Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-01-03
Rutter Cows and their Food.

A dairyman of large experience dis
cussed this matter as follows IN the
! Country Gentleman
Cows which charge their milk
heavily with fat are always great feed
ers. They viii make butter out of any
good food but their diet must be in
all respects healtkful, or their butter
yielding capabihty viii soon be inn
paired. 1t seems to be the great ques-
ton of the period with breeders of
butter cows. what food will produce
the greatest amount of fat
1t is natural to expect that fatty or
oily food should increase the fat prod
uct, and that heterogeneous food should
increase the muscles, but this Is only
true to a limited extent. Food rich ia
oils soon clogs, deranges digestion,
and destroys the appetite The ration
must be of general utility, and it must
be bulky. Ap opinion has gradually
forced Itgelf upon my mind, which |
hesitate, to express, both because 1T is
contrary to general notions on The
subject and because | am not sure of
it as a fact. would be glad, however,
to have IL confirmed or refuted by
practical experiment. Ii is this; that
generous ration, especially rich in
muscle-fOrming (proteln) constituents,
VIII be found to yield more batter
than a ration in which oily foods pre-
dominate
Mr. Fuller feeds ground oats in adj
dition to grass. Mr. Seth feeds a mixed
ration in which ground corn and oats
are the chief addition to green oats
and peas, cut and fed in the stall. and
pasturage. Mr.. TAFT, of the Shaw
Farm, Windsor. t0ldm several years
ago that he could increase the butter
yield of his (the Queen's) herd by feed
ing cabbageS more than in any other
way. There is not much more oil i'm
a cabbage than blood IN a tWnip We
know also that beeyes and sheep will
fatten as rapidly on turnips, with per-
haps modIcum of corn or oil cake.
as upon any other Diet and that as a
rule, cows upon grass, even without
grain or cake, - will yield more but
ter than upon any artificial ration. al
though it is quite likely that an adj
dltlon of grain In an easily digestlble
form would increase the butter.
The cause for the great yield when
ION grass only or grass with some
grain, is not to be looked for only in
the quality Of the food consumed, but
also in the very important fact that
the cows own appetite is the limit Of
her ration as to quantity. Ga eat but
terc COWS, as is we'll known, are enor-
nous feeders, and when COWS are fed
during test upon artiGcially prepar
ed raLions las in the case of Value 2d.)
the owner seldom dares, and his eau
ton is right, to give them all they will
eat. The danger is that, not being OK
actly adapted to the animals needs,
her digestion or other functions will
be.in some way impaired
1t may be that the employment of
cabbages. roots, or ensilage rs a con
siderable part of the ration, may eua-
BILE as to get the best results without
grass; and while no doubt different
COWS will bear different treatment,
yetit seems probable that a ration
closely initiating the chemical and
physical character of good pasture
grass at a season when the growth is
abundant viii prove the best but
producing ration. If possible,
also, the ration should be of such a
character that the COW may either be
left to eat all she will, or encouraged
to eat all She can.
1t is quite as important TO secure in
a cow great feeding and digestive
ability as milk and butter-yielding
power. In fact, this is more impor
tant than all other qualities, foron it
all others depend So the questions
naturally occur Can we breed an
Appetite Can we increase am ami
MAILS ability to digest foodl The con
version of a tendency to fatten rapid
ly, to one for giving milk instead, is
often seen. Shorthorn breeders hold
that it can largely be done Ia a single
individual Thus when a heifer is
bred very early and the most is made
of her milk, She viii generally prove
a larger mixer, and the same tenden-
cy is still more easily fixed in her
heifer calf. What course shall we
take to breed the two qualities great
feeding capacity and great butter
production combined in one ami
NAL.