BREEDS OF DAIRY CATTLE 161 



a cow, no rotten straw, and no moist earth or sawdust. In order of 

 efficiency, the best absorbents are peat, spent tanbark, sawdust, wheat 

 straw, forest leaves, and dry earth. If earth alone is used, from 30 

 to 40 pounds per cow will be needed daily a big shovelful. Cattle 

 will not be bothered so much in the shade. It is a good practice to 

 stable the herd during the day in an airy but shaded cowhouse, 

 and turn it on pasture at night. If the pasture has not abundant 

 shade and water this course should certainly be followed. Heat 

 and flies reduce both quality and quantity of milk product. The 

 trouble from flies can be largely remedied by spraying the cows with 

 a very weak mixture of water and some one of the approved sheep- 

 dip preparations. Such a spraying will last a week or ten days, un- 

 less there are hard rains meanwhile. The entire interior of the cow 

 house should be sprayed with a solution of this kind, and strong 

 enough for an insecticide, weekly, throughout the summer. (Agr. 

 Dep. F. B. 55.)- 



Feed and Care of Dairy Cows. The greatest yield is obtained 

 from cows that calve in the fall, if proper care, feed and shelter are 

 provided during the winter. The prices of butter fat and butter are 

 higher during the winter, and with cows fresh in the fall or early 

 winter this higher price comes during the period of greatest yield. 

 A cow that calves in the early fall while on grass is in the best con- 

 dition to make a high yield when fresh. Good feed and care through 

 the winter will maintain a good yield, and when the cow is turned 

 to pasture in the early spring a fresh flow will be started that will 

 considerably increase the year's yield. 



A cow that calves in the spring has the best milk-producing 

 feed at a time when she will do well with any good ration. As the 

 flow begins to slacken the quality of the feed grows poorer, and flies 

 and heat help to cut it down still lower. In the fall when the milk 

 begins to drop rapidly on account of the time from calving, the cow 

 goes from green pastures to dry feed a change that tends to reduce 

 the yield and dry up the flow entirely. Winter dairying avoids in- 

 jury to flavor of butter from weeds in summer and fall pastures. 



Cows, with fair surroundings, can be made more comfortable in 

 winter than in summer-, and with fall calving will be dry when heat, 

 flies and drouth are severest and when butter prices are the lowest. 

 Winter dairying furnishes profitable employment for the farmer and 

 his men at a season of the year when, without it, farm forces are 

 either idle or work for low wages. 



Another advantage of fall calving is that the calves can be 

 raised at a season when there is time to give to them that careful at- 

 tention which is so great a factor in calf-raising by hand, when 

 lo-ses from heat, flies, diarrhea, and sour milk can be avoided and 

 when, at weaning time, the calves can go from milk to green pasture 

 without a check in growth. 



Treatment Before Calving. With most cows the highest yield 

 for the year can be obtained by having them go dry six to eight 

 weeks before calving. This is especially true of those cows whose 

 milk is rich in butter fat, and continuous milking of such cows with- 



