264 FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



hay and silage, with a couple of pounds of concentrates added, if 

 necessary. 



Calving time. — The gestation period of the cow is from 280 to 285 

 days. At calving time she should be kept in a clean, comfortable, 

 well-bedded box stall unless on pasture, and should not be molested 

 unless assistance is required. In winter her drinking water should 

 be lukewarm for 2 or 3 days after calving, and she should be pro- 

 tected from cold drafts, for her vitality is then low. The feed for 

 the first few days should be limited in amount and of cooling, laxa- 

 tive nature. Besides legume hay and silage, she may be given such 

 feeds as bran, often fed as a mash, oats, and linseed meal. High- 

 producing cows should be watched closely for signs of milk-fever, 

 and the air treatment, the great boon to dairymen, used if necessary. 

 The yearly production of the cow depends in a considerable measure 

 on the feed she receives during the first month after calving. The 

 concentrate allowance, small at first, should be increased gradually, 

 at the rate of a half-pound every other day until the full allowance is 

 reached, for heavy feeding immediately after calving may lead to 

 digestive disturbances. If the udder is swollen and hard, even more 

 care should be used in getting the cow to the full ration. 



By having cows freshen in the fall a larger annual yield of milk 

 is possible, for they give a good flow during the winter and are 

 stimulated to high production again when turned to pasture in 

 spring. Spring-fresh cows yield most of their milk when dairy prod- 

 ucts are low in price and when the dairyman is busiest with his crops. 

 When cows freshen in the fall more time can be given to the raising 

 of the calves, and there will be less trouble from scours than in 

 summer. Fall-dropped calves are large enough by spring to make 

 good use of pasture and are better able to stand the hot weather. 



IV. The Cost op Milk Production 



Annual feed requirement. — The following table shows the amount 

 and cost of feed consumed annually by dairy cows and the returns in 

 milk and fat, as shown by trials at 10 widely separated American 

 stations. 



At the Massachusetts Station the cows were fed soilage in the 

 summer, only the dry cows being turned to pasture. In New Jersey 

 they were likewise maintained in summer almost wholly on soilage 

 and silage. At the other stations the pasture period ranged from 131 

 days in Minnesota to 191 in Missouri. The great value of alfalfa 

 hay in reducing the amount of concentrates fed and the cost of keep 

 is shown by the Utah and Montana reports. The prices of feed have 



