Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-07-01
COWS At PASTURE.
the Profits to BE Derived From Feeding
Them Daily Rations of Grain.

The Profits to Be Derived From Feeding
Them Daily Rations of Grain.
We suppose that it may be laid down
as an axiom that the more rich, nutri-
tious food the dairyman can induce his
cows to eat, the better, provided, also,
that the health OF the cows is not I'M
favorably affected by the high fec ding.
Farmers generally think that when they
can turn their COWS into fresh, flush
pasture, there can be nothing further
done toward improving their feed. Yet,
how often we hear the good housewife
say, during wet time in May or June,
when the pasture grows rapidly and is
luxuriant: 1--WE don't get much butter
for the amount of milk the cows give,
because the grass is SO flashy." We sup
pose they mean by that, that the grass
is so succuient, so full of water, that
the cows will not eat enough to enable
them to give large amount of butter.
They really fill up with too much water.
In such state of things little grain
or meal, given night and morning,
would probably add largely to the nu-
trients, without greatly increasing the
bulk of the food. We think we hear the
practical reader exclaim: II can't
afford to feed my COWS grain when there
is such an abundance of grass going to
waste Well, that depends on certain
considerations. Suppose his cows are
giving, upon an average, one pound of
butter a dav, and that he can sell
all the butter he can make at twenty
five cents a pound. Suppose, further
that he buy wheat middlings or some
other equally good meal, in large guam
tity, at one cent pound; and that a
ration of six pounds Il day to each COW
will add half pound day to each
ones yield of butter; here you would
get twelve and half cents from
an outlay of six cents. Certainly you
can afford that. If kept in a convenient
bin the cost of feeding the meal would
be nothing, and you would get back at
least one third of the cost of the meal
in the value of the manure it would
make. If you could still further increase
the butter by increasing the rations OF
feed, it would pay to do it.
Then, little later in the season,
| when drought has shortened the past
| ure, and the COW is hardly able to crop
enough grass to satisfy her wants, daily
| rations of meal would supplement the
nutriment of the grass and keep up the
yield of butter In fact, there is hardly
| limit to the amount of rich, nutritious
| food that can. with economy, be given
to cow, except her capacity to digest
and assimilate without detriment to her
health be over-taxed. Farmers and
stockmen can not learn this fact
and apply it in their business
too soon. Instead of trying to
discover upon how little food
| they can possibly keep their stock from
perishing, they should try to ascertain
! how much food they can induce them to
consume without injury to their di-
| gestive organs, provided they make out
of that food products more valuable
than the food itself.
While on this subject of pasture, we
would like to remark that the popular
notion of what are the most nutritious
| grasses or what the best butter grasses,
is considerably at fault. Farmers who
follow the ordinary rotation of crops
usually seed down with clover and tim
othy. Where the land is to lay in grass
but two years, perhaps they can not
make a better selection, but if seeding
down for pasture for number of years
there are other species much more nu
tritious, considering the percentage Of
albuminoids or the nutritive value. We
select from table of analyses made by
Prof. Collier, of the Department of Ag
riculture at Washington, giving the per
centages of fat, carbohydrates, albumi
nods and the nutritive ratio. Eacf
| grass is given at its best, that is. jus
! before heading: