Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1905-12-05
Bedding for Stables.
sAwDUsT OR sHAvINas IDEAL FOR THE
COMFORT OF THE DAIRY cow.

1t is not likely that sawdust is avail
able in many localities, but where 1t
can be procured it will cost about one
cent per hundred pounds, which makes
it a comparatively cheap bedding. 1t
must be said that the sawdust, every
thing considered, was the most satis-
factory of the materials used In tests.
1t kept the COWS cleaner than anything
else and stayed in place better, as it is
not as easily showed around as are the
straw and stover. It can be made to
look cleaner and neater than either Of
the other materials and, unlike the
straw and stover, is entirely free from
dust. The only possible objection that
could be urged against it is that 1t car
ries so much moisture as to make it q
little damp, but it is very doubtful If
this has any bad effect. The sawdust
from the pitch pines of the southern
states is said to have bad effect on the
sandy soils of that section. The saw
dust decays slowly and has tendency
to loosen up q soil already too loose.
This objection would hardly hold good
outside Of the pitch pine regions or on
clay land. Sawdust manure is ideal foI
scattering on fields.
| sAwDUsT OR sHAvINas.
Practically all that can be said in ia
vor of the sawdust is true of the shaw
ings, and it is also quite dry. 1t Is with
out the Objectionable dust of straw and
stover. 1t makes q fine appearance.
The only objection is that it is light,
and a strong breeze blowing through the
stable is likely to scatter it, but or
dinarily it stays under the cows well
and is not easily showed about. The
shavings used come baled and cost about
50 to 81 per ton in car lots. The test
81 ows that it would require about l,1OO
pounds per COW for year.
For the strictly sanitary dairy, saw
dust and shavings are the ideal bedding
materials, though the ordinary dairy
farmer could not be advised to buy
when he could raise either the straw or
the stover. There is a little dust in
shavings, but it would have no effect on
the wholesomeness of the milk, as the
dust from the shavings is generally
small particles of wood and seldom con-
tains any molds or bacteria. AS was
stated before the sawdust is damp and
has no dust. Moreover, both Of these
materials keep the cows cleaner and
make a stable look neater than either
the straw or the stover.
RYE STRAW.
In the city markets rye straw sells for
about twice as much as any other ma
terial intended for bedding. OF course
| it is intended almost exclusively for
horses, and the double price paid for 1t
would indicate that horsemen considered
| it Just twice as desirable for bedding.
1t is little difficult to get at the true
reason. Farmers evidently prefer the
wheat straw for both horses and cows.
1t is very doubtful if rye straw would
prove at all satisfactory in dairy stable.
1t is hard and stiff, and in some tests
made at this station, with a separate
and smaller herd than the one used in
the previous tests, about the same guam
tity of rye straw as of wheat straw was
used, but the cows did not keep in as
clean a condition. The rye straw ap-
parently was a very poor absorbent
G. F. Doane, Maryland.