Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-13
Live Stock Jottinqs.

ply milk for the family-with perhaps
enough Of usrplus to dispose Of to
neighbors-cannot to soon begin to
study the dairy type of cow.
Conformation means much in the
production of milk: the whole make
up of the COW, from her nose to
the tip of her tail, contributes
something to type. A writer in the .Jer-
sey Bulletin says a celebrated breeder
once remarked to him that If he could
see an animals head he would not need
to see any more, as the head would de-
termine the confor nation OF the rest of
the cows body. This is true to some eX-
tent, a medium sized. angular body is
usually associated with a medium sized
angular head. and the short. compact
head is usually associated with the same
general conformation Of body. A broad
mouth in any type of animal is indicative
of good feeding qualities, and as this is
an important consideration in the dairy
animal. this type of mouth should be
sought This, in connection with a
bright, open eye, with a good distance
between the eyes and a strong muscular
jaw, would be almost an ideal head for a
good dairy COW. The head should be con-
nected with the body by a rather long.
meatiness.
The old idea that the body should be Of
extreme angularity is not held as strong
ly by dairymen of experience at the pres
ent time. This type of body often was
associated with a lack of constitution OF
of vigor. and when the animal was put
to test for large production it lacked the
stamina TO carry it through.
a cows capacity for handling feed is
of the greatest Importance. A large
barrel in a COW is compared to large
for fI1ri r,cr SpSti-
tlon-a place where material is stored
for manufacturing purposes-and
COW should have good capacity of
body, for 1t takes lot of feed to make
a lot of milk.
The special organs of milk production
must not be overlooked. The udder
must be capacious and well attached
to the body, extending well forward
and well back. The conformation of
the hind quarters of the highly pro-
ductive dairy COW must be such as
furnishes place for an udder of large
size. The udder should be free from
f1eshiness and covered with soft, pill
able skin. The teats should be of good
size and well placed. in order to make
the work of milking easy. The milk
veins in the big-producing COW are
usually prominent. Their size indi-
Gates the amount of the blood flow
that passes through the udder, and,
since this is directly related to milk
production, it is a good point to OBJ
serve.
With potatoes to be had at relative
ly low prices as compared with corn
and other grains. stockmen of this
country are looking into the possibility
OF utilizing the tubers for feeding hogs.
Many experiments have been con-
Quoted in Germany and other foreign
countries as well as few in the
United Safes to determine the value
OF potatoes as feed for swine. In Ire
land and Germany farmers feed large
quantities Of potatoes annually From
experimental data it has been con-
cluded that four to four and one-half
bushe.s OF potatoes when cooked are
equal to about one bushel of corn for
putting gains on hogs Therefore. if
potatoes when fed to hogs would be
worth only IS to 20 cents a bushel
There may. however. be instances
where it would be more advantageous
Tor the farmer to feed to hogs right on
his own place at least part of his crop
rather than to haul these potatoes to
an already overloaded market.
according to the consensus of opin-
ion. potatoes are fed to the best ad-
vantage when cooked or steamed and
mixed with other feeds. Experiments
in which raw potatoes were fed alone
nave been reported In certain in
stances the raw potatoes are said to
tatoes in small quantities and in a diet
lacking succulence may be conducive
to health in pigs.
In cooking potatoes only enough
water should be used to make a mealy
mash and prevent burning. The re-
sultant meal should then be mixed
with cornmeal or other grain supple
ment- Tankage. skim milk, or meat
meal would probably add to the profit
of the mixture. Potatoes when pre-
pared in the manner described and
under the conditions mentioned can
often be fed to pigs with advantage.
If the foal has been properly cared
Tor during the summer months. being
fed little grain in addition to the
time will be merely matter of sepa.
ration.
The time of weaving will vary with
conditions. but the best rule is to al
low IT five to seven months, as the
work OF the mare varies from heavy to
light. but, il possible, don't wean the
foal before four months.
The important stage of the young
sters life is now at hand Separation
from the dam must be complete to be
satisfactory, and the colt kept in a
small lot fenced either with boards or
poles: While all colts may not run
into the wire, the one that tangles if
self In the wire is Invariably the most
valuable.
The weaving that is most successful
~ accomplished is the one through
which the colt suffers the least Setback
in growth: II at weaving time the colt
or three pounds of oats or one and
one-half pounds of oats and two
pounds of ground barley mixed toeeth-
er; with plenty of clean alfalfa or tim
o'hy nay. II Will continue growing and
cease to fret for its dam.
The common tapeworm of lambs is
one that has a habit Of getting into
the duct leading from the liver, and
for this reason many who have exam
med sheep. dead of disease. have sus-
pected the tapeworm of causing the
death. 1t might be well to state that
more than so per cent Of all western
lambs have these taOpeWorms as evil
denced by finding them on the kill
ing floors at the large packing houses
While it must be admitted that in a
few Instances they may cause some
trouble. yet 1t is not believed that they
are responsible for many of our lamb
losses
During the siege of the Kansas
horse disease some man Unfamiliar
with the normal conditions in horses
for the first time found palisade
worms in the abdominal arteries of
dead horses. He at once jumped at
the conclusion that these worms were
for the disease Had he
known that approximately 95 per cent
of all horses have these same worms
his reputation might not have suffered.
It is rather common for veterina rians
to diagnose tapeworms in dogs, and in
Il