330 AMERICAN CATTLE. 



elapse before soiling will be as common in the densely peopled 

 sections of the United States, as its benefits will be advantageous. 



FALL FEEDING OF COWS. 



As the season of green food passes by, soft, early cured hay, 

 cut short in a machine, and mixed with grain meal, or "mid- 

 dlings" from flour mills, is the best material as a substitute for 

 the failing grass, or green clover and corn. The quantity of the 

 hay and meal given must be judged by the dairyman, (see next 

 chapter,) but the cow must have enough. Understand, all this 

 extra food must be regulated by the supply of grass, which she 

 may obtain from the pasture, or other green food. 



The food of the cow, in its kind, influences, to a greater or 

 less degree, the richness of her milk, and the quantity of butter 

 or cheese it will make, as well as its quality. The dairyman, 

 who sells his milk for immediate consumption, regards quantity 

 more than quality, and is therefore apt to use that food which 

 will most readily produce it. But it must be remembered that 

 the flesh of the cow is to be kept in good condition all the time, 

 to render her permanently serviceable, and the flesh-producing 

 quality of her food should not be neglected, while that most 

 favorable to the secretion of her milk is provided. 



As the nights now grow chilly, the cow should be kept in her 

 stable through the night, and if stormy, through the day. "When 

 the frosts begin to nip the pastures, even if there be a good growth 

 of grass, she should not eat it early in the morning, nor until the 

 frost be melted off. She should be fed in her stall before going 

 out to graze. A moderate amount of good hay if finely cut, 

 the better may be laid at night in her manger, to make more 

 solid the succulent food otherwise fed, that her bowels may be 

 kept equable. 



WINTER FEEDING OF COWS. 



For winter food, much will depend upon the time at which the 

 cow is to be dried, and also upon her bodily condition, in each 



