100 KEEPING OXE COW. 



manure is to be carefully collected and placed under another shed, 

 or other convenient place under shelter provided for the purpose, 

 and, to prevent bad odors, the heap should receive, once in two or 

 three days, a light covering of muck, leaves, sods, weeds dug up 

 in the garden or elsewhere, or fine earth almost anything that 

 will rot and thus not only prevent the unpleasantness and un- 

 healthfulness of such odors, and the loss that would result from 

 their escape, but add largely to the size and value of the manure 

 heap. Now, have about two-thirds of an acre of land, highly 

 manured, and, with the exception of about fourteen square rods, 

 well seeded with a variety of nutritious grasses. This quantity of 

 land, if properly enriched and cultivated, will keep a cow the 

 year round, and keep her w T ell, without purchasing any feed. A 

 good rack or other arrangement in the shade is necessary, in which 

 to feed, so that nothing shall be wasted. Then, quite early in the 

 season, the grass upon this rich soil will be large enough to be cut 

 and fed to the cow. While the ground is sufficiently moist, in the 

 fore part of the season, the grass will grow very rapidly, and, 

 when the soil becomes a little too dry, about half a bushel of 

 plaster, or twice as much lime, or two or three bushels of wood 

 ashes, scattered upon it, will usually renew the vigor and fresh- 

 ness of the crop, which may be repeated with benefit two or three 

 times before the end of the growing season. Another excellent 

 fertilizer, which may be applied during the summer, is the waste 

 water from the house, such as soap suds, dish water, and any 

 other slops that are to be thrown away. These should all be 

 saved and scattered upon the grass from pails, if no better method 

 is ordinarily practicable, and it will pay a person many times over 

 for the trouble. A light top-dressing of manure from the cow- 

 yard or shed will be necessary every year, or every second year 

 certainly, applied in the fall, or early in the spring. 



As soon as the grass has fairly got into blossom, it should be 

 immediately cut and well-cured for winter use, unless it may be 

 necessary to save a small quantity to feed until that portion which 

 was first cut for the cow shall be ready to cut again. Grass should 

 never be allowed to stand until the seed has formed, as just pre- 

 vious to that time it is more nutritious than at any other period. 

 Hay cut thus early will make much more and better milk, and 

 keep a cow in better condition than that which is cut later. A 

 portion of the grass can be mown a second time for hay, and still 

 leave enough for green feed until foddering time. The exact pro- 

 portion of the crop to be made into hay must, of course, depend 



