The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1878-03-07
Farm TOPICS.
Meal for Cows.

Meal for Cows.
In the fall of 1859, Mr.. Linus w. Mil
Ter, OF Stockton New York, happened to
mention to neighbor that he had not
hay enough to winter his stock. The
neighbor replied that he had wintered
his COW upon a 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 a fair amount of
milk. Mr.. Miller Immediately repeated
the experiment with herd of 20 cows,
and was so we'll satisfied with the result
that he continued the practice.
In 1875, he delivered an address on
meal-feeding before the American
Dairyman's Association, and in 1876
explained his method at the annual
meeting of the Pennsylvania Dairyman's
Association.
He claims that 80 bushels of corn will
keep a 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, to be fed dry, two or
three times a 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 Yves
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 herd of dairy in Stock
ton, n. 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 &C.
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:
The cows did not ruminate; were
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 a little less than
they will eat; were much more quiet
than cows fed mostly on meal with
small feeding of hay, say or pounds
per day. 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 60 /.
inc 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 like other cows; their .
stomachs sufficiently distended for di-
costing hay and were Illuminating in the .
usual manner.
We also find that the calves from
these cows are of more than ordinary
size, fleshy, 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 for several winters at 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 a
daily yield per cow of % lbs. 3 on, or
ID. IL OF. per COW more than any other
heri.
From af1idavits placed before us by
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
IF 81 pages, containing the addresses
mentioned above, with some account OF
similar experiments by other farmers,
and complete directions 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 in
vestigation. The estimated saving is
from 50 to $40 per head, according to
the relative prices Of corn and hay
Portland AdUertiSer.