Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-12-08
Winter Dairying.

The fall calving COW Is at the present
time more profitable than is the spring
calying COW. This will remain Sd as
long as most of the cows calve in the
spring and but few in the fall. Gradual
iy. however, the desire for better profits
will induce more men to have their COWS
calvs in the fall, and if the number calv-
ing in the fall ever equals the number
calving in the spring, there will then be
no greater profit in fall calying COWS
than in spring calving cows. At present,
however, that condition is not in sight.
Nature says that cows should calve at a
time of year when the pastures are get
ting green and the supply of food is on
the increase. Nature made this arrange
mens not because there was sentim ent-
al reason for doing so, but because the
chief end of nature is to continue the
life of every species on the earth. But
man comes along and provides quarters
for the COW in winter and food for the
calf when it comes, and nature need be
no longer regarded in the matter.
We believe it would be profitable If
more men would have at least part OF
their cows .come i'm in the fall, rs is
being now done on our leading dairy
farms. 1t is the only way when the
milk flow must be regulated to supply
families every day in the year. The
man with no certain customers to sup
ply, but with dozen cows, will proba-
bly, find it more profitable to do the Pulk
of his dairying in the winter than in the
summer. If his cows GO dry it should
be in the summer, when the farm hands
are busy with the crops. In winter also
it is much easier to get help for the
milking of cows and their care. The
numerous grain farms have use for their
laborers principally in the summer time,
and in the winter the extra men have 10
hunt other jobs. 1t thus arises that in
the fall men can be secured at reason
able wages.
Cows coming in fresh in the fall have
no summer drouth to face. They pro-
duce their calves and begin milk giving
on dry feed, and there is nothing to
cause them to drop off in their milk the
whole season through, nor is there any
time when they are changed from sue
culent food to dry. When the change
comes in the spring, the change is from
dry food to green, which does not dis
turb their milk-giving functions but only
them.
1t is claimed by those that taks up
this method of producing milk that they
get larger aggregate yield of milk dur
ing the year than by the other way.
This is because with spring calving cows
there is a great falling off in the milk
Weld when the cows are changed from
pasturage to dry feed in the fall. This
shrinkage no amount of scientific feeding
will recover. Moreover, in most cases
there is a decided falling off during the
summer drouth, which falling off is also
never regained.
The prices for milk and butter are far
better in the winter than in the summer,
and this is a very important considera-
ton. The unskillful dairyman is far
less likely to make poor butter IN the
winter than in the summer, for the rea-
son that the air is not so full of Tactic
acids germs and other ferments of a
more Objectionable character. Though
the color is lacking, the quality of but
ter is otherwise better. Prices are
frequently double those obtainable for
it in the summer. Review.