The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1901-04-12
LOSES in Dairy Herds.

the past few years has been % produce
the greatest possible amount Of mix
with the cheapest feed IN other words
economy Of production" has been the
watchword. OF course this Is essen
tial to success, but We should not over
look the fact that there are two sorts
Of saving the sort that is based on the
correct principles, and viii continue
and the sort that becomes expensive
in the end. the penny-wise-pound-fooi-
ish kind. The latter variety includes
some kinds Of cow-keeping that IN
crease production for a time but ruin
the COW or the herd. AS concrete ex-
ampies are more impressive than gen
eralities. let as consider some den
mite cases.
Exhaustion from High FEEDING
First. a large and valuable Jersey herd
the milk from which is used In part for
butter-making and in part for sale In
a large town. Both butter and milk
are sold at a considerable advance on
market prices. Efforts have been
been made for several years to increase
the product to the highest attainaDle
point The owner has not hesitated
to buy as much concentrated food as
the cows will eat. The cows have Deen
pushed to their utmost capacity. In
consequence OF this continuous run
ming under great pressure and high
speed many Of the COWS have become
exhausted. AS the milk-how has les
sened from such exhaustion the feed
has been increased until a short time
ago many OF the COWS we're receiving
from fourteen to seventeen pounds per
day Of a highly concentrated ration,
composed Of varying proportions OF
bran, corn meal, cotton-seed meal,
gluten feed, and steamed corn fodder
Some OF the COWS developed diarrhoea
and lost condition, and. because they
became thin, they were fed more 50
long as they would eat About
month ago examined this herd Three
Of the COWS were in particularly bad
condition, and the owner lster de-
cided to kin them. Thus an oppor-
tunity was afforded for careful post
mortem examination. The examina-
ton disclosed freedom from tubercu-
losis The true stomach and intes-
tines we're highly colored. The blood
vessels Of the intestinal walls we're
distended aud stood out prominently
The intestinal walls we're thiekened.
Upon cutting into intestine 1t was
found that mucous membrane through
out nearly all the small intestine and
greater portion Of large Intestine
including the caecum, was thickened,
swollen. and OF deep red color. A
careful examination Of this lining
membrane, after It had been washed
showed that its superficial coat nad
disappeared over large areas Of irreg-
ular shape, forming slightly depressed
erosions OF a bright red color Pos
sibly one-fourth Of this coating had
been lost The appearance was very
muen like a scald on the skin; a scald
that had been followed by a peeling
on Of the superficial layers OF the skin
leaving a red, inhamed surface. OLD
feeders say that II an animal Is fed /
too much concentrated food, II will In
time be burned out" The expression
Is very apt, and can be applied truth
fully to the condition that was found
In this case. The COWS were burned l
out. :. II instead OF being a breeding /
herd this had been one in which the
cows we're purchased. milked for q
time. and then sold, the conditisn
would not have been so marked, and,
perhaps, the method practiced would /
not have been Injurious, because Il
would not have been continued for so
long a time.
An Unchanging Ration.-second, an
other Jersey herd Of about sixty mem
bers. This herd belongs 70 an intel
ligent. progressive farmer, a man who /
reads and thinks and who has made 1
his business pay. The herd has been |
conducted successfully until the pres
ent year, although last year It was
not so profitable as II had beer before,
The COWS Of this herd have been fed |
the same ration for fifteen years, a
ration that was worked out by the
father Of the present owner. The cows
are given steamed cut corn fodder
hay. and about twelve pounds OF
mixture composed Of equal parts OF
bran and corn and cob-meal, with a
little linseed-meai. The herd has until
recently been considered very produc-
tive. but the owner states that the
cows have worn out rapidly. Many
OF the present members Of the herd
are granddaughters Of the original
members. So here Is herd that has
been fed upon the same ration for hf-
teen years and for three generations
OF COWS. During the past winter the
milk production fell to a point that
did not pay for the feed consumed.
the COWS look bad; they are
thin: their coats are rough and their
skins tight Why Is thls7 Why should
they not DO as well as they used to