DIGESTION AND WINTER FEEDING. 53 



richer. I think that would be the difference. I have tested 

 the same cow, that was a large milker and a large butter- 

 maker ; and I found very little difference, whether she was 

 new milch in July or new milch in January, either in the 

 quantity of milk or in the quantity of butter. 



Question. Have you had any occasion to use cotton- 

 seed meal? and what are its relative merits compared with 

 corn-meal ? 



Mr. BowDiTCH. I cannot feed cotton-seed meal and 

 make the best butter. I only tried it in a very small way, 

 and I was stopped at once by the same butter-taster to whom 

 I have referred. I have fed a small quantity of cotton-seed 

 meal to some steers in winter. I was afraid to feed much 

 of it : it was very highly concentrated. I believe a little of 

 it can be fed very advantageously, but I have had no expe- 

 rience with it. 



The Chaeeiman. I would like to hear from Mr. Hadwen 

 how he keeps up the winter flow of milk. 



Mr. Hadwen. I make milk for market, and it is the 

 most important product of my farm. I have had a long 

 experience, not only with the grade and native stock, but 

 also with thoroughbreds. The best thing to make milk of 

 is grass, if it is good and enough of it. When you bring 

 your cattle in from grass in the autumn, — the time between 

 hay and grass, — the best thing that I have ever tried, in 

 connection with a Kttle Indian meal or ground oats, is cab- 

 bage. But some farmers say, " Why ! you can't afford to feed 

 cabbage." I want to say to farmers that they cannot raise an 

 acre of any product on their farm which will give them as 

 much milk between hay and grass as an acre of cabbage. I 

 have tried it for years, and I have come to that conclusion. 

 From the middle of November to the first of January a good 

 amount of cabbage fed every day to a cow will not only keep 

 up and increase the flow of milk, but will add weight to the 

 animal to a very remarkable extent. It builds on to the 

 animal. As the Irish term it, it is a strong food. 



Mr. Russell. Don't it make the milk strong ? 



Mr. Hadwen. It does make the milk strong, but not in 

 flavor. But in feeding it to cattle you must use a great 

 deal of care. Cabbage must not be fed at haphazard. The 

 rotten leaves of cabbage must not be fed ; but the clean 



