Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-01-07
prnhnc,ion Of WIZ In Winter.

Production Of Will in Winter.
Tie dairy farmer of the olden time seemed
to care little about the profits of his dairy in
the winter As cold weather came on he
ceased making cheese and after making
enough butter to supply the wants of his
household, allowed his cows ito dry up.
farrow COW was kept just to furnish the FAM
lily with milk for tea, coffee and cooking pur-
poses, but II large supply of the tactical fluid
in winter was considered a nuisance, winter
butter being at a discount in the market,
while the trouble of making it was twofold
that of the summer product. All this is now
changed Statistics prove that nearly
half the milk Of this country is now con-
sumed as food. The demand in the city
markets has so increased that it is brought
into them from circles of two hundred miles
radius. Every considerable village in the
country also has its milkman, and in some of
the larger villages half dozen milk wagons
are seen in the streets competing for this
trade, few village folks keeping COW now-a-
days.
In addition to this demand for fresh milk
in winter, for family u.s., many farmers are
learning that they can make butter and rear
calves Just rs well in winter as in summer.
This may involve r little labor in foddcrng
and a little more expense in providing warm
stables and fitting up dairy rooms, but the
enhanced price of butter ut this season pays
for all this, and leaves wide margin for
profit. Calves dropped in the fall are GER
tainly reared in the winter with no more
trouble than III the summer, and when grass
starts in the spring they are ready for graz
ing and blythe next winter are large and
vigorous and can endure its rigor better than
did 'the yearlings' of our fathers A new
milch COW in the fall now commands a high
price The number of cows that "come in
at the beginning of winter has probably in
creased four-fold within the last twenty
years.
Such being the case, the problem of milk
production in winter is an interesting one,
and as time and experience advance much
light is thrown on its solution. A few sug-
gestions may help the novice. In the first
place milk can not be produced with profit in
the winter unless the stables are warm. If
half the food consumed goes to the supply of
animal heat, as it did in the old wide-cracked,
loose and underpnnod barns of the olden
time, in which the cows often shivered, and
were covered with frost of Il cold night, no
wonder that the animals were poor as Jobs
turkeys in the spring, though they had given
little milk during the winter. Comfort is the
first essential to milk production, and there
ing at every pore. 70 secure warmth it is
not necessary to stable cows in Easements
Indeed, these are better places for manure
than for animals, for, though warmth is a
good thing, it is not the only thing requisite
for the comfort of beasts The poor inmates
of Libby" did not complain so much of the
cold as of the bad air. We do not mean to
insnuate that Easements cannot be so well
lighted and ventilated as to make them fit
abodes for both man and beast, but we af-
firm positively that this is seldom the case
and as general rule We much prefer to live
and let our animals live above the basement.
By putting the stables on the sunny side of
the barn, battening them on the outside and
lining them tightly on the inside, filling the
space between the studs with straw or saw
dust, frost can be elfectually excluded, and,
so far as warmth is concerned, the animals
made perfectly comfortable.
To secure light and ventilation put in fire.
quent small windows of rough plate glass
hung on hinges, or made to slide, so that
they can be opened fully of warm sunny
day, or partially opened in moderate weather
Tubes should also run from the stables
through the roof of the barn to carry off all
foul air. The heat generated by the animals
will cause the air to rise through these tubes,
thus causing constant change. The floor
ing must be perfectly tight, as no animal, BIZ
ped or quadruped can stand a constant draft
of cold air directly on the stomach
Cleanliness is a third requisite for the pro-
| duction of good milk. In the summer a
grazing COW keeps herself neat and tidy. In
winter the cowherd must do this for her, by
| having her stall so short and elevated that all
her excrement will fall in the trough behind
| her, and be removed at least bi-daily. The
stall must also be well bedded with straw or
IA NyIust ar 1rV lpaTn pr giftAH coal ashes
| The last two are excellent absorbents of vile
odors, and add greatly to the value of the
| manure. Notwithstanding all these precau-
| tions there will more or less dust and filth &C
cumulate on Il cow unless she is carded daily.
! When We learn to keep our stables and cows
as those of Holland are kept, then will our
| How of winter milk be as sweet and pure as
that Of the 'faderland." The browning req
! uisite for the production of winter milk Ii
nourishing, succuent food. Our fathers kept
their COWS in winter on dry hay almost exclu-
| sively, and this made from ripe and over.
ripe grass. No wonder the COWS gave little
milk and came oct spring poor" in May.
| This was miserable economy any way, for il
took the cows half the summer to get into
| good milking condition. Our modern prac
tice of cutting grass early, and cutting the
aftermath, enables VI to furnish food very
similar to the feed of summer
The aftermath (rowen) is specially adapt
ed to the production of milk, as it is almos
as juicy and tender as fresh grass. If the
first crop only is fed to mlch cows, they
should have a daily ration of roots or apples
and these are healthy and serve as a variety
no matter what the feed may be. No man
or inferior animal likes to be served with tn,
same ration three times a day and 3G5f day
in year. Turkey and plum pudding served
in this fashion would pail the appetite even
of a gormandizer. We are looking for grea
help in the production of winter milk from
ensilage. This comes nearer to summe
grazing than does rowen, and the slight fer
mentation which it undergoes makes it tn
more dgestible and more easily assinimilat
ed Whether it will enable us to dispens
with roots, as its ardent advocates claim, re
mains to be proved by further trial.
With suitable food we include an abun
dance of good water. No producer of winte
milk should think of doing without running
water in his yard, to which his COWS cal
have easy access at least twice a day. Il
compel them tramp half mile, or twent
rods even, to some brook or spring of col
day will make large discount on their mill
product, both in its quality and quantity
Bricks eau be made without straw or othe
fuel, as they can be hardened by the sun
heat, but good milk cannot be made withou
feed, including good PLOughpdR.
,
One man in Goliad county, Texas, recent