Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1902-06-12
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Ralph E. Woods of Gibson, Neb., in a
paper read at the Nebraska Dairy
mems association upon THE Value of
Alfalfa TO the Dairymaf," says:
"Quite naturally the dairymen want
the best and cheapest feed for the
cows, and the value of alfalfa to the
dairyman cannot be too highly estimat-
ed. Alfalfa is and will be the greatest
aid to the dairyman of any crop that
can be grown. Alfalfa, whethea green
or dry, is one of the greatest known
forage crops to produce great flow
of rich, high testing milk. H. d. Wat
son has $500 acres of alfalfa near his
dairy barn in Buffalo county. There
are 29,6S0 acres of alfalfa in Buffalo
county today.
"As alfalfa roots go down to water
or moisture the established crop is
good for at least ten years without re-
seeding l wish to illustrate the alfalfa
as dairy crop. A good COW can be
well pastured on a single acre of al
falfa during the summer months, and,
reserving the product for another acre,
we cut from three to five tons of the
very finest hay, which will keep cow
through the winter in the very best
condition.
'Sugar beets are also great aid in
the dairy business, and field of sugar
beets should be grown by every dairy
man. Eighteen tons of beets and five
tons Of tops can be grown on single
acre in Buffalo county. Cows will leave
almost all other feed to partake of
sugar beet tops, which will increase
the flow of milk very materially, and
with alfalfa we have two of the great
est aids in the feed line to the dairy
man. Sugar beet pulp is valuable when
it can be obtained A ton of beets is
worth about So on the ground, and l
believe that every COW should be al
lowed at least one ton of sugar beets
during the winter months"
Study Food Compositions.
The aim of the dairyman should be
to get the different farm crops convert
ed into butter in the most economical
manner possible, for a dairy COW is
simply a machine for converting these
substances into milk In order, then,
to know how to feed dairy COW eco
nomically it is necessary to have q
general idea of the composition of
foods, says Dairy and Creamery, be-
cause cows require not only sufficient
quantity of food, but what is called a
properly balanced ration as well-that
is, one in which the albuminoids, or
flesh formers. bear proper proportion
to the carbohydrates, or fat and heat
producers. In the case of dairy cows
these should be in the ratio of as one
of the former is to about five of the
latter. 1t has been demonstrated by
repeated experiments that food con-
tanning these constituents in this pro-
portion produces better results than
any other.
Grain For a Dairy Cow.
A correspondent asks Breeders Ga
Zette to "give ration for a dairy COW,
bran costing SO, shorts $24, per ton
and corn 80 cents per bushel. We have
plenty of shredded corn stover and
timothy and clover hay mixed"
Shorts are good deal dearer than
bran at the prices named Probably
our correspondent means middlings.
which are much superior to real shorts.
In any event, use corn and bran, as
they are the cheaper feeds. Feed five
pounds each of bran and corn to each
COW giving q full flow of milk and
oil Of OF nd
hay the animals will eat for roughage.
The grain may be given in the dry
form provided the animals are watered
once or twice a day. having Opportu-
nifty to get all they care to drink.
Care of the Calves.
When the season comes for turning
the calves into the fields. see that they
have plenty of food, water and shade,
the last being scarcely less important
than the other two, and try to have
them making a little growth every
day; but, if intended for dairy animals
or for breeding purposes. do not let
them get too fat.
After they begin to eat hay or grass
they will not reject the milk if it is a
little sour. nor is it as necessary to
have it always warm, but it will be
better to add a little wheat bran to it.
Do not try to make sour milk take the
place of water entirely, as on a hot
day they will relish fresh cold water
as well as old cows do and will drink
it freely.-American Cultivator.
Carrots and Turnips.
Carrots in reasonable amounts are
excellent feed for milk cows and have
no tendency whatever to dry them off.
Frozen cabbage leaves are not fit food
for cows or any other animals, but
they will have no tendency to produce
blindness. A great many people feed
turnips and think them excellent for
cows. They have tendency to faint
the milk, especially if fed just before
or at milking time. If fed immediate
" after milking, this tendency is re-
duced to its minimum. The fresh tops
of turnips and beets make very good
relish for cows, but afford very little
nutr4ment They should be fed spar
ingly and after cows have partially
appeased their appetite and not just
before milking.
Cut Your Cane Fodder.
It is wanton waste to throw fodder
corn in the whole stalk before cows.
especially if the canes are spread about
the fields. The cattle will destroy with
their hoofs at least half of the fodder
so fed. 1t will always pay to cut the
canes up and feed them from the
manager.
Timothy Nay to Produce Milk.
Timothy hay is given a somewhat
higher feeding value than corn fodder,
bat practical farmers claim to find
little difference in the results which are
obtained from them,