Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1884-04-18
Feeding q Family Cow.

The question is by no mea2s so sim.
pie as may at first sight appear. The
question, in fact, might well serve as
text for treatise on the whole theory
and practice of feeding dairy stock.
But this is hardly what NJ. desires in
this place. have fed family cow"
and have fed as many as fifty cows,
and have learned that a ration for the
best results in milk is necessarily an ex-
pcnsive one 1t requires a large per
centage of albuminoids, and albumin.
ODDS, either in the food of man or
beast are expensive in their original
state. But in preparing many of the
foods of man, there are by-prOducts or
residues, of highly albuminoid nature,
admirably adapted 10 the requirements
of herbivorOus animals. Such are the
hulls Of the various grains, under vari-
Gus names-malt, Sprouts, brewers
grains, cotton-seed, flax-seed, and many
other seeds after the oil has been ex.
tracted.
All these, in some sense waste prod
ucts, are within the reach of stock feed
ers at prices which make it possible to
use them with some degree of ID oft.
Now the feeder will find that these by
products vary considerably in price in
differ mt parts of the country, and in Sc
lecting his feed he must choose those
substances which yield the larg st per-
centage of digestible albuminoids for
the least money. In the Eastern States,
selecting the period of lowest market,
we find nothing cheaper = nothing more
ecOEomical--than a first quality St
Louis bran. Ii should have a thick.
heavy hull. with film of -four adher-
inu to the inner surface. 1t seldom ex-
ceeds one cent pound. 1t is always
safe TO feed in any quantity.
Neat in economy comes cotton-seed
meal. But this feed is generally regarded
with some prejudice, and am inclined
to think justly. It is very stimulating to
the milk glands, and. unless fed with
prudence, produces Inflammation of
the milk ducts and udder. Three
pounds day may be fed, however, to
a COW weighing a thousand pounds.
without much risk. A good substitute
for cotton-seed meal, though more ex-
pensive, is linseed meal (old process).
This is always safe and most salts
factory food.
A proper milk ration should contain,
in addition to highly albuminoid food,
n certain proportion of easily digested
hydrocarbons, or starchy foods. The
long fodder usually fed to cows con-
taiDs these elements in abundance, but
in a form less available, that is. digest
ible. than In most ground grains. So,
'fOr quick returns" il is always we'll
to supplement the hydro carbons in
hay. straw. corn-stalks, etc, by q GER
tain amount of corn meal No other
grain, on the whole. better serves the
purpose, on the ground of economy,
than fine corn meal
For my dairy of thoroughbreds have
settled down upon the following MKT
ure for q grain ration: For cows in full
flow of milk find a theoretical excess
OF albuminoids to give economical re-
turns. The proportions given are, by
weight, six parts best bran, three parts
fine corn meal, and three parts Gnseed
meal. One pound of this mixture is
given to each hundred-weight of the
animal; half in the morning and the
other half in the evening. II fed dry,
the cow drinks more. and consequently
gives more milk. Ii were not skept-
ical rs to the use of cottonseed meal,
should substitute it for linseed meal.
1t costs less an produces more milk.
If / were iesding q '.family cow"
regardless of expense. and for quality
rs well as quantity of milk. / would
grind corn in t9e ear, and add an equal
bulk of GROUND oats A ration would
be four quarts aight and morning. with
. quart of iinsaed meal IN addit on.
For long fodder would feed oat hay:
that is. oats cus when Just out of bios
som and quickly cured No forage
crop have ever raised gives such re-
suits in milk. can assure N. that it
does pay to cut eornstalks. Cut them
two inches long. and sprinkle moder-
ately with saltwater. twenty-four hours
before feeding. Give no more salt than
Is required for health.-Cor. Country
Genflemof-
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