52 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
January 27 
The Cows; Their Feed and Care. 
“ Let us P '0 into the cow stables,” said the attendant. 
Here we found in a long building, warm, snug, clean 
and light, a double row of considerably more than 100 
cows fastened in swing stanchions, facing each other. 
Through the central alley is a track upon which runs 
a car from which the cows are fed. Behind the cows 
is a deep gutter into which the droppings fall, leaving 
the platform upon which the cows stand clean, and 
from which the manure is shoveled into wheelbarrows. 
No loafing, loud talking, swearing or smoking are 
allowed, and a sign to that effect faces the entrance 
door. Another sign over where the milking stools are 
hung, reads; “ These stools are to sit upon, and not to 
make tender beef with.” 
“ What breeds are your cows ?” I asked. 
“Most of them are crosses. We have crossed the 
Jerseys, Guernseys and Ayrshires the most. To a less 
extent, the Holsteins, but the latter cross has proved 
EO satisfactory that we shall do more crossing with 
this breed.” 
* “ What object do you wish to attain in making these 
crosses ?” 
“ Size and vigor of the animal, together with a large 
fiow of rich milk. We want more milk than is pro¬ 
duced by the Jersey, and a richer my.k than the Hol¬ 
stein usually furnishes.” 
“ What per cent of butter fat do you secure in your 
milk ?” 
“ Generally four per cent; we are not satisfied with 
less.” 
“ What do you feed ? ” 
“Ensilage, cut corn stalks, bran, linseed meal and 
cotton-seed meal. Here is the formula : Ensilage, 50 
pounds; corn stalks, 10 pounds ; bran, 4 pounds ; lin¬ 
seed meal, 2 pounds; cotton seed meal, 23^ pounds. 
These are thoroughly mixed, and each cow is fed all 
she will eat up clean. You see, we can feed very 
easily. The feed is mixed, put in this car, run down 
between the double row of cows, and shoveled 
directly into the mangers.” 
“I see no corn meal included in this ration.” ' 
“We consider that the cows get ccrn enough in I 
the ensilage. If we should feed all corn stalks in- i 
stead of ensilage, we would add corn meal.” 
“ Do you keep the cows in the stable all the 
time ? ” •, 
“No, they are let out on pleasant days for a 
few hours, but in stormy weather are kept in.” ' 
“ What time do you begin milking ? ” ^ 
“ About 5 o’clock.” 
“ Do you feed before milking ?” 
“ Not now ; we tried that, but it seemed more 
satisfactory to milk first, and feed directly after- 
ward.” 
“ How many cows does each man milk ? ” 
“ The number varies, usually about 15, in about 
two hours’ time. We begin at one end of the 
row, and, when one man finishes a cow, he 
passes along and takes the first one unmilked. It 
would be better if each could always milk the same 
cows, but as the teamsters come in and help, it seems 
impracticable.” 
“ How do you handle the milk after it is drawn ? ” 
“ It is run through the separator, and the needed 
supply of cream is furnished to the Sanitarium. Part 
of it is made into butter, and the buttermilk is also 
sent to the Sanitarium. It is prominent on the bill-of- 
fare. Of course, the milk needed there is not sepa¬ 
rated. The skim-milk goes to feed the calves and 
piffs.” F. H. V. 
(To be Continued.) 
malnlDK portion of the plant had began to swell. This experiment Is 
by no means a novel one, for essentially the same thing has hereto¬ 
fore been accomplished with the vine and other plants; but It mast 
Impress upon the reader the fact that much of the bursting vegetation 
of springtime is supported by a local store of nutriment, and Is more 
or less Independent of root action. 
It is singular, indeed, to see this vine with full 
leaves inside the window and bare canes outside. It 
shows that plants store up starchy matters in their 
branches or bulbs to be used for early spring growth, 
which is supported from this store rather than from 
food in the Eoil. It is a forcible illustration of the 
value of glass in horticulture or agriculture. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address of the 
writer to Insure attention. Before asking a question please see if It Is 
not answered In our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
A WHITE POULTRY CROSS. 
A. H., Oallupville, N. Y -—I want to cross the White 
Plymouth Hock with Whits Leghorn. Would it be a 
good idea to begin with White Plymouth Rock pullets 
and a White Leghorn cockerel, and then each succeed¬ 
ing year alternate between Plymoath Rock and Leg¬ 
horn cockerels ; that is, use Plymoath Rock coekerels 
one year and Leghorn the next ? Would adding fresh 
blood in this way make a perfect cross ? 
The cross between White Leghorns and White Ply¬ 
mouth Rocks would be a good one ; it would improve 
the laying qualities of the Piymouch Rocks, and at 
the same time improve the eating qualities of the Leg¬ 
horns. It is quite important to change 'roosters each 
year to keep up the stock. j. h. seely. 
The first cross of a Leghorn cock (either White or 
Taoa«»( 
HOW GLASS MAKES A SHORT WINTER. 
In Bulletin 59 of the Cornell Experiment Station, 
Prof. L H. Bailey discusses this question: Does 
mulching retard the maturity of fruits ? The follow¬ 
ing conclusions were arrived at as the result of a num¬ 
ber of different experiments and many observations : 
1. The early bloom of fruit plants depends very largely upon the ap¬ 
propriation of food stored in the twigs, and It Is more or less Inde¬ 
pendent of root action. This Is proved both by direct experiment and 
by study of the physiology of plants. 
2. It must follow, then, that the temperature of the twig or branch 
must be reduced if Us vegetation is to be much retarded; or. In other 
words, tne too of the plant, as well as the soil, must be mulched, and 
In practice this is possible only with strawberries and other very low 
plants, OP those whlcn are laid down during winter. 
3. There Is danger of Injuring plants by heavy mulch which Is 
allowed to remain late In spring If it be desired to retard flowers or 
fruit by mulching tne practice should not be violent, and the plants 
should be carefully watched. 
4. Many strawoerry growers are able to delay the ripening of fruit, 
by mulching, from two days to two weeks; but a week’s delay Is 
usually about the limit of profltaole results. 
Te.mperatube Difference in a Pane of Grass. Fig. 21 
Brown) on Plymouth Rock hens, makes a good activsi 
business hen, and the cockerels make plump, easy 
broilers. As to the subsequent crosses mentioned, I 
can only say, “ I don’t know.” o. w. mapes. 
Will Be Mongrels in the End. 
The cross mentioned is one of the best if crossing 
be desired, but it may probably be improved by first 
crossing the Leghorn male with Plymouth Rock hens, 
using a White Wyandotte male the second year, and 
next a Plymouth Rock male. Then use a Leghorn 
male again, followed by a Wyandotte, etc. It is 
doubtful, however, if anything is gained by crossing, 
as each breed is bred for some particular character¬ 
istic. The cross mentioned will not produce as good 
layers as pure Leghorns or as large fowls as the Ply¬ 
mouth Roeks. When one begins to cross his flock, the 
result is usually mongrels in the end, the pure breeds 
being destroyed. p. h. Jacobs. 
Better Build Over a Pure Breed. 
In crossing two breeds of fowls I have never suc¬ 
ceeded in getting satisfactory results by continuing to 
breed from the progeny of the first cross. Although 
the chicks from the first cross often prove quite uni¬ 
form in appearance, size, disposition, etc., it is a fact 
that to continue to breed from them, either by breed¬ 
ing them together, or using a purebred male of each 
breed of the parent stock on alternate years as sug¬ 
gested by A. H., this uniformity will be broken up, 
and the progeny be found to present a varied appear¬ 
ance. While some will closely resemble the pure 
breeds of the parent stock, others will present few of 
the characteristics of either breed, and often cause the 
ing stock, improve and mold them to the form and 
characteristics most desired ? When the owner has 
well established in his mind just what characteristics 
he wants in a fl'ck, this course will be found much 
easier than the mixing of two widely different breeds. 
With the great number of recognized and established 
pure breeds of poultry already in this country, who 
cannot better select one suited to his purpose than to 
cross two or more of them ? c. h. wyckoff. 
Why Spoil a Good Breed? 
If your correspondent wishes to cross White Ply¬ 
mouth Rocks with White Leghorns, the way he sug¬ 
gests is the best one. As to adding fresh blood to 
make a perfect cross, his meaning is not very clear as 
to what constitutes a perfect cross. The chicks would 
keep reverting to one breed or the other, and it would 
be many years before any settled strain would be 
produced. If obtained, their usefulness would be 
doubtful. It has been proved many times that no 
crossing with the White Leghorns improves their 
laying qualities. Purebred White Leghorns surpass 
all crosses when carefully bred for laying. The Ply¬ 
mouth Rock is a better table fowl than the Leghorn, 
so why spoil it ? Very likely the cross would produce 
chicks that would be hardier than pure Leghorns; 
still I would not spoil both breeds for such a result. 
If chickens are wanted for market, the Plymouth 
Rocks are better pure: while for eggs the White Leg¬ 
horns are also better purebred. henry hales. 
A GOOD $10 BILL FEEDS A COW SIX MONTHS. 
now ensilage has cheapened the board. 
E O S., Athens, Ohio —I wish to ask if Mr. Henry 
Talcott’s cows, fresh in the fall and fed on ensilage 
and clover hay at a cost of -SIO for six months of win¬ 
ter, as stated in The R N.-Y. of December 30, will 
give as much milk as if fresh in the spring and kept on 
gocd pasture for six months of summer. 
A NS.—For seven years past I have had the use 
of 21 or 22 acres of crop land on my farm to 
raise the feed for from 41 to 46 head of cattle, 
half of these, 20, and sometimes more, have been 
dairy cows, giving milk for a winter dairy, and 
the balance breeders, stock and beef cattle. I 
had two fields of 10 acres each, one of 11 acres and 
one of 12 acres. In my farm crop rotation for 20 
years past one field each year has been clover 
hay, one corn, one oats, and one wheat seeded 
to clover, the latter topdr*«6ed with 250 to 300 
^ loads of stable manure. I »ever attempt to use 
a clover meadow more than one year, conse¬ 
quently I always have a new clover meadow each 
1^ year, and it will yield two tons or more of clover 
hay per acre. I plant my corn always on clover 
sod ground, and for 15 years past have used 200 
pounds of superphosphate per acre. I plant 
for ensilage corn, the large white cob South¬ 
ern corn, and allow it to grow until from the 
first to the middle of October. • I have plenty 
of corn ripe enough each year to secure my own 
seed, and the average crop of ears will be from 100 to 
150 bushels per acre. We husk and save only what 
we want for seed corn and to feed the chickens and 
fatten two or three hogs. I find by careful separa¬ 
tion of a bushel of ensilage, which is our usual ration 
for each cow at a feed, that there are from three to 
four quarts of good soft corn in each feed. I find it is 
an ample grain feed for my cows. For four years out 
of the seven, I did not feed any bran with my noon 
feed of clover hay, but I find that by feeding two 
tons of bran each winter, costing me from §12 to $15 
per ton, two quarts only to each cow once a day with 
the noon feed of clover hay, it does improve my milk 
yield, and also makes my cattle drink heartier in the 
afternoon. The morning feed is given early, and the 
ensilage is so moist that the cattle will not drink a 
drop of water until after they have a feed of the dry 
clover hay at noon. 
I have two cattle barns and four wooden silos. I 
can put 60 tons of ensilage into each silo and my field 
of corn will more than fill these silos. The surplus, 
whenever we have any, now goes into a big pile on the 
barn floor and is fed to the cattle as fast as we can 
make them eat it clean. I have had to feed a portion 
of this crop grown on 22 acres of land each year to 
other stock, because my herd of cattle would not con¬ 
sume it all. I have 20 acres more of crop land upon 
which I raise Timothy hay, potatoes and other crops 
and feed my horses mostly on Timothy hay. 
I charge as cost of cattle feed $5 per acre rental for 
the 22 acres of land, $110 ; one ton of fertilizer $30 ; 
As evidence of the truth of the first conclusion, a 
photograph was made showing the singular state of 
affairs pictured at Fig. 21. Of this Prof. Bailey says: 
On February 15, a branch of a nectarine tree which stood alongside 
the hort'oultural lacoratory was drawn Int) the office thro'igu a win¬ 
dow. This office was maintained at the temperaturo of a IWing rooua. 
On Acrll 6 the Duds began to swell, and the young leaves had reached 
a length of three-fourths Inch a week later. The leaves finally at¬ 
tained their full size upon this branch before the buds upon the re- 
owner to wonder where they came from. Therefore, 
if one must have a cross-brad flock, I would advise the 
use of only purebred parents to produce the best re¬ 
sults. But why cross at all ? Why not instead select 
the breed coming nearest to the idea of its owner, and 
then by careful and close attention in the selection of 
breeding stock each year, coupled with good manage¬ 
ment in the care and feeding of the young and grow- 
two tons of bran $30 ; labor and filling silos at harvest 
$230 ; total $400. It has never cost me quite the 
amount each year, but as the straw I use for bedding 
the cattle is worth something, I call the total cost 
$400 for six months winter keep of a little over 40 head 
of cattle. The last of March or in April each year my 
beef cattle are ready for market without extra feed. 
My stock cattle are the fat kind and ready for spring 
