The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1891-10-02
THE FARM AND HOME.
AFARMER'S METHODS OF FEED
ING FLAxSEED.
Different Methods of Feeding It Safely
and PrOfitably-The Farmers
Observation-Disclosures and
Domestic Dots.
How to Feed Flaxseed.

We all know that grinding or max
ing f1axseed into cake is the easiest
way for the farmer to feed it, but if
you are to have its full benefit, there
is nothing SO good as boiling it gently
for about half an hour, letting it stand
until cold. but that requires large
copper, fire and attention. An easier
and cheaper way Though not SO good)
is to get two tubs that will hold the
quantity of liquor you require, put the
seed in that you want to use for "a
hours, fill with cold water to the
quantity you want and let it soak for
"a hours Or longer if it keeps sweet,
with occasional stirring. While one
tub is being used, the other will be
soaking 1t can be mixed with cut
straw. hay or corn ensilage and when
your cows have once taken to it they
will eat and relish almost any rough
fodder you may cut up and mix with
it. or if they be at pasture and no fod-
der required, they will drink it and do
equally we'll. It is too loosening for
very young calves, unless they get
some old milk with it. Pigs, after
they are three months old, will do well
on it.
/ am surprised to see that most
writer's on flax or linseed or oilcake,
as it may be recommend such small
quantities of it. l have experimental
on dairy cows with it and almost every
other known food, and for milk and
butter and cheese l have found only
one food that will equal it-English
horse beans. Oats come next then
Indian corn meal but it is not safe to
give large quantities of corn meal
without boiling or scalding it, where
as linseed or oilcake is perfectly
harmless. An average dairy COW, with
fair constitution. will eat ten pounds
of oilcake per day-equal to seven
pounds of seed. | have known them
to eat more for the first two months,
but they will generally settle down to
about seven pounds per day, which is
fair feed. Another curious thing to
me is that bran should be recommend
ed so much for mich COWS when it is
at nearly the price of flax or linseed.
Any practical dairymaa knows that if
you are to force a large quantity of
milk from a cow She must be fed on
loose and opening stuffs, but why use
bran when faxseed answers the pur-
pose better, and at the same time gives
you rich cream?-whereas bran, or
even ground wheat with all the flour
in, will give you a thin blue milk with
scarcely any cream at all.
An easy test of it's merits is to
choose two COWS of equal quality in
their cream. This can be done by set
ting the two cows milk separate for
cream. You will know in "a hours if
they are both of like thickness and
quality. Thus satisfied, feed one with
oilcake or boiled linseed, the other
with bran or even ground wheat (there
is not much to choose between them as
a butter producer) and you will find at
the months end that the one fed on
oilcake will remind you of the old say
ing: IA mouse could run across her
cream without getting in;'' whereas
that of the one fed on bran will be
thin, and slight puff with your mouth
will blow it aside.
If your correspondent has plenty of
cheap haxseed. he need fear nothing
in keeping up good dairy if he will
give his COWS plenty of it-John
Parker in Country Gentleman.