CHAPTER XVII 

 CARE OF THE COW 



Regularity the first essential to profitable 

 dairying. One of the cardinal points that a good 

 dairyman will observe in handling his cows is 

 regularity in all his work. He will feed them 

 at definite hours, and milk them at stated inter- 

 vals; that is, if a cow is milked at six in the 

 morning she should be milked about six o'clock 

 at night, the best results being obtained when the 

 time between milkings is the same. It may be 

 interesting to add that the records show that 

 large cities receive their poorest milk on Mon- 

 day. This is accounted for by the fact that 

 the farmers are not so regular in their work 

 on Sunday as they are during the rest of the 

 week. 



Changes of feed should be made gradually. If 

 for any reason it is advisable to change the feed 

 of a herd it should be done gradually, so that the 

 cows will become accustomed to the change and 

 not be affected in any way. For example: When 

 it becomes necessary to begin the feeding of 

 ensilage, a very small portion should be fed at 



155 



