198 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc, 



is essential. Buy lier, breed her, steal hf^r if you must, but get her 

 anyhow. And having got her, resist the blandishments of the cow 

 buyer and keep her. 



FEEDING. 



I cannot hope to tell you all there is to stock feeding in five min- 

 utes, but there are a few of the essential points, probably known to 

 you all, which I can emphasize. There are two great classes of foods 

 which cows as well as children need; they are the flesh formers and 

 the heat producers. You can get all of these heat producers you 

 need on any farm in Pennsylvania, if it is properly run. You do not 

 have to send to Kansas and Nebraska for this class of food. When 

 you go into the market to buy, do not spend money for the heat pro- 

 ducing food which j'ou can grow on your own farms' in great (juanti- 

 ties, but buy food containing protein. ''How are you going to know 

 what is what?" This has been many times determined by analysis. 

 Bulletin No. 81 on "Principles and Practice of Stock Feeding," pub- 

 lished by the Vermont Station, has proven serviceable to many, and 

 will be sent without charge to any one who wishes it. 



It should be borne in mind here that many a cow never had' a 

 "fair show." Many cows have not paid their way because the 

 fcod given them was not fitted for milk making. II pays to study 

 dairy feeding and to give the cows a chance. 



ENVIRONMENT. 



The housing of animals is a part of the "better kept" proposition. 

 Some animals are kept too warm and some too cold. I have seen 

 cases where animals were kept in such close stables that it seemed 

 wonderful that they had enough air to breathe; and others, again, 

 under conditions where it seemed as if they would freeze to death. 



It is said that there was introduced, by request, in the Vermont 

 Legislature of 1896 a bill which provided that after January 1, 1900, 

 all of the barns in which cattle were housed should be so modified 

 that every cow should stand with her head in the open air and her 

 body inside, so that she might get fresh air enough to breathe. I 

 think the bill must have failed of passage, for I have not observed the 

 modification in the barns. 



If a barn be too warm and air insufficient, tenderness and predis- 

 position to disease may result. If it be too cold and so well venti- 

 lated that a cat might be thrown through any corner, the cows suffer 

 from exposure and burn the food within their bodies as fuel. Gov- 

 ernor Hoard tells the story of an Arkansas jury which returned a 

 verdict for itself instead of for either contestant on the ground that 

 it had not received its fees. So the cow will find for herself first 

 when she is not properly cared for. She will use food to clothe her- 

 self with fat; the residue, if any, will go into the milk pail. 



