The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-09-07
Exercise for Cows.

Exercise for Cows.
The amount of exercise which an
adult COW requires is but very little,
and all she gets beyond what is neces-
sary for her health occasions a draft
upon her system which must be made
up by extra feed or loss in her milk
product, or perhaps both effects may
be apparent. Every expenditure of
force, whether in locomotion or labor,
is made at the expense of the food
consumed by the animal exerting the
force. There is no evasion of this rule,
and he who causes his animals, wheth-
er mich cows or beasts of burden, to
make exertions that could be avoided,
is wasting his means of profit. The
man who, having given load to move
twenty miles, takes path that will
require twenty-five miles to reach
his destination, is not more unwise
than the dairyman who causes his
COWS to do twenty-five per cent. more
travelling and eXertion than is nee s.
sary to supply themselves with food.
This may seem like spinning a fine
thread, hut it i, the sum of such
threads that dete mine the question Of
profit with the dairyman. The loss in
milk production by more travel in
grazing than is necessary for main
tanning the health and vigor of a herd
OF cows, is often very considerable.
Very few herds are free from loss in
this direction. In woodland pastures
and rough an hilly ones, and in
ranges necessarily large because the
land is poor and feed scanty, the yield
Of milk is always inferior. being cut
short by the long distances necessary
to travel for gath ring supply of
fool. The loss in milk from feeding
in pastures of such a character as to
require COWS to be all day in fill ng
themselves, may be plainly sen by
any Observ ng farmer. A difference
of twenty five or thirty per cent, or
even OF fifty per cent. will be easily
made between such fare, and a full
supply of feed easy of access either by
grazing or by soil ng.
Large ranges of pasture are not adj
visable for COWS in milk. 1t is better
to supply only pastures enough to fur
nish grazing till grass beg Ms to fail in
dry weather, and to supply the herd
with soiling CROPS through the middle
of the summer at least. The saving in
land, where land has much value, is
enough by this course to pay for all the
extra labor it occasions, AMI the in
crease of milk which will he gained
becomes a source of increased pro t.
One would hardly imagine until he
tries it, how much the yield of milk for
the season will be augmented by such
a course. In the first place, it saves
the COWS an immense deal of travel if
they can have their feed presented to
them in the stable, or other convenient
pa e, inst ad Of their having to run
after it. Then it often saves them a
great deal of depressing exposure to
sun and storms and flies. They are
enabled also to make better use of the
food they consume by reason of hay
ing more leisure for Eliminating than
they can have if they have to pick
their living by constant travel. The
sum of all these advantages has a
t ling effect upon the resources of the
farmer, and he cannot afford to ignore
them. If he has rough places, wood
land or thin pastures, which will af-
ford only scanty feed, it is better to
put other stock upon i5 to pick the
scanty feed. They can use it without
loss. They require considerable exer-
else to work off their surplus energies
and to promote growth of frame and
assimilation, and they won't mind the
travel necessary to gather the grass
from such places. But the mich COW
which has her energies taxed to their
utmost TO elabor tie a bountiful flow
OF milk has 10 vital force to spare.
She needs to husband to the best adj
vantage all she has. to enable her to
do her full work, and the farmer who
intelligently plans his operations will
spare her all the exertion he possibly
can.-Prcf sSor L. b. arnold, in
Southern Industries.