Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1911-10-24
Ten Rules For the Dairyman.
by r. X. Bliss.)

Ten Rules For the Dairyman.
(By r. X. Bliss.)
A reasonable observance of tn,
following ten rules, would add a
least $4,000, 100000 to the annual in
come from dairying in Iowa. More
over, it would cost Iowa dairymen lit
tie to do it.
The difference between profit ant
loss oftentimes rests upon some tri
vial detail that is overlooked by thu
careless. The things that cost TIN
least are often the most valuable
Successful mon in every line of bust
ness are masters Of detail:
1. Be regular in milking and feet
ing. In the rush of summer and ir
the idleness of winter it sometimes
seems impossible to milk at regular
intervals, and yet this is one of the
details that make milking profitable
Milking at five o'clock one morning
and seven the next irritates the COW
and lowers the milk yield. 1t doesn't
cost anything to be regular and YET
it may make the difference between
profit and loss.
2. Feed the COW succulent bal.
anced ration. A little extra care and
attention to the feeding of the cows
of Iowa would add millions of dollars
to the annual net income. Silage
clover or alfalfa, hay and corn and
cob meal with some protein by-pro-
duct like cottonseed meal, gluten
feed, oil meal, ETC., in winter, and
silage or some soiling crop for the
dry spell in summer will, with the
addition Of such other feeds as are
available, make butter fat as cheaply
in Iowa as anywhere. This feeding
question is worthy of careful study.
8. Milk the cows dry. Probably
no one thing will dry cows up faster
than to leave milk in the udder,
Heifers are sometimes ruined by be.
ing half MIXED. One man will often
save his wages over another man by
simply milking the COW dry. In tho
best diaries the mixers work the I'D.
der gently in order to get the last
drop.
4. Treat the COW kindly. Striking
cows with stools and sticks, kicking
them, twisting their tails and other
wise abusing them is all foolishness
When the cow kicks, look for the
cause. Perhaps the mixer needs to
be licked instead Of the COW. Swear
ing and loud talking are not allowed
around we'll managed dairy. A
man who abuses his cows is foo;
for by so doing he reduces the milk
low and gets less money for his
work.
5. Give the cows good shelter.
The cow should have warm, well
ventilated barn in winter. The
trouble with most barns is that they
have too many cracks and too few
windows. Twice as many windows
would be none too many in most
barns. In fly time the COW should
have cool, dark shed to run in dur
ing the heat of the day.
6. Provide an abundance of pure
drinking water. Heavy milking cows
are always large drinkers, and gen.
orally speaking the more water q
cow drinks the greater the milk
flow Some dairymen even go so far
as to sprinkle water on feed in order
to induce cows to take larger guam
titles. One of the principal reasons
why succulent feed is better than
dry feed is because of the water it
contains. Water should be warmed
to temperature of 60 or 10 degrees
in the winter time. A COW should
never be forced to drink ice water.
Z. Salt the COW. Salt is an APP
petizer and unquestionably stimu-
lates the cow to consume more feed
and drink more water and thus aids
in increasing profit.
s. Weigh and test the milk from
each individual COW at least one day
out Of each month. The best way to
do this is to join COW testing asso-
citation and employ some one whose
business it is to do this work If
you can't do this you can get small
tester and scales and do it yourself.
The best herds in the country have
been built up in this way and in
fact it is the only business-like way
of improving the herd. 1t doesn't
pay to guess on what COW produces.
1t pays to know.
9. Test the COW for tuber-
eulosis. 1t is estimated BY the best
authorities that at least 10 per cent
Of the milk cows are affected with
tuberculosis. 1t is also agreed among
scientists that bovine tuberculosis is
transmissable to human beings. If
your cows have tuberculosis you and
your children are liable to have the
disease. Test the cows and turn
moro light in the barn. Sunshine
md fresh air are the fees of tuber-
",'osss.
10. You must take IN interest in
your cows and strive to do little
better by them tomorrow than you
did today. This last rule is the
Golden Rvlo Of the dairy business.