The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-04-18
Feeding a Family Cow.

| Inc QueStioH Is Dy no means SO sim.
pie as may at first sight appear. The
question, in fact. might well serve as a
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-
pensive one 1t reqgir large per
centage of albuminoids, and albumin
oids, 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 to the requirements
of herbivorous animals. Such are the
bulls of the various grains, under vari-
Gus names-malt, sprou s, brewers
gra MS, 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 d oft.
Now the feeder will find that these by
products vary considerably in price in
differ mt parts of the country, and in Sc
Letting his iced he must choose those
substances which yield the largest per-
coinage of digestible albuminoids for
the least money. In the Eastern States,
selecting the pariOd of lowest market,
we find nothing cheaper moth ng more
ecoLomical--than a first quality st
Louis bran. 1t should have thick,
heavy hull, with film of -four adner-
inu to the inner surface. 1t seldom ex-
ceeds one cent pound. 1t is always
safe to feed in any quantity.
Next in economy comes cotton-seed
meal. But this feed is generally regarded
with some prejudice, and am inclined
to think Justly. 1t 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
q COW weighing a thousand pounds.
without much risk. A good substitute
for cotton-seed meal, though more ex-
pcnsive, is l!nseed meal (old proeess).
This is always safe and a most salts
factory food.
A proper milk ration should contain,
in addition to highly albuminoid food,
certain proportion of easily digested
hydrocarbons, or starchy foods. The
lone fodder usually fed to cows con-
tains these elements in abundance, but
in form less available. that is. digest
ible. than in most ground grains. So.
flor quick returns" it is always well
to supplement the hydro cartoons in
hay, straw. corn-stalks, ETC., by a 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 grain ration: For cows in full
flow of milk find theor. teal excess |
of albuminOids to give economical re-
turns. The proportions given are, by |
weight, six parts best bran, three parts |
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. If fed dry,
The cow drinks more. and consequently |
gives more milk. Ii were not skept |
ical IS to the use of cottouseed meal, !
should substitute it for linseed meal. |
1t costs less and produces more milk.
If I were feeding '.family COW"
of expense, and for quality
IS well as quantity of milk, / would
grind corn in the ear, and add an equal
Dulk of ground oats. A ration would
be four quarts night and morning, with
q quart OF linseed meal in addit on.
FOR long fodder would feed oat hay;
that is. oats cut when just out of bios
som and quickly cured. No forage
crop ! have ever raised gives such re-
suits in milk. can assure NJ. that it
does pay to cut cornstalks. Cut them
-wo inches long, and sprinkle moder.
ately with salt water, twenty-four hours
before feeding. Give no more salt than
s required for health.-Cbr Country