110 KEEPIXG O^E COW. 



FACTS BEFUTE PEEJUDICE. 



BY D. B. CHAPMAN, NEW LONDON, CT. 



When I was a boy it was the prevailing opinion in the section of 

 country where I was raised, that it was better that a cow should 

 be rather thin in flesh at the time of calving than otherwise. 

 There was but very little grain fed in winter, to any stock in that 

 section, except to working oxen. Cows in milk were fed hay, 

 while dry cows, and young stock, were fed on straw or corn stalks. 

 The result was that at the time of calving, cows were generally 

 thin enough to conform to the popular idea of a proper condition. 

 Cows giving a large yield of milk were scarce enough in those 

 days, and it was very seldom that you would meet one that would 

 yield ten quarts of milk per day (beer measure), during the flush 

 of feed. My faith in the theory, that a cow should be thin in flesh 

 at the time of calving, received a very severe shock, very soon 

 after I became the owner of one, and experience and observation 

 have only served to confirm my doubts of its correctness. 



In the spring of 1848, 1 purchased my first cow. I came across 

 her some twenty miles from home. She had just calved, and dis- 

 played a very large udder. Her owner warranted her to give 

 twelve quarts of milk per day, and to be, in every respect, a good 

 family cow. The cow suited my fancy in every particular, save 

 one, she was too fat. But having nine points in her favor, 

 I did not feel disposed to forego her purchase for the want of the 

 tenth. When I drove her home, the adverse criticism on her was 

 immense, solely on account of her condition. Said an old farmer 

 to me : " That is a fancy cow, just suited for some rich man, who 

 can aiFord to indulge his fancy, and expend for her keeping, twice 

 as much as the value of her milk. You will find that you have 

 got to keep her in just the condition that she is now in, or you 

 will get no milk. If you do not keep her in this condition, 

 you will find she will shrink in milk, before she shrinks in flesh, 

 and she won't give half as much, on the same keeping, as she 

 would if she was no fatter than my cows." 



I must own, that after listening to this and that criticism in the 

 same strain, I felt a little sick of my bargain, and would have wil- 

 lingly sold her at a discount, but no purchaser appearing, I con- 

 cluded to make the best of a bad bargain. 



My purchase was made April second. Twelve hundred pounds 

 of hay furnished her with feed until the eighteenth of May. I 

 then hired a pasture, for fifteen dollars, where I kept her until No- 

 vember, when I sold her. 



