258 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



be too large and all brush and weeds kept mowed. She is an 

 animal that follows in the wake of civilization. She never goes 

 ahead. Conditions must be made suitable before she is of any 

 value to speak of. 



Kindness is a virtue that should never be overlooked. Her 

 maternal disposition is of a high character, probably the greatest 

 of any dumb mother. In our care for her she understands us. 

 Grooming to her is a great satisfaction. The friction of the brush 

 and comb is a pleasing and stimulating way of showing kindness. 

 A gentle stroke of the hand while in the lot or pasture has a great 

 influence in creating confidence in her for you. I believe where 

 kindness is most appreciated by the dairy cow is at the time of 

 drawing the milk. I have seen milkers sit on a stool with a 

 bucket between their knees and pull the udder from its natural 

 position in order to get the stream of milk to hit in the bucket. I 

 have seen others pull down on the teats until they looked like a 

 piece of elastic. I speak of these practices because I know they 

 are altogether too common. The milk should be drawn carefully; 

 the milker should sit so that the pail can be milked in with the 

 udder in a natural position. The teat should be taken in the full 

 hand and the pressure gentle and just enough to force the milk 

 from the teats. 



Milkers who do other barn work should wear gloves or mit- 

 tens, I prefer such as you buy three pairs for a quarter. This 

 keeps the hand soft, does away with cracked and chafed hands, 

 makes them easy to wash and clean and affords a great deal more 

 comfort to the cow than the rough calloused hand. The milker 

 should keep the finger nails trimmed short. I have known cows 

 made kickers by milkers who milked with long finger nails. 



Our success depends largely on the faithful execution of our 

 duty in the small details that are required in caring for the dairy 

 cow. 



PROFITABLE FEEDS FOR THE MISSOURI DAIRY COW. 



(By Jas. N. Price, Trenton, Missouri.) 



Among the important things to be considered in the feeding 

 cf dairy cows are the composition, palatability, variety and cost 

 of feeds. The ration should be made up of such feeds as will 

 furnish the required digestible nutrients in the proper propor- 

 tions to maintain the body and produce a profitable flow of milk. 



