The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1919-10-18
prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)

Treat 6osSy Kindly and With c
prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture,)
Each fall and spring there is normal
ly heavy movement of springer or
fresh cows from the city markets and
from dairy-hreeding regions to the
milk-prOducing sections of the country.
Many commercial diaries do not raise
new recruits for their herds, but sim.
ply make a practice Of milking out
fresh COWS and then dispOsing of the
| dry animals as beef and purchasing
more cows which have just calved.
Dairy farmers, also, in order to main
tain their production Of milk at a
normal point throughout the year,
often have to purchase fresh COWS or
near Springers at a time when most
of the producers in their herds are
dry. All dairymen who purchase cows
are urged to exercise every effort to
expedite the railroad movement Of the
dairy matr0ns during their time in
transit and to provide all possible
comfort for the animals en- route. Care
full management will reduce mortality
and will increase production over the
flow from the average cow carelessly
''railroaded."
Valuable Animals by Express.
Valuable pure-bred cows usually
should be handled by express service,
as their increased worth for breeding
purposes over that of grade animals,
which are usually handled by freight
service, justiies the additional ex-
penditure for a rapid trip from the
point of loading to destination. Elk.
pressage usually costs four or five
times as much as movement by freight,
but in the case Of particularly valu-
able COWS the saving in animal COM
fort, the shorter time in transit and
the better convenienees for feeding
and watering the animals, make the
added expenditure advisable. In case
pure-bred animals cannot be handled
by express, they should be loaded &C.
cording to the special system discussed
in this article. AS far as possible,
dairy cows should be shipped one or
two months before they are due to
freshen, as repeatedly fresh cows have
been ruined, so far as the subsequent
lactation period has been concerned,
as result of being shipped shortly
before freshening or so as to calve In
transit.
Heifers Make Good "suys."
Mich cows of grade breeding ordi-
narily are shipped by freight, dry
cows and far springers being most de-
sirable for long shipments. Heifers
which are not due to freshen until
three to four weeks after arrival at
destination make good "buys," as they
are Of a size and condition which per.
mits of loading the car to capacity.
Furthermore, immature animals are
less susceptible to injury in transit
and to damage as result Of change
of environment. So far as possible,
animals without horns should be
shipped, and where it is necessary to
carry any horned animals in railroad
cars they should be penned apart or
tied securely at one end of the car, so
that they cannot iniure any of their
| travelling mates. Where bulls are
shipped in mixed carloads, these sires
should be confined in pens apart from
| the other cattle.
Other conditions being equal, 1t is
recommended by specialists that about
IA mature cows be loaded in So or
40 foot car. A practical arrangement
is to tie four cows in each end of the
car, facing the end walls, and rough
partitions can be installed so that
two other rows of three cows each
face a center alleyway between the
car doors, where the attendant can
stay and extra feed and water can be
carried. This arrangement is most
comfortable for the cows, as they
ride and absorb the shock and jar
better, while it also facilitates the
operations Of the earetaker in feeding
the cows and cleaning the car.
Watch the Weather.
/ It is preferable to move the cows
during cold weather, as hot weather
and close confinement in the car are
hard on the milk producers. Care must
be exercised, however, not to expose
the cows needlessly during very cold
weather, owing to danger of their
contracting pneumonia. Cows which
have been accustomed to warm, well.
ventilated stables suffer during the
railroad trip unless the car is properly
loaded and provision made for FIRE.
| quent change Of air. At best 1t takes
an animal about a year to become
thoroughly acclimated to 9 warmer Or
colder climate than that to which ii
has been accustomed, and on this ac.
count the movement should take place
at time of year when the tempera-
ture at the two points is as nearly