The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-04-19
some FACTS
ABOUT DAIRYING

J. j. Burke the following in
Farm Stock and Home on Things
Learned About Dairying: In my
somewhat limited experience In mixed
farming, I have learned a few things
about practical dairying, but an free
to confess that there are a great many
things connected with that branch Of
husbandry that l do not know. l am,
however. of the opinion that when a
man has arrived at such a stage Of
perfection that there Is nothing more
for him to learn, or becomes so ego
tfstical that he thinks he knows it all,
he is a fit subject to pass on to a
higher sphere as he certainly has no
place in this modern world of pro-
gressive ideas.
There Are Cows and Cows.
Some eight years ago, when | made
my first investment, l thought that
anything that looked like a COW,
whether streaked or speckied, was "a
valuable machine to u roughase
into a finished product and Midas-like
pour a stream Of gold into the out
stretched hand of the owner if he
MIXED her twice a day and allowed
her to sun herself on the south side
Of a straw stack and shiver at night
in a cold, dark and damp stable. This
idea, perhaps, arose from the fact n a
l had seen so many apparently we'll
to-do- farmers who kept their COWS
much. in the condition described. In
| vestigation into the matter revealed
| the astonishing fact that such farm
ers literally kept their cows and aside
from the fertility added to the soil
and the occasional sale of a veal CALI
or stock steer everything else connect
ed with the cows was a losing propo-
sition.
1 have also learned that it is a mis-
taken idea that the COW will shell
down more butter fat If you allow
the dog to chase her into her stall
and then pound her over the back
with the milk stool because she don't
so boss the instant she is spoken to-
If under such circumstances the COW
were to kick o into the gutter and
then step on you it would be an act OF
]retribution for an unjust and unpro-
voked assault.
Plenty of Pasture Necessary.
I have also learned that it does not
pay to keep a large herd Of cows on
limited p~asturage, as the COW, like
| any other machine, must have an
| abundance of raw material to turn
out a finished product in paying quar-
| tity. If the c6W is obliged to fight
| flies all day and mosquitoes all night
! and be constantly on the go to satisfy
her appetite, she is likely to rest af-
ter she has procured a maintenance
ration and naturally has no surplus to
turn into milk and butter fat. OF
course, the normal COW under such
circumstances, will produce a certain
quantity Of milk, as 1t is her nature
to do so, but this is done by drawing
on her own resources and it will
gradually decrease as her resources
become impaired.
Selling Crops.
In order to overcome this short feed
problem many farmers resort to soil
ing crops such as corn fodder ano
feed this in the pasture to the cows
but the question arises, does this
method pay? OF course, 1 will admit
that by such methods n can keeI
up a reasonable flow of milk and OF
the two alternatives, allowing the
COWS to dry up or stimulating the
flow of milk by this method, it would
seem to be the wiser plan, but ] have
noticed that where cows are fed q
limited amour of fodder or other