!• ceding Dairy Cattle 



milk itself. The best breeders of purebreds look at the milk 

 as a by-product. 



Before the ration itself can be considered, a breeder must 

 look to the conditions surrounding his herd. We will only 

 st(ip to consider these for a mqment and just barely call 

 attention to them. These things are five : kindness, light, pure 

 air, pure water and an abundance of salt. 



Every animal in a dairy herd, which is well managed, will 

 be so tame that the owner and attendants may catch her 

 easily at any time in the open lot. A dog, be he ever so 

 gentle, is of little use in connection with a dairy herd. A 

 club or whiji has no ])lace in a dairy barn. 



Light and ventilation explain themselves. We must sup- 

 ply all the light and pure air possible. It is not costly to 

 provide light in a stable, neither is it very costh? to provide 

 very efficient means of ventilation in old stables if the owner 

 is a live, hustling manager with his mind open to the best in 

 his power for the comfort of his animals. All the dair^' 

 papers and experiment stations are ready at any time to help 

 and suggest means of bettering stable conditions with plans 

 which may be had for the asking. Most of these plans are 

 simple and economical and farmers are fully capable of put- 

 ting them into execution. 



Cows should be watered at least twice a day. The water 

 should be pure and at all times of year it should be free from 

 ice. If cows have a place to drink where ice does not form, 

 and when they are watered twice a day, it does not seem 

 necessary to artificially warm the water. The danger is to 

 avoid chilling the animal so that she will not have to stand 

 and shiver after drinking. Any system which will furnish 

 pure water and which works so that the cow gets all that she 

 requires, at least twice in twenty-four hours, is a good water- 

 ing system. 



A cow should be furnished with about one ounce of salt 

 e\'ery day. The practice of our best dairymen varies. The 

 writer would suggest feeding each cow about two ounces 

 three times a week, either in the grain feed or simply thrown 

 into the manger any time during the da)^ So much for five 

 fundamental conditions which must be made right in everv 

 herd for the best results. We may now turn our attention 

 to the consideration of the ration itself. 



In this series of papers on feeding we like to be definite 

 even if the papers are not so smooth in their general effect. 

 In considering the formulation of an ideal ration, there are 

 seven factors, that should be considered. They are: 

 Page Thirty-seven 



