ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



is here intensified and the force of the winds broken rendering: 

 it pleasant on many days, when anywhere else it would be wholly 

 unfit for the herd to be out. 



Any one having a dry well-drained lot can provide a splen- 

 did out door run at small cost, by building a tight board fence 

 five or six feet high on the north and west sides. It will be a~ 

 real pleasure to you to see the herd, on windy clays, lying close 

 up to this fence in the full force of the sun. It will not only be a^ 

 pleasure, it will be economy. In fact anything that pro^-ideS' 

 comfort for your herd is economy. 



In the feeding of your herd, judgment and careful attention: 

 are required. Feed liberally, but by no means overfeed. Feed- 

 according to the conditions of the cow, bearing in mind her likes 

 and dislikes, and the object for which you are feeding. If the 

 animal is in poor flesh, feed a flesh producing food until she is. 

 in proper order, then gradually substitute the full milk ration. 



An occasional change in the feed will be appreciated by the 

 herd, for when confined to a single ration you will frequently 

 find a cow indisposed, sluggish and off her feed. This can be 

 avoided to a large extent by changing the feed at such times as 

 your judgment and the action of the herd would suggest. Ai30ve 

 all things feed with care. 



The amount must be determined by the nature and needs of 

 the cow and the offalls will usually indicate the condition o£ 

 the cow. 



The mangers and feed boxes should be kept clean, and an3r 

 refuse left during the day should be removed. The feed boxes- 

 should be inspected after each feed, and should a cow leave a 

 portion of her feed, it should be removed and the box thoroughly- 

 cleaned before the next feeding hour, when she should have a 

 smaller and different ration. It is only an experienced feeder 

 can keep his herd of dairy cows fed up to the limit during their 

 entire milking period, for he knows the moment a cow's mess-^ 

 is placed before her whether she is rational or indisposed. There 

 is a saying among old Germans that ''The eye of the master- 

 fattens his cattle." With a little changing this could be made 



