468 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



taste of bitterweed from whole milk. 

 The flavor of wild onion was not re- 

 moved from cream by mixing it with 

 water and running it through the sep- 

 arator, and saltpeter was also of no 

 value. No method was discovered in 

 this set of experiments by which onion 

 flavor could be removed either from the 

 milk or cream. 



Bedding — Too little attention is given 

 by the ordinary farmer to the subject of 

 bedding for his milch cows. Almost any 

 dry material which cannot be other- 

 wise used is often considered good 

 enough for this purpose. Bedding for 



keep the cows in comfort and cleanli- 

 ness. Cut straw is often considered 

 superior to uncut, but it appeared to 

 pack down readily and was more easily 

 kicked about by the cows, leaving por- 

 tions of the stable floor bare. Uncut 

 wheat straw also proved superior to corn 

 stover in convenience and effectiveness, 

 but corn stover proved to be a very valu- 

 able material for use as bedding; it 

 remained in place quite well and did not 

 given rise to dust. 



In a comparison of sawdust with shav- 

 ings it appeared that each cow required 

 11 pounds of sawdust and 2.7 pounds 



Fig. 297 — WASHING THE UDDERS BEFORE MILKING 



milch cows, however, should be free 

 from certain defects which are present 

 in common materials. The two great 

 prerequisites of an effective bedding are 

 that it shall absorb liquid manure read- 

 ily and create no dust. The materials 

 commonly used on the farm are straw, 

 the coarse and inedible portion of 

 roughage thrown out from the mangers, 

 corn stalks and other similar material. 

 A careful study of the subject of bed- 

 ding for dairy cows was made by Doane 

 in Maryland. In this work, wheat straw 

 cut or uncut, corn stover, sawdust and 

 shavings were compared. It was found 

 that considerably more cut straw was 

 required than uncut wheat straw to 



of shavings a day to keep clean. Saw- 

 dust cannot be obtained conveniently, 

 except in the neighborhood of sawmills, 

 and under such circumstances should 

 not cost more than a cent a 100 pounds. 

 In the comparative test under discus- 

 sion, sawdust was found to be the best 

 of all materials tested. It kept the cows 

 cleaner than any other form of bedding, 

 stayed in place better, was entirely free 

 from dust and gave a neater, better ap- 

 pearance to the stables. Another ad- 

 vantage observed in the use of sawdust 

 is that it increases the bulk of the 

 manure, making it easier to spread and 

 thus adding a coarse material to the 



