30 m ILLINOIS dairymen's ASSOCIATION. 



to have the hay cut when the clover is in full blossom. I feed straw and 

 coarse hay in racks in the yard. I find the cows will consume considerable 

 of such feed after having ail the good hay they will eat in the barn. I am 

 now feeding shocked corn, cut with a feed cutter into one-half inch lengths; 

 I also feed what hay the cows will eat and ten to twelve quarts of wheat 

 bran each per day. It makes a great difference when hay is cut. To pro- 

 duce milk, early-cut hay is much more profitable than late-cut hay. Some 

 farmers say it will not " spend so well." I will admit that stock will con- 

 sume more of the early-cut hay, and that is the reason that it is more profit- 

 able to feed. The profit is in what an animal will consume after that which 

 is required to support the system. Therefore the more palatable the food 

 the more will be consumed, and the larger will be the profit on what is con- 

 sumed. 



From the 5th to the 10th of this month my milk shrunk from 855 lbs. to 

 750 tbs. I went to my farm to see what was the cause. I asked my foreman 

 about the feed, water and care of the cows. He said he was doing all he 

 knew how to do to keep up the yield of milk. I at last discovered the cause 

 in a change of hay. I had been feeding the second crop of clover, and the 

 last of it was fed the 4th of the month. The change was to the last cut of 

 the first crop, though it was good hay. I have repeatedly had the same ex- 

 perience when I have changed from early-cut to late-cut hay. 



See that the cows have plenty of fresh-pumped water without any ice in 

 it. We can not afford to use corn at present price— $10 per ton— to warm the 

 water from freezing point to the temperature of the cow's system. See that 

 they have salt every day. 



In the Elgin section most of the butter and cheese is made in the facto- 

 ries from either whole milk or gathered cream. Some dairymen prefer one 

 and some the other system. In some localities all the milk is taken to the 

 factory, and in others the cream only is taken to the factory, leaving the 

 milk on the farm. I believe either system is preferable to making butter 

 unless the dairyman has plenty of help without hiring, and has conveniences 

 and skill to make butter equal to the factory goods. 



The pig can not be left out of consideration in practical dairying. We 

 must have him to utilize the skim-milk, whey and slop. I have done consid- 

 erable experimenting in feeding skim-milk to pigs, both by itself and in 

 connection with grain foods. My experience is that 100 lbs. of skim-milk 

 will produce 6i lbs. of increase live weight on pigs weighing 125 lbs. or less, 

 and on larger hogs it will produce less. A thrifty pig weighing 40 lbs. will 

 produce more increase in weight from the same amount of food than it ever 

 will after. 



Some dairymen say they cannot get help to milk. I have seldom had 

 any trouble in that line. We always milk in the barn, summer and winter, 

 and make the milking a part of the day's work. We do not work until sun- 

 down in summer, and then milk ten to fifteen cows each after supper, but we 

 have supper and have the milking done at sundown in the long days of sum- 

 mer. 



In breeding, always use a thoroughbred male ; you cannot afford to use 

 any other if you wish to raise your stock. Decide whether you want a butter 



