KEEPING ONE COW. 83 



twenty square rods. These I shall designate as plots one, two, 

 three, and four, Plot one is at the present time in clover, having 

 been seeded one year ago, and will be ready for use about June. 

 Plot two was sown to winter rye last October, and will be 

 seeded down with clover this spring. From this patch of rye I 

 shall obtain the earliest feed, and will begin using it about May 

 first. Plot three will be own with corn, drilled thickly in rows 

 two and a half feet apart, which, if sown as soon as danger from 

 frost is past, will be ready for use about August first Plot four 

 will be sown to mangels or sugar beets. I prefer the latter, and 

 this is the only crop cultivated for winter use. Both this crop and 

 the corn are planted with a garden seed drill, while the rye is sown 

 broadcast. On the first of May I begin cutting the rye. Up to 

 this time the cow has been fed on clover hay, and grain. 



I calculate to have the cow drop her calf at about April first. To 

 this end I have her served about June twenty-fifth. Of course, 

 we cannot always have our own way in this matter, but, accident 

 excepted, we can usually manage so as to approximate the time, 

 During a period of a few days subsequent to parturition, I feed 

 quite sparingly however, allowing her all the long hay she will 

 eat, together with a peck of beets twice a day, but no grain of 

 any kind, this reduced ration being necessary to avoid the danger 

 which might result from the too abundant secretion of milk at 

 this time, which high feeding would tend to produce. If at the 

 end of the fifth day after calving, no bad results have occurred, 

 such as milk fever, and there is little or no caking of the bag, I 

 begin to gradually increase the feed, until, at the tenth clay, I 

 reach the normal standard, which is as follows : 



DAILY FEEDING. 



At half-past five A. M. I feed her four quarts of a mixture con- 

 sisting of one part each of corn meal and oat meal, and two parts 

 of bran. Four quarts of this is mixed with a heaping half bushel 

 of cut (chaffed) hay, moistened but not soaked. While she is 

 occupied in eating, I clean the manure from the stable, remove all 

 dirt from her udder, and any that would be likely to drop into 

 the pail while milking. Sometimes a sponge and water are re- 

 quired to accomplish this, but usually an old piece of a blanket 

 kept for the purpose is all that is necessary. I then milk and 

 carry the milk directly to the house before it has time to cool or 

 absorb odors, which, even with the utmost care and cleanliness 

 cannot be entirely avoided. After breakfast, I give the cow a 



