The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1886-06-18

me to judge; but I can not help but
wonder whether that man will be given
a seat at Gods right hand.
Four years ago I bought fine team
OF work-horses. They were six years
old, and in extra good condition-got
up to sell, the neighbors said. They
had been used to grain three times
day; but as [ do not feed warehouses
much it any grain, but rather keep
them on early cut clover and timothy
hay-dried grass-I began, after little,
feeding them on hay alone. Of course,
| made the change gradually. Every
few weeks I drove them to the scales
and had them weighed. and they gained
steadily all winter. Their total gain in
weight was 800 lbs.. although in prime
order to start with. They were altogeth-
er too fat; but I enjoyed the experiment.
My best friends could hardly believe
that the horses got no grain-that such
flesh and life Git was business to han
die them came from dried grass alone.
They did not do much if any hard work
during the winter, but were always used
enough for exercise. Now, how were
they fed. for dried grass alone did not do
the business? Regularly, three times
day, what they would eat up clean in
from sixty to ninety minutes, and then
watered as regularly and as many times.
Then they were regularly and thorough
ly curried, and, of course, kept in a
warm stable. At their best weight they
weighed about 400 lbs. each, and ate,
on an average, about 80 lbs. of hay
apiece each day. It was wonderfully
choice hay; however, and they were
good horses; but it was only by the
most careful attention in feeding that
they could have been made to show any
such gain. 1t would have been an easy
matter to feed them more, and have them
lose flesh, so under some circumstances
it takes less feed to fatten an animal
than to run him down, which goes to
show that feeding is an important mat
ter.
A well.fed COW will drink some eight
gallons Of water in day. Take that
amount of water, ice cold, and put it
on your stove and see how much fire it
takes to warm it to the temperature of
freshly pumped well or cistern water,
and then remember that it takes just as
much fire to warm it in the animals
stomach, and that that fire is fed with
hay and grain, and do not believe you
will let your stock drink ice water
again, that is, if you are feeding for
profit.
Time and again have watched COWS
drinking alta hole in the ice, when I knew
they did not get nearly as much as they
needed, but I could not blame them.
They simply chose the lesser of two
evils. They would rather be little
thirsty than to try to warm up eight or
ten gallons Of ice water on a biting.cold
day. With what genuine pleasure I
have watched them fill themselves with
comfortably warm water, on cold day,
sheltered from the wind by the barn, as
l was pumping it, since I have got a |
well IN the yard
My horses, watered three times a
day, in the winter, drink only about
four gallons each time; and that at a |
temperature of about 500, doesn't chill
them much, and that may be one reas
on why they thrive SO we'll on hay with
out grain.
remember buying lot of farrow
cows once about the 18th of December
They had run up to that time, and had
been fed only an occasional feed from
the stack when there was snow on the
ground. They had been dry some time,
and appeared to be in fair order. II
bought them to feed during the winter,
for beef They were fed from that time
on with good care, but I lost money on
them like every thing. I never was so
deceived on lot of cattle in all my ex-
perience. 1t took about all the rest of
the winter to get those COWS into good
thriving condition, to say nothing of
fat. am satisfied now, that, had 1 paid
the same price for them the first of
November that l paid the 18th of De-
cember, and put them in the barn, and
began feeding them then, that the result
would have been altogether different.
Since that time have never tried to
save fifty cents worth of feed by losing
II AIlo