Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1883-06-07
FEEDING FOR MIX.

That certain cows have the ability to
produce an extra quality of milk can
not be doubted. But breed alone is
not sufficient. Unless we appreciate
the fact that milk is made of the food
taken into the stomach, we make a
fundamental mistake. Yet this error
is not uncommonly entertained. This,
among other ways, is shown by the
question, which is sometimes put to
us, Does food favor the milk? We
have heard that question argued with
a great deal of vigor ON both sides,
and with the knowledge, too, that
such things as turnips, il fed too gen.
erously, viii impart flavor to the milk,
which must necessarily partake, in
large measure, of the character Of the
food. If the food is poor the milk
must be poor, and if the food is rich
the milk will be rich, something, as we
have before said, depending upon the
COW herself. BY special feeding both
the quality and quantity of the milk
can be improved. A great deal more
depends upon feeding than most of us
imagine. A breed, or variation of a
breed, can be largely made principally
or partly from feeding. For instance,
we begin to feed especially for milk.
The animal thus fed is used for breed
ing purposes, and the offspring in time
is used for breeding. Now there is no
question that i'm time the feeding and
the selection will show strong milking
characteristics in the descendants Of
the original animal Darwin refers 10
many cases of this character, and some
of our American writers give similar
instances. One, we now think, cites
the case of very ordinary mixer that
produced heifcr calves that were also
nothing but ordinary mixers. The
COW after while was fed specially for
milk, and, besides becoming a good
mixer herself, produced heifer calves
that also became excellent mixers.
We must come 10 the conclusion,
therefore, that to enable COW to do
her best, both as TO milk production
by herself and also in the character of
her offspring, we must feed well and
even high. There are other important
questions connected with high feeding
which will necessary press upon us for
solution. One is, VIII not high feed
ing so shorten the life of the animal
that it will prove really Improbable
in the end? There is no doubt that
feeding may be so high as 10 injure the
animal. Or, perhaps il would be more
correct to say that the general treat
ment of the cow may be of such n
character as to injure her. II she is
shut up, with no opportunity for exer-
else, she would be injured. But that
result would be more attributable to
the confinement than TO the feeding,
although they cannot be wholly sepa-
rated. And if the animal is kept very
fat she would, no doubt, be injured,
for we do not need a fat COW to pro-
duce milk. In fact, we want cow
that will convert the food given her
into milk and not into fat. But cows
have been fed high for fourteen years
and have done well all the time. And
there is a prominent instance of a
large herd of cows being fed highly
for seven or eight years without the
least detriment to their health and
usefulness. If high feeding is done
judiciously there is not much danger
of it proving hurtful, and very much
of the evil which is attributed to high
feeding ought to be charged to inju.
dicious feeding. No animal can be
injured by feeding, however much OF
whatever it may eat, if the system
properly utilities it and judicious feed
ing will insure that the system gets
nothing less nor any more than it car
utilize Western Rural.