464 Feeds and Feeding. 



this fact. To W. D. Hoard, of Wisconsin, belongs the credit of 

 bringing this subject to the attention of dairymen. * No one can 

 fairly consider the dairy problem from this standpoint without 

 regarding the cow in a new light and thereby becoming a better 

 dairyman. 



696. Caring for the cow. While our purpose is to cover the 

 question of feeding, that subject cannot be wisely considered 

 unless certain matters concerning the handling of the cow be first 

 discussed. Though it cannot be affirmed that the digestion of 

 food by the cow is affected by the character of her surroundings, 

 it is certain that the yield of milk and its character are directly 

 influenced thereby, so that the results to the dairyman are the 

 same. Good returns from a given supply of feed, no matter how 

 abundant and satisfactory, cannot be looked for, unless the cow 

 also has comfortable quarters and is intelligently handled. 



697. Necessity for shelter. In another article (561) it is shown 

 that the steer, gorged with food, and each day adding to the layer 

 of heat-holding fat just beneath the skin, can withstand consid- 

 erable cold, often showing preference for the open shed to the 

 close stable. The condition of the dairy cow is in strong opposi- 

 tion to this, her system being relaxed by the annual drain of 

 maternity and the semi- daily heavy loss of nutrients drawn from 

 her in the abundant milk flow. The observant stockman will at 

 once detect the fundamental difference in the condition of the 

 dairy cow and the fattening ox in regard to ability to withstand 

 exposure to the weather. To be profitably managed and yield 

 wholesome milk a cow must be comfortably housed in a well- 

 ventilated stable in winter, the temperature of which should not 

 fall below forty degrees as the minimum, or rise above sixty de- 

 grees as the maximum. In such a stable, provided with abun- 

 dance of sunlight, she is in condition, so far as environment is 

 concerned, to yield the highest returns for the feed given. (630) 



698. Exercise. With the fattening animal soon to be slaugh- 

 tered, confinement more or less close is advisable, since it pre- 

 vents waste of tissue and conserves the feed. The end in view 

 with the daiiy cow is radically different, for she must give milk 



1 Bui. No. 1, Wisconsin Farmers' Institute, and elsewhere. 



