27 



Gaylord exhibited a good looking Shorthorn cow ; but as there was 

 no record of her nfilk and butter, she was not eligible for premium. 

 We could not but regret the absence of the stately Shorthorns which 

 have graced former exhibitions. It may perhaps be doubted whether 

 the Shorthorn cow is eminently adapted to the wants and conditions 

 of the New England farmer ; but it is pleasant and instructive to see 

 what a breed of cattle may be made b}' persistent liberality and 

 judicious management. 



It is customary in a report of this kind to offer some suggestions 

 pertinent to the selection, breeding, feeding, and management of 

 dairy cows ; but the subject was so ably — so tersely and yet so ex- 

 haustively—handled by Presidenr Stockbridge in his report on this 

 class in 1881, that I can think of little to add. 



On one point, however, it may be desirable to enlarge. I mean 

 the treatment of the cow at and after calving. In her natural condi- 

 tion, the cow is a hardy, self-heli)ful animal, toughened by exercise 

 and exposure to the elements. Her lacteal secretions are not com- 

 paratively greater than those of other mammals, and suffice only for 

 the support of her calf until it can eat and digest grass. As the 

 period of delivery approaches, the sluggishness natural to her condi- 

 tion, and the necessity for finding a suitable lair, combine to dimin- 

 ish the amount of food consumed ; and maternal anxiety and vigilance 

 will effectually prevent her gorging herself after the calf is born. 

 Let us contrast this with the history and treatment of the modern 

 milch cow. 



For many generations of ancestors, the milk and butter capacity 

 has been cultivated at the expense of constitutional vigor and hardi- 

 hood ; and the cow herself has been fed and treated from calfhood 

 as if her only use were the conversion of fodder into milk. Her 

 milking capacity has been so stimulated and prolonged since her pre- 

 vious calving, that she is rather weak, and low in flesh ; and her 

 owner, whether he dries her up or not, feeds liberally to strengthen 

 her for calving and subsequent milking. Quite likely her only exer- 

 cise has been to walk from the stall to the drinking trough and back ; 

 and many owners of cows think more about keeping them warm than 

 about providing them with sufficient ventilation. 



The milk producing functions being thus stimulated to the highest 

 pitch, and the constitution correspondingly weakened, the farmer 

 puts on the last straw in the shape of a warm drink or a bran mash ; 

 and the overtaxed organization collapses in a fatal attack of milk 



