FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 33 



We may assume, as axiomatic also, that all dairymen are agreed 

 upon the general proposition that enough protein should always be 

 supplied the dairy cow when in milk, regulating the quantity of pro- 

 tein not alone by the weight of the cow but as well by the weight 

 of her mess and securing the protein from the cheapest source, whether 

 purchased or home grown. 



It might be worth while to stop here long enough to call attention 

 to the economy of producing more protein on the home farm rather 

 than buying. The crops to be selected for this purpose are: First, 

 clover; second, soy beans, the seed of which contain, almost as much 

 protein as cotton seed meal and more than either bran or average 

 linseed meal; third, peas and oats and, fourth, in favored regions, 

 alfalfa, the newest and most treacherous legume we have to deal with. 

 Whether to grow either of these crops excej)t clover depends upon the 

 environment of the farmer, the cost of labor, the relation of the size 

 of his farm and the number of cows kept and the other factors in the 

 ration. 



The silo is an essential factor in economical milk production. It 

 is here to stay and its use has long ago passed out of the realm 

 of doubt into that of certainty. It may be abused, or ignorance may 

 oppose it, but its record is too long and too good to make it possible 

 to exclude it from the company of the needed aids to the successful 

 dairymen. One good rotation for dairymen in southern Michigan is 

 corn, wheat, clover. This rotation economizes human labor by re- 

 quiring but once plowing in four years and by making the cultiva- 

 tion of the corn serve the double purpose of retaining moisture and' 

 preparing the ground for wheat. It economizes fertility by giving 

 two feeding crops to one selling one and at the same time providing 

 plenty of bedding. It also fits into the regular work by furnishing 

 the best possible place for the application of the stalale manure. 

 This material should be handled as little as possible. It supplies 

 to crops not alone plant food but humus, not alone something to 

 eat but something to drink as well, by making the soil spongy and 

 retentive of moisture. Well rotted manure is not, therefore, what is 

 so much wanted as the raw article, fresh from the stable. 



Manure cellars are good things for large herds perhaps, but let us 

 not forget in considering them that when it comes to exercise, cows 

 are far better off in pure air outside of buildings altogether, except 

 in the very coldest days of winter and that the temperature of the 

 stable ought not to be kept so high as to make such exercise bad for 

 the cows. Remember, too, that it is always better to haul the manure 

 directly from the stable to the field whenever possible, to save labor 

 and to save loss of fertilizing power. 



All this is preliminary to a couple of points I wish to make and 

 which I believe to be important. 



Good butter has been high and scarce for many months. Even poor 

 butter has brought a higher price than usual. The hybrid, illegit- 

 imate nondescript called renovated butter has been called upon to 

 do duty as a recognized member of the dairy fanaily and its makers 

 have become rich because of the scarcity of good butter. I have no 

 sympathy with those dairymen that are constantly fighting the butter 

 renovator. His business is legitimate and I presume that most of his 

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