80 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January 22, 1885, 
DAIRY FARMING. 
WINTER. 
We have shown something of the harm arising from turning 
cows out on grass in midwinter, of allowing them to lie upon 
wet decaying litter, and of keeping them constantly tied up in 
the cow house This part of the subject is so important that we 
return to it. Cows are especially remarkable for regularity of 
habits, and it is all-important that such habits should be dis¬ 
turbed or interfered with as little as possible now when most of 
them are forward in calf. Abortion is frequently termed a 
mystery, but its origin may often be traced to some disturbance 
of the herd, trifling enough it may be, but yet leading to severe 
loss, for one case of abortion may, and in point of fact often 
does, lead to several. So convinced are we of this, that we are 
most careful to guard the herd collectively, and the cows indi¬ 
vidually, from undue excitement, as well as from being hurt by 
one another. 
For example : At one of the Michaelmas sales we purchased 
Dolly, a valuable Guernsey cow, five years old, and due to calve 
on February 7th. It was driven home quietly and put with some 
yearling calves upon grass for a week or two. It now has a 
separate lodge with a small yard for exercise, the yearlings being 
in an adjoining lodge, with its separate yard divided from the 
other by palings. By this plan the cow has some company 
without disturbance, it is quiet and contented, and it will not be 
put with the herd until it and other forward cows have calved. 
The introduction of a strange cow into the herd causes much 
excitement, its reception is often a rough one, and it is liable to 
be knocked about by the bullies at first, hence our precautions. 
It is evening as we write this article, snow is falling fast, and 
there is a high wind blowing from the north. Each of our delicate 
cows is comfortably shut in its separate compartment of one of 
the close lodges, and the stronger and more hardy cows are lying 
down amicably enough in the deep open lodge, well sheltered by 
other buildings on the north and east side, and we have seen that 
all of them have plenty of clean fresh litter to lie upon. Milking 
begins in the morning at 6.30, bran and cut Mangolds being first 
put ready for the cows, and when the door of the cow house is 
thrown open for the eager animals to enter, each one proceeds 
straight to its own stall, and never by any chance to any other. 
After the milking, hay is given them out in the yard and open 
lodges, care being taken to have enough hay cribs for the weaker 
cows to feed without being driven about by the stronger ones. 
Water requires no special daily attention, for we have an ample 
supply which runs constantly through the drinking cisterns. 
After being satisfied with food all the cows settle themselves 
comfortably for rumination if the morning is fine, but if wet the 
stronger cows will often take possession of the open lodges, and 
the weaker ones are driven out into the rain. Knowing this, w T e 
never suffer them to incur such a risk, but make it a standing 
rule that on a wet morning, after a brief period for exercise, each 
of the small cows shall be shut in its lodge. The same process 
of feeding comes again with the afternoon milking at 3.30. Our 
time for milking may appear somewhat early, but the home farm 
is half a mile from the mansion, and supplies of new milk have 
to be sent off twice daily in good time, so as to reach the kitchen 
department not later than a quarter to eight in the morning, and 
a quarter to five in the afternoon. 
Butter is churned daily for the supply of pats, which are sent 
up with the morning milk, and there are usually eggs and poultry 
of some sort, as well as other butter, to be sent according to 
orders received from the kitchen. This is frequently a source of 
vexation, the kitchen requirements being ruled by the number of 
people in the house, and as company comes and goes, more or 
less farm produce is wanted. An order book is always sent up 
with the milk, and the conduct of affairs between farm and 
kitchen is kept as smooth and regular as possible. It has, how¬ 
ever, been found necessary to give strict orders at the farm that 
all hasty demands for extra supplies upon an emergency are to 
receive immediate attention. 
It will be seen that our winter food for cows is of a simple 
wholesome description. Carrots and Cabbages afford a change, 
but we never use cake of any kind for milch cows. Our silo will 
he opened shortly, and we hope to have in the silage anothe r 
kind of sound sweet food for cows. Good meadow hay, bran 
and Carrots, or Mangolds, keep the cows in good condition, and 
the milk is perfectly sweet. Higher feeding can do no more, and 
is therefore wasteful and altogether unnecessary. We have no 
poverty-stricken cows, no winter starving, all of them are in 
sleek healthy condition; to feed higher would add nothing to 
the yield of milk or its richness. Dr. Sturtevant’s dictum, that 
the production of butter is largely dependant on the breed, is as 
true as the equally important facts that there is a structural limit 
to the production of butter in each cow, and that when the cow 
is fed to this limit, increased food cannot increase the produce. 
But we must take good care to have really good cows, for the 
difference of the various breeds for dairy purposes is so great 
that we can hardly take too much pains in forming a herd. 
Probably no greater contrast has ever been seen in a herd 
than we once had in a great lumbering Shorthorn, which at best 
only gave ten quarts of milk daily, and our little compact Kerry, 
with its sixteen quarts of milk per diem. Here, again, we may 
quote from Dr. Sturtevant’s summary of the results of his in¬ 
vestigation of the influence of breed in this matter. The superior 
cow has the stimctural limit at a gi’eater distance from ordinary 
feed, and is more ready to respond to stimuli than the inferior cow. 
Consequently the superior cow is seldom fed to her limit, and as 
a practical conclusion, increased feed with a superior lot of cows 
will increase the butter product; but if fed to an inferior lot 
of cows, waste can only be the result. No doubt much may be 
done in the formation of a herd by a judicious expenditure of 
money, but that alone is not enough, there must be patient and 
careful selection, and true plodding perseverance to attain our 
end. The animals we require are hardly to be procured in the 
ordinary way of business. Shorthorns, Herefords, Jerseys, may 
all be had, but where are we to turn for perfect cross-bred co^ws, 
that well-known excellent cross of Shorthorns of a deep milking 
strain, and Guernseys ? Fine hardy square-framed animals are 
they, with an abundant yield of the richest milk, and one may 
very confidently predict that the farmer who could place a lot of 
such cows upon the market would find the demand for them 
greatly in excess of any number that he could supply. 
Not half enough attention is given to this matter of breeding 
or keeping really good stock. Take the stock of any ordinary 
farm, and nine times out of ten we find a lot of mongrel cows, 
decidedly inferior for dairy purposes. Being once much pressed 
by a demand for milk which could not well be met, we went to 
such a farm to inquire if a cow in full milk could be purchased, 
“ Yes; ” said the farmer, “ you may have any of my cows for £17 
apiece,” and we had one, which after serving our turn for a short 
time, was fattened and passed on to the butcher, for its milk was 
poor in quality and quite below the average of our herd m 
quantity. 
Overmilking is especially to be guaided against. There is 
considerable difference among cows in the period when dryness 
begins, some continuing to yield milk till the time of calving. It 
is a safe and wise rule to have all cows as nearly dry as possible 
full six weeks before the calf is due; the calf is better nourished, 
and there is less strain upon the cow. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden Square, London. 
Lat.51° 32'40" N.; Long. 0° 8'0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
0 
’3 
1885. 
January. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32« 
and Sea 
Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
Direction 
of Wind. 
| Temp, of 
Soil at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass. 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
In. 
Sunday . 
11 
28.941 
40.0 
368 
N.W. 
3S2 
47.1 
37.3 
67.1 
32.2 
— 
Monday. 
12 
29.615 
32.2 
29.5 
W. 
38.0 
39.8 
30.8 
53.1 
16-5 
0.014 
Tuesday. 
13 
29.648 
32.5 
31.5 
N.W. 
87 2 
34.7 
30.9 
40.2 
25 8 
0.037 
Wednesday .. 
14 
29790 
31.8 
31.2 
N. 
36 5 
31.2 
29 2 
41.5 
26.3 
0.082 
Thursday ... 
15 
30.005 
36.8 
35.8 
N.E. 
36.3 
38.2 
31.3 
40.2 
27.5 
0.035 
Friday. 
16 
30.071 
35.5 
33.4 
N.E. 
36.8 
37.8 
33.9 
40.4 
32.8 
0.043 
Saturday .... 
17 
30.033 
35.6 
35.0 
E. 
36.8 
38.5 
33 6 
41.9 
32.6 
— 
29.729 
34 9 
33.3 
37.1 
38.6 
32.4 
46.3 
29.1 
0.211 
REMARKS. 
11th.—Bright early, then dull. 
12th.—Beautiful morning; snow in afternoon ; fine evening. 
18th.—Dull, with frequent slight falls of snow. 
14th.—Morning fair; afternoon fine; evening wet. 
15th.—Dull and rainy. 
16th.—Dull, damp morning; fine afternoon; damp evening. 
17th.—Dull throughout. 
A rather cloudy week, with consequently a small daily range of temperature—only 6.2° 
instead of 12.8° as in the previous week. Snow on 12th and 13th, but it all went on 15th. 
—G. J. Symons. 
