The Question Box. 367 



When shall we feed turnips or cabbage to milch cows, before, after or 

 during the milking process? 



Mr. Cook. — After milking, and do not feed too much at first. 

 Begin with a small mess, which may be increased gradually. I 

 once saw butter in Cortland that was made from milk from cows 

 which had eaten large rations of cabbage every day. But such 

 foods should be fed after milking time, should be balanced with 

 nitrogenous foods, and one should always thoroughly cool and 

 aerate the milk as soon as it is drawn from the cow. If they are 

 fed during the process of milking a taint will surely get into the 

 milk, so strong as to affect the flavor of the butter. 



A Farmer. — What if a man has but little hay, but plenty of oat 

 straw? What, then, should he feed? 



Mr. Cook. — I should feed wheat bran and a little cotton seed 

 meal. It makes a good ration. Good oat straw is about as valu- 

 able for feeding as is the average timothy hay. We are going to 

 feed it this winter, but our oafs were not left until thoroughly 

 ripe before cutting them. Pea straw is also good; so is buck- 

 wheat straw for feeding, when fed with proper grains. Good 

 timothy hay averages a nutritive ratio of 1 to 15; oat straw, 1 to 

 25; but I take the ground that early-cut oat straw is fully as good 

 as late-cut timothy. But we are apt to classify all meadow hay, 

 except clover, as timothy, when, perhaps, a large part of it is 

 mixed grasses. I found, while in Delaware county, that the 

 farmers were invariably feeding their cows some corn meal, al- 

 though their meadows were classed as timothv. But I found 

 that they were mixed grasses, which were cut early; therefore 

 they did not contain enough carbohydrates, which was the cause 

 for feeding the corn meal. Such meadow grass will have a ratio 

 not wider than 1 to 12 or 1 to 14. 



Are tlie Guernseys as large milkei's as are the Ayrshires? 



Mr. Converse. — No; they give, as a rule, milk containing more 

 fat than do the Ayrshires, but not so much of it during a year. 

 The Holstein and Ayrshire breeders have been and are now look- 

 ing for a less flow of milk with more fat in it; while the Jersey and 



