No. 7, DEPARTMEiNT OF AGRICULTURE. 303 



of fact they don't want the machine at all, and we will have to over- 

 come that prejudice and show these men that this machine is really 

 for their benefit, and just as soon as we get them to co-operate with 

 the machine, I am sure it is a go. 



PKOF. VAN NORMAN: How many cows do you milk with your 

 machine at a time? 



MR. BILLINGS: We milk but two; we can put on another section 

 and then milk more. That we are going to fix for ourselves. 



A Member: In our section we lost quite a good many cows by 

 milk fever, and would it be out of place to ask Dr. Tower or Dr. 

 Detrich to talk on milk fever. 



DR. DETRICH: I would like to hear Dr. Conard talk about that. 

 I can give my experience as a herdsman and with cattle in handling 

 that. I will assure you this, that no poor cow will ever have milk 

 fever. If a man has carefully watched his cows for thirty days be- 

 fore the cow is fresh, he will tell you just what your cow is going 

 to be, and until a man gets his cow right down and understand the 

 whole situation, he will have trouble. If you want to be a dairy- 

 man, you have got to get down to business, and jon must know your 

 cow thoroughly, and if a man does not w^mt to get down to that 

 business and study it until he understands it, let him quit the busi- 

 ness. 



There are other diseases as well as milk fever, that will demand 

 the attention of the dairyman. Milk fever always comes from carb 

 less feeding. You get a fat cow, if you take care of the cow and 

 feed her with tlie right kind of feed, you will have good results and 

 plenty to go into the bucket. If you handle your cow properly and 

 keep her on proper food, she will come along all right, but you must 

 have an eye to know the cow. A man has got to have an eye for 

 the dairy business in order to succeed. It is just like a man trying 

 to play the violin, like Ole Bull. If a man has no eye, just as like 

 as not he will kill the cow. 



I don't care what you say about dairying or about handling cattle, 

 a cow must have an udder, and that udder must be filled but you 

 don't want to carry it to excess. When it comes to milk fever, you 

 feed the cow with bran and hay and water ten days before she is 

 fresh, and if she is not making a bag, see that she gets an udder 

 without fail, and then give her a little salt for ten days. Her manure 

 must just be right, for after all, the udder of the cow always fol- 

 lows the manure; if the manure is right, I will guarantee that the 

 udder is right. You can control it to a very great extent just by 

 watching the droppings. You must look and watch every day. 

 Dairying will never be profitable until a man knows how to handle 

 the cow's udder. The whole system must go together. When you 

 have your eye and your hand and your feed and your cow and your 

 weighing machine, then you can commence with the probabilities 

 of success in your favor in the dairy business but not till then. 



DR. TOWER: Mr. Chairman, this subject of milk fever is one of 

 pretty broad import. What the gentleman has just said is import- 

 ant, but if we carry this a little further, we will find that milk fever 

 will sometimes occur no matter what vou do. I don't believe there 



