A MODEL DAIRY FARM 13 



ter and tread on the barn floor above the cattle. The 

 material is cut and dropped down through a chute 

 into the dairy barn below. The silage is taken out 

 in bags, which is a very convenient way to handle it, 

 and is not scattered all over the stable or littered 

 around the silo. I am very careful about the meth- 

 ods of feeding, and never feed or bed cows before 

 milking. I think this is a very bad practice to fol- 

 low. It not only excites the animals, but there is 

 more or less dirt or dust raised after such a pro- 

 cedure. 



" I believe in a liberal use of bran, linseed, gluten, 

 cottonseed, etc. I consider a ton of manure, pro- 

 duced where bran is used, liberally worth $14, pro- 

 vided, of course, that the liquid manure is saved as 

 well as the solid, both of which we retain. Where 

 linseed is used, the manure is worth, in my opinion, 

 $17; gluten, $17 to $18, and cottonseed-meal, $22. 

 The amount of food for each individual cow de- 

 pends on the size of the animal and lactation. I 

 study the individuals very carefully, and note not only 

 their eating capacity, but their productive capacity 

 in milk as well. There is no general rule that I can 

 give that will cover my entire herd. 



" I like to dry a cow off four or five weeks be- 

 fore calving, and regulate her food accordingly. If 

 she is slow to dry up, I limit her food to timothy hay 

 and water, and alternately skip a teat in milking. This 

 treatment usually drys the animal up in short time. 

 As a rule, a cow in full flow of milk usually has, in 

 my stable, about thirty pounds of ensilage per day. 

 This is given in messes, three times a day. Usually 

 about two and one-half pounds of concentrated 



