CHAPTER XI 



THE FEEDING OF COWS 



"The old Quaker who sold the cow that did not give as 

 much milk as he claimed, said to the buyer, «Thee should have 

 bought my pasture too.' " 



T F we are to get adequate returns from our cows, 

 we must give them at all times all the feed they 

 will consume profitably. It should not be a matter 

 of getting them through the winter alive. In such 

 a case they are so poor they lose the very best 

 months of early pasture before they are in fit con- 

 dition to give much milk. A feeder's aim should 

 be to induce the cows to consume as much food, 

 especially roughage, as possible. There is no 

 greater incentive to good digestion and abundant 

 production than having the animals lie down with 

 the comfortable feeling of a perfectly satisfied 

 appetite. 



Palatableness is a feature which cannot be over- 

 looked. The feed must be prepared and given to 

 the cows in such a way that they eat it because they 

 like it ; then are the returns the best. Cows like 

 succulent food. Grass is their natural and ideal 

 diet. In substituting, we ought to come as near 

 to it as we can. Corn silage is the best and cheap- 



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