26 o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
April 13 
are clean before drying. Cure them as quickly as 
possible. If these directions are followed, I prophesy 
that you will find a ready market for the crop, and 
that next Christmas will find you in possession of the 
desired spending money. nellie c. Andrews. 
GRADED RATIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL COWS. 
The 12-Quart Cow and Her 20-Quart Neighbor. 
THE QUESTION. 
In regard to a balanced ration for dairy cows, your Primer 
Science is the best I have seen; but to have it complete, I would 
like to know how to feed one cow giving 20 quarts of milk per day, 
one cow giving 12 quarts of milk per day, and one cow giving six 
quarts of milk per day. How much grain per day should be fed 
each cow after giving her 15 to 20 pounds of Timothy and 10 
pounds of corn fodder, having 3*4 pounds of ears on it? How 
much grain should be fed for each gallon of milk—wheat mid¬ 
dlings and oil meal, new process ? I find that each cow must be 
fed according to the amount of milk she gives. I consider the 12- 
quart cow the medium farmer’s cow. If so, the cow giving 20 
quarts and over, and the one giving six or less quarts per day, 
must be fed differently. The weight of the cows is 1,200 pounds' 
each. m. n. 
Menominee, Mich. 
A Pennsylvania Buttermaker's Method. 
The feeding questions asked are very important for 
every dairyman to consider, and they may be answered 
in different ways, according to the different purposes 
for which the dairy is run. I can only give my w ay. 
We keep from 30 to 40 cows for making butter ; the 
most of them calve from September to January, with 
as few as possible in June, July and August. Not do¬ 
ing the feeding myself, I can only lay down general 
rules for the man in charge. Through the winter, we 
feed all cows fresh in September or later, about the same 
amount of grain, unless a large cow or extra milker 
may get a little more than the others. Any not good 
milkers, ought by spring to be in pretty good order, 
and are then sold for beef, replacing them in the 
autumn with fresh ones. There will be a few to calve 
in the spring. These will milk into the following 
winter, and are then grain-fed according to their con¬ 
dition. If good and to be kept to come in again, being 
by that time strippers, they are fed but little. If to 
be sold, they are fed the same as fresh cows to get 
them in fair order by the time they are dry. 
Our fresh cows this winter have been fed about 12 
to 14 pounds per day—corn-and-cob meal, corn and 
wheat bran, gluten feed and cotton-seed meal, all 
mixed except the latter, which is given on the other 
feed to each cow separately, except those that will 
calve soon, say two or three months. They all get 
hay and fodder (stover), as much as they need. We 
feed the meal dry and the hay long ; cut the corn fod¬ 
der about two inches long, so that it can be fed in the 
stables. I am very sure a man can get more out of 
his cows if he has only a few, feeds them himself, and 
helps milk them. He can do it better than he can hire 
any one to do it for him. My cows have averaged me 
over $100 a year ever since I began making butter in 
1877—not counting calves or pork, which bring in sev¬ 
eral hundred dollars more. They will fall short this 
year, as butter is only 40 cents, wholesale, this winter. 
Before the hard times, I got 50 cents from October to 
May. Ten or twelve years ago, it was 60 cents all 
one winter and part of another, then 55 a while. I 
then got a monthly check for $300 to $400, except, per¬ 
haps, in July and August, and they are the smallest 
of the year. The butter all goes, twice a week, to one 
place in Philadelphia, and has for 18 years. 
Chester County, Pa. benj. sharpless. 
Feed Her What She Pays For. 
My practice is to feed each cow just what she will 
pay for, but I would not trust the feeding to a care¬ 
less man, as the feeder should watch each cow to 
know how she takes hold of the feed, and also to 
know whether it is licked up clean, so as to form his 
judgment for the next time. I am certain that it 
pays to feed each cow on this basis, for if all were 
fed alike, some of the feed would be wasted ; at least, 
there would be no immediate returns, for some cows 
would lay on fat, and the large milkers would not get 
enough to do their best, and would also become thin. 
Columbia County, N. Y. N. h. 
Cows are Different Machines. 
It is difficult to throw very much light upon this 
complex subject, from the fact that cows are indi¬ 
viduals, with different temperaments, and appro¬ 
priate and dispose of their food on seemingly different 
plans. The size of the cow, and the amount of food 
that she eats, are no indication of what she will do 
at the pail, or what the milk will churn out. Some 
little cows eat as much as large ones. Large cows, as 
a rule, are no better milkers in pounds of milk than 
smaller cows, and the instances of small cows giving 
more butter fat than large ones, are not a few. A 
study of the feeding of the World’s Pair cows is most 
instructive, and it is seen that size, rations, and re¬ 
sults, as applied to individual cows, bore no corre¬ 
sponding relation. So far as the feeding of my own 
herd is concerned, I find that average rations fed to 
the cows are not profitable. So I feed each cow what 
she will consume clean, and hold to the balance, 
about six to one. I do not find that where a cow 
readily consumes more than the average ration, it 
pays as well to increase the grain correspondingly, 
but I add more ensilage and other bulky foods like 
clover hay. I may be heterodox, but I have never 
found, except in a few individual cases, that it paid 
to feed a cow over six pounds of mixed grain a day. 
The ration that is fed by M. N. is pretty largely on 
the starchy side, and six pounds of fine bran would 
not be far out of the way. As to the cows men¬ 
tioned, the one giving six pounds less than the other, 
my own experience would lead me to say that the 
cow giving the least would need, and actually de¬ 
mand, the most feed. To try to feed her in propor¬ 
tion to the milk she gave, would shrink her in her 
milk. The cow is not a duplicate machine to do one’s 
bidding, but has a born way of her own in eating 
and milk production, quite as much in the quality of 
milk that she gives, and which no kind or sort of 
feeding will bring to a common excellence. 
Ohio. JOHN GOULD. 
A Close Ration Fed to All. 
A dairy cow is the most difficult of all farm animals 
to feed to get the best results on the cost of food con¬ 
sumed. Profit depends largely on the skill of the 
feeder and the cow fed. I do not think it will pay M. 
N. to add any more grain to the food he is giving to 
the cow giving six or less quarts of milk per day. In 
feeding my dairy cows, I dampen enough cut clover 
hay to feed all the cows for one day. and mix with it 
enough bran, corn meal, linseed or cotton-seed meal, 
or both, to make a nutritive ratio that will be about 
1 to 4.6. Cows giving a good flow of milk, will get 
twice a day, all they will eat clean and with a relish. 
Some clover hay is fed in addition and corn fodder 
during the day ; cows that have been milked seven or 
eight months, get less of this mixed feed, which is dis¬ 
continued when a cow drops in milk to four to six 
THE NEW PLUM SCALE. Fig. 83. 
quarts a day, or when the time approaches for her to 
go dry. There is quite a difference in the amount of 
milk or butter from cows consuming the same amount 
of food, which shows that cows cannot be fed a given 
amount for a gallon of milk. One cow may give 12 
quarts when fed to her full limit of profit, while 
another cow under the same conditions, may give 20 
or more quarts on the same amount of food. 
Illinois. D. F. MILLER. 
Opinion of an Ayrshire Breeder. 
While M. N. is on the right road to success in the 
feeding of dairy stock, frequent halts for reflection 
should be made. I do not think it possible to classify 
cows by gauging their feed according to the quality 
of milk given. On the same principle, laboring men 
should be classified according to the work performed. 
People who have observed workingmen at the table, 
cannot but have noted that very often the heartiest 
eater is the poorest worker in the field. The work- 
production of two men of different weight, cannot be 
predicted upon the amount of food consumed at the 
table ; neither can the food requirements of a cow be 
regulated in accordance with the amount of milk 
given. Most of our dairy authorities recommend the 
grading of the amount of food-according to the weight 
of the animal ; while this may serve as a general rule, 
every experienced feeder must have noted the neces¬ 
sity for many variations from the rule. The charac¬ 
teristics of cows vary as do the characteristics of 
persons. Two cows of equal weight stand side by 
side in the stable ; one gives double the quantity of 
milk given by the other, but one has the habit of con¬ 
verting her food into milk, the other converts hers into 
the make-up of the physical waste going on in her 
system. Both may require the same amount of food ; 
the two physical organizations must be fed, the only 
difference is in the use each cow makes of her food. 
In the one case, the milk secretions take up the masti¬ 
cated food ; in the other case, the food goes to the 
building up of the muscular system. I think the 
highest success will be attained in the feeding of 
dairy animals by a careful study of the characteristics 
of each member of a herd. The principle of the 
“ balanced ration” is in the variety more than in the 
quantity. The study should be on the line of individual 
assimilation. Regarding the amount of grain feed 
in addition to the corn fodder mentioned, I would 
not credit the corn fodder at more than one-half the 
chemical value of good corn meal. M. N. can make a 
good ration by mixing four pounds of corn meal, four 
pounds of bran and two pounds of linseed meal. This 
with 10 pounds of corn fodder and 10 pounds of 
Timothy hay, should be a good dairy ration. 
New York. d. m. Campbell. 
Does Not Pay to Graduate Feed. 
We have not found it practical to graduate the 
grain ration for milch cows in proportion to the 
amount of product given. Our observation has been 
quite contrary to that of M. N. We find, as he does, 
that different cows give different amounts of milk, 
but we find also that if we decrease the grain ration 
of the cow giving a small amount of milk, she will 
also decrease her milk to correspond. Instead of at¬ 
tempting to give a cow grain in proportion to the 
amount of milk she gives, we aim to give a cow all 
the grain that she will eat and digest without in¬ 
creasing in flesh. If the cow under these conditions 
does not make a satisfactory return for the food 
given, we discard her and try to find one that will. 
H. H. WING. 
No Chance for Robbers Here. 
We classify our cows according to age, and then 
make the standard of production about 12,COO pounds 
and upwards for a mature cow, and 9,000 pounds and 
upwards for a two-year-old. As soon as we find that 
a cow will not come up to this standard, we aim to 
dispose of her, so that all our cows will correspond in 
production, and then we feed each age about the 
same. This gives us an even, uniform herd, with 
nothing in it that cannot be called extra. Of course, 
a good feeder could sort his cows, and feed them ac¬ 
cording to production, if he saw fit; but we prefer to 
bring the production up to the highest standard, and 
feed no poor ones. smiths & powell co. 
LATEST NEWS ON THE PLUM SCALE. 
IT IS ALL READY FOR BUSINESS. 
November 10 last I warned the readers of The R. 
N.-Y. of the danger which threatened the plum in¬ 
dustry from the little pest pictured at Fig. 83. It was 
reported at the meeting of the Western New York 
Horticultural Society, that the winter was killing the 
scales. The important questions at once presented 
themselves. How many of the scales are thus actually 
dying natural deaths this winter? Will enough sur¬ 
vive until spring opens to repeat last season’s disas¬ 
trous work ? In short, will it be advisable or neces¬ 
sary to spray in the early spring ? 
Our bulletin No. 83, which gives a detailed account 
of our knowledge of the scale up to about January 1, 
has been sent to all who asked for it. Recently, 
however, I have made a careful examination of many 
badly infested plum and quince branches sent in by 
my correspondents from different parts of western 
New York, and I believe sufficient data has been there¬ 
by secured to enable me to answer with approximate 
correctness the questions propounded above. 
First, the pest did vastly more damage last year than 
is described in the bulletin where I thought I drew a 
pretty serious picture. Mr. Hooker has stated that 
nearly 500 of his oldest plum trees are now dead. The 
strain on their vitality from so many millions of little 
pumps sucking out their life, was too great, and they 
have succumbed. 
Second, the pest is more widely distributed than we 
had suspected. I have just received specimens from 
Cardington, Ohio, and others recently from Hector 
and Penn Yan, N. Y.; but in neither of these cases 
was the pest numerous. However, a branch of Prunus 
Simonii from Schoharie, N. Y. (the first locality in the 
eastern part of the State from which we have received 
the scale), was very badly infested. This is the first 
record of the pest on this species of Prunus. This 
tree was brought from Geneva in 1890, and doubtless 
was infested when purchased. 
Third, the scale occurs in very alarming numbers on 
quince trees, and, so far as our observations go, the 
scales are wintering better on the quince than od the 
plum ; so that quince growers, especially those who 
have their orchards near infested plum trees, must be 
on the lookout. 
The fourth, and most important fact, is that in spite 
of the admission that thousands, yes millions, of the 
scales have perished since they crawled from the 
leaves on to the branches in September, there still 
remain on badly infested trees to-day millions of live 
and apparently healthy scales. I have carefully ex¬ 
amined with a lens thousands of the young hibernating 
scales during the past week, and I feel sure that at 
least from 30 to 50 per cent of them are alive. I 
estimated in the bulletin, that if 25 per cent of the 
scales then on the trees were allowed to develop in 
May, the trees would be literally overrun with the 
pest before fall. I believe that there are to-day twice 
« 
