CATTLE. 397 



but you must keep up jour stock in the winter also. In coming 

 down from green food to dry, care must be exercised that the 

 change is not too sudden, especially with milk cows. As the 

 green food grows insufficient, cut some early cured hay, and 

 mix a little meal with it. Keep up not only the amount, but 

 the quality of the milk. 



Cutting and Cooking Food foe Stock now engages our 

 attention. There are six cogent reasons why this should be 

 done. It saves the labor of mastication, which s severe work 

 for cattle, as their teeth are only calculated for eating grass. 

 The" finer fodder is cut the better. However fine you may cut 

 it, it will still require more mastication than green grass. 

 While cutting renders it fine, wetting it renders it more suc- 

 culent, and cooking it softens the fibre ; it therefore is all 

 available as food, and the same amount cut and steamed will 

 go twice as far as in the natural state. Theie are thousands 

 of reliable statements to prove this, and yet, either from indif- 

 ference, indolence, or unbelief, the multitude of farmers still 

 go on feeding uncut hay and stalks, unground grain and whole 

 roots to their stock. A third great advantage of cutting and 

 steaming is, that every thing can be made palatable and used. 

 The profit in this direction is equal to the cost. Half hay and 

 half straw are by this means made fully as good as clear hay 

 uncut. Coarse hay, badly cured hay, straw and cornstalks are 

 eagerly devoured by the most dainty stock when cut and 

 steamed. This shows that even poor fodder cut and steamed 

 is more palatable to the stock than the best uncooked : this is 

 the cow's argument in its favor. Twenty pounds of good hay 

 cut and steamed will keep a cow in better condition than thirtj' 

 pounds uncut and uncooked. 



Says Mr. Allen, on this point : " If the food goes into the 

 animal at blood heat, so much of the animal heat as has to be 



