The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1899-11-03
ii low Mncn Land for 81 Cow

H>W Alncn Land for Cow
In ncthing connected with the dairy
business is there wider difference be-
tween old and new methods than in the
kind Of feed given cows, and the amount
Of land that Is required fUr their sup
port AS we remarked ldst week, the
original airy regions were lii localities
where Strings Of ievtrfailiny water
aboun,led. and where grass was the main
dtrcndcnce. Grass pasture In summer,
ana mOWn for hay nS winter feed. is al
together too costly for. feed and land to
be afforded iow: Besides meadow hay,
either natural grass or timothy, is
much poorer winter feetl for COWS than
nubbins are ,ftd with the stalks. This
is probably the best way to use nubbins
and soft corn. The COW, being rumi-
nant. will chow again the corn after it
has come UP from the first stomach, and
get much nouriSliment from the cob. If
some of the grains. fpilidin ,indigested
and PASS through the eXcrement, some
pings and leave not i grain 90 to waste.
This will not affect the pork, as the pig
will not be butcllercd for months after,
and the sweetness Of it's flesh is alto
gether dependent on it's feed during the
last months of fattening
grass. two, three and even four acres will
be needed to winter and summer COW.
Where the land is rocky or poor it may
require five acres to Il COW, besides buy
ing some grain or meal as extra feed in
winter. 1t is always true economy to
purchase bran, wheat middlings or grain
meal to feed to cows that have Il hay
diet in winter. It makes the hay 20
farther. nnd whenever Il Turner niukes
close calculations hi, finds that fur milk
production at least, hay is. the MIDST tx-
prnsiye feed he can purchase. One of
the cheapest Of all COW feeds is linseed
and cotton seed meal. though neither can
be fed hi large amUuiitS iior without be-
ing mixed with chopped hay Or straw: to
Even corn and oats should be ground and
mixed with cut hay Or straw to get the
best results from feeding them: If the
whole mess is we'll steamed ahd Il little
salt added, it makes the COW eat it with
avidity. and the moisture from steaming
the food greatly stimulates the secretion
of milk. In the writer's boyhood dry hay
was the staple food for COWS in winter,
though much Of it iii western New York
was clover hay, lind was only given spar
ihgly, with dried corn fodder as u side
ration.
With the Introduction Of the silo to
keep green cornStalks iii Sticculent condi-
tlOH lOi winter lPttl tiitlt CUnlt lVto1N
ton in the feeding Of cows 1t enOr-
mously increased the amount Of fodder
that could be produced on an acre. In
stead of taking two three or four acres
or more to keep a cow through the year.
as with grass, Il COW might be Kept on
an acre or perhaps three cows on tive
acres if some winter crop can be grown,
like rye, to be cut and fed in the spring
just before the grain begins to head out.
Fifteen. twenty and even Twenty-Five
tons of large Southern corn can I've grown
per acre, which,, made into eiisilag.,
would make II daily ration Of 1Oo pounds
or more of ehsilagc per day for aG3 days
should or could eat. If given without
some dry hay or straw. aud sohie grain,
also. if the ensiluge is not very we'll
natured before being put up, the ccw
will have all immense amount of watery
excreme,t, and though for time she
may give Il lMrge mess of milk. it will
not be rich milk. except as the COW
takes the fat off her body mud ruins it
into the milk pail.
Fifty pounds Of ensilage per day is, ex-
cept for short periods, all that can h'
protitably fed to cows giving milk. The
remainder Of the food required should be
dry hay, clover, if possible, and some
boughten grains. Though these, require
the expenditure Of money from the farm,
they pay better than trying to grow on
the farm everything that has to be fed,
as used to be the motto with oldfash-
toned farmers. 1t is only since Eastern
farmers learned to supplement-. their
home grown rutions with cheap Western
grain that they, have been, able to pro-
,luce milk and butter. as cheuply as the
West. We do not know as we could
produce in competition only because in
the Prairie states the water is bad, and
the milk and butter made from it is not
quite up to the average of that made in
the best dairy districts of New England
and New York state.
Feeding succulent food instead of dry
hay and dried corn fodder in winter has
greatly helped to develop the milking ca
pacitips Of our leading dairy breeds. All
of these originated in mild and moist eli
mates. where succulent and nutritious
food is plentiful at all seasons. The
Channel Island COWS. the Friesian-Hol-
mated not far from salt water, which
is deep enough to keep open in winter.
In an arid country the best milk-produc-
ing breeds rapidly deteriOrute in dairy
qualities. where there are plenty Of
springs of water so as to. keep the mir
moist, the milk-producing breeds can be
most profitably produced, because other
produce more milk and butter in each
succeeding genera ton than in the one
which preceded it. Such producers of
dairy stock as arc found in New Eng
land and New York could not he made
profitable in the arid part of the West
unless the climate he first changed
For the reason that so large il part Of
this country is poorly adapted to either
breeding the best cows or feeding them
economically. it is unlikely that dairy
products, and that also includes the best
bred cows, will ever again be so cheap
as they are now. Our country is grow
ing in population. and when the mass of
workingmen get employment, they will
consume more milk, butter and cheese