186 



'FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



be recorded in the record association for 

 the breed. 



DAIRY FARMING 



Next to pure breed live stock farming, 

 it is doubtful if there is any special stock 

 farming that pays better than dairy 

 farming. In case the dairy farmer has 

 judgment and ability he may also breed 

 and sell high grade, pure bred dairy 

 stock. Dairy farming is the most exact- 

 ing of all kinds of farming on the time 

 of the farmer — there is no second morn- 

 ing nap and no Sunday in dairy farm- 

 ing. 



Owing to the demand for dairy prod- 

 ucts in a fresh condition, particularly 

 milk and cream, and to the extensive 

 use of these materials in every house- 

 hold, dairy farming tends to center in 

 the more densely populated regions, 

 particularly about the great cities. It 

 is the one kind of live stock farming 

 that pays best on high priced land 

 where an intensive system of farming 

 must be followed. There are two sys- 

 tems of dairy farming as regards 

 management of crops and cows. These 

 may be designated as the soiling sys- 

 tem and the pasture system. 



Soiling system_I n the soiling sys- 

 tem the farmer plans to have a succes- 

 sion of green forage throughout the 

 growing season for his cows. The cows 

 are kept in stables or yards and all the 

 green food they require is cut and car- 

 ried to them. By the pasture system 

 the cows are turned out onto the 

 meadows as soon as the grass starts in 

 the spring, and are made to gather their 

 own food. 



The soiling system has the following 

 advantages: (1) More stock can be 

 kept on the same area, since all the land 

 can be cropped and heavy yielding 

 forage plants grown instead of the usual 

 light yielding pasture grasses. There 

 is no loss from the trampling of stock. 

 Shaw estimates that twice the number of 

 animals can be kept on the same acre- 

 age by the soiling system as by pas- 

 turing. (2) There is less wacte in har- 

 vesting and feeding. The crops are cut 

 green when most palatable, and, hence, 

 are more nearly all eaten up. None 

 of the finer parts is lost as in curing 

 for hay. Less energy is expended by 

 the cows in masticating and digesting 

 the crops. (3) The animals are main- 

 tained in better form and in a more 

 uniform condition, because they get 



sufficient food each day, properly com- 

 bined, to meet their physical require- 

 ments. Drouths which wither the pas- 

 tures and decrease the milk flow in 

 summer time do not affect them. During 

 the heat of the day, they are coolly 

 stabled away from the annoying flies, 

 and in the drizzling rain and bleak 

 days of early spring and late fall, they 

 are snugly sheltered. All the energy 

 of the animal is conserved and con- 

 centrated for the manufacture of milk. 

 (4) All the fertility of the farm is 

 preserved, since where the stock is kept 

 stabled all the manure can be saved 

 and utilized to the best advantage. If 

 purchased feeds are used in addition to 

 the home crops which is nearly always 

 done, their fertility is nearly all saved 

 at a clear profit. (5) No fences are re- 

 quired. No weeds accumulate, since 

 they are cut before they have a chance 

 to produce seed. 



Objections to soiling — There are cer- 

 tain objections to the soiling system. In 

 the first place, there is considerable in- 

 crease in the cost of labor involved in 

 cutting the crops and carrying them to 

 the cows, caring for the manure, etc. 

 Cows demand more attention and more 

 intelligence is required to keep them in 

 a good, healthy, vigorous condition. 



The winter treatment of cows by 

 both the soiling and pasturage system 

 is practically the same. Succulent food 

 in the form of either silage or roots, is 

 provided as a substitute for the grasses 

 and green forage of summer. Various 

 hays and fodders are used and also 

 grains and milling product. 



Illustration of soiling system — A 

 striking illustration of intensive dairy 

 farming is presented in the widely 

 known case of the Rev. J. D. Detrich of 

 Pennsylvania, described by Prof. W. G. 

 Johnson in the American Agriculturist. 

 December 6 and 13, 1902. On a farm of 

 15 acres, Mr. Detrich raised all the 

 roughage for 30 head of stock, 17 of 

 which were milch cows. On this farm, 

 Mr. Detrich cleared on the average, 

 $2,200 a year. The cows and young 

 stock were kept in the stable all the 

 time, and after 15 years of such treat- 

 ment appeared to be sound and healthy 

 as those that run at large. For a com- 

 plete account of this remarkable place, 

 see the book published by Orange Judd 

 Company, entitled, Profitable Dairying 

 by C. L. Peck. 



