The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1888-04-26
FEEDING DAIRY COWS.
Thoughts That VIII Help Farmers to A
Quire Sound JudGment.


quire Sound judgment.
Prof E w. Stewart SAYS that from
actual experiment two-t thirds of all the
food goes each day to keep the animal
aAvc. Now from that proposition
every farmer can deduce several lines
OF thought that will help him to ac-
quire a sound Judgment, and by the
aid of that judgment, correct some Of
the very costly mistakes he is con-
stantly making.
To start with, we wish to say that
when it comes to the question Of econ
omy or what q man can or can not
afford, that question must always DO
governed by results. 1t is results that
tell whether a thing is economical or
not. So when you hear one Of those
poor farmers-poor in knowledge,
poor in pluck and poor in the true
manhood OF farmer-when you hear
him say that he can not afford to feed
his cows well, be sure to remember
that he is the most extravagant and
wasteful of all feeders. for he expends
his time and all his capital in barely
keeping his stock alive. without any
results. The lines of thought that
lead out from Prof. Stewards propo-
sition are as follows:
!. II a man feeds only two-thirds
ration he gets nothing for his time and
the expenditure of his feed. aad that is
the fate of a great many farmers. II
you talk with them you will find that
they know but little of this law beyond
a few bare generalities. They do not
read and neither do they study their
animals nor improve what chances for
observation they have. They are con-
tent to barely exist with as little
knowledge as possible. Looking at
both owner and cattle you are
prompted to ask: "Whet on earth
are they here forP'' A bare exist
ence is the only result Of the combine
ton.
2. This daily cost of the food Of sup
port is gagged by the size of the ami
NAL very closely. Therefore this ques-
ton should always present itself: HAS
size productive power in proportion to
her size?" II not, reject her. for the
cost of daily support will be too great.
Don't buy cow for one thing and
keep her eight years for something
else. Buy, feed and keep for the
single majority purpose. be it beef or
butter.
B. Surround the cow with those con-
ditions that shall conspire to make the
cost Of daily support as much less than
two-thirds as possible. For instance,
cold stables. discomfort of any kind
and cold water are all very costly, be-
cause they increase the amount of
food required for support and de-
crease production. Feeding a badly
balanced ration is also costly, for il
promotes waste. either by producing
flesh when you want butter, or by the
food passing off uldigested. All these
principles work fine, and the dairy
man must think fine If he wins profit
out of them.
4. The wise dairyman, in either buy
ing or breeding his cows, will always
keep the idea clear. before his mind,
that the amount necessary to keep
machine in repair and working order
depends very much on the way the the
machine is constructed. lis it built
for its purpose?" he will always ask.
He will not hunt birds with a bull dog,
nor foxes with bird dog. He will
not sow his grain with a combined
reaping and sowing machine. for he
rightly reasons that there is always a
waste when a thing is set to doing
that for which it was not constructed.
Hence, if he is dairyrnan. he buys
dairy blood and breeds from dairy
blood. He feeds with an eye sin gle to
dairy results. and is careful to handle
his cows as mothers should be handled,
for he is in the business of making
merchandise of motherhood. He says
| lumber to make his stables warm and
soft coalto warm the water are cheaper
than hay and grain for that purpose.
All these things conspire to lessen the
proportion between the food of sup
port and the food of production, and ii
is from the latter that he makes his
! profit. -HoarGs Duirymaa.