Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1900-03-28
Dairy Equipment.

While 1t IS to be freely admltteu
that the methods of some successful
dairymen are crude and not include
the equipment which other success
fnl dairymen deem essential, such
cases are exceptions. The best sue
cess depends upon complete equip
ment, as rule. A dairyman may
make success that is entirely salts
factory to him, by feeding whole corn
stalks and unhusked corn together.
Some have claimed to have done so.
They may have been satisfied with
feeding in racks outdoors in winter
weather, but these methods are not in
conformity with science and common
sense; and in 50 cases out of 100 they
will result in at least partial failure.
We make no attempt to explain the
successes that, as claimed, resulted
from such system. we only know
that We could never achieve success by
such practices. Feeding unhusked
corn and stalks together, of course,
saves labor and the expense of grind
ing. But the only grain that We ever
found it profitable, or rather, the
most profitable, to feed in a similar
way, are oats. Oat hay is the best
shape for feeding oats, and, if it can
be afforded, it makes grand, good
feed for the COW, as it does for any
other animal.
Every dairy farm ought to be
equipped with feed grinders, feed
cookers, water heaters, dehorning i'm
plements-unless the horns are al
ready off-feed cutters, a shredder
and cream separator. Each of these
machines is important and will prove
profitable on the farm. All of them,
it is true, will not be required for
steady use in the dairy, but there is
not one of them that will not be of
occasional use, and most Of them ore
a practical necessity. The feed cooker,
while capable OF increasing the value
of feed for the hog many per cent.
and often exceedingly useful in feed
ing steers, may not be considered q
necessity IL dairy feeding, but an oc-
casional ration of cooked feed in cold
weather is of decided benefit to the
COW, increasing the milk yield and
greatly aiding her digestive functions.
The COW, in our judgment, never
should he fed whole grain, except
oats, as before stated, and after a
time corn becomes so hard that it is
utterly unfit to be fed unless it is
ground, soaked or cooked. If it is
ground, it should be ground on the
farm, and corn meal loses its aroma so
quickly that much of it should not be
ground at one time. Corn stalks arc
in the best condition for feeding when
they are shredded. Occasionally the
cow will greatly enjoy cut feed, hay,
clover, or even good straw. mixed
with meal, wet down and permitted
to stand "a to 36 hours before feed
ing.
We have said nothing about the
silo and the necessary machinery for
preparing green crops-preferably
corn-for ensilage, but they are all
important features of feeding and will
greatly simplify the problem. In
manufacturing enterprises the plants
are equipped with everything that is
necessary and convenience. The
farm is factory. l'airying is manu-
featuring, and yet on many farms and
in many dairies the policy seems to be
not to provide everything that willaid
in achieving the largest measure OF
success, but to get along with the
very least equipment that will pos
sibl y answer; and it is penny-wise
aud pound-foolish policy.-Agricul'
tural Epitomist.