The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1890-06-05
A STUDY OF COWS.


Their Comfort and Health.
The Intelligent herdsman calls them
each by name, and encourages the tardy
ones; he needs no drover's whip or
shepherd dog to help him in his task, for
the cows know his voice and obey with.
out compulsion. In this starting and
stopping, the cows are adjusting them.
selves to their rightful places, for 1t is
known to them all that when they reach
the barn door II the queen Of the herd
is not at its head the others must stand
aside and wait until she comes and
takes her place first, then comes the
next In rank and the next, each in her
regular order, until finally the youngest
and most timid brings up the rear. AL.
though their stalls are constructed ex.
actly alike and there are fifteen Of
twenty in . long row, yet every COW
knows her own and walks directly to it.
where she stands patiently waiting be-
fore the empty trough until the at
tendant brings her food and fastens
the horizontal chain in front to the
ring in her leathern collar. The feed.
ing should always be done by the
mixer, for thus the entente cordiale is
best preserved. Experienced dairymeu
are united in the belief that it is best In
every respect to wean the calves from
their mothers on the day Of their birth.
Then tho calves do not know they have
any mothers, nor do the mothers know
their own calves Managed in this way,
it is only work of a few minutes &c
house twenty cows and as many calves,
for instead of the calves running after
their mothers and bleating most pite.
ously, they come crowding around the
milkman, who leads them to their stalls
until he is ready to feed them. Thus all
is done quietly and in order. for the wise
milkman knows that every little dis
turbance, even a harsh word, will cause
q cow to contract her muscles and, as
they express it, 'hold up her milk
The COW we'll treated learns to look upon
her mixer as the only being who can
relieve her OF tho steadily increasing
pressure OF milk in her udder, and with
this end in view she will, with muscular
action, press her milk toward his hand
while he draws it as fast as possible.
There is no animal, either human OF
quadrnped. whose nervous system IL
mere highly organized, or whose nature
is more sensitive than that of the cow.
The common expression. breaking a
young cow" is an unfortunate one.
When . young cow has been treated
with uniform kindness and gentleness
from the time sho was . little calf, she
has learned to have confidence in the
one who cares for her, and is willing to
be MIXED as soon as she has milk tc
give. This is one great advantage in
raising the calves by hand; they come
to look upon people as their best
friends, knowing that it is from their
hands they receive their regular supply
of warm, sweet milk; and when treated
with affectionate consideration they
are sure to make gentle and easily con
trolled mich cows. Then, too, cali
can be taught earlier not to de-
pend upon milk alone, but to eat Other
more nutritious foods. Two months II
long enough for a calf to drink
whole milk; after that time its ration
may be gradually changed to swce
Sklm-mllk. WHICH COHIdlnS uoIc HuCiA
ment for animal growth than pure cream
The worth OF skim-milk has always beer
undervalued, and the value OF pure
cream overestimated. 1t is the nature
of cream to produce fat, and that o
skim-milk to make muscle and othe
substantial parts OF the body. A cal
intended for the dairy should neve
learn how to get fat, for fear she will
| when she comes into milk, use her extr;
ration in that direction. After cows arr
/ fed and MIXED, unless the night prom
ises to be very inclement, they arr
turned out in the grass-lot around thei
house to Craze or sleep upon the dew!
bluegrass and clover. In all Things
their comfort and health are first con
| sidered, for to tho cow more than to an.
other domestic animal do we owe ten
der and grateful feeling. No table Cal
be we'll furnished without her contribu
] lions, and no farm can be prosperou
when deprived Of her aid. In fact,
| first-class cow will do more toward pre-
serving the health OF your household
than the doctor next door.-Countr!