852 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



is some plivsiological reason beyond my understanding. Tliere is a 

 good deal, I believe, in starting in rigiit. 



ME. IIEKlv: I would like to ask Mr. Detricli what special treat- 

 ment he gives the cow 30 days before she is fresh. 



MR. DETKICH : A man ought to be particular about those things. 

 A good dairyman always marks down his service and he will know 

 whether the cow is right. The important thing in caring for a 

 dairy cow is to get her dry. Plenty will not go dry by the method 

 of some dairj^meu. The proper thing is to give timothy hay and 

 water, give exercise by the haiter and skij3 teats in milking. On this 

 treatment a cow will go dry in six days. People will tell you that 

 they do such things, or that the hired man does them, but I knov/ 

 that people tell a great many things that are not exactly so. The 

 cow must be perfectly dry, not so that she gives a little bit of milk. 

 The whole thing is to feed her. Give her the exercise, feed her the 

 bran and commence to feed her linseed by the hand. When she is 

 fresh, give her salts. Give her 3 pints of water at 105 degrees F. 

 as a drench and feed her pretty much as before she was fresh. The 

 third day she will refuse the water and bran. We give three to 

 four quarts of cold water as soon as the cow is fresh and one pint 

 of bran five to six times a day. Add the linseed. On the fourth and 

 fifth day add more linseed until 3'ou give half a pound at a time. On 

 the sixth day give her gluten meal, linseed and hay. Do not feed 

 her cotton seed until the fourth or fifth week after she is fresh. 



DR. CONARD: I would like to ask Mr. Detrich whether he thinks 

 it is just as practicable to keep 200 covv^s on 100 acres as two cows 

 on one acre? 



MR. DETRICH: Every dairyman should keep a record of which 

 cows are going dry. They should be named and numbered and 

 there should be kept also the name and number of the sire. If 

 there is a re-service, that too is marked down. We have a gesta- 

 tion table and the mark is put down opposite the name. 



MR. JONES: I would like to ask Mr. Detrich how much help he 

 keeps? 



ME. DETRICH: A boy and a man. 



DR. CONARD: What is the average per year? 



MR. DETRICH: We expect a cow to milk about six or seven 

 quarts; that is, the run of the herd. 



The following paper was .read: 



