The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1904-10-20
AGRICULTURE.
Dalrvlng In Friesiand.

10 my eleven years In thi; ,untry, three.
fourths OF which time have worked 10 the
dairy line, hsve learned that the ms )rity
OF cow keepers hsve much, very much TO
learn yet te'ore they will make success
OF the dairy business. The readers OF The
Prairie Farmer would probably like to hear
something about dsiryirg in fdtslanf,
where was born ard raised and where ]
engaged 10 that business before ] came
here.
About the middle OF May In Frlesland
the cows 90 to pasture and they are left out
all summer. At thinking time they are gath
cred In well-ferced yard about one-half
acre In circumference ard mostly provided
with few shade trees. Years ego the
milk was all worked up on the farm. Each
farm house ha1a nice cool cellar 10 which
the milk was set for Dreaming. After thir-
ty-siI or forty.eight hours the cream was
taken Off ripened and churned, while the
skim-mlk was worked into cheese. those
products were largely exported to London
for the English market.
In the last twenty years creameries and
cheese factories (nostly combined) have
been built very rapidly and just few
dairymen are making their own butter and
cheese nowadays. The milk goes 10 the
factories twice day, and is worked up
twice day also. IA you see butter and
cheese makers do not have a strap here. 1t
keeps most Of them busy from 5 O'Clock in
the morning until 8 in the evening with
three or four hours for rtst in the middle
of the day.
After the cows leave the stables tho lat
ter are scrubbed and washed from end to
end, and from top to bottom, the painted
and whitewsahed, which give them an sp-
pearance much cleaner than a good many
houses occupied by human beirgs.
After the cows are stabbed they are thor
oughly cleaned, the top part Of the tail
clipped, and the switch cut to decent
length, then washed and fastened to the
ceiling with string, GO as to keep 1t from
hanging down in the cutters.
The cows are not fed any gralu during
the summer except 10 txtremely dry sea.
sons. About October most Of the dairy
farmers put few Of the best cows in the
stables and feed them grass, mostly OF the
third cut. The rest Of them are blanketed
and left out until the weather becomes very
wet and cold, when th, y are taken to the
stable. They do rot leave 1t again before
spring. The feed through the winter con-
slsts mainly Of hay, oilcake and corn meal,
while the surp US butter milk all goes back
to some fresh cows.
In my own home we handled the cows 10
the following manner la the morning We
used to get up about O'Clock and 60 i'm
mediately to the stable. First the stalls
we're all swept fl and also the aoor behind
the cows. Then hay was fed, then the
milking was done, and after that hay was
fed again and we went into the house for
breakfast. After returning to the stables
one Of US watered the COWS. They had
cemented trougbs In front OF them, into
which the water was pumped out Of a we'll
right under the barn floor. The other one
would take the wheebarrow and clean the |
cutters. The manure was wheeled few |
rods from the rear erd OF the barn, neatly |
piled up and mix with dry dirt to retain
the liquid. Most Of the liquid was drained
to big cisterD, which was emptied out &C.
casionally by pumping the stuff into spray |
wagon. After the cows were watered the |
oilcske was fed TO them ard then they re.
ceIved another feed 81 hay. This done the |
COWS were all grot med, the stalls and floors
swept ard come Lice white sard sprinkled
over them. Then the cows we're left alone |
to chew their cud ard make their milk.
OF and on someone went through the barn
to clean { q stall II recjsfsry. At ever
ing the same method Ct feeding was repeat
ed at about 6 80. You zee the cows In
Frlesland are treated better than the ms
Iority OF them In this country and tia
surely accounts for tie fact that on an
average the returns there are 20 much lar
ger thar here.