CHAP. ii. FEEDING OF DAIRY COWS. 251 



be lean when calving-time comes on ; for, in case they are, the feeding 

 they may get will have to be ver^y liberal indeed to bring them up to 

 u full yield of milk. 



Farmers, as a rule, do not like feeding cows liberally when they 

 are dry for calving, and are therefore yielding no return ; yet that is 

 just the time when they can best be got into condition again, ready 

 for another period of lactation. The practice too commonly is to feed 

 them on straw, rough hay, and other inferior stuff that is rightly 

 considered not good enough for them when they are yielding milk ; but 

 then, such food is not good enough for them at any time, unless it be 

 improved by the addition of corn, and spice for flavour, or cake. 

 All inferior forage should be improved in some way, and the time to 

 use it up is certainly not when cows are diy for calving, unless it be 

 improved by corn or supplemented by cake ; the common practice of 

 keeping dry cows on inferior forage during the period indicated is a 

 mistake, the consequences of which are seen later on, and it seems 

 strange that people can be found who still persist in it. During the 

 winter, therefore, in-calf and in-milk cows should receive food that is 

 nutritious, as easily digestible as possible, sound and good of its kind. 

 Straw alone will not do, and even good hay may with advantage be 

 supplemented by a couple of pounds of cake per day ; it is surprising 

 what a difference even this small quantity will make, used week after 

 week and month after month, through the winter, especially when the 

 cows are dr} 7 . When cows are fed on straw or coarse hay, alone, 

 without any food more generous in character, the organs of lactation 

 become more or less attenuated and inert, and are not easily or 

 quickly restored to what under generous feeding would be their normal 

 condition. With inferior forage, at least 4 Ib. of cake should be given. 



It is essential that milch cows shoulc 

 good store condition, but in a generous 

 free to work, like a well-oiled machine. 



always be kept not only in 

 state of milkiness, ready and 

 A few swede turnips, or some 



mangel, each day will be found very useful to this end, and two pounds 

 of linseed cake, or boiled linseed on chaff, increased to four pounds 

 when the cow has calved, will keep her in suitable condition, add to 

 the strength of her constitution, stimulate the digestive organs, and 

 enable her to make the best use of the succulent grass of early spring. 

 In Holland, where the management of cows is carried to the highest 

 perfection, the animals are curried in the same manner, and kept as 

 cleanly, as horses in a stable. 1 If this is an error, it is at least one on 

 the right side, and the invariably high condition of all Dutch dairy 

 stock is the surest proof of their superior management, the chief 

 features of which are, care in keeping the cattle dry as well as clean, 

 food suitable and adequate to their requirements, and attention to the 

 purity of the water. This last-named point is considered of such 

 importance that the water is not even suffered to be tainted by the 

 breath of the beasts. And yet it is a known fact that cattle frequently 

 prefer the water of ponds impregnated with the urine of other animals ; 



1 Baron d' Alton, in ' ' Communication to the Board of Agriculture, " vol. i. 



