Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-01-07
How to Get the Largest Re.
turns from Your Land.
Cows for the Dairy,

| The only way to secure a good dair
| herd, without great initial outlay. is I
raise it. The bull, of whatever breed
must be pure bred. come of good milk
| ing stock. and possess individual merit
Always bear in mind that the milkin
qualities inherited by a heifer cal
come more from her sire's dam tha
from her OWN. a farmer starting wit
good grade COWS, may be the use q
good bulls secure in time Il herd o
dairy cows that money could not buy
unless one had Il great deal of it write
Prentiss Day of York county, in tn
New Finland Farmer.
Feed the calves for the first week o
their lives OF whole milk, warm from
the COW. Then gradually add skin
milk from day to day, until it conSti-
tutes the entire feed. Always warm
the milk to blood heat before feeding
it to calves. When the calf is from
four to six weeks old add q little bran
or middlngs to the skim milk. Feed
in this way as long as practicable, W
TO six months and a Year is better. The
better they are fed. the earlier they
will mature. A calf pushed forward
from it's birth will be as mature at two
years old as one with ordinary care
and feed is at three. Skim milk fed in
this way gives as good profit as in any
way it can be used. We had two
heifers that came in before they We're
two years old, and the two yielded two
and a half pounds Of butter per day,
illustrating the effect of generous feed
ing with milk.
The COW, like other domestic animals,
responds readily to good feed and care,
and without them is of no practical
value to her owner. During the WIN
ter her quarters must be made COM
Portable. This need not involve any
heavy expense. If the stable is OPEN
line it inside with rough lumber. leav
ing Il space of three or four inches be-
tween the inner and outer boarding
which fill With sawdust or fine shay
ings. having first interlined it with
building paper. l think it better to
have the drinking water kept in front
Of the cows. though many differ from
me in this opinion. There is, however
50 much cold weather in this climate
that cattle will DO better to have the
i
stand out in the cold while they drink
BESIDES, the extreme chill is taken from
the water when it stands in the stable
The most effective way to keep the
COWS clean is to use the trench system.
Tn" trench should be a little wider
than a shovel, to allow of easy clean
ing; tn" length Of the stall between tie
trench ana the manager will naturally
b. regulated by the size of the COW,
lut an average of five feet two inches
would about strike the average. \
good brol walk on the opposite side
OF the trench. behind the cows. will be
found u great convenience. For bed
ding saWduSt is very good, but dry
sand. dead leaves or straw, if there is
plenty Of it, will do very Well.
Give tbs. COWS all the sunshine there
is. The mere glass on the sunny side
of the stable. the better. There is no
better disiufectant than sunshine. If
the water is kept in front of them. 50
they do not go out to drink, give them
IL run i'll the yard on mild, pleasant
days. Grooming them is a great ad-
vantage. and if one can take the nee
eSSary time to groom them once Il day.
it will pay. in the comfort and cleanli-
ness it gives the cows. 1t is probably
needless t. add a warning against
breaking milking stools or other things
upon them. Any man who is fit to go
near cows will always treat them
kindly, ana speak as gently to them as
he would to a lazy.
The matter Of feed is to be governed
by the environments and the use to be
made. of the milk. If the milk is to be
sold for use in fresh condition, gluten
feeds are pe rhapS the best. but they
make soft butter. When the latter is
to be made from the milk, we feed
cotton-seed meal. bran and hay.
1ilage is a valuable feed, and the silo
is an Indispensable adjunct of dairying
in districts where most of the land is
arabic. But this is 4 great hay sec
ton. from which thousands of tons ar
sold. besides winternS large numbers
of cattle. Silos are therefore uncaled
for here. Glover and red-top make the
best hay for COWS but Il mixture of
grasses is better than any one sort.
cut the grass early. while it is in
bloom. and cure the hay as sweet as
possible. If there is good rowen
crop, So much the better.
For summer feed nothing is better
than good, plentiful pasture. But
there are few who have that all
through the season. When the sum-
MIR heats dry up the pastures it as
necessary to provide some soiling crop
to supplement it. Oats and peas sown
together make a good feed. and barley
cut green is very much liked by cattle.
STOW ellis Evergreen corn, raised in
drills. furnishes a large amount of eX-
cellent feed.