SOWING OF WINTER GREENS 77 



This semi-starvation of in-calf cows is a very serious 

 matter. Apart from producing a weak calf, a cow 

 which comes to calving time in a semi-starved con- 

 dition cannot be expected to give her maximum milk 

 yield. Much of the more liberal feeding which she 

 receives when she commences milking goes to build up 

 the condition she has lost through the semi-starvation 

 period. In other words, she puts the fat on to her 

 ribs instead of into the milk pail. 



FEED EVERYTHING WELL 



Of course, one often hears of the ancient heresy 

 about a cow being liable to abortion and " getting 

 a blast" if she comes to the calving time full of 

 flesh. There is a very big difference, though, between 

 being full of flesh and being full of fresh air. 



Dairy cows should at all times be kept in good 

 condition without being over -fat. Further, the 

 condition of a cow has nothing to do with abortion 

 or udder blast. 



Again, if there are no cows in " profit " during winter, 

 the small farmer will have young dry stock, which need 

 feeding. This class of beast also, in the hands of a 

 small farmer and often in the hands of the large one, 

 too, seldom gets sufficient feeding during the winter 

 months. More false economy, for if there is one thing 

 more than another that requires liberal winter treat- 

 ment, it is young stock. 



Anything that does not pay for feeding, certainly 

 won't pay for starving. A beast when well fed from 

 birth is just as valuable at two years old as one semi- 

 starved through winter will be at three years old, and, 

 no matter how successfully a beast may be starved, it 

 is bound to eat more in three years than a well-fed one 

 in tw9. 



