The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1893-02-01

dairy some grain one summer establish a
rule Of profitable procedure for sll
dairymen, or all circumstances. Yet It
is a fact that there are thousands OF
diaries that would be benefited by an
increase of iced Of some kind, where
there are only scores that would not re-
spond to it because of surplus pasture
feed, so nutritive in quality, that grain
would not, in its concentrated form, add
to the nutritive qualities Of the ration.
My own dairy has twelve cows that be-
came fresh during the autumn Of 1891.
From tho first of November, 1891, to
the first Of November 1892, l sold at
the creamery, actual platform weights,
70,S00 pounds OF milk. Tnese cows have
been fed grain of some kind daily for
the last two years, but ct no time over
five pounds a day. Again, this is not a
home bred, OF home raised dairy, but
one purchased out Of Western droves of
tall ~''sprlngers" on their way to New
York.
These cows, after being MIXED all
winter, were turned on pasture May 9th,
aud a grain ration Of a pound aud a half
of oat dust, costing five-eighths of a
cent, was fed to each cow daily, as long
as she gave milk. There has been no
month during summer up to September
first, that this dairy of ''strippers" has
not given over 5000 pounds of milk,
though after May 10th one COW was pur-
posely dried off, and one went dry by
reason of an accident, so that ten COWS
made up the summer dairy. After Sep
TENDER LIST, it became necessary to dry
off those nearest to coming in, so as to
give them a months rest, aud the new,
or rather the fresh ones, kept up the
flow. The question with me is, could l,
having luxurious pasture feed, have kept
these ''strippers" in fairly full flow of
milk during the summer, and right well
up to the time of calving, without the
use of a little grain2 1t must be under
stood that these COWS have no known
heredity behind them to give them long
milking habits, for it is a saying that all
drift cows have been sold for cause, so
that it is either grain, or some other
reason, that has influenced them to thus
prolong their milking season, sOme of
them a full year.
OF course these cows were we'll kept
last winter, but were fed the rather
heterodox ration of silage and use
conds," of the latter five pounds daily,
and possibly four pounds of hay at
noon, while the care was still farther
from orthodox, by their being kept in
the stable continuously from Thanksgiv-
ing until Easter Sunday. After the first
Of October the herd was fed a fair feed
Of sweet corn once a day, In addition to
the summer pasture and the oat dust.
The after feed is not turned into at any
time. If it is fed at all, it is cut high
with the mower, and fed at the barn.
Six of the cows, yet to freshen this sea-
son for next seasons work, are giving an
average mess of ten pounds each daily.
The whole dairy is in the finest condi-
ton, which is an argument, along with
the milk, that the indications are, that
grain though in limited quantities, but
uniformity fed, has paid one dairyman,
at least, aud confirms him in the faith
that grain has an important part in bet
tering the milking performance of a
herd of grazing ows.-American Agri-
culturist.