The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1880-12-01
DECEMBER.
FATTENENG AN OLD cow M
MYEA.

To a correspondent who wants
to know how he shall fatten an old
COW that is hard to dry up, the Ma
tional Live Stock Journal replies:
The only profitable way to fatten
such g COW is to feed her as if you
were in earnest in fattening her,
and take all TIE milk she is willing
to give you. If you propose TO
dry her off before commencing
the fattening process, we should
advise you to take the shorter and
more profitable course, and that is
TO take her hide of-for her hide is
worth more than she will be worth
after she is fattened, provided you
first deduct the cost Of fattening
her. In other words, an old cow,
will eat, while fattening, more than
she Will be worth. But an old COW,
that has been a good mixer and is
hard to dry up, will give milk
enough whilst she is fattening to
pay the whole cost of her food, and
thus she will fatten herself free of
expense.
In this case, the feeder will be
pleased to see the faithful old COW
eat, and will be in no great hurry
to get her ready for the butcher.
It takes time to feed up an old AMI
NAL, and will take q little longer to
fatten her when giving milk, but
time is now of no particular conse-
quence, for she pays for all she
eats.
We have tried this experiment
many times upon COWS that had
been so good that we were 10th to
part with them at II years old-an
age which few COWS are profitable
to pass-and we never failed to
make them good beef in four to
eight months, and those that we're
fed eight months were quite as pro
6table as those fed four. Their milk
always a little more than paid for
their food, and sometimes good
deal more. We have fattened COWS
at 16 to 19 years old, and made
them weigh 100 to $50 pounds more
than their ordinary weight at sew
en- years old.
If the old COW is quite thin and
skinny, as she is very likely to be,
she should not be piled strongly
with corn meal on the start. This
is apt to make her feVerlsh and to
induce a state opposed to thrifty
fattening: besides this feverish
state will render her milk gargety.
Give her slightly loosening and cool
ing food ar first, such as pumpkins.
potatoes, sweet apples, succulent
rowen grass, one or two pounds OF
oil meal, cheap molasses and clover
hay, or, better, green clover; and
with any of these may be given on
the start, one or two quarts Of corn
meal per day. The food must be
gradually increased. Apint to three
pints of cheap molasses, diluted
with three parts water, and mix
ed with one-half bushel of cut clo-
yer hay, will keep the stomach and
bowels in excellent condition when
beginning the corn meal. And all
these foods will make prime milk.
Another food that will be found
successful, and in many places
cheap. is one bushel of Aaxseed
ground with Is bushels of corn.
This faxseed will render the corn
meal just laxative enough for health,
and the faxseed is worth, as food,
all it usually costs. Cotton seed
meal may also be fed to advantage
up to three pounds per day. Lin
seed meal, made by the new pro-
cess, is excellent to feed with corn
meal, as it has a large proportion
of nitrogen, and thus balances the
corn meal ; but two pounds per day
is sufficient of this.
The principal grain food may
properly be corn meal, which is
usually cheaper for fattening than
any other grain. Bran and corn
meal go well together for feeding
an old COW, and sitter the COW gets
accustomed to the use of the grain.
you may feed her six quarts OF
bran and six quarts of corn meal
in three feeds per day. It is al
ways better to begin feeding her
on pastures, beginning the use of
grain lightly, as mentioned, and
increasing, little by little, up to
her capacity. If the cow be young
that you desire to get rid OF be-