The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1893-02-01
Rest Food for the Dairy Cow.
BY, j. o. SANFORD oy STAMFORD.

Vermont resources and advantages
for dailyipg are scarcely equaled in
any other section Of our country. This
is shown by the significant fact that the
medals of honor awarded for excellence
Of quality are continually coming to
Vermont. The natural advantages of |
soil and climate that produce the |
sweet nutritious grasses, the whole. |
some spring water and pure air, to. |
gether with our nearness to market, are
being more appreciated as the import.
ance of dairying is being considered. !
The development of this industry IN
our state was not matter OF choice so
much as it was natural selection, or
the fitness of things. The people were
slow to adopt it as a business, yet Incl
dentally something was done by nearly
every farmer in the keeping of cows
and making butter or cheese, and
usually both, for it was considered bet
ter economy to make chez se during the
hot, sullry season. The changes Incl.
dent to developing the great West, and
building up our whole country, have
forced out The other branches Of farm
ing, leaving us the dairy. Aud the me-
cessilies of the times have forced us to
adopt improved methods, and greatly
improve The quality of the product.
The progress of development in the
few years past has been marvellous.
The separator, and all the appliances
now used in dairy work, and even the
special dairy COW, are OF recent origin.
What is tue best food for the dairy
COW? This may be answered in a single
word, grass. All practical dairymen,
and scientists as well, agree in this, that
the young grass of the early summer is
the natural and perfect food for the
dairy COW. But as the grass is for
season only, and dairying is no longer
for season, but constant the year
through, we must provide something
be sides pasturage for large portion of
the time. The scientist aud the farmer
both agree, with good sense, that as the
grass fails some food should be sup
p led that most resembles grass in its
nutrtive value. And since we have
learned that a certain combination of
nutrilive elements in the food is neces.
sary and essential, and this combina.
tiOn is found in the young and early
grass, we see the importance of con.
tinuing such foods as most conform to
their ratio when the grass fails. In the
! choice of these foods the farmer will be
governed by his conditions and SUR
rokndiugs. If his farm needs fertil-
| ity, and his meadows are yielding no
more than one or one and half tons
of hay per acre, he can well afford to
supplement the failing grass by feeding
! the waste products of other crops that
are grown under a different system of
| farming-oi meal. cotton seed meal,
! gluten meal and wheat bran, all OF
which are highly heterogeneous, and re-
pay in fertility a large portion of the
cost. But if the farm is already in a
high state of produciiveness, then the
supplementary food may be produced
mostly on the farm in the form of green
crops, aud much cheaper. While much
has been said and written ABOUT fodder
corn to supplement the failing grass, it
has never been found satisfactory to me
for fist feeding, for have not been able
to get it sutii ciently mature in July and
August, when needed, as i consider II
poor economy, in fact a waste, to cut il
before it Is in the milk; so my first
feed is second crop clover. When The
first crop of clover is cut, about the
middle of June, if the land is in 6
proper condition the second crop will
be ready to cut by the time the pas
lures fail. Either the second crop clover
or oats and peas fed green, make AT
excellent substitute for the second croI
of grass.
Later comes the corn fodder, anC
sweet corn is preferable. This should
be far enough along to be at least il
the milk or dough stage of ripeness
and If it is lun through the cutter, ears
aud all, it can be much more easily fec
and eaten. Garden barley is gooC
milk producing food and can be cheaply
grown as second crop, selecting III,
field that is to be planted to corn The
next year. After the hay crop is re
moved it is plowed well, manfred anC
sown. This will give excellent feed il
October, being little injured by frost
This, with green rOwen fed in thu
managers, will carry us through till TIT
cows 90 into winter quarters, and theI
we have to depend on the hay and corr
which we have provided for the louI
winter. And first we will mention th,
hay, for il is our chief and most impor
: tant crop, and deserves our careful at
} tention. 1t should be grown on on
, best land, where there is plant food il
abundance. Aud as green grass is
perfect food, so dried grass should b
5 near to it. And, therefore, it should
be cut early and carefully handle to Sc
cure best results.
Timothy. This old standby is rell
able and makes excellent hay for tn
= dairy COW, if cut early enough. Redto