are unusually rare.
These COWS have been treated in this way
for several winters at a greater or less length
of time each year, and by referring to notes
from cheese factory records, we discover that
they sometimes produce more milk than any
other herd; last July, for instance, being
daily yield per COW of 20 lbs.3 or, or lb.
II or, per COW more than any other herd.
From aff1davits placed before us by persons
who have observed the point in years past, we
find that such meal fed to cows,
when turned to grass, take on flesh faster than
those wintered in the usual way, other condi-
tions being equal.
Mr.. Miller has published pamphlet of 81
pages, containing the addresses mentioned
above, with some account of similar expert
ments by other farmers, and complete direc-
tons for the care of stock fed solely upon
meal. He sends this pamphlet to any address
for fifty cents, and the plan seems worthy of
investigation. The estimated saving is from
IS to $40 per head, according to the relative
prices of corn and hay.-Portland Advertiser.