The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-12-25
A ':ALK ABOUT COWS.
Some Points Which Farmers and Dairy
men VIII Do Well to Study Over.

| Some Points Which Farmers and Dairy
men VIII Do Well to Study Over.
u not design in this article tc pass
upon breeds, although shall refer to
some of them, but shall call attent on to
several POINTS, which in my Judgment,
The farmers cow ought to possess. She
should b, of good size that she iuay
produce a calf that will be profitable to
raise for beef if 4 male, and also that
she herself may be profitable turned
into beef as soon as by age, her milk
ing powers show signs of falling. and
here wish to make this point. A ma
jority OF farmers keep their cows too
long. l believe that except in the case
of those which prove extraordinarily
profitable for milk or butter, or possess
some qualities which render them su-
perior, it will be more profitable to fat
ten cows at from five to eight years old
than to milk them longer. If you will
look as the market reports in any Of
our paps.s You find the poorest grade
of cattle quoted at from S1.75 to 1925
per hund red, and in the same papers
you will see good fat cows quoted at
from 81 to S5 per hundred. In
visiting the stock yards have
seen pens of old bony cows,
with wrinkled horns and protrudinp
hips, and have ceased to wonder at these
low quotations. Aside from the differ
ence of two cents per pound or more in
price at selling time, these cows have
often been kept for some years at
loss, and if sold five or more years
sooner this double loss might have been
avoided. If a cow milks hard or does
not prove to be gentle, never milk her
more than one season. If she is fair,
ordinary cow, turn her for beef when
in her prime, but occasionally | find a
COW that possesses such comb nation
Of valuable qualities that keep her to
old age, and have kept such cows at
profit till nearly twenty years old.
Another point will make is, that for
the farmer it is more desirable that the
cow give large amount of milk, than
that it be very rich. know this is con-
trary to the general opin. on, and that
the fact that small quantity of milk
will make pound of butter is ordina-
rily considered decisive of a good cow.
I affirm that for the farmer the cow
which gives four gallons of milk day,
from VIII oh ten pounds of butter a
week is made, is worth more than the
one which produces the same amount Of |
butter from two gallons OF milk per
day. The average price Of butter is so
low that when we take into considera-
ton the labor to produce and prepareit |
for market, there is often greater net Il.
profit from the skim milk fed to stock !
than from the butter. If have de- |
scribed the cow most profitable to the !
farmer, she certainly is not Jersey.
for most of this breed are understood |
and give but moderate quantity of |
very rich milk. In addition to this,
her milk, though rich in butter, is quite
poor after it has been SKINNED, so that |
it is worth much less for feeding than
that of some other breeds. I have
found it q decided advantage to the
quality of the product to have one Jer-
sey COW to each two or three others in
the herd. as their milk gives butter of q
better color and iirmer texture than
from most other breeds.