The Chanute times., 1900-03-16
DAIRY AND POULTRY.
INTERESTING CHAPTERS FOR
OUR RURAL READERS.
Eow Successful Farmers Operate This
Department OF tho Farm-A Few
Hints as to the Care OF Live Stock
and Poultry.
MIX Fever.

From Farmers Review: The un
dersigned was glad that you made re
ply to Mr.. Hoard's request for informa
tion as regards milking cows before
they calve. or really milking from one
calf to the next to prevent milk fever
like very much most of what you say
l know that milking cows before they
calve to keep the udder reduced does
not always prevent milk fever; l don't
believe it ever does.
l assessed this town fourteen years
In succession, and for ten years think
/ made 1t point to ask every farmer
1--WE are all dairymen) in town if he
had lost any cows with milk fever the
last year. The first year l found sew
enty-five cows had died the previous
year out Of some ninety that had hal
the disease, or something like it. Six
of those cows that died had not been
dried before they calved, and twenty
six had been milked from three to
seven days before they calved.
learned so much from my brother
dairymen of town in those ten years
about the bad effects of milking from
calf to calf and a few days before par
turition, all of which agreed with my
experience, that l have waged war
against the practice ever since-and
expect to as long as I can write and
get my letters published.
The last year l assessed the town
found but nine cows had died with
milk fever the previous year, and six
of them had been milked to prevent il
OF the between 400 and 500 dairymen
Of this town, | don't think there are
six who milk any of their cows from
calf to calf, or start the milk from the
cow before she is a mother. They dry
their heifers the first year eight or ten
weeks before the second calf, and It's
no trouble in after years to dry them
about that time. There never was and
not likely to be a heifer which could
not be safely dried eight weeks before
the second calf, and the Jerseys are
not exceptions.
After it became fully impressed upon
the dairymen of this great COW county
that they had better give their cows
about the same rest in year that
they took themselves, viz, one-seventh
of the year, and that they would not
be tempted to start the milk of one
that they would throw away the papers
of epson salts, saltpetre, ETC., and give
the bottles Of aconite, nitre, etc, to
kill sheep, dogs, rats, etc, and see that
the COWS had ample exercise all the
year around-it was not long before
the COW doctor at Sheboygan Falls
could put in most of bis time at home.
We have not had COW doctor at
Sheboygan Fails in ten years, although
the fine farms all about are fully
stocked with milch cows. Our drug
gist says he rarely ever sells EPSON
salts or other drugs, except in small
quantities. If the dairymen of this
county should use EPSON salts as is
recommended by some of our dairy
papers, it would have to be shipped in
here by the carload. How our drug
gist would open his eyes if one of our
large dairymen should step in with
three or four grain sacks and order
them filled with epson salts! That
would be the way to buy them if we
used them as is so often recommended.
Give me mashes, roots, gruels, etc.,
every time. Of course, men who do not
know how to feed and care for cows
to avoid milk fever and other numer-
Gus ills might as well milk from calf
to calf as not.
Mr.. Editor, the only fault I find with
your remarks as regards milk fever is,
I'VE also know that it is practically
impossible to dry up many cows for
even a few days before calving time"
Be so kind as to ask Prof. Curtiss of
the Iowa Experiment Station what he
knows about this matter. l know of
score of successful dairymen who
thought as you do a few years ago,
who dry up all their COWS now-own-
ers of Jerseys included.
A. Y. HYATT
Sheboygan county, Wis.