76 
Toum Milh. 
end, for tlucc or four weeks before llie cow is soltl, she may 
receive 2 or o IIjs. of oilcake in addition. A full bushel of grains, 
half a bushel of mangolds, one-third of a truss of hay, and 5 or 6 
lbs. of pea-meal in the case of the fatting cow, are thus the 
daily ration in a London cowhouse. — The grains at 2*-. a quarter, 
the hay at 5/. a ton, and the mangolds at SCs. a ton, cost Is. 2(1. 
a day, and with meal or cake the daily allowance may cost from 
l.s'. to Is. 'dd. per cow — 10s. to 12s. a week. 
In summer time the food is grass with grains, and meal if 
necessary. Most cowkeepers, except the very smallest men, 
cither have a small suburban farm, or buy a few acres of vetches, 
clover, or grass, and cart it in themselves. When it is bought 
daily at the cowhouse it costs from Is. to 1.?. od. a cwt. during 
the summer, and the cows receive about that quantity daily, 
given to them as fast as they can eat it, morning and evening, 
with their grains. 
Of course the proper feeding of the cow after she has been 
well bought is the very essence of the business of the cow- 
keeper. It is a proof of good management when she is so treated 
that no kind of food which she receives shall pall upon her 
taste. The maxim is — never overdo a cow with any kind of 
food. Some cows are exceedingly greedy for distillers' grains, 
and they yield a very large quantity of milk upon them. I'ut 
it is easy to " overdo " a cow with grains ; and she should be 
always stinted of her favourite food, or she will get sick of it, 
as I have seen often enough in the case of this very article, — 
distillers' grains. 
I add to this the statement of Mr. Dancock, of Brompton, 
another successful manager of cows. He uses steam in the pre- 
paration of his cow food, and in particular gives his meal in 
the form of gruel over cut hay or grains, 1 lb. of meal being 
added to a quart of water, with a little salt. " My plan," he says, 
" is to fill with cold water an 8 ' gallon ' churn (holding twice that 
number of imperial gallons) up to the figure 7. This allows room 
for meal and steam. I then put the steam-pipe within 6 inches 
of the bottom, and, supposing the pressure in the boiler to be 10 
lljs., turn on full, and in five or six minutes the can is full and 
the gruel is done. I have sixteen cows, and my quantity is 
three cans, which allows one large pail full to each cow twice a 
day. I think this is better than giving them meal dry over 
grains. I milk before feeding, give 1 bushel of grains to a pair 
of cows twice daily with gruel over it, and when this is done 
give them green stuff" and mangolds, a little hay if necessary, 
then water and rest till milking time again, when they are fed as 
before with grains ; then I give oilcake, about 3 lbs. between 
tv.o cows, then water and do up with hay."' Mr. Dancock 
