The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-02-27
"ROUGHNESS" FOR STOCK
Experience Shows that Roughness Is Not
the Best Way for Either Milk or Stock
Raising.

| Experience Shows that Roughness Is Not
the Best Way for Either Milk or StocE
Raising.
One who has seen much of rural life
would naturally suppose, if clear-head
ed, that the rough treatment cattle gen.
orally receive from owners who read
little and think less would not suggest
that ''roughness" in feeding needed
any special recommendation. The style
in which cattle were anciently raised
was pretty much all roughness. 1t
consisted in letting the animals take
care of themselves summer and winter;
but civilization has shown that that was
not quite the best way for either milk
or beef, or even for cattle raising. In
stead of letting the cattle roam at will
over vast unfenced plains or prairies,
fields of \ manageable size have been
fenced in for summer pasturage, warm
stables supplied in winter with the best
of cattle feed, and it not a few instances
some bold eXperimenters have found
that stabling all the year round, and
tenderness other than roughness, was
the best plan vet discovered to make
cattle profitable - cows particularly
Hence when writer of some reputa-
ton recommends such stuff as wheat
straw of only medium quality or "a
POOR quality of hay fed with oatmeal
in order to give them 1.-THE right condi-
ton" for spring pasturage, it sounds a
little as if he did not take kindly TO
modern improvements.
Such advice, except with proper quail
ifications, is injudicious because it is
not what farmers need. They take to
bad, ''cheap" ways about as easily
as most men take to sin, and the
effort should be to advance them. Straw
and poor hay may do to distend the ami
mai stomach, but why choose poor
and nearly worthless article in case it
is possible to get better ore? Straw
is nearly worthless by itself, and GER
tainly the meal and bran impart no
value to 1t. Instead of advising farmer
to buy such rubbish because he NAV be
short of hay, it is better to advise him
to buy the very best he can possibly
get. There is nutrition in that and dis
tentiOn also, while an excellent use for
the straw is to put it under the cows in
stead of into them. Internally it is
worth trifie more than saw-dust.
L do not speak altogether from theory
on this matter of good or poor bulky
fodder for milk. kept record for
over three years of cow s yield of milk
and butter. and of her feed, and also
noted when anything occurred likely to
influence a change from day to day.
Having no faith in poor hay, none was
bought if it could be helped. but some
times / was deceived. Each milking
was weighed and recorded, and or
changing at one time from purchase
of inferior hay to first class, the milk
yield was so increased as to prove that
its money value was seren dollars ton
more than the other! 1t didn't cost me
that much more, but l found / could
have afforded to pay that difference.
In no other respect was the feed
changed. nor was there any change of
weather or treatment to which it could
be traced; twas the hay. and hay alone.
found, too. if l changed to well-cured
cornstalks, or even to green fodder
corn In summer, or cow-pea vines,
tnere was an immediate decreas. of
milk. did not try straw, nor bog hay,
nor salt hay nor MANILA ropes picked
to pieces and chopped in hay-cutter,
though all would distend the stomach
and operate as ''roughness." 1t is
more profitable to give the roughness to
rats.
This was feeding for milk. no. special
ly for flesh. The COW had plenty of fic' III
all the time, and my aim was to maintain
what she had against her heavy yield
of milk, which was about eleven thou
sand pounds per year. But in feeding
for flesh, good hay, one would suppose.
would he equally beneficial. The straw
mas no appreciable internal use except
what is mechanical, while good hay has
that and nutriment also. The roughness
may be "better than a snow-bank," as
have heard some farmers say of bog
hay. but not much. The cattle will not |
eat it when they can get good hay. and
the man who coaxes it down by dilut-
ing meal. salt and bran with il does lit |
tie more than cheat himself 1t is the |
meal. bran, or other good feed which
brings the animal to "the right condi-
lion" not the straw or damaged hay.