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to have a feed of hay before they leave the cow house for pasture 

 and only be left at grass a short time. Then day by day the hay 

 may be diminished and the length of time at pasture increased 

 until at length they may be allowed to pass all the time at grass. 

 It does not pay, however, to tuirn dairy cows to pasture in the spring 

 until the grass furnishes good feed, i.e. until it has a good growth. 



PASTURING. 



On most Canadian farms, pasture grass forms the main food 

 for the dairy cow in summer. Pasture grass in right condition is 

 a perfect food and when the animal can secure sufficient of it, with- 

 out too great effort, maximum milk yields may be expected. Clover 

 and alfalfa pastures give best results, but our natural grasses as 

 they grow in rough places on hill sides, etc., are very valuable as 

 feeds for milk production. 



At the Central Experimental Farm the following mixture of seed 

 per acre for seeding down and pasturing has been found to be very 

 satisfactory: 5 Ibs. red clover; 2 Ibs. alsike; 71bs. alfalfa; and 10 Ibs. 

 timothy. 



Pastures should not be used till the grass stands several inches 

 high and, in the case of clovers and alfalfa, it should be a foot high 

 before cattle are turned in. Much better results may be expected 

 in the way of feed from a given area if it be divided into two, or 

 even better, into three parts and the parts pastured for a few days 

 in turn. Closely cropped grass grows slowly and suffers much more 

 quickly from drought and trampling than does longer, stronger 

 grass. 



FEEDING MEAL TO COWS AT PASTURE. 



Opinion is divided as to whether it is profitable to feed meal 

 while the cows are at pasture, but the weight seems to be in favour 

 of feeding meal, for while perhaps no improvement in quality nor 

 increase in quantity of milk results while the pasture is at its best, 

 yet when the pasture begins to fail, the animals are better able to 

 keep up to their flow. It is doubtful, however, if it would be 

 economical to feed meal where there is an abundance of nutritious 

 grass, for the increase in quantity of milk from such feeding may 

 not, unless the price of dairy products be very high, justify the extra 

 expense. 



While the pasture is abundant and of good quality, the quantity 

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