Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-01-15

feed is of the utmost Importance in
making winter butter. can choose
such feed as will make a Jersey COW
give white butter of no more flavor
than lard, and such as will make but
ter that will need no color to make it
acceptable in that regard to the most
fastidious Judge; and the same with
regard to flavor have tried exper-
iments on my customers and on my
butter maker, by changing the feed,
and have been amused to hear the
remarks as to the quality of the but
ter, and the yield of both milk apd
butter. Almost every farmer and
farmers boy knows that buckwheat
bran fed to COWS will produce butter
almost perfectly white in color and of
greasy, unpleasant flavor. Perhaps
the worst possible fresh butter might
be made from cow fed upon corn
stalks, turnips and buckwheat bran,
for it would be poor in color, without
texture, and of strong flavor. Lin
seed oil-cake meal gives greasy,
unpleasant flavor and light color
palm-nut meal is but little better, al
though it is remarkable for its effect
in increasing the quantity of cream
in the milk ; cotton seed meal is GER
tainly the best of all the artificial
foods, as it both increases the cream
and gives it rich yellow color.
Corn meal is an excellent feed for
color and quality of butter, but it
often decreases the yield of milk
when used alone; a mixed meal of
oats, corn and wheat, or rye mid
dlings, in quantities, is excellent feed
for butter but when the oats are
used in excess, there is often trouble
in churning.
Folders are of various kinds. The
first in value is undoubtedly clover
hay cut in an early stage. The next
is orchard grass, clover and Kentucky
blue grass mixed. The mixed grasses
of an old meadow, which are chiefly
red top, some of the fescues, with
some timothy and blue grass, make a
good hay for the dairy. Fodder corn
grown specially for this use, and
thickly planted so "a to have their
stalks and plenty of leaves, cut while
in blossom and we'll cured in the
shock, has proved with me to be equal
to the best hay. Sweet corn of the
large kinds is preferable to field corn;
the Blount's White Prolific is fine
fodder corn, growing tall, having
leaves to the bottom, and many half
grown ears when planted as late as
June, and being very sweet. A few
acres of this corn, planted last season,
turned out n large crop of the finest
fodder, which gave better yield of
milk than mixed timothy and clover
hay.
Roots are, however, the chief de-
pendence of winter dairy. Turnips
and rutabagas should never be used.
| would as soon feed onions TO my
COWS. A delicate taste can even
detect the flavor of turnips that have
been stored on the barn floor upon
which cows have been fed, although
the cows have eaten none. There is
no use in trying to believe that tur-
nips will not flavor milk and butter
if given to the cows Immediately after
milking. have tried it oftentimes,
and invariably my customers have
complained of a taste in the milk,
which they suspected was from dirty
milking, and can detect the scent
aid flavor of the turnips in the but
ter. Mangels, the yellow globe or
the long red varieties being the best.
are unexceptionable, giving much
milk, and that of good, rich color.
From one peck to half bushel per
COW, sliced and sprinkled with feed,
will make profitable feed for dairy
COW in full milking.
In feeding cows in winter, daily
ration of salt should be given. One
ounce, or a tablespoonful per day, is
a fair allowance for a COW. The want
of salt will cause slow churning, and
foaming in the churn, and butter not
coming may often be attributed to
this. 1t should go without saying
that perfect cleanliness in food and
water is of paramount importance.
Where the dairyman intrusts the
feeding to a hired man, the observ-
ance of cleanliness should be insisted
upon as absolutely as honesty or
sobriety. To use dung-fork for
mixing feed, or trampling upon hay
or fodder with filthy boots cannot be
permitted with impunity.