340 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



Dr. Waterbury — The term, new species of fowl, should not be 

 applied to the fowls with black bones. It is a varietj', not a 

 species. The bones of any animal may be colored by feeding. 



WINTER FEEDING COWS. 



In my own practice I have found it the cheapest plan to let 

 the cows cut their own food. I found by feeding turnips in 

 excess, that cows would eat up a fair allowance of uncut hay. 

 I fed half a bushel of turnips per day, and then as much hay as 

 the cow would eat. Turnips are worth, in the interior, just what 

 it costs to grow them, as they will not bear transportation. Cows 

 will consume food in proportion to exposure to cold. It is not 

 necessary to put up cows so as to allow them to turn round. I 

 would fasten them in stanchions, and have a very warm room. 

 It is a question whether it would not be economical to warm 

 stables by artificial heat. I did not use artificial heat, but I did 

 fill in the sides of the stable with tan so it would not freeze. 



The Chairman said that he had found that cows consume an 

 immensely disproportionate quantity of hay to the value of the 

 milk. He has always found a great economy in chopping hay. 

 For three years past I cut hay two or three inches long, and if 

 any is left unconsumed I am careful to clear out what is left 

 before putting in new feed. It is of great importance to feed old 

 cows upon cut hay; and so it is for all stock when hay is worth, 

 ■ as it is with me, that is sixty-two and one-half cents per cwt. 



Solon Robinson — There is one very important matter in feeding 

 cattle in winter, that as Dr. Waterbury suggests, is entirely lost 

 sight of by the feeder. What is given to the animals is not 

 merely what is necessary to keep them in condition as regard^ 

 food, but it is also to keep up the proper degree of animal heat 

 during the'inclemency of our cold winters. If we put our stock 

 in warm stables, the heat of their bodies is not dissipated as it is 

 in the open air; or, if we put many animals together, they keep 

 each other warm. But let us think where they obtain their 

 heat. It is derived entirely from the food they eat — it is the 

 woody fibre of the hay and the oil of the corn, burnt as fuel in 

 the stomach of the animals that have consumed the articles as 



