The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1890-04-24
RESPECT THE COW.

IL You Treat Her Well, She Will Treat
You Handsomely In Return.
4 cow of mine firmly believes she is
rs much entitled to meal as | am to
milk. She has converted me to her
opinion, or. rather. forced me to &C
qniesce. In the spring after she calved
gave her night and morning, at milk
ing-time, feed OF bran and meal. When
the grass improved | omitted the bran
and meal, but proposed to milk her all
the same. She objected To this arrange
ment, kicked and walked spitefully
away. My man and got her into close
quarters held her fast, determined to
have milk on our own terms. but Crum-
pie Horns was just as determined that we
shouldn't have it. We soon found that
the COW controlled the supplies; she
wouldn't give down" her milk. We
took to coaxing and patting her; per-
sistently, but gently. squeezing her
teats: it availed little; we retired
worsted, thinking we would get
double portion in the morning;
but in the morning she gave US
little more than half her usual
quantity, and SO on for week. saw
that without meal she would diminish
her milk and soon dry up. ! said to my
hired man: bad luck to the fl .1II6
that quarrels with his COW: we shouid
remember that in all milking arrange
ments the cow is party concerned-in
fact, the party Of the first. Unless we
can BIO on good terms with our cow we
had better not have one. now believe
the cow Is right
''She gave us good mess of milk for
moderate feed of meal, and we have NO
right to ask her to do better than that;
we will give meal night and morning as
long as we milk her." This we did, and
she nearly came back to her former
quantity COW allowed to fall away
doesn't entirely recover. record the
particulars of this controversy with my
COW because it suggests several import
ant considerations. /. A COW has al
most unlimited control over her milk;
she bestows or withholds 1t at pleasure.
1t is therefore essential that the COW
have no cause for complaint; she should
sustain amicable relations with her
mixer; any thing offensive in his de.
pertinent, an angry word, rough, uncourt
eous manners, sharp, finger nails; any
annoyance whatever, such as sore
teat, troublesome flies, every thing thai
is disagreeable, in greater or less de
gree lessons the flow of milk and pre-
maturely dries up the COW. When taken
to a new place, COW shrinks In heJ
milk, and seldom RECEIVERS for q whole
year. "A COW should be uniformly milked
by the same person. 2. The great lik-
ing cows have for bran and meal SHOWS
they are adapted to the animals necessi.
ties. While no single food Is better
than grass, fed alone IL does not give
the best quality of milk nor the greatest
quantity. A little meal may be profit
ably fed, even when grass is abundant
and in its best condition-my COW de.
mandcd it. and she was right. As the
grass grows less in quantity and poorer,
i increase the meal and put it on green
corn-stalks cut fine. Some persons OBJ
iect to feeding cows at milking-time be.
cause they are uneasy and troublesome
If the customary allowance is withheld.
Then don't withhold it. 1t pays to feed
meal to cows giving milk, and If COW
insists on having it every time, as mine
did. she does q good turn by forcing uf
to be regular. OF all losses incurred by
American farmers, scarcely any one IL
greater than that which comes from al
lowing cows to fail in their milk fol
want OF sufficient food Of kind that
answers their requirements.-H. 7.
Brooks, in n. Y. Tribune.