42 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
pale one. A yellow skin usually indicates a rich 
milker, while a pale skin indicates that ofinferior 
quality. All observing dairymen will acknowledge 
this fact. Exceptions occur, but the rule obtains. 
Now, in contra-distinction to our choice of a 
cow, let us see, for a moment, how the mass of 
dairy cows are • generally obtained. At “the 
West,” where the cattle breeders usually pay lit¬ 
tle attention to the milking qualities of their cows, 
and breed them promiscuously without regard to 
that quality, and also in various other parts of the 
country among poor farmers who raise now and 
then a cow to sell, the cow drovers, or buyers go 
out to make their purchases for the dairy mark¬ 
ets—tire dairymen, as a rule, do not rear 
their heifer calves, but depend upon purchasing 
their cows, either of the drovers, or go out and 
pick them up themselves, as best they may. 
Of course, the selection by the drovers or 
dairymen, is not of the best, for the owners of 
them prize their superior quality as valuable to 
themselves, and the purchasers, consequently, are 
enabled to buy such only as the owners are dis¬ 
posed to sell. They are therefore a promiscuous 
lot—a few good, some indifferent, and many in¬ 
ferior, if not decidedly bad. These cows are taken 
by the dairymen, and after trial a year or two, 
the worst are culled out by them as not being 
worth keeping, and in turn are sold to another 
passing drover, who proceeds on his journey to¬ 
wards market, and sells to a further dairyman, till 
the poor rejected beasts are finally brought up in 
the butcher’s shambles ! And such is the history 
of very many of the dairy herds in our country—a 
short sighted, miserable, unprofitable mode of 
keeping up a supply of milch cows. 
In opposition to this, we would propose a dif¬ 
ferent plan. Having selected the best herd of 
cows we could find, instead of getting a wretched 
inferior bull, with just vitality enough in him to 
beget a calf, as the means of enabling the cow to 
produce, her yearly supply of milk, and then des¬ 
troying the calf soon after birth, we would select 
ahull of some distinct milk producing breed—and 
that breed should be of a kind fitted for our own 
soil, and climate. This bull should be descended 
from a good milking dam, and also from a sire 
whose ancestors were of a good milking tribe, if 
possible. A close examination into these facts 
would give the bull a pedigree, of course, which 
we would demand. In addition to his milk be¬ 
getting qualities, he should add those of good 
shape, fineness, and general quality peculiar to his 
breed. We would preserve the heifer calves by 
this bull from the best cows, and rear them to keep 
the number of our cows good, as the calves grow 
up and the cows are worn out or displaced. Ac¬ 
cording to the general physiological rules of 
“like begetting like,” our young cows would 
nearly all turn out the first class of milkers. We 
would educate the calves to the development 
of their best milking faculties, thus : They should 
be well fed —not pampered ; allowed plenty of 
new milk for the first month, then gradually led 
off into skimmed milk, or whey, with a little oat, 
corn, or oil meal, and be kept all the while in a 
sweet grass pasture. At four months they would 
be fit to wean. From that time forward, pas¬ 
ture in good grass until Winter. Through the 
Winter, soft sweet hay, and perhaps a quart of 
oats, or half the quantity olTndianmeal a day, until 
grass in the Spring. Then good grass pasture an¬ 
other Summer, and hay through the Winter. At 
two years old, grass again for the Summer, and 
turned to the bull in July—even her own sire, if he 
has proved a good getter, for such close breeding 
is not hurtful for a second generation. The young 
cow then comes in, a finely developed beast, and 
being gentle and docile, as she would be if prop¬ 
erly treated, she furnishes a fine milking cow, 
perhaps at a little extra cost, but one which, in 
the natural order of things, is worth one-and-a- 
half, or two that can be obtained out of a com¬ 
mon drove for dairy use. Three or four good 
heifer calves thus raised every year by an intel¬ 
ligent dairyman, will well keep up his herd of 
twenty cows, and in that proportion for a smaller 
or larger number. 
As a proof of the advantage of thus breeding 
up a herd of dairy cows, the writer would relate 
his own experience : Many years ago we kept a 
milk dairy for supplying the town people near by 
with milk. Our herd was a mixed one of 
different breeds—Short Horns, Devons, and na¬ 
tives, with intermediate crosses, and grades. 
We selected two compact, well made bulls— 
one Short Horn, and one Devon, pure in blood, 
each of his kind. To the pure bred cows of 
each breed we bred the same blooded bull, 
and crossed them upon the grade and native 
cows, as we judged best to effect our object of 
producing good milkers. Our thorough bred calves 
of each breed, we of course raised, and selected 
the most promising of the grade heifer calves to 
raise for future dairy cows. In the course ofour 
operations we bred and reared about sixty heif¬ 
ers, and with one exception only, when they came 
into cow’s estate, every individual turned out a 
superior milker, with fine form, and excellent 
quality of carcase as well. But we will give the 
sequel. After some years continuance, not be¬ 
cause the business was unprofitable, but because 
we could not. give the personal attention to it that 
it required, we discontinued the occupation, and 
sold off the most of our herd, chiefly grades—a 
part of them at public sale. Coming in, as they 
did, at different seasons of the year to give a reg¬ 
ular supply of milk as far as possible, our cows 
were in different conditions as to flesh. The full 
milkers were in moderate flesh ; the dry, and 
nearly dry ones were in excellent condition. As 
they were put up to be sold, since every buyer 
wanted “ a first-rate milker,” the question as to 
her milking quality was asked of each one when 
offered. There was a difference, of course, some 
better, some not equally good. Yet, no matter 
what the answer might be, the fattest cows, in 
every instance, brought the most money! So much 
for the eye, over utility ! 
But many dairymen say they “ can’t afford to 
raise their cows. It is cheaper to buy them, and 
run the chances.” We do not believe it—at least, 
as the chances run within our own experience, 
and observation. It may be objected, and with 
considerable truth, we admit, as in late examples, 
that the Short Horns and Devons are not milkers. 
To this we reply, that they are, naturally, good 
milkers ; but the modern breeders have bred for 
flesh, and symmetry of shape, chiefly, and in 
striving for these have measurably bred out, or 
sacrificed the milking quality. But the milk can 
be brought back again by breeding. That quality 
is still latent in the animal, and use and educa¬ 
tion will restore it in the manner we have indi¬ 
cated. Still, we are not advocating breeds of cat¬ 
tle, we speak only of selecting good dairy cows, 
and perpetuating their best milking qualities in 
their descendants. 
We will talk about treatment and feeding in our 
next. 
-«o—>5 M iu rg -O- gsj ■ {>—<£»- 
Love is better than a pair of spectacles to make 
everything seem greater which is seen through it. 
Pantaloons obtained on credit are considered 
breeches of trust. 
It is a good horse that never stumbles. 
Apples for Cows, 
Some persons withhold apples from cows, be¬ 
cause the eating of them sometimes occasions a 
drying up of their milk. An immoderate gorging 
of fruit by half-starved animals will undoubtedly 
produce this result, but a rational and systematic 
feeding of them will not. One might as well deny 
oats and corn and water to horses, because when 
taken to excess they do injury. Sweet apples, 
regularly fed to milch cows, at the rate of about 
six quarts, morning and night, during the Fall and 
Winter, will promote their general health and in¬ 
crease the quantity and quality of their milk. 
It would be good economy for farmers to graft 
over some of their old trees with such fruit, and 
to plant a portion of their new orchards with the 
same. The kinds wanted are, not the fine-grained 
and delicate sorts, such as are suitable for the 
table, but rather those which are rich, dry and 
firm. These do not bruise very much in gather¬ 
ing and storing, they keep better and are more 
nutritious than the nicer and more juicy varieties. 
The black Gillifiower, as an example, is excel¬ 
lent for feeding out late in Spring. Probably there 
are many native sorts throughout the country, 
which are abundant bearers, good keepers, and of 
the right quality. All that is wanted is a series 
of experiments to test them, and a report of lhe 
same through the papers and the pomological so¬ 
cieties. 
Did any of our readers ever reflect how easily 
and cheaply an annual crop of such apples can be 
raised ? We have lately seen an estimate, care¬ 
fully made, which allows ten bushels a tree for 
productive sorts, and amounting to 400 bushels 
per acre. Fifty dollars was allowed for the cost 
of land, and ten dollars for forty trees and the 
transplanting. The land was to be cultivated, 
and the crops from it preserved to pay the 
interest and the cost of cultivation until the trees 
came into bearing, Admitting the bearing or¬ 
chard to cost $80.00, and the tillage $10.00, an¬ 
nually, the yearly crop cost $15.60, at 7 per 
cent interest; or less than four cents a bushel. 
Isn’t that cheap enough 1 Can any other crop be 
raised as easily and economically 1 
The following sorts are recommended by the 
author of the “ Fruit Culturist,” as among the 
best for stock feeding : The High-Top or Sum¬ 
mer Sweet, for early feeding ; the Munson Sweet¬ 
ing, the Haskell Sweet, Pumpkin Sweet, the Sweet 
Pcarmam, the Wing Sioccting and the Green 
Sweet, for Fall and Winter. 
That apples are excellent for fattening hogs, 
and as Fall and Winter feed for horses and other 
stock, we need not spend time in proving. Some 
even assert that for horses they are equal to 
oats. This we do not maintain. In feeding ap¬ 
ples to cows, it is the safest way to cut or mash 
them, to prevent the possibility of choking the 
animals. 
Singular Effect of first Milkings. 
Some have supposed that the first drawings ol 
milk from animals newly calved, is poisonous, be¬ 
cause of the strange effect produced on those who 
use it. We have heard of a Hibernian who 
nearly died of colic and inflammation of the bow¬ 
els, caused by drinking freely of the first milking 
of a cow. Swine fed upon it often suffer grtfat 
pain, and sometimes die in consequence. 
Such milk, however, is not poisonous. It con¬ 
tains a substance which the doctors call colostrum, 
which acts as a cathartic. Such milk is adapt¬ 
ed to the wants of the offspring, and is provided 
by nature to carry off “ the viscid contents of the 
