The record-union., 1896-05-25
FARM And ORCHARD.
Important Conditions for Making Dairy
Farming Profitable.
The Russian Sunhower - Preparing
Strawberries for Fruiting-
Mock Pineapple Salad.

First in Importance is the selection of
the herd. Never keep a poor COW. She
is a continual source of loss, costing in
care and food as much as good milker,
besides perpetuating her species. 1t is
rarely possible in the beginning to have
every cow a choice one, but it is possible
to improve a herd. The sire should be
of the best breed and of individual
merit. OF great Importance is testing
the quality of the milk. Now that a
simple, reliable, cheap machine has been
given to the world, there is no reason
why every dairy farmer should not avail
himself of this effectual means of rails
ing the productive standard of his cows.
Therefore, buy tester, learn how to use
it, and persist until every COW in your
herd has been proven profitable or un-
profitable. When this knowledge is OBJ
tanned it is easy to select the best heifer
calves, a few of which, at least, should
be raised each year, not only to fill va
cancies which are liable to occur, but
because as the value of the milk test
becomes better known, the owners of
good cows will not readily sell their best
excepting at greatly advanced prices.
The calves should have the best of
care. Feed the mothers milk for a few
days, gradually substituting separ-
ator or skim milk warmed TO 9S degrees.
Three or four quarts of milk with a
tablespoonful of oilmeal added, twice a
day, is a generous feed for the aver
age sized calf. AS the calf grows older,
bran. oats and good clover hay may be
added to its rations, always using great
care not to give too much milk, as an
excessive amount causes Scours. The
calf should be grown with the idea of
developing a healthy, robust animal,
but not a fat one. The pens where they
are kept should be clean, warm and dry.
In these days of keen competition and
narrow margins, no dalryman can af-
ford to shelter his cows on the south
side of a straw stack OF in the corners
of a rail fence. Comfortable, well-lighted
and ventilated stables are a necessity;
such need not be costly. The old style
rigid stanchion is fast being displaced
for fastenings that afford more freedom.
I prefer the Bidwell adjustable stall,
which presents many advantages. Cows
should have an abundance of bedding,
and time devoted to brushing and card
ing is we'll spent. There is much diver
sity of opinion regarding the amount of
exercise a COW should take during the
sta bling months. For the climate of
Illinois, most will agree, I think that it
is we'll to turn the cows in protected lots
for few hours every day, when storms
or damp, chilling winds do not prevail.
II cIo he, tah nd
not allowed to become tired or restless,
or to lie down on the wet ground, the
latter being an almost unfailing cause of
garget.
The dairyman must have good and
cheap food, hence it is ali important
that he raise as much as possible on the
farm, with enough surplus to exchange
for things his farm does not produce,
such as cotton seed, oil meal, etc. a COW
fresh in the fall or winter, giving a full
flow of milk, requires from eight to
fourteen pounds per day of grain, and
all the clover hay, corn fodder and
straw that she viii eat. A good average
ration to every one thousand pounds
live weight is four pounds of bran, four
pounds cornmeal, two pounds oatmeal,
two of oilmeal with the roughage men
toned. The formulas given by our eX-
periment stations are useful and aid to
a better system of feeding, but the care
full, painstaking dairyman will never
permit them to supplant his judgment.
Cows cannot all be fed by the same
rule. While each COW should be given
all she can eat and digest, the individ-
uals of herd will be found to vary con-
Il III
tions of the rations required. 1t is a
miserable mistake to underfeed a cow
Bear in mind that the dairyman's profit
comes from the food taken in excess OF
that required for the cows support. II
the pastures become dry in the latter
part of the season feed the green second
crop Of clover or fodder corn. In brief
see that the COW has the right kind o1
| food at all times and does not have tc
waste her strength in getting it.
Pure water at the right temperature
| is another important factor in profitable
dairying. 4 cow Will not go to stream
or pond, stick her nose through a hole
| in the ice and drink contentedly anC
sufficiently. 1t is cheaper to pump water
| from a well, or to heat water with wooC
or coal, than it is to heat it with grain
which the cow consumes and which
| should be used in the production O
milk.
| There are several reasons for having
cows fresh in the fall. A cow fresh IL
September or October will give a greater
annual flow of milk than one fresh in the
spring for the grass stimulates the win
ter milker, while the cold weather in the
| fall tends to dry the cow that was fresf
| in the spring. Then, the demand fol
choice butter in winter is more active
and prices are usually higher. Again
! by this system the farm work is NOR,
evenly distributed necessitating th'
| least milking during the busiest months
Finally, the moral effect on the farmer
| is good, as the duties of milking time
compel him to desert his perch in tht
village grocery discontinue his idle gos
| sip and betake himself to his home.
Profits for the year depend largely OF