440 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 



women take the place of men and cows the place of oxen. Compara- 

 tively few horses ami oxen are seen, but nearly every family, especially 

 in the country ami small villages, owns at least one cow, and they use 

 th-'in, either singly or in pairs, lor all kinds of draft-work. Instead 

 of a voice, a narrow piece of wood passes across the forehead, just beneath 

 the horns, to each end of which a chain or leather trace is attached, 

 pacing thence through lug-holes in a surcingle around the waist to 

 whipple-trees that are fastened to the load. Thus the strain comes 

 upon the forehead and neck. The, cows wear iron shoes like oxen. 

 They are worked the year around, their owners claiming that it makes 

 but little difference in either the. quantity or quality of their milk. All 

 grades of cattle are used in this way, even the dainty Allgauer being 

 sought iiy many farmers primarily on account of their powers as draft- 

 animals. Such usage through many generations has. I think, produced 

 a kind of masraline- grossness and stoutness in the cows which is not. 

 noticeable in their native homes and normal condition. 



HOUSING CATTLE IN TIIUIIINGIA. 



The ordinary cattle-barn is a long, low, stone building, with a stone 

 floor, a (> to S foot post, a vaulted ceiling, and space in the roof for 

 storing fodder. But it is a very common thing to iiud only one build- 

 ing on the farm, the family occupying one end of the basement and 

 the cattle the other, with the fodder in the loft. Or the whole base- 

 ment may be given to the cattle, the family and the fodder sharing the 

 second iioor between them; or else the family takes the whole of the-' 

 second story and sends the fodder into the attic. There is a movement 

 u gains, t this practice, especially in the larger towns and among the in- 

 surance companies, because, it is believed to be responsible for very 

 many fires. The bedding most in use is, in the few large cilies, straw; 

 but in the country and most of the towns and villages it is the newly- 

 giown part of the spruce- and tbu fir, chopped fine, the coarser part of 

 the branches being retain-ed for lire-wood. It is claimed that this kind 

 of bedding is subsequently valuable as a dressing for the land. 



CATTLE-FEEDING- IN TE.UBINGIA. 



The methods of feeding are quite similar in all parts of the district. 

 The cuttle are usually fed three times a day, and the bill of fare embraces 

 hay, straw, u scalded food," and occasionally turnips. The, allowance 

 for each cow is an equivalent of -5 pounds of hay daily. The hay em- 

 braces red clover, lurern, and the native grass of the country, which is 

 of a line, nutritious quality, and is usually cut two and three times be- 

 tween .June and October. The straw (oat, rye, and barley) is gelierally 

 chopped, and about two-thirds more, in weight is allowed thnu of hay. 

 The "scalded food," which is used much in dairies and in cold weather, 

 consists usually of rye-bran broth or of a thin mixture of oatmeal and 

 water, which is supposed to stimulate the milk-producing powers. 

 Owing to the, use. of the, cows as draft-animals, pasturage, as it is 

 practiced in most countries, is almost unknown here. 



BREEDING CATTLE AND HANDLING THEIR PRODUCTS. 



There is no "gentle breeding" of stock in this region. No calf is 



<{ born to the purple," unless it may sometimes happen to be the offspring 



oi a favorite animal on some one- of the two or three "model farms" 



ich are under ducal patronage and direction; but each one. if he 



