404 NORFOLK SOCIETY. 



milk for a greater or less time, acquires the habit of withhold- 

 ing or of dropping it. 



It has been ascertained by experiment, that a cow in milk 

 or in calf, will consume 3 per cent, of her live weight in hay, 

 per day, or an equivalent to it ; thus a cow of 1,000 pounds, 

 will consume 30 pounds of hay, equal to 6 bushels of cut hay. 

 But it is, on various accounts, desirable that she should have a 

 change of food, and not live on hay alone. A diversity of diet 

 is as necessary for the animal, as it is for man. For this pur- 

 pose, it is the custom of some to feed one-half hay, and to 

 supply the balance with roots, shorts, corn or oil meal. Prac- 

 tical men are not satisfied, we believe, that it is profitable to 

 steam or cook the food, except where the number of animals 

 is so large as to make the extra expense of this small, joer head. 

 The committee are, however, of opinion, that the prevalent 

 custom of feeding out to cows, roots, in an almost frozen state, 

 or shorts and meal with cold water, and nearly congealed, or 

 to give them ice water to drink, cannot but be prejudicial to 

 the animal, particularly to the yield of milk. Cold substances, 

 in large quantities, rob the stomach of much of its warmth, 

 and greatly derange its operations. With little trouble, roots 

 may be kept where they will not freeze, and every good farmer 

 will possess these accommodations, and also the means of 

 warming the water which may be mixed with meal, and of 

 tempering that which is used for drink. 



These may be esteemed as of small consequence ; but when 

 it is remembered that a farmer's gains are made up of "small 

 affairs," they will assume a due importance. 



To give to this subject the consideration it deserves, would 

 transcend the limits of this report. The committee, therefore, 

 in conclusion, commend to the attention of the farmers of Nor- 

 folk county, the excellent agricultural papers that treat more 

 fully of these matters, and in particular, the Report on Milch 

 Cows, by Hon. Allen W. Dodge, Secretary of the Essex So- 

 ciety, to the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture. 



For the committee, 



Marshall P. Wilder, C/iairman. 



