The general characteristics which depend on form and constitution combine, less than in cows of the preceding class, the marks of good health and excellent constitution with those of a gentle and feminine look.

Small cows of this class give from seven to ten or eleven quarts of milk a day, and the largest from thirteen to seventeen quarts. They can be made to give three-fourths of a pint of milk, just after calving, for every ten ounces of hay consumed, if well cared for, and fed in a manner favorable to the secretion of milk.

They hold out long in milk, when they have no upper mirrors or tufts. At seven or eight months in calf, they may give from five to eight quarts of milk a day.

The THIRD class consists of middling cows. When the milk-mirror really presents only the mammary or lower part slightly indicated or developed, and the perinean part contracted, narrow, and irregular—as in cut K—the cows are middling. The udder is slightly developed or hard, and shrinks very little after milking. The veins of the perineum are not apparent, and those which run along the lower side of the abdomen are small, straight, and sometimes unequal. In this case the mirror is not symmetrical, and the cow gives more milk on the side where the vein is the largest.

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These cows have large heads, and a thick, hard skin. Being ordinarily in good condition, they are beautiful to look at, and seem to be well formed. Many of them are nervous and restive, and not easily approached.

Cows of this class give, according to size, from three or four to ten quarts of milk. They very rarely give, even in the most favorable circumstances, half a pint of milk for every ten ounces of hay which they consume. The milk diminishes rapidly, and dries up wholly the fourth or fifth month in calf.

The FOURTH class is composed of bad cows. As they are commonly in good condition, these cows are often the most beautiful of the herd and in the markets. They have fleshy thighs, thick and hard skin, a large and coarse neck and head, and horns large at the base.

The udder is hard, small and fleshy, with a skin covered with long, rough hair. No veins are to be seen either on the perineum or the udder, while those of the belly are slightly developed, and the mirrors are ordinarily small, as in cut L.

With these characteristics, cows give only a few quarts of milk a day, and dry up in a short time after calving. Some of them can scarcely nourish their calves, even when they are properly cared for and well fed.

Sickly habits, chronic affections of the digestive organs, the chest, the womb, and the lacteal system, sometimes greatly affect the milk secretion, and cause cows troubled with them to fall from the first or second to the third, and sometimes to the fourth class.

Without pushing this method of judging of the good milking qualities of cows into the objectionable extreme to which it was carried by its originator, it may be safely asserted that the milk-mirror forms an important additional mark or point for distinguishing good milkers; and it may be laid down as a rule that, in the selection of milch cows, as well as in the choice of young animals for breeders, the milk-mirror should, by all means, be examined and considered; but that we should not limit or confine ourselves exclusively to it, and that other and long-known marks should be equally regarded.

There are cases, however, where a knowledge and careful examination of the form and size of the mirror become of the highest importance. It is well known that certain signs or marks of great milkers are developed, only as the capacities of the animal herself are fully and completely developed by age. The milk-veins, for instance, are never so large and prominent in heifers and young cows as in old ones, and the same may be said of the udder, and of the veins of the udder and perineum; all of which it is of great importance to observe in the selection of milch cows. Those signs, then, which in cows arrived at maturity are almost sufficient in themselves to warrant a conclusion as to their merits as milkers, are, to a great extent, wanting in younger animals, and altogether in calves, as to which there is often doubt whether they shall be raised; and here a knowledge of the form of the mirror is of immense advantage, since it gives, at the outset and before any expense is incurred, a somewhat reliable means of judging of the future milking capacities of the animal; or, if a male, of the probability of his transmitting milking qualities to his offspring.

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It will be seen, from an examination of the points of a good milch cow that, though the same marks which indicate the greatest milking qualities may not always indicate the greatest aptitude to fatten, yet that the signs which denote good fattening qualities are included among the signs favorable to the production of milk; such as soundness of constitution, marked by good organs of digestion and respiration fineness and mellowness of the skin and hair, quietness of disposition—which inclines the animal to rest and lie down while chewing the cud—and other marks which are relied on by graziers in selecting animals to fatten.

In buying dairy stock the farmer generally finds it for his interest to select young heifers, as they give the promise of longer usefulness. But it is often the case that older cows are selected with the design of using them for the dairy for a limited period, and then feeding them for the butcher. In either case, it is advisable, as a rule, to choose animals in low or medium condition. The farmer cannot commonly afford to buy fat; it is more properly his business to make it, and to have it to sell. Good and well-marked cows in poor condition will rapidly gain in flesh and products when removed to better pastures and higher keeping, and they cost less in the original purchase.

It is, perhaps, superfluous to add that regard should be had to the quality of the pasturage and keeping which a cow has previously had, as compared with that to which she is to be subjected. The size of the animal should also be considered with reference to the fertility of the pastures into which she is to be put. Small or medium-sized animals accommodate themselves to ordinary pastures far better than large ones. Where a very large cow will do well, two small ones will usually do better; while the large animal might fail entirely where two small ones would do well. It is better to have the whole herd, so far as may be, uniform in size; for, if they vary greatly, some may get more than they need, and others will not have enough. This, however, cannot always be brought about.



Crossing and Breeding

The raising of cattle has now become a source of profit in many sections,—to a greater extent, at least, than formerly—and it becomes a matter of great practical importance to our farmers to take the proper steps to improve them. Indeed, the questions—what are the best breeds, and what are the best crosses, and how shall I improve my stock—are now asked almost daily; and their practical solution would add many thousand dollars to the aggregate wealth of the farmers of the country, if they would all study their own interests.

The time is gradually passing away when the intelligent practical farmer will be willing to put his cows to any bull, simply because his services may be had for twenty-five cents; for, even if the progeny is to go to the butcher, the calf sired by a pure-bred bull—particularly of a race distinguished for fineness of bone, symmetry of form, and early maturity—will bring a much higher price at the same age than a calf sired by a scrub. Blood has a money value, which will, sooner or later, be generally appreciated.

The first and most important object of the farmer is to get the greatest return in money for his labor and his produce; and it is for his interest to obtain an animal—a calf, for example—that will yield the largest profit on the outlay. If a calf, for which the original outlay was five dollars, will bring at the same age and on the same keep more real net profit than another, the original outlay for which was not twenty-five cents, it is certainly for the farmer's interest to make the heavier original outlay and thus secure the superior animal. Setting all fancy aside, it is merely a question of dollars and cents; but one thing is certain—and that is, that no farmer can afford to keep poor stock. It eats as much, and requires nearly the same amount of care and attention, as stock of the best quality; while it is equally certain that stock of ever so good a quality, whether grade, native, or thorough-bred, will be sure to deteriorate and sink to the level of poor stock by neglect and want of proper attention.

How, then, is our stock to be improved? Not, certainly, by that indiscriminate crossing, with a total disregard of all well-established principles, which has thus far marked our efforts with foreign stock, and which is one prominent reason why so little improvement has been made in our dairies; nor by leaving all the results to chance, when, by a careful and judicious selection, they may be within our own control.

We want cattle for distinct purposes, as for milk, beef, or labor. In a large majority of cases—especially in the dairy districts, at least, comprising the Eastern and Middle States—the farmer cares more for the milking qualities of his cows, especially for the quantity they give, than for their fitness for grazing, or aptness to fatten. These latter points become more important in the Western and some of the Southern States, where much greater attention is paid to breeding and to feeding, and where comparatively slight attention is given to the productions of the dairy. A stock of cattle which would suit one farmer might be wholly unsuited to another, and in such particular case the breeder should have some special object in view, and select his animals with reference to it.

There are, however, some well-defined general principles that apply to breeding everywhere, and which, in many cases, are not thoroughly understood. To these attention will now be directed.

The first and most important of the laws to be considered in this connection is that of similarity. It is by virtue of this law that the peculiar characters, properties, and qualities of the parents—whether external or internal, good or bad, healthy or diseased—are transmitted to their offspring. This is one of the plainest and most certain of the laws of nature. The lesson which it teaches may be stated in five words:—Breed only from the best.

Judicious selection is indispensable to success in breeding, and this should have regard to every particular—general appearance, length of limb, shape of carcass, development of chest; in cattle, to the size, shape, and position of the udder, thickness of skin, touch, length and texture of hair, docility, and all those points which go to make up the desirable animal.

Not only should care be exercised to avoid structural defects, but especially to secure freedom from hereditary diseases; as both defects and diseases appear to be more easily transmissible than desirable qualities. There is, oftentimes, no obvious peculiarity of structure or appearance which suggests the possession of diseases or defects which are transmissible; and for this reason, special care and continued acquaintance are requisite in order to be assured of their absence in breeding animals; but such a tendency, although invisible or inappreciable to careless observers, must still, judging from its effects, have as real and certain an existence as any peculiarity of form or color.

In neat cattle, hereditary diseases do not usually show themselves at birth; and sometimes the tendency remains latent for many years, perhaps through one or two generations, and afterward breaks out with all its former severity. The diseases which are found hereditary in cattle are scrofula, consumption, dysentery, diarrhoea, rheumatism, and malignant tumors. As these animals are less exposed to the exciting causes of disease, and less liable to be overtasked or subjected to violent changes of temperature, or otherwise put in jeopardy, their diseases are not so numerous as those of the horse, and what they have are less violent, and generally of a chronic character.

With regard to hereditary diseases, it is eminently true that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." As a general and almost invariable rule, animals possessing either defects or a tendency to disease, should not be employed for breeding. If, however, for special reasons it seems desirable to breed from one which has some slight defect of symmetry, or a faint tendency to disease—although for the latter it is doubtful whether the possession of any good qualities can fully compensate—it should be mated with one which excels in every respect in which it is itself deficient, and on no account with one which is near of kin to it.

There is another law, by which that of similarity is greatly modified—the law of Variation or divergence.

All animals possess a certain flexibility or pliancy of organization, which renders them capable of change to a greater or less extent. When in a state of nature, variations are comparatively slow and infrequent; but when in a state of domestication they occur much oftener and to a much greater extent. The greater variability in the latter case is doubtless owing, in some measure, to our domestic productions' being reared under conditions of life not so uniform as, and different from, those to which the parent species was exposed in a state of nature.

Among what are usually reckoned the more active causes of variation may be named climate, food, and habit. Animals in a cold climate are provided with a thicker covering of hair than in warmer ones. Indeed, it is said that in some of the tropical provinces of South America, there are cattle which have an extremely rare and fine fur, in place of the ordinary pile of hair. The supply of food, whether abundant or scanty, is one of the most efficient causes of variation known to be within the control of man. A due consideration of the natural effects of climate and food is a point worthy the careful attention of the stock-husbandman. If the breeds employed be well adapted to the situation, and the capacity of the soil be such as to feed them fully, profit may be safely anticipated. Animals are to be regarded as machines for converting herbage into money.

The bestowal of food sufficient, both in amount and quality, to enable animals to develop all the excellencies inherent in them, and yield all the profit of which they are capable, is something quite distinct from undue forcing of pampering. The latter process may produce wonderful animals to look at, but neither useful nor profitable ones, and there is danger of thus producing a most undesirable variation, since in animals the process may be carried far enough to produce barrenness. Instances are not wanting, particularly among the more recent improved short-horns, of impotency among the males and of barrenness among the females; and in some cases where the latter have borne calves, they have failed to secrete sufficient milk for their nourishment. Impotency in bulls of various breeds has, in many instances, occurred from too high feeding, especially when connected with a lack of sufficient exercise. A working bull, though perhaps not so pleasing to the eye as a fat one, is a surer stock-getter; and his progeny is more likely to inherit full health and vigor.

Habit has a decided influence toward producing variations. We find in domestic animals that use—or the demand created by habit—is met by a development or change in the organization adapted to the requirement. For instance, with cows in a state of nature, or where required only to suckle their young, the supply of milk is barely fitted to the requirement. If more is desired, and the milk is drawn completely and regularly, the yield is increased and continued longer. By keeping up the demand there is induced, in the next generation, a greater development of the secreting organs, and more milk is given. By continuing the practice, by furnishing the needful conditions of suitable food and the like, and by selecting in each generation those animals showing the greatest tendency toward milk, a breed specially adapted for the dairy may be established. It is just by this mode that the Ayrshires have, within the past century, been brought to be what they are—a breed giving more good milk upon a certain amount of food than any other.



It is a fact too well established to be controverted, that the first male produces impressions upon subsequent progeny by other males. To what extent this principle holds, it is impossible to say. Although the instances in which it is known to be of a very marked and obvious character may be comparatively few, yet there is ample reason to believe that, although in a majority of cases the effect may be less noticeable, it is not less real; and it therefore demands the special attention of breeders. The knowledge of this law furnishes a clue to the cause of many of the disappointments of which practical breeders often complain, and of many variations otherwise unaccountable, and it suggests particular caution as to the first male employed in the coupling of animals—a matter which has often been deemed of little consequence in regard to cattle, inasmuch as fewer heifers' first calves are reared, than those are which are borne subsequently.

The phenomenon—or law, as it is sometimes called—of atavism, or ancestral influence, is one of considerable practical importance, and well deserves the careful attention of the breeder of farm stock.

Every one is aware that it is by no means unusual for a child to resemble its grandfather, or grandmother, or even some ancestor still more remote, more than it does either its own father or mother. The same occurrence is found among our domestic animals, and oftener in proportion as the breeds are crossed or mixed up. Among our common stock of neat cattle, or natives—originating, as they did, from animals brought from England, Scotland, Denmark, France, and Spain, each possessing different characteristics of form, color, and use, and bred, as our common stock has usually been, indiscriminately together, with no special object in view, with no attempt to obtain any particular type or form, or to secure adaptation for any particular purpose—frequent opportunities are afforded of witnessing the results of this law of hereditary transmission. So common, indeed, is its occurrence, that the remark is often made, that, however good a cow may be, there is no telling beforehand what sort of a calf she may have. The fact is sufficiently obvious, that certain peculiarities often lie dormant for a generation or two and then reappear in subsequent progeny. Stockmen often speak of it as "breeding back," or "crying back."

The lesson taught by this law is very plain. It shows the importance of seeking thorough-bred or well-bred animals; and by these terms are simply meant such as are descended from a line of ancestors in which for many generations the desirable forms, qualities, and characteristics have been uniformly shown. In such a case, even if ancestral influence does come in play, no material difference appears in the offspring, the ancestors being all essentially alike. From this standpoint we best perceive in what consists the money value of a good "pedigree." This is valuable, in proportion as it shows an animal to be descended, not only from such as are purely of its own race or breed, but also from such individuals of that breed as were specially noted for the excellencies for which that particular breed is esteemed.

Probably the most distinctly marked evidence of ancestral influence among us, is to be found in the ill-begotten, round-headed calves, not infrequently dropped by cows of the common mixed kind, which, if killed early, make very blue veal, and if allowed to grow up, become exceedingly profitless and unsatisfactory beasts; the heifers being often barren, the cows poor milkers, the oxen dull, mulish beasts, yielding flesh of very dark color, of ill flavor and destitute of fat.

The relative influence of the male and female parents upon the characteristics of progeny has long been a fruitful subject of discussion among breeders. It is found in experience that progeny sometimes resembles one parent more than the other—sometimes there is an apparent blending of the characteristics of both—sometimes a noticeable dissimilarity to either, though always more or less resemblance somewhere—and sometimes the impress of one may be seen upon a portion of the organization of the offspring, and that of the other parent upon another portion; yet we are not authorized from such discrepancies to conclude that it is a matter of chance; for all of nature's operations are conducted in accordance with fixed laws, whether we be able fully to discover them or not. The same causes always produce the same results. In this case, not less than in others, there are, beyond all doubt, certain fixed laws; and the varying results which we see are easily and sufficiently accounted for by the existence of conditions or modifying influences not fully open to our observation.

It may be stated, on the whole—as a result of the varied investigations to which this question has given rise—that the evidence, both from observation and the testimony of the best practical breeders, goes to show that each parent usually contributes certain portions of the organization to the offspring, and that each has a modifying influence upon the other. Facts also show that the same parent does not always contribute the same portions, but that the order is at times, and not rarely, reversed. Where animals are of distinct species or breeds, transmission is usually found to be in harmony with the principle, that the male gives mostly the outward form and locomotive system, and the female chiefly the interior system, constitution and the like. Where the parents are of the same breed, it appears that the proportions contributed by each are governed, in a large measure, by the condition of each in regard to age and vigor, or by virtue of individual potency or superiority of physical endowment. This potency or power of transmission, seems to be legitimately connected with high breeding, or the concentration of fixed qualities, obtained by continued descent for many generations from such only as possess in the highest degree the qualities desired.

Practically, the knowledge obtained dictates in a most emphatic manner that every stock-grower use his utmost endeavor to obtain the services of the best sires; that is, the best for the ends and purposes in view—that he depend chiefly on the sire for outward form and symmetry—and that he select dams best calculated to develop the good qualities of the male, depending chiefly upon these for freedom, from internal disease, for hardihood and constitution, and, generally, for all qualities dependent upon the vital or nutritive system. The neglect of the qualities of the dam, which is far too common—miserably old and inferior animals being often employed—cannot be too strongly censured.

With regard to the laws which regulate the sex of the progeny very little is known. Many and extensive observations have been made, without reaching any definite conclusion. Nature seems to have provided that the number of each sex; produced, shall be nearly equal; but by what means this result is attained, has not as yet been discovered.

It has long been a disputed point, whether the system of breeding in-and-in, or the opposite one of frequent crossing, has the greater tendency to improve the character of stock This term, in-and-in, is often very loosely used and as variously understood. Some confine the phrase to the coupling of those of exactly the same blood, as brothers and sisters, while others include in it breeding from parents and offsprings; and others still employ it to embrace those of a more distant relationship. For the last, the term breeding-in, or close breeding, is generally deemed more suitable.

The current opinion is decidedly against the practice of breeding from any near relatives; it being usually found that degeneracy follows, and often to a serious degree; but it is not proved that this degeneracy, although very common and even usual, is yet a necessary consequence. That ill effects follow, in a majority of cases, is not to be doubted; but this is easily and sufficiently accounted for upon quite other grounds. Perhaps, however, the following propositions may be safely stated: That in general practice, with the grades and mixed animals common in the country, close-breeding should be scrupulously avoided as highly detrimental. It is better always to avoid breeding from near relatives whenever stock-getters of the same breed and of equal merit can be obtained which are not related. Yet, where this is not possible, or where there is some desirable and clearly defined purpose in view—as the fixing and perpetuating of some valuable quality in a particular animal not common to the breed—and the breeder possesses the knowledge and skill needful to accomplish his purpose, and the animals are perfect in health and development, close breeding may be practised with advantage.

The practice of crossing, like that of close breeding, has its strong and its weak side. Judiciously practised, it offers a means of providing animals for the butcher, often superior to, and more profitable than, those of any pure breed. It is also admissible as the foundation of a systematic and well-considered attempt to establish a new breed. But when crossing is practised injudiciously and indiscriminately, and especially when so done for the purpose of procuring breeding animals, it is scarcely less objectionable than careless in-and-in breeding.



The profitable style of breeding for the great majority of farmers to adopt, is neither to cross nor to breed from close affinities—except in rare instances, and for some specific and clearly understood purpose—but to breed in the line; that is, to select the breed or race best adapted to fulfil the requirement demanded, whether it be for the dairy, for labor, or for such combination of these as can be had without too great a sacrifice of the principal requisite, and then to procure a pure-bred male of the kind determined upon, and breed him to the females of the herd; and if these be not such as are calculated to develop his qualities, endeavor by purchase or exchange to procure such as will. Let the progeny of these be bred to another pure-bred male of the same breed, but as distantly related to the first as may be. Let this plan be faithfully pursued, and, although we cannot, without the intervention of well-bred females, procure stock purely of the kind desired, yet in several generations—if proper care be given to the selection of males, that each one be such as to retain and improve upon the points gained by his predecessor—the stock, for most practical purposes, will be as good as if thorough-bred. If this plan were generally adopted, and a system of letting or exchanging males established, the cost might be brought within the means of most persons, and the advantages which would accrue would be almost beyond belief.

A brief summing-up of the foregoing principles may not be inappropriate here.

The law of similarity teaches us to select animals for breeding which possess the desired forms and qualities in the greatest perfection and best combination.

Regard should be had, not only to the more obvious characteristics, but also to such hereditary traits and tendencies as may be hidden from cursory observation and demand careful and thorough investigation.

From the hereditary nature of all characteristics, whether good or bad, we learn the importance of having all desirable qualities thoroughly inbred; or, in other words, so firmly in each generation that the next is warrantably certain to present nothing worse—that no ill results follow from breeding back to some inferior ancestor—that all undesirable traits or points be, so far as possible, bred-out.

So important is this consideration, that, in practice, it is decidedly preferable to employ a male of ordinary external appearance—provided his ancestry be all which is desired—rather than a grade, or cross-bred animal, although the latter be greatly his superior in personal beauty.

A knowledge of the law of variation teaches us to avoid, for breeding purposes, such animals as exhibit variations unfavorable to the purpose in view; to endeavor to perpetuate every real improvement gained; as well as to secure, as far as practicable, the conditions necessary to induce or continue any improvement, such as general treatment, food, climate, habits, and the like.

Where the parents do not possess the perfections desired, selections for coupling should be made with critical reference to correcting the faults or deficiencies of one by corresponding excellencies in the other.

To correct defects, too much must not be attempted at once. Pairing those very unlike oftener results in loss than gain. Avoid all extremes, and endeavor by moderate degrees to attain the end desired.

Crossing, between different breeds, for the purpose of obtaining animals for the shambles, may be advantageously practised to a considerable extent, but not for the production of breeding animals. As a general rule, cross-bred males should not be employed for propagation, and cross-bred females should be served by thorough-bred males.

In ordinary practice, breeding from near relatives is to be scrupulously avoided. For certain purposes, under certain conditions and circumstances, and in the hands of a skillful breeder, it may be practised with advantage—but not otherwise.

In a large majority of cases—other things being equal—we may expect in progeny the outward form and general structure of the sire, together with the internal qualities, constitution, and nutritive system of the dam; each, however, modified by the other.

Particular care should always be taken that the male by which the dam first becomes pregnant is the best which can be obtained; also, that at the time of sexual congress both are in vigorous health.

Breeding animals should not be allowed to become fat, but always kept in thrifty condition; and such as are intended for the butcher should never be fat but once.

In deciding with what breeds to stock a farm, endeavor to select those best adapted to its surface, climate, and degree of fertility; also, with reference to probable demand and proximity to markets.

No expense incurred in procuring choice animals for propagation, no amount of skill in breeding, can supersede, or compensate for, a lack of liberal feeding and good treatment. The better the stock, the better care they deserve.

PREGNANCY

The symptoms of pregnancy in its early stage were formerly deemed exceedingly unsatisfactory. The period of being in season—which commonly lasts three or four days, and then ceases for a while, and returns in about three weeks—might entirely pass over; and, although it was then probable that conception had taken place, yet in a great many instances the hopes of the breeder were disappointed. It was not until between the third and fourth month, when the belly began to enlarge—or, in many cases, considerably later—and when the motions of the foetus might be seen, or, at all events, felt by pressing on the right flank, that the farmer could be assured that his cow was in calf.

That greatest of improvements in veterinary practice, the application of the ear to the chest and belly of various animals, in order to detect by the different sounds—which after a short time, will be easily recognized—the state of the circulation through most of the organs, and consequently, the precise seat and degree of inflammation and danger, has now enabled the breeder to ascertain the existence of pregnancy at as early a stage as six or eight weeks. The beating of the heart of the calf may then be distinctly heard, twice, or more than twice, as frequent as that of the mother; and each pulsation will betray the singular double beating of the foetal heart. This will also be accompanied by the audible rushing of the blood through the vessels of the placenta. The ear should be applied to the right flank, beginning on the higher part of it, and gradually shifting downward and backward. These sounds will thus soon be heard, and cannot be mistaken.

TREATMENT BEFORE CALVING.

Little alteration needs to be made in the management of the cow for the first seven months of pregnancy; except that, as she has not only to yield milk for the profit of the farmer, but to nourish the growing foetus within, she should be well, yet not too luxuriantly, fed. The half-starved cow will not adequately discharge this double duty, nor provide sufficient nutriment for the calf when it has dropped; while the cow in high condition will be dangerously disposed to inflammation and fever, when, at the time of parturition, she is otherwise so susceptible of the power of every stimulus. If the season and the convenience of the farmer will allow, she will be better at pasture, at least for some hours each day than when confined altogether to the cow-house.

At a somewhat uncertain period before she calves, there will be a new secretion of milk for the expected little one; and under the notion of somewhat recruiting her strength, in order better to enable her to discharge her new duty—but more from the uniform testimony of experience that there is danger of local inflammation, general fever, garget in the udder, and puerperal fever, if the new milk descends while the old milk continues to flow—it has been usual to let the cow go dry for some period before parturition. Farmers and breeders have been strangely divided as to the length of this period. It must be decided by circumstances. A cow in good condition may be milked for a much longer period than a poor one. Her abundance of food renders a period of respite almost unnecessary; and all that needs to be taken care of, is that the old milk should be fairly gone before the new milk springs. In such a cow, while there is danger of inflammation from the sudden rush of new milk into a bag already occupied, there is almost always considerable danger of indurations and tumors in the teats from the habit of secretion being too long suspended. The emaciated and over-milked beast, however, must rest a while before she can again advantageously discharge the duties of a mother.

If the period of pregnancy were of equal length at all times and in all cows, the one that has been well fed might be milked until within a fortnight or three weeks of parturition, while a holiday of two months should be granted to the poorer beast; but as there is much irregularity about the time of gestation, it may be prudent to take a month or five Weeks, as the average period.

The process of parturition is necessarily one that is accompanied with a great deal of febrile excitement; and, therefore, when it nearly approaches, not only should a little care be taken to lessen the quantity of food, and to remove that which is of a stimulating action, but a mild dose of physic, and a bleeding regulated by the condition of the animal, will be very proper precautionary measures.

A moderately open state of the bowels is necessary at the period of parturition in the cow. During the whole time of pregnancy her enormous stomach sufficiently presses upon and confines the womb; and that pressure may be productive of injurious and fatal consequences, if at this period the rumen is suffered to be distended by innutritious food, or the manyplus takes on that hardened state to which it is occasionally subject. Breeders have been sadly negligent in this respect.

The springing of the udder, or the rapid enlargement of it from the renewed secretion of milk—the enlargement of the external parts of the bearing (the former, as has been said by some, in old cows, and the latter in young ones)—the appearance of a glaring discharge from the bearing—the evident dropping of the belly, with the appearance of leanness and narrowness between the shape and the udder—a degree of uneasiness and fidgetiness—moaning occasionally—accelerated respiration—all these symptoms will announce that the time of calving is not far off. The cow should be brought near home, and put in some quiet, sheltered place. In cold or stormy weather she should be housed. Her uneasiness will rapidly increase—she will be continually getting up and lying down—her tail will begin to be elevated and the commencement of the labor-pains will soon be evident.

In most cases the parturition will be natural and easy, and the less the cow is disturbed or meddled with, the better. She will do better without help than with it; but she should be watched, in order to see that no difficulty occurs which may require aid and attention. In cases of difficult parturition the aid of a skillful veterinary surgeon may be required.



Feeding and Management

No branch of dairy farming can compare in importance with the management of cows. The highest success will depend upon it, whatever breed be selected, and whatever amount of care and attention be given to the points of the animals; for experience will show that very little milk comes out of the bag, that is not first put into the throat. It is poor economy, therefore, to attempt to keep too many cows for the amount of feed one has; for it will generally be found that one good cow well-bred and well fed will yield as much as two ordinary cows kept in the ordinary way; while a saving is effected both in labor and room required, and in the risks on the capital invested. If an argument for the larger number on poorer feed is urged on the ground of the additional manure—which is the only basis upon which it can be put—it is enough to say that it is a very expensive way of making manure. It is not too strong an assertion, that a proper regard to profit and economy would require many an American farmer to sell off nearly half of his cows, and to feed the whole of his hay and roots hitherto used into the remainder.

An animal, to be fully fed and satisfied, requires a quantity of food in proportion to its live weight. No feed is complete that does not contain a sufficient amount of nutritive elements; hay, for example, being more nutritive than straw, and grains than roots. The food, too, must possess a bulk sufficient to fill up to a certain degree the organs of digestion of the stomach; and, to receive the full benefit of its food, the animal must be wholly satisfied—since, if the stomach is not sufficiently distended, the food cannot be properly digested, and of course many of the nutritive principles which it contains cannot be perfectly assimilated. An animal regularly fed eats till it is satisfied, and no more than is requisite. A part of the nutritive elements in hay and other forage plants is needed to keep an animal on its feet—that is, to keep up its condition—and if the nutrition of its food is insufficient for this, the weight decreases, and if it is more than sufficient the weight increases, or else this excess is consumed in the production of milk or in labor. About one sixtieth of their live weight in hay, or its equivalent, will keep horned cattle on their feet; but, in order to be completely nourished, they require about one thirtieth in dry substances, and four thirtieths in water, or other liquid contained in their food. The excess of nutritive food over and above what is necessary to sustain life will go, in milch cows, generally to the production of milk, or to the growth of the foetus, but not in all cows to an equal extent; the tendency to the secretion of milk being much more developed in some than in others.

With regard, however, to the consumption of food in proportion to the live weight of the animal, it must be taken, in common with all general principles, with some qualifications. The proportion is probably not uniform as applied to all breeds indiscriminately, though it may be more so as applied to animals of the same breed. The idea of some celebrated stock-raisers has been that the quantity of food required depends much upon the shape of the barrel; and it is well known that an animal of a close, compact, well-rounded barrel, will consume less than one of an opposite make.

The variations in the yield of milch cows are caused more by the variations in the nutritive elements of their food than by a change of the form in which it is given. A cow, kept through the winter on mere straw, will cease to give milk; and, when fed in spring on green forage, will give a fair quantity of milk. But she owes the cessation and restoration of the secretion, respectively, to the diminution and increase of her nourishment, and not at all to the change of form, or of outward substance in which the nutriment is administered. Let cows receive through winter nearly as large a proportion of nutritive matter as is contained in the clover, lucerne, and fresh grass which they eat in summer, and, no matter in what precise substance or mixture that matter be contained, they will yield a winter's produce of milk quite as rich in caseine and butyraceous ingredients as the summer's produce, and far more ample in quantity than almost any dairyman with old-fashioned notions would imagine to be possible. The great practical error on this subject consists, not in giving wrong kinds of food, but in not so proportioning and preparing it as to render an average ration of it equally rich in the elements of nutrition, and especially in nitrogenous elements, as an average ration of the green and succulent food of summer.

We keep too much stock for the quantity of good and nutritious food which we have for it; and the consequence is, that cows are, in nine cases out of ten, poorly wintered, and come out in the spring weakened, if not, indeed, positively diseased, and a long time is required to bring them into a condition to yield a generous quantity of milk.

It is a hard struggle for a cow reduced in flesh and in blood to fill up the wasted system with the food which would otherwise have gone to the secretion of milk; but, if she is well fed, well housed, well littered, and well supplied with pure, fresh water, and with roots, or other moist food, and properly treated to the luxury of a frequent carding, and constant kindness, she comes out ready to commence the manufacture of milk under favorable circumstances.

Keep the cows constantly in good condition, ought, therefore, to be the motto of every dairy farmer, posted up over the barn, and on and over the stalls, and over the milk-room, and repeated to the boys whenever there is danger of forgetting it. It is the great secret of success; and the difference between success and failure turns upon it. Cows in milk require more food in proportion to their size and weight than either oxen or young cattle.

In order to keep cows in milk well and economically, regularity is next in importance to a full supply of wholesome and nutritious food. The animal stomach is a very nice chronometer, and it is of the utmost importance to observe regular hours in feeding, cleaning, and milking. This is a point, also, in which very many farmers are at fault—feeding whenever it happens to be convenient. The cattle are thus kept in a restless condition, constantly expecting food when the keeper enters the barn; while, if regular hours are strictly adhered to, they know exactly when they are to be fed, and they rest quietly till the time arrives. If one goes into any well-regulated dairy establishment an hour before feeding, scarcely an animal will rise to its feet; while; if it happens to be the hour of feeding, the whole herd will be likely to rise and seize their food with an avidity and relish not to be mistaken.

With respect to the exact nurture to be pursued, no rule could be prescribed which would apply to all cases; and each individual must be governed much by circumstances, both regarding the particular kinds of feed at different seasons of the year, and the system of feeding. It has been found—it may be stated—in the practice of the most successful dairymen, that, in order to encourage the largest secretion of milk in stalled cows, one of the best courses is, to feed in the morning, either at the time of milking—which is preferred by many—or immediately after, with cut feed, consisting of hay, oats, millet, or cornstalks, mixed with shorts, and Indian linseed, or cotton-seed meal, thoroughly moistened with water. If in winter, hot or warm water is far better than cold. If given at milking-time, the cows will generally give down their milk more readily. The stalls and mangers should first be thoroughly cleansed.



Roots and long hay may be given during the day; and at the evening milking, or directly after, another generous meal of cut feed, well moistened and mixed, as in the morning. No very concentrated food, like grains alone, or oil-cakes, should be fed early in the morning on an empty stomach, although it is sanctioned by the practice in the London milk-dairies. The processes of digestion go on best when the stomach is sufficiently distended; and for this purpose the bulk of food is almost as important as the nutritive qualities. The flavor of some roots, as cabbages and turnips, is more apt to be imparted to the flesh and milk when fed on an empty stomach than otherwise. After the cows have been milked and have finished their cut feed, they are carded and curried down, in well-managed dairies, and then either watered in the stall—which, in very cold or stormy weather, is far preferable—or turned out to water in the yard. While they are out, if they are let out at all, the stables are put in order; and, after tying them up, they are fed with long hay, and left to themselves till the next feeding time. This may consist of roots—such as cabbages, beets, carrots, or turnips sliced—or of potatoes, a peck, or—if the cows are very large—a half-bushel each, and cut feed again at the evening milking, as in the morning; after which, water in the stall, if possible.

The less cows are exposed to the cold of winter, the better. They eat less, thrive better, and give more milk, when kept housed all the time, than when exposed to the cold. A case is on record, where a herd of cows, which had usually been supplied from troughs and pipes in the stalls, were, on account of an obstruction in the pipes, obliged to be turned out thrice a day to be watered in the yard. The quantity of milk instantly decreased, and in three days the diminution became very considerable. After the pipes were mended, and the cows again watered, as before, in their stalls, the flow of milk returned. This, however, must be governed much by the weather; for in very mild and warm days it may be judicious not only to let them out, but to allow them to remain out for a short time, for the purpose of exercise.

Any one can arrange the hour for the several processes named above, to suit himself; but, when once fixed, it should be rigidly and regularly followed. If the regular and full feeding be neglected for even a day, the yield of milk will immediately decline, and it will be very difficult to restore it. It may be safely asserted, as the result of many trials and long practice, that a larger flow of milk follows a complete system of regularity in this respect than from a higher feeding where this system is not adhered to.

One prime object which the dairyman should keep constantly in view is, to maintain the animal in a sound and healthy condition. Without this, no profit can be expected from a milch cow for any considerable length of time; and with a view to this, there should be an occasional change of food. But, in making changes, great care is requisite in order to supply the needful amount of nourishment, or the cow will fall off in flesh, and eventually in milk. It should, therefore, be remembered that the food consumed goes not alone to the secretion of milk, but also to the growth and maintenance of the bony structure, the flesh, the blood, the fat, the skin, and the hair, and in exhalations from the body. These parts of the body consist of different organic constituents. Some are rich in nitrogen, as the fibrin of the blood and albumen; others destitute of it, as fat; some abound in inorganic salts, phosphate of lime, and salts of potash. To explain how the constant waste of these substances may be supplied, a celebrated chemist observes that the albumen, gluten, caseine, and other nitrogenized principles of food, supply the animal with the materials requisite for the formation of muscle and cartilage; they are, therefore, called flesh-forming principles.

Fats, or oily matters of the food, are used to lay on fat, or for the purpose of sustaining respiration.

Starch, sugar, gum, and a few other non-nitrogenized substances, consisting of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, supply the carbon given off in respiration, or they are used for the production of fat.

Phosphate of lime and magnesia in food principally furnish the animal with the materials of which the bony skeleton of its body consists.

Saline substances—chlorides of sodium and potassium, sulphate and phosphate of potash and soda, and some other mineral matters occurring in food—supply the blood, juice of flesh, and various animal juices, with the necessary mineral constituents.

The healthy state of an animal can thus only be preserved by a mixed food; that is, food which contains all the proximate principles just noticed. Starch or sugar alone cannot sustain the animal body, since neither of them furnishes the materials to build up the fleshy parts of the animal. When fed on substances in which an insufficient quantity of phosphates occurs, the animal will become weak, because it does not find any bone-producing principle in its food. Due attention should, therefore, be paid by the feeder to the selection of food which contains all the kinds of matter required, nitrogenized as well as non-nitrogenized, and mineral substances; and these should be mixed together in the proportion which experience points out as best for the different kinds of animals, or the particular purpose for which they are kept.

Relative to the nutrition of cows for dairy purposes, milk may be regarded as a material for the manufacture of butter and cheese; and, according to the purpose for which the milk is intended to be employed, whether for the manufacture of butter or the production of cheese, the cow should be differently fed.

Butter contains carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, and no nitrogen. Cheese, on the contrary, is rich in nitrogen. Food which contains much fatty matter, or substances which in the animal system are readily converted into fat, will tend to increase the proportion of cream in milk. On the other hand, the proportion of caseine or cheesy matter in milk is increased by the use of highly nitrogenized food. Those, then, who desire much cream, or who produce cream for the manufacture of butter, select food likely to increase the proportion of butter in the milk. On the contrary, where the principal object is the production of milk rich in curd—that is, where cheese is the object of the farmer—clover, peas, bran-meal, and other plants which abound in legumine—a nitrogenized organic compound, almost identical in properties and composition with caseine, or the substance which forms the curd of milk—will be selected.

And so the quality, as well as the quantity, of butter in the milk, depends on the kind of food consumed and on the general health of the animal. Cows fed on turnips in the stall always produce butter inferior to that of cows living upon the fresh and aromatic grasses of the pastures.

Succulent food in which water abounds—the green grass of irrigated meadows, green clover, brewers' and distillers' refuse, and the like—increases the quantity, rather than the quality, of the milk; and by feeding these substances the milk-dairyman studies his own interest, and makes thin milk without diluting it with water—though, in the opinion of some, this may be no more legitimate than watering the milk.

But, though the yield of milk may be increased by succulent or watery food, it should be given so as not to interfere with the health of the cow.

Food rich in starch, gum, or sugar, which are the respiratory elements, an excess of which goes to the production of fatty matters, increases the butter in milk. Quietness promotes the secretion of fat in animals and increases the butter. Cheese will be increased by food rich in albumen, such as the leguminous plants.



The most natural, and of course the healthiest, food for milch cows in summer, is the green grass of the pastures; and when these fail from drought or over-stocking, the complement of nourishment may be made up with green clover, green oats, barley, millet, or corn-fodder and cabbage-leaves, or other succulent vegetables; and if these are wanting, the deficiency may be partly supplied with shorts, Indian-meal, linseed or cotton-seed meal. Green grass is more nutritious than hay, which always loses somewhat of its nutritive properties in curing; the amount of the loss depending chiefly on the mode of curing, and the length of exposure to sun and rain. But, apart from this, grass is more easily and completely digested than hay, though the digestion of the latter may be greatly aided by cutting and moistening, or steaming; and by this means it is rendered more readily available, and hence far better adapted to promote a large secretion of milk—a fact too often overlooked even by many intelligent farmers.

In autumn, the best feed will be the grasses of the pastures, so far as they are available, green-corn fodder, cabbage, carrot, and turnip leaves, and an addition of meal or shorts. Toward the middle of autumn, the cows fed in the pastures will require to be housed regularly at night, especially in the more northern latitudes, and put, in part at least, upon hay. But every farmer knows that it is not judicious to feed out the best part of his hay when his cattle are first put into the barn, and that he should not feed so well in the early part of winter that he cannot feed better as the winter advances.

At the same time, it should always be borne in mind that the change from grass to a poor quality of hay or straw, for cows in milk, should not be too sudden. A poor quality of dry hay is far less palatable in the early part of winter, after the cows are taken from grass, than at a later period; and, if it is resorted to with milch cows, will invariably lead to a falling off in the milk, which no good feed can afterward wholly restore.

It is desirable, therefore, for the farmer to know what can be used instead of his best English or upland meadow hay, and yet not suffer any greater loss in the flow of milk, or in condition, than is absolutely necessary. In some sections of the Eastern States, the best quality of swale hay will be used; and the composition of that is as variable as possible, depending on the varieties of the grasses of which it was made, and the manner of curing. But, in other sections, many will find it necessary to use straw and other substitutes. Taking good English or meadow hay as the standard of comparison, and calling that one, 4.79 times the weight of rye-straw, or 3.83 times the weight of oat-straw, contains the same amount of nutritive matter; that is, it would take 4.79 times as good rye-straw to produce the same result as good meadow hay.

In winter, the best food for cows in milk will be good sweet meadow hay, a part of which should be cut and moistened with water—as all inferior hay or straw should be—with an addition of root-crops, such as turnips, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, mangold-wurtzel, with shorts, oil-cake, Indian meal, or bean meal.

It is the opinion of most successful dairymen that the feeding of moist food cannot be too highly recommended for cows in milk, especially to those who desire to obtain the largest quantity. Hay cut and thoroughly moistened becomes more succulent and nutritive, and partakes more of the nature of green grass.

As a substitute for the oil-cake, hitherto known as an exceedingly valuable article for feeding stock, there is probably nothing better than cotton-seed meal. This is an article whose economic value has been but recently made known, but which, from practical trials already made, has proved eminently successful as food for milch cows. Chemists have decided that its composition is not inferior to that of the best flaxseed cake, and that in some respects its agricultural value surpasses that of any other kind of oil-cake.

It has been remarked by chemists, in this connection, that the great value of linseed-cake, as an adjunct to hay, for fat cattle and milch cows, has been long recognized; and that it is undeniably traceable, in the main, to three ingredients of the seeds of the oil-yielding plants. The value of food depends upon the quantities of matters it contains which may be appropriated by the animal which consumes the food Now, it is proved that the fat of animals is derived from the starch, gum, and sugar, and more directly and easily from the oil of the food. These four substances, then, are fat-formers. The muscles, nerves, and tendons of animals, the brine of their blood and the curd of their milk, are almost identical in composition with, and strongly similar in many of their properties to, matters found in all vegetables, but chiefly in such as form the most concentrated food. These blood (and muscle) formers are characterized by containing about fifteen and a half per cent. of nitrogen; and hence are called nitrogenous substances. They are, also, often designated as the albuminous bodies.

The bony framework of the animal owes its solidity to phosphate of lime, and this substance must be furnished by the food. A perfect food must supply the animal with these three classes of bodies, and in proper proportions. The addition of a small quantity of a food, rich in oil and albuminous substances, to the ordinary kinds of feed, which contain a large quantity of vegetable fibre or woody matter, more or less indigestible, but, nevertheless, indispensable to the herbivorous animals, their digestive organs being adapted to a bulky food, has been found highly advantageous in practice. Neither hay alone nor concentrated food alone gives the best results. A certain combination of the two presents the most advantages.

Some who have used cotton-seed cake have found difficulty in inducing cattle to eat it. By giving it at first in small doses, mixed with other palatable food, they soon learn to eat it with relish. Cotton-seed cake is much richer in oils and albuminous matters than the linseed cake. A correspondingly less quantity will therefore be required. Three pounds of this cotton-seed cake are equivalent to four of linseed cake of average quality.

During the winter season, as has been already remarked, a frequent change of food is especially necessary, both as contributions to the general health of animals, and as a means of stimulating the digestive organs, and thus increasing the secretion of milk. A mixture used as cut feed and well moistened is now especially beneficial, since concentrated food, which would otherwise be given in small quantities, may be united with larger quantities of coarser and less nutritive food, and the complete assimilation of the whole be better secured. On this subject it has been sensibly observed that the most nutritious kinds of food produce little or no effect when they are not digested by the stomach, or if the digested food is not absorbed by the lymphatic vessels, and not assimilated by the various parts of the body. Now, the normal functions of the digestive organs not only depend upon the composition of the food, but also on its volume. The volume or bulk of the food contributes to the healthy action of the digestive organs, by exercising a stimulating effect upon the nerves which govern them. Thus the whole organization of ruminating animals necessitates the supply of bulky food, to keep the animal in good condition.

Feed sweet and nutritious food, therefore, frequently, regularly, and in small quantities, and change it often, and the best results may be confidently anticipated. If the cows are not in milk, but are to come in in the spring, the difference in feeding should be rather in the quantity than the quality, if the highest yield is to be expected from them during the coming season.

The most common feeding is hay alone, and oftentimes very poor hay at that. The main point is to keep the animal in a healthy and thriving condition, and not to suffer her to fail in flesh; and with this object, some change and variety of food are highly important.



Toward the close of winter, a herd of cows will begin to come in, or approach their time of calving. Care should then be taken not to feed too rich or stimulating food for the last week or two before this event, as it is often attended with ill consequences. A plenty of hay, a few potatoes or shorts, and pure water will suffice.

In spring, the best feeding for dairy cows will be much the same as that for winter; the roots in store over winter, such as carrots, mangold wurtzel, turnips, and parsnips, furnishing very valuable aid in increasing the quantity and improving the quality of milk. Toward the close of this season, and before the grass of pastures is sufficiently grown to make it judicious to turn out the cows, the best dairymen provide a supply of green fodder in the shape of winter rye, which, if cut while it is tender and succulent, and before it is half grown, will be greatly relished. Unless cut young, however, its stalk soon becomes hard and unpalatable.

All practical dairymen agree in saying that a warm and well-ventilated barn is indispensable to the promotion of the highest yield of milk in winter; and most agree that cows in milk should not be turned out, even to drink, in cold weather; all exposure to cold tending to lessen the yield of milk.

In the London dairies, in which, of course, the cows are fed so as to produce the largest flow of milk, the treatment is as follows: The cows are kept at night in stalls. About three A. M. each has a half-bushel of grains. When milking is finished, each receives a bushel of turnips (or mangolds), and shortly afterward, one tenth of a truss of hay of the best quality. This feeding occurs before eight A. M., when the animals are turned into the yard. Four hours after, they are again tied up in their stalls, and have another feed of grains. When the afternoon milking is over (about three P. M.), they are fed with a bushel of turnips, and after the lapse of an hour, hay is given them as before. This mode of feeding usually continues throughout the cool season, or from November to March. During the remaining months they are fed with grains, tares, and cabbages, and a proportion of rowen, or second-cut hay. They are supplied regularly until they are turned out to grass, when they pass the whole of the night in the field. The yield is about six hundred and fifty gallons a year for each cow.

Mr. Harley—whose admirable dairy establishment was erected for the purpose of supplying the city of Glasgow with a good quality of milk, and which has contributed more than any thing else to improve the quality of the milk furnished to all the principal cities of Great Britain—adopted the following system of feeding with the greatest profit: In the early part of the summer, young grass and green barley, the first cutting especially, mixed with a large proportion of old hay or straw, and a good quantity of salt to prevent swelling, were used. As summer advanced, less hay and straw were given, and as the grass approached ripeness, they were discontinued altogether; but young and wet clover was never given without an admixture of dry provender. When grass became scarce, young turnips and turnip leaves were steamed with hay, and formed a good substitute. As grass decreased, the turnips were increased, and at length became a complete substitute. As the season advanced, a large proportion of distillers' grains and wash was given with other food, but these were found to have a tendency to make the cattle grain-sick; and if this feeding were long-continued, the health of the cows became affected. Boiled linseed and short-cut wheat straw mixed with the grains, were found to prevent the cows from turning sick. As spring approached, Swedish turnips, when cheap, were substituted for yellow turnips. These two roots, steamed with hay and other mixtures, afforded safe food till grass was again in season. When any of the cows were surfeited, the food was withheld till the appetite returned, when a small quantity was given, and increased gradually to the full allowance.

But the most elaborate and valuable experiments in the feeding and management of milch cows, are those made, not long since, by Mr. T. Horsfall, of England, and published in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society. His practice, though adapted more especially, perhaps, to his own section, is nevertheless of such general application and importance as to be worthy of attention. By his course of treatment he found that he could produce as much and as rich butter in winter as in summer.

His first object was to afford a full supply of the elements of food adapted to the maintenance, and also to the produce of the animal; and this could not be effected by the ordinary food and methods of feeding, since it is impossible to induce a cow to consume a quantity of hay requisite to supply the waste of the system, and keep up, at the same time, a full yield of the best quality of milk. He used, to some extent, cabbages, kohl rabi, mangolds, shorts, and other substances, rich in the constituents of cheese and butter. "My food for milch cows," says he, "after having undergone various modifications, has for two seasons consisted of rape cake five pounds, and bran two pounds, for each cow, mixed with a sufficient quantity of bean-straw, oat-straw, and shells of oats, in equal proportions, to supply them three times a day with as much as they will eat. The whole of the materials are moistened and blended together, and, after being well steamed, are given to the animal in a warm state. The attendant is allowed one pound to one pound and a half per cow, according to circumstances, of bean-meal, which he is charged to give to each cow in proportion to the yield of milk; those in full milk getting each two pounds per day, others but little. It is dry, and mixed with the steamed food on its being dealt out separately. When this is eaten up, green food is given, consisting of cabbages, from October to December, kohl rabi till February, and mangold till grass time, with a view to nicety of flavor. I limit the quantity of green food to thirty or thirty-five pounds per day for each. After each feed, four pounds of meadow hay, or twelve pounds per day, is given to each cow. They are allowed water twice a day, to the extent which they will drink."

Bean-straw uncooked having been found to be hard and unpalatable, it was steamed to make it soft and pulpy, when it possessed an agreeable odor, and imparted its flavor to the whole mass. It was cut for this purpose just before ripening, but after the bean was fully grown, and in this state was found to possess nearly double the amount of albuminous matter, so valuable to milch cows, of good meadow or upland hay. Bran or shorts is also vastly improved by steaming or soaking with hot water, when its nutriment is more readily assimilated. It contains about fourteen per cent. of albumen, and is rich in phosphoric acid. Rape-cake was found to be exceedingly valuable. Linseed and cotton-seed cake may probably be substituted for it in this country.

Mr. Horsfall turned his cows in May into a rich pasture, housing them at night, and giving them a mess of the steamed mixture and some hay morning and night; and from June to October they had cut grass in the stall, besides what they got in the pasture, and two feeds of the steamed mixture a day. After the beginning of October the cows were kept housed. With such management his cows generally yielded from twelve to sixteen quarts of milk (wine measure) a day, for about eight months after calving, when they fell off in milk, but gained in flesh, up to calving-time. In this course of treatment the manure was far better than the average, and his pastures constantly improved. The average amount of butter from every sixteen quarts of milk was twenty-five ounces—a proportion far larger than the average.



How widely does this course of treatment differ from that of most farmers! The object with many seems to be, to see with how little food they can keep the cow alive. From a correct point of view, the milch cow should be regarded as an instrument of transformation. The question should be—with so much hay, so much grain, so many roots, how can the most milk, or butter, or cheese, be made? The conduct of a manufacturer who owned good machinery, and an abundance of raw material, and had the labor at hand, would be considered very senseless, if he hesitated to supply the material, and keep the machinery at work, at least so long as he could run it with profit.

Stimulate the appetite, then, and induce the cow to eat, by a frequent change of diet, not merely enough to supply the constant waste of her system, but enough and to spare, of a food adapted to the production of milk of the quality desired.

SOILING.

Of the advantages of soiling milch cows—that is, feeding exclusively in the barn—there are yet many conflicting opinions. As to its economy of land and feed there can be no question, it being generally admitted that a given number of animals may be abundantly fed on a less space; nor is there much question as to the increased quantity of milk yielded in stall feeding. Its economy, in this country, turns rather upon the cost of labor and time; and the question raised by the dairyman is, whether it will pay—whether its advantages are sufficient to balance the extra expense of cutting and feeding, over and above cropping on the pasture. The importance of this subject has been strongly impressed upon the attention of farmers in many sections of the country, by a growing conviction that something must be done to improve the pastures, or that they must be abandoned altogether.

Thousands of acres of neglected pasture-land in the older States are so poor and worn out that from four to eight acres furnish but a miserable subsistence for a good-sized cow. No animal can flourish under such circumstances. The labor and exertion of feeding are too great, to say nothing of the vastly inferior quality of the grasses in such pastures, compared with those on more recently seeded lands. True economy would dictate that such pastures should either be allowed to run to wood, or be devoted to sheep-walks, or ploughed and improved. Cows, to be able to yield well, must have plenty of food of a sweet and nutritious quality; and, unless they find it, they wander over a large space, if at liberty, and thus deprive themselves of rest.

If a farmer or dairyman unfortunately owns such pastures, there can be no question that, as a matter of real economy, he had better resort to the soiling system for his milch cows; by which means he will largely increase his annual supply of good manure, and thus have the means of improving, and bringing his land to a higher state of cultivation. A very successful instance of this management occurs in the report of the visiting committee of an agricultural society in Massachusetts, in which they say: "We have now in mind a farmer in this county who keeps seven or eight cows in the stable through the summer, and feeds them on green fodder, chiefly Indian corn. We asked him his reasons for it. His answer was: 1. That he gets more milk than he can by any other method. 2. That he gets more manure, especially liquid manure. 3. That he saves it all, by keeping a supply of mud or mould under the stable, to be taken out and renewed as often as necessary. 4. That it is less troublesome than to drive his cows to pasture; that they are less vexed by flies, and have equally good health. 5. That his mowing land is every year growing more productive, without the expense of artificial manure.—He estimates that on an acre of good land twenty tons of green fodder may be raised. That which is dried is cut fine, and mixed with meal or shorts, and fed with profit. He believes that a reduced and worn-out farm—supposing the land to be naturally good—could be brought into prime order in five years, without any extra outlay of money for manure, by the use of green fodder in connection with the raising and keeping of pigs; not fattening them, but selling at the age of four or five months." He keeps most of his land in grass, improving its quality and productiveness by means of top-dressing, and putting money in his pocket—which is, after all, the true test both for theory and practice.

Another practical case on this point is that of a gentleman in the same State who had four cows, but not a rod of land on which to pasture them. They were, therefore, never out of the barn—or, at least, not out of the yard—and were fed with grass, regularly mown for them; with green Indian corn and fodder, which had been sown broadcast for the purpose; and with about three pints of meal a day. Their produce in butter was kept for thirteen weeks. Two of them were but two years old, having calved the same spring. All the milk of one of them was taken by her calf for six weeks out of the thirteen, and some of the milk of the other was taken for family use, the quantity of which was not measured. These heifers could not, therefore, be estimated as equal to more than one cow in full milk. And yet from these cows no less than three hundred and eighty-nine pounds of butter were made in the thirteen weeks. Another pound would have made an average of thirty pounds a week for the whole time.

It appears from these and other similar instances of soiling, or stall-feeding in summer on green crops cut for the purpose, that the largely increased quantity of the yield fully compensates for the slightly deteriorated quality. And not only is the quantity yielded by each cow increased, but the same extent of land, under the same culture, will carry double or treble the number of ordinary pastures, and keep them in better condition. There is also a saving of manure. But with us the economy of soiling is the exception, and not the rule.

In adopting this system of feeding, regularity is required as much as in any other, and a proper variety of food. A succession of green crops should be provided, as near as convenient to the stable. The first will naturally be winter rye, in the Northern States, as that shoots up with great luxuriance. Winter rape would probably be an exceedingly valuable addition to the plants usually cultivated for soiling in this country, in sections where it would withstand the severity of the winter. Cabbages, kept in the cellar or pit, and transplanted early, will also come in here to advantage, and clover will very soon follow them; oats, millet, and green Indian-corn, as the season advances; and, a little later still, perhaps, the Chinese sugar-cane, which should not be cut till headed out. These plants, in addition to other cultivated grasses, will furnish an unfailing succession of succulent and tender fodder; while the addition of a little Indian, linseed, or cotton-seed meal will be found economical.

In the vicinity of large towns and cities, where the object is too often to feed for the largest quantity, without reference to quality, an article known as distillers' swill, or still-slop, is extensively used. This, if properly fed in limited quantities, in combination with other and more bulky food, may be a valuable article for the dairyman; but, if given—as it too often is—without the addition of other kinds of food, it soon affects the health and constitution of the animals fed on it. This swill contains a considerable quantity of water, some nitrogenous compounds, and some inorganic matter in the shape of phosphates and alkaline salts found in the different kinds of grain of which it is made up, as Indian corn, wheat, barley, rye, and the like. Where this forms the principal food of milch cows, the milk is of a very poor quality—blue in color, and requiring the addition of coloring substances to make it saleable. It contains, often, less than one per cent. of butter, and seldom over one and three-tenths or one and a half per cent.—while good, saleable milk should contain from three to five per cent. It will not coagulate, it is said, in less than five or six hours; while good milk will invariably coagulate in an hour or less, under the same conditions. Its effect on the system of young children is, therefore, very destructive, causing diseases of various kinds, and, if continued, death.

So pernicious have been the consequences resulting from the use of this "swill-milk," as it is called, in the largest city of this country, that the Legislature of the State of New York, at a recent session (1861-2), interfered in behalf of the community by making the sale of the article a penal offence.

CULTURE OF GRASSES FOR FODDER.

As has been already stated, the grasses in summer, and hay in winter, form the most natural and important food for milch cows; and, whatever other crops come in as additional, these will form the basis of all systems of feeding.

The nutritive qualities of the grasses differ widely; and their value as feed for cows will depend, to a considerable extent, on the management of pastures and mowing-lands. Some considerations bearing upon the subject of the proper cultivation of these leading articles of food are, therefore, proposed in this article.



If the turf of an old pasture is carefully examined, it will be found to contain a large variety of plants and grasses adapted for forage; some of them valuable for one purpose, and some for another. Some of them, though possessing a lower percentage of nutritive constituents than others, are particularly esteemed for an early and luxuriant growth, furnishing sweet feed in early spring, before other grasses appear; some of them, for starting more rapidly than others, after having been eaten off by cattle, and, consequently, of great value as pasture grasses. Most grasses will be found to be of a social character, and do best in a large mixture with other varieties.

In forming a mixture for pasture grasses, the peculiar qualities of each species should, therefore, be regarded: as the time of flowering, the habits of growth, the soil and location on which it grows best, and other characteristics.

Among the grasses found on cultivated lands in this country, the following are considered as among the most valuable for ordinary farm cultivation; some of them being adapted to pastures, and others almost exclusively to mowing and the hay-crop: Timothy, Meadow Foxtail, June or Kentucky Blue Grass, Fowl Meadow, Rough-stalked Meadow, Orchard Grass, Perennial Rye Grass, Italian Rye Grass, Redtop, English Bent, Meadow Fescue, Tall Oat Grass, Sweet-scented Vernal, Hungarian Grass, Red Clover, White or Dutch Clover, and some others.

Of these, the most valuable, all things considered, is TIMOTHY. It forms a large proportion of what is commonly called English, or in some sections meadow, hay, though it originated and was first cultivated in this country. It contains a large percentage of nutritive matter, in comparison with other agricultural grasses. It thrives best on moist, peaty, or loamy soils, of medium tenacity, and is not well suited to very light, sandy lands. On very moist soils, its root is almost always fibrous; while on dry and loamy ones it is bulbous. On soils of the former description, which it especially affects, its growth is rapid, and its yield of hay large, sometimes amounting to three or four tons the acre, depending much, of course, upon cultivation. But, though very valuable for hay, it is not adapted for pasture, as it will neither endure severe grazing, nor is its aftermath to be compared with that of meadow foxtail, and some of the other grasses.

JUNE GRASS, better known in some sections as Kentucky Blue Grass, is very common in most sections of the country, especially on limestone lands, forming a large part of the turf, wherever it flourishes, and being held in universal esteem as a pasture grass. It starts early, but varies much in size and appearance, according to the soil; growing in some places with the utmost luxuriance, and forming the predominant grass; in others, yielding to the other species. If cut at the time of flowering, or a few days after, it makes a good and nutritious hay, though it is surpassed in nutritive qualities by several of the other grasses. It starts slowly after having been cut, especially if not cut very early. But its herbage is fine and uniform, and admirably adapted to lawns, growing well in almost all soils, though it does not endure very severe droughts. It withstands, however, the frosts of winter better than most other grasses.

In Kentucky—a section where it attains its highest perfection and luxuriance, ripening its seeds about the tenth of June—and in latitudes south of that, it sometimes continues green through the mild winters. It requires three or four years to become well set, after sowing, and it does not attain its highest yield as a pasture grass till the sod is even older than that. It is not, therefore, suited to alternate husbandry, where land usually remains in grass but two or three years before being ploughed up. In Kentucky, it is sown any time in winter when the sun is on the ground, three or four quarts of seed being used to the acre. In spring the seeds germinate, when the sprouts are exceedingly fine and delicate. Stock is not allowed on it the first year.

The MEADOW FOXTAIL is also an excellent pasture grass It somewhat resembles Timothy, but is earlier, has a softer spike, and thrives on all soils except the dryest. Its growth is rapid, and it is greatly relished by stock of all kinds. Its stalks and leaves are too few and light for a field crop, and it shrinks too much in curing to be valuable for hay. It flourishes best in a rich, moist, and rather strong soil, sending up a luxuriant aftermath when cut or grazed off, which is much more valuable, both in quality and nutritive value, than the first crop. In all lands designed for permanent pasture, therefore, it should form a considerable part of a mixture. It will endure almost any amount of forcing, by liquid manures or irrigation. It requires three or four years, after soiling, to gain a firm footing in the soil. The seed is covered with the soft and woolly husks of the flower, and is consequently light; weighing but five pounds to the bushel, and containing seventy-six thousand seeds to the ounce.

The ORCHARD GRASS, or ROUGH COCKSFOOT, for pastures, stands pre-eminent. This is a native of this country, and was introduced into England, from Virginia, in 1764, since which time its cultivation has extended into every country of Europe, where it is universally held in very high estimation. The fact of its being very palatable to stock of all kinds, its rapid growth, and the luxuriance of its aftermath, with its power of enduring the cropping of cattle, have given it a very high reputation, especially as a pasture grass. It blossoms earlier than Timothy; when green, is equally relished by milch cows; requires to be fed closer, to prevent its forming tufts and growing up to seed, when it becomes hard and wiry, and loses much of its nutritive quality. As it blossoms about the same time, it forms an admirable mixture with red clover, either for permanent pasture or mowing. It resists drought, and is less exhausting to the soil than either rye grass or Timothy. The seed weighs twelve pounds to the bushel, and when sown alone requires about two bushels to the acre.

The ROUGH-STALKED MEADOW GRASS is somewhat less common than the June grass, but is considered equally valuable. It grows best on moist, sheltered meadows, where it flowers in June and July. It is readily distinguished from June grass by its having a rough sheath, while the latter has a smooth one, and by having a fibrous root, while the root of the other is creeping. It possesses very considerable nutritive qualities, and comes to perfection at a desirable time, and is exceedingly relished by cattle, horses and sheep. For suitable soils it should form a portion of a mixture of seeds, producing, in mixture with other grasses which serve to shelter it, a large yield of hay, far above the average of grass usually sown on a similar soil. It should be cut when the seed is formed. Seven pounds of seed to the acre will make a good sward. The grass loses about seventy per cent. of its weight in drying. The nutritive qualities of its aftermath exceed very considerably those of the crop cut in the flower or in the seed.

FOWL MEADOW GRASS is another indigenous species, of great value for low and marshy grounds, where it flourishes best; and, if cut and properly cured, makes a sweet and nutritious hay, which, from its fineness, is eaten by cows without waste. According to Sinclair—who experimented, with the aid of Sir Humphrey Davy, to ascertain its comparative nutritive properties—it is superior in this respect to either meadow foxtail, orchard grass, or tall meadow oat grass; but it is probable that he somewhat overrates it. If allowed to stand till nearly ripe, it falls down, but sends up innumerable flowering stems from the joints, so that it continues green and luxuriant till late in the season. It thrives best in mixture with other grasses, and deserves a prominent place in all mixtures for rich, moist pastures, and low mowing-lands.

RYE GRASS has a far higher reputation abroad than in this country, and probably with reason; for it is better adapted to a wet and uncertain climate than to a dry and hot one. It varies exceedingly, depending much on soil and culture; but, when cut in the blossom to make into hay, it possesses very considerable nutritive power. If allowed to get too ripe, it is hard and wiry, and not relished by cows. The change from a juicy and nutritious plant to a woody fibre, containing but little soluble matter, is very rapid. Properly managed, however, it is a tolerably good grass, though not to be compared to Timothy, or orchard grass.

REDTOP is a grass familiar to every farmer in the country. It is the Herd's grass of Pennsylvania, while in New York and New England it is known by a great variety of names and assumes a great variety of forms, according to the soil in which it grows. It is well adapted to almost every soil, though it seems to prefer a moist loam. It makes a profitable crop for spending, in the form of hay, though its yield is less than that of Timothy. It is well suited to our permanent pastures, where it should be fed close, otherwise it becomes wiry and innutritious, and cattle refuse it. It stands the climate of the country as well as any other grass, and so forms a valuable part of any mixture for pastures and permanent mowing-lands; but it is, probably, rather over rated by us.