Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-10-21

i:uTGeStt quantity OIL milk at ule Sliian-
est cost of feed. The COW has con-
stantlV some needs of her own to sup
port her animal system and repair the
wastes Of her body as we'll as to pro-
vide milk which nature intended for
the calf.
John Gould truly says: The whole
thing hinges, not on what the tables
say, but on the feeders judgment, so
that the most milk can be obtained at
the least cost That is the whole
truth IN nutshell, and should be
framed under glass and hung up in
the cow stable.
oats. because they are such a handy
and healthy grain to feed horses, al
ways command a higher price, rela-
tivev, than any other grain, fed to
stock. Mr.. Gould is aware OF this but
says Il do not hesitate to make the
(cows) ration one-f fourth oats, what
ever the cost"
Wheat bran alone is n poor COW feed
and cows will refuse 1t after eating a
few messes. 1T has been found that
wheat bran, and corn meal, mixed in
equal quantities by weight, is a good
milk producer, whether 1T be a we'll
balanced ration or not. Corn meal Is
supposed to be too fattening for cows
in milk, but the generous giver, or
deep mixer ought to have some fat
teping food to prevent her from losing
flesh during the period of greatest
flow.
Professor r.. w. Stewart commended
all his life that there was no way by
which so much of tire value of grain
could be obtained as by grinding 1t
gne, and mixing it thoroughly with
cut hay, stalks Of straw, moistened
with water to make the meal stick,
This way of feeding makes more labor.
results i'm any kind of business can
not he obtained without painstaking
and more la Dor. Better farming pays.
tIairyman who has tried his cat
tie with the cut feed many times, IS
convinced that Professor Stewards
contention is true. Two winters ago,
owing to scarcity Of hay, our cows,
young CATTLE and horses were kept al
most entirely on cut straw and meal
with which they were so well satisfied
that they would eat little hay when
given to them. The cows never gave
more milk on the same quantity OF
grain fed alone. There is nothing
wonderful about this. Reason any ex-
meal are stuck fast to the pieces Of
pertinent agree. When the particles OF
straw they form mass that nearly
fills the stomach, so that each particle
of meal has a chance to come in con-
tact with the absorbent vessels, and
of no tr{y, ot
is appropriated. On the other hand,
when, say, five quarts of meal are
fed alone, it does not become so we'll
diffused turnout the stomach, is apt
to remain in body. or several bodies
and much of it passes away without
having it's valuable properties extract
ed and retained.
1t does not pay to feed cows all the
grain they will eat without becoming
clogged, any more than 1T pays a man
to overload his stomach with rich
food. When dairy products are dear
and grain cheap, it will do to be lib
eral with the cows, but not to encour-
age gluttony. OF course, some cows
will endure and respond to high feed
ing better than Others, but / have
found that four quarts of good meal,
fed twice q day to each COW, is about
as much as cam be profitably fed.
The question whether cows should
have their rations increased to pre-
vent shrinkage depends on the kind Of
feed they have been supplied with and
the size OF the ration. If the ration
has been meagre, then an increase
would, no doubt, increase the flow, or
prevent shrinkage, and probably be
profitable. The ration that has been
found to produce the most milk at the
least cost should be the standard, just
as bread and butter are the standard
at the farmers table; but cows like
human beings, are fond of an occa-
sional change in their diet, and will
welcome some side dishes, relishes
and desserts, and pay for the favor in
something more tangible than graft
tude
Notes.
There can be no question but that
the taste for mutton is growing rapid
ly. This is partly owing to the fact
that mutton is better known than
formerly, but more to the fact that a
better quality of mutton is being in
troduced into our markets The de-
mand for mutton in the United States
w ~>c