No. 4.] IMPROVEMENT IX DAIRY STOCK. 169 



much prefer that they should be driven out of doors every 

 day, except in stormy weather. 



People living in our cities are realizing more and more the 

 need of returning to natiu"al conditions for continued health. 

 It should be no less needful with cattle. Feeding our own 

 cows entirely in the barn, as we do at the home farm, we 

 plan to give them a vacation of two or three months at the 

 Barre farm, when dry or nearly so. If in summer, as is the 

 case with a large proportion of them, this time is spent in 

 pasture, and we believe this tends to improve constitution 

 in both cow and calf. 



We believe in liberal, but not high, feeding. Our winter 

 daily ration at the home farm consists of 30 to 40 pounds 

 of ensilage, 8 to 12 pounds of grain, and all the clover or 

 clover-mixed hay the cows will eat, usually 7 to 10 pounds 

 each. In summer, forage crops take the place of ensilage 

 to a large extent, though the past year we fed some ensi- 

 lage every day until green sweet corn was available. 



Our grain mixture at present time is 1,150 pounds bran, 

 850 pounds corn meal, 450 pounds middlings and 400 

 pounds cotton-seed meal ; this cjuantity supplying feed for 

 two days for 143 cows. Ordinarily we do not feed corn 

 meal, but the poor (juality of ensilage this year necessitates 

 its use. 



We vary this mixture from time to time as the conditions 

 of the o-rain market and the conditions of our other feed 

 make it seem desirable to do so. 



We have experimented with alfalfa to a limited extent^ 

 ha vino- brouoht some 30 tons from Kansas and Nebraska, 

 and we find the value to be about one-third more than 

 clover hay. We have made several attempts to raise it, 

 but have not yet succeeded in obtaining and holding a good 

 catch. We do not, however, propose to give it up with- 

 out further trial, because of its high feeding value, as indi- 

 cated above, and the fact that it is practically a perennial, 

 having in this respect a great advantage over red clover. 



Question. Do you warm the water for your cows? 

 Mr. Ellis. No, sir ; but water is before om* cows all 



