The Russellville Democrat., 1885-05-28

rarely noticed bone when they had a chance We never heard of an OK ac- quiring the habit of chewing bones, and much doubt if one ever did.
 Did anybody ever think how much bone material there is contained in the annual product of good dairy cowp How many calf frames would that milk build up? And who of us has reck- oned up how many pounds of bone mass terial have been taken from our COW pastures that have been fed close every summer for fifty or hundred years2 Why is it that almost all farmers are agreed that bone phosphate is better suited to the needs of their land than any other form of commercial manurep Why is 1t that crops respond to bone phosphate more readily than to almost any other kind of fertilizer? Simply be- cause, under our system of selling ani- mals and milk, we have been depicting our soils of the bone elements The cows that chew bones most are gener- ally those which have been kept in pas lures that have not been ploughed or manured for a long term of years, and in which the animals are compelled to get their entire living for several months during the summer season.
 Farmers who have new pastures, those which produce red orwhite clover bountifnlly, or who feed daily liberal rations of grain to their COWS, are rarely troubled by having them acquire this disagreeable habit. Wheat bran, on account of it's large content of bone ma terial, makes an excellent food for cows in this condition, and if generously and continuously fed in liheral quantities, will, we believe, cure any COW of the habit, if she is not otherwise diseased.
 We could DO mt totwo pastures lying on opposite banks of small stream, on one Of which the feed is always good, while on the ether it is always poor. The difference in the feed is caused solely by the difference in the character of the soil Che is thin, sandy gravel, which produces only the poorest kind of vegetation, while the other is deep, fine loam, where white clover and June grass both thrive in perfection. In one of these past res COWS may run all sum mer long. and never notice bone in their path, while in the other a bone would be among the first things to be picked up. We have seen cows stand and chew a bone for hours at time certainly a most unsatisfactory occupa- ton of their time.
 After we commenced feeding bran and other grain freely to our cows in summer, while. at pasture. their habit of chewing bones was entirely cured. But one summer. when bran was dearcr in market than corn-meal, the bran was withheld for few weeks. and corn meal given in it's stead Now, corn meal is rich food but it does not con- tain nearly so large proportion of bone material as good wheat bran. After feeding it few weeks the best COW in the herd was one day observed chewing a bone, and after while all the cows 1 in the herd began to chew bones when they could find them. the poorest cows getting the taste for them last. We soon found that wheat bran, even at the higher price was the cheaper food for our cows. and commenced feeding it again. when the trouble ceased. Since that time wheat bran has been fed daily to every animal in milk, and not one has ever been known to c1ew bones. We should have had no hesitation at any time during the past ten years, in offering to give away any COW in our herd that we could find chewing bone, or that could be induced to chew one that might be placed before her.
 Bone meal is often recommended for curing cows of bone sickness, and we should have no objection whatever to feeding ii. if they would eat it, as they | sometimes will, but we should prefer giving them their bone material in 9 more natural form in their food. Raw bone can not be as readily gestcd in | the stomach of COW as good clover hay and the bran of wheat, which con l tains the bone, but in a more available form.
 We have written the above because we lave recently seen letter in one of our exchanges, from a correspondent of high repute, who seems to believe that all cows will chew bones when they can get them. He is undoubtedly sincere in his belief as we are in ours. Possibly a wider observation would modify one opinion or the other. We would esteem it favor if readers of the Farmer, who have had experience, or have observed the habits of cows in this regard. would send us the results of their experience or observation. None of us are too wise to learn. -NeD Engldnd Farmer.