34 THE BUSINESS OF DAIRYING 



Other plants are valuable from the fact that they 

 will mature in a very short period. In this class 

 are included the various millets, the barnyard 

 variety producing a crop in from 40 to 50 days. 

 The number of plants that will supply forage 

 through the entire growing season is very limited. 

 Alfalfa comes as near to this as any grown in this 

 country. Cuttings from this crop have been made 

 as early as May 12th and as late as October 22d. 



Palatability and influence upon the flavor of milk. 

 — A plant that is not palatable is of but little value 

 for forage. Fortunately there are not many that be- 

 long to this class. The following are not readily 

 eaten by dairy stock : Yellow and Rural Branching 

 Doura (Millo Maize) and Evergreen Broom-Corn. 

 Animals sometimes refuse to eat certain varieties of 

 peas and beans for a short period, but they soon 

 learn to like them. There is no forage crop which 

 are common, with the exception of Dwarf Essex 

 Rape, that has given an unpleasant flavor to milk 

 when fed judiciously. This crop is not safe to feed 

 to dairy cows. There is the most danger of produc- 

 ing a "grassy" flavor in milk at the beginning of 

 the season, when animals are changed from dry 

 foods to green forage. It sometimes occurs, too, 

 when immature forage is fed. This undesirable 

 efifect can usually be overcome by feeding in 

 limited quantities and always after milking. 



As already stated, one of the advantages of soil- 

 ing is that larger yields can be obtained with the 

 system than by pasturing. These are secured in two 

 ways : by increased yields from single crops as a 



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