Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1883-04-17
The Keeping and Feeding OfStock

Inasmuch as the main object in keeping
farm animals is to make profit on them, no
| forewarned farmer will keep too much or too
little of kind. nor feed any kind too much
or too little for the purpose of this main oh
ject nor will he believe it good policy to
impose on any OF them food Of inferior quail
ty I'M furious to their health and spirit. In
this view of the subject then it becomes us,
as have done. to consider whether it is bet
ter to depend altogether upon pasturage at
any time, even in its greatest flush; or, on
the other hand to feed exclusively on dry
fodder for any great length of time? l have
noticed that the change from one of these ex-
tremes to the other is always Injurious TO the
animals health, and infer, consequently, to
the farmers profit. | have known disease
engendered by it from which the animal new
er recovered. As regards the horse, 1t is not
policy to keep more of them than is actually
necessary, and no horse is fit to labor that is
fed on pasturage alone; nor is it well
to keep these altogether on dry food
and off the ground, unless some green
vegetable matter, such as roots or
fruits, be occasionally supplied. and most
especially to breeding stock. Cows are kept
for their milk. and it requires a double set to
supply uniform quantity the year round I;
and no one can afford to feed grain to dry
cows at the expense of the mixers, virtually
keeping two cows to do the work of one at
the average price obtained for their products !;
nor can he afford TO let them fall off in their
condition, if he expects them to do their best
milking when they ''come in" but the change
of fare must be graded to the changed condi
ton with great care, so as to give no sudden
check or flush at any time. For this purpose
a mixed diet at all seasons is best; beside,
the best butter is never made without grain
at any season, nor without succulent feed in
winter season. This the sio aims to do, but
it cannot be done with the cornstalk, and
specially is fermenting food injurious, both
to the animal and her product. The carrot
the parsnip and the pumpkin are the only re-
liable green vegetables to supply this need in
winter.
Whoever keeps sheep for profit keeps
breeding ewes. These need special care in
coming of grass in the fall and should be ac-
customed to hay and grain before grass
wholly fails them, and bv no means should
they experience sudden change at this pc
culiar season to them. And hogs Whoever
pens up hogs and neglects to feed them plen-
ty OF hay or grass, summer or winter, never
did and never will raise hog fit to eat only
by dog; beside, hog-pens are too small by
fifty diameters if they must be penned at all,
as are also emphatically poultry-runs, both
of which enclosures should have rupning
water. The most successful dairymen do not,
as rule, raise their own COWS, because
it pays them better to feed no stock that are
not in milking profit: so the supply comes
from western stock raising districts, remote
from fresh milk and butter market, where
remuneratipg prices can be obtained for these
products And so intent are our dairymen
on making the business pay that shameful
sacrifice of fine young stock of good cows is
constantly going on. because it is a natural
impossibility for the animal to keep pace with
the greed for milk of their keepers. Push !.
push to the verge Of the possible, and when
nature rebels ruthlessly sacrifice valuable
| tlife.-GermaDtown Telegraph.