44 BRITISH DAIRYING. 



food they eat. Many farmers are possessed of the idea that if 

 cows are housed o' nights early in the fall of the year, their 

 milk-yif LI at once falls off to some extent, and for this reason 

 in part the cows are left out on the land, by night as well as by 

 day, until even the most elementary notions of prudence can 

 brook it no longer. The idea may be dubbed a ridiculous 

 one, first, because it is erroneous, and also because in the case 

 of those who entertain it there is no experimental basis on 

 which it rests. The most common reason, however, why cows 

 are left out too long in the nights of early winter is the desire 

 to economise forage. Comparatively few dairy farmers have 

 as a rule much more than barely enough hay and straw for any 

 given winter, and, knowing this, they are anxious to save it as 

 much as they can in the front end of the season. Economy, of 

 course, is a merit which can only be condemned when it is 

 carried too far, in which event it is no longer economy in the 

 true sense of the word. For if, by such strained economy, the 

 cows are let down into leanness, extra food is required to bring 

 them up again into condition for calving and for subsequent 

 milking. Apart from the question of waste in losing condition, 

 it should be borne in mind that domesticated animals suffer 

 pain and discomfort when exposed to the elements too late in 

 the year. 



Two years ago I wrote in the Live Stock Journal as follows : 

 " In the old days, which some of us look back upon at times 

 with a feeling of regret, the treatment accorded to dairy cows, 

 and to young and barren stock as well, left as a rule a 

 good deal to be desired. This, indeed, is still the case in 

 many instances, but as a rule a great improvement has taken 

 place. Speaking of the times that are gone, I may remark 

 that, on the approach of winter, when the cheese-making season 

 was practically over, it was not considered worth while to pay 

 any special attention to cows whose milk was rapidly 

 diminishing in quantity. Most of them were in-calf for March 

 and April, and the first two months of winter were considered 

 the time for consuming inferior forage. The cows were no 

 longer yielding a profit, and therefore they would do with 



