>f,y. 7. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 215 



When and under what circumstances do cows do the best, give 

 the most and best milk? In the beginning of June when you 

 turn them into yonder field covered with a new growth of clover, a 

 brook of sparkling water flowing along one side the banks which 

 are lined with giant maples and sycamores, there we have ideal 

 conditions and the cow never does better because these conditions 

 make her do her best. Now, here is a lesson worthy of careful 

 study and application. We should make the conditions in which the 

 cow is to exist continuous as nearly as possible, the conditions she 

 is in when in that clover pasture. 



First, she has an abundance of food, palatable, nutritious, digesti- 

 ble, succulent, food that makes a fairly balanced ration. Thus far 

 there is not much dilficnlty, as we can easily have an abundance of 

 food, and if cut and cured properly it will be palatable, digestible 

 and nutritious, and if the right crops are grown it will make a fairly 

 balanced ration; or if it does not we can supplement by purchase 

 of concentrates, and it is the easiest matter in the world to have 

 some of it in a succulent condition. What next? Perfect comfort. 

 We must not ask the dairy cow to do any unneccessary work be- 

 cause, in the proper performance of her task, the turning of a large 

 amount of coarse feed into dairy products, all her energies are taxed 

 to the utmost. 



In that feed lot as soon as she has filled herself well, she lies down 

 on the springy bed of sod under the old spreading tree and there, in 

 perfect contentment, she manufactures that big pail of rich milk. 

 Did you say she needs exercise? She ought to know. She does 

 not gallop up and down that field after taking her fill; so I conclude 

 that her regular work before mentioned gives her all the exercise 

 she needs. Now for her comfort. Can we not so construct our sta- 

 ble and so keep it clean, and so bed her stall that she can, after eat- 

 ing her fill, lie down in similar comfort and manufacture the same 

 quantity of milk? Certainly; this is easy. But out there in the feed 

 lot she has plenty of the God-given, glorious, health-giving sun- 

 shine and pure air to breath; in fact, by an ultimate analysis, butter 

 is only transformed sunshine. Now this is not so easy, but it is just 

 as essential as anj^thing else. Yet it is not so difficult to put plenty 

 of east and west or, still better, south windows in the cow-stable in 

 such a way that the sun will shine in about every corner for at least 

 part of the day. 



The question of pure air is still more difficult, because our stables, 

 to give comfort, must, of necessitj^ be proof to a certain extent 

 against outside temperature, hence if we would have pure air for the 

 cow to breath we must make provision for the removal of the foul 

 air and the bringing in of the pure air. This is not as easily done 

 as said. During the cold season we have to depend for the warmth 



