Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1878-03-16
FARM TOPICS.


In the fall of 1859, Mr. Linus w. Nil.
Ter, of stockton, New York happened to
mention to neighbor that he had not
hay enough 20 winter hiS stock. The
neighbor replied that he had wintered
his cow upon 4 daily ration of three
pints of scalded meal, keeping her in
the stall and watering her by hand, and
she came out in good condition in the
spring and yielding fair amount OF
milk. Mr.. Miller Immediately repeated
the experiment with herd Of 20 COWS,
and was so well satisfied with the result
that he continued the practice.
In 1870, he delivered an address on
meal-feeding before the American
Dairyman's Association, and in 1876
explained his method al the annual
meeting of the Pennsylvania Dairyman's
Association.
He claims that 80 bushels of corn will
keep herd of cows, housed and quiet,
three times as long as two tons of hay
these being the average products OF
an acre of farming land or meadow. He
recommends the meal of yellow corn
for this purpose, 10 be fed dry, two OF
three times day, and insists that dur
ing their Information in the barn, cows
do not need bulky, fibrous food, and
are actually better without it.
Last winter = committee of the Wes-
tern New York Dairyman's Association
visited Mr.. Miller's farm, and re-
ported as follows:
We have from time to time visited l..
W. Miller's herdof dairy cows in Stock
ton, " Y, during the winter while be-
ing fed on meal, and after they were
put back again on hay.
They are for size and general appear
ance about an average size lot of Chau-
tauqua County native cows; average
live weight, about 900 pounds.
The herd fed exclusively upon corn
meal for seven weeks; each animal ac-
cording to its digestive capacity, max
ing an average of about three quarts OF
meal per day for each COW.
During the time the following points
were apparent:
very quiet; did not evince any inordi-
nate 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
} hey Will eat; were much more quiet
than COWS fed mostly on meal with
small feeding of hay, say 4 or pounds
per cay. We could not discover any
signs of suffering or unrest in any way
whatever.
BY comparing their common condi-
ton at the time OF going on TO meal
with their condition at the time of go
ing back TO hay. we could not discover
what they had either lost or gained of
weight of flesh. Visiting them again
after thirteen days on hay we could not
discover any thing about them that
would denote but that they had been
wintered in the usual way; they were
then filed up ike other cows; their
stomachs sufficiently distended for di-
gesting nay and were Illuminating in the
usual manner.
We also find that the calves from
these cows are OF more than ordinary
size, fieshy, strong, active and healthy,
and that in parturition, cases OF reten-
ton of the placenta are unusually rare.
These cows have been treated in this
way Tor several winters ut q greater or
less length of time each year, and by
referring to notes from cheese-factory
records, we discover that they some-
times produce more milk than any other
herd; last July, for instance. being
daily yield per COW of ~ lbs. > o., or l
ID. IL 81. per COW more than any other
herd.
From ailidaYits 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 conditions being equal. |
Mr.. Miller has published pamphlet |
Of 81 pages, containing the addresses
above, with some account of |
similar experiments by other farmers,
and cornnletp directions for the care of 4