786 
FHE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
NOV 3o 
times discontinue it entirely, or feed 
only the very lightest food, such as 
wheat-bran. Of course, enough has to be 
fed an animal to keep her in good condi¬ 
tion, and some animals will not very ma¬ 
terially diminish the quantity of milk they 
give unless a decided reduction is made in 
their feed. The drying off of cows is proba¬ 
bly one of the nicest and most careful re¬ 
quirements of the dairy, and our opinion is 
that more injured udders are produced by 
improperly drying cows than by any other 
cause. As soon as the quantity of milk 
will permit, we stop milking twice a day, 
and milk only once a day for some time, 
and then when the condition of the animal 
and the amount of milk she is giving per¬ 
mit it, we begin to skip a day, then two, 
and so on, until the cow ceases to give any 
milk. 
There is a very great difference between 
cows of the same breed as regards their 
inclination to dry off. However, Holstein- 
Friesians, as a class, we think are more in¬ 
clined to milk continuously than any other 
breed we know of. We can cite many 
instances in our own herd, where we have 
found it either very difficult or impossible to 
dry off cows. Notable instances of this 
character were the famous cow Clothilde, 
which gave over 26,000 pounds of milk in a 
year, and Addie, which gave over 17,000 
pounds in a year, and both of them milked 
for several successive seasons without be¬ 
ing dry, although the grain ration was 
taken away entirely and the fodder ration 
w r as reduced to the lowest quantity that we 
felt the health of the cow and foetus would 
admit of. Other instances of this same 
character could be specified, but space for¬ 
bids. We regard it as a very dangerous 
procedure to attempt to dry off a cow, the 
natural inclination of which is to give milk, 
even though she gives milk for a longer time 
than we think best for her own good and 
that of the calf. We prefer to have a cow 
milk continuously, season after season, 
rather than to run the risk of injuring her 
udder by forcing her to become dry. 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
FROM GEO. M. ORRIS. 
I gradually discontinue the grain feed of 
the cows we want to dry off, beginning two 
months before they are due to calve, except 
a part of the ration of bran. Then I begin 
by milking them once per day for a time ; 
then I leave longer intervals between milk¬ 
ings. I keep a more careful watch when 
the milk gets thick in the .udder, milking 
it out as often as necessary, and keep watch 
of the udder almost till calvingjime. I 
try not to have my cows go dry over one 
month, and a young cow with her first 
calf I try to milk up to calving time almost. 
At present, I have two heifers that are due 
now, and had commenced to spring the 
udder before I quit milking. Now we only 
try not to allow any milk to get thick. I 
think it is better for young cows not to 
dry them up very long. I try to feed a 
cow well while she is dry, so that she will 
gain in condition, but not lay on fat. I do 
not feed any corn-meal at this time—only 
wheat bran and clover hay. 1 do not find 
quite as much difference between cows of 
the same breed as between cows of different 
breeds. My Jerseys milk for a longer period 
than do my Short-horns, but the feed has a 
good deal to do with cows keeping up their 
flow of milk for a long period. Cows drop¬ 
ping calves in the fall, keep up the flow of 
milk for a longer period than cows which 
drop their calves in the spring. I am sure 
that a cow will do better after calving if 
she has been dry a reasonable length of 
time. But cows will not do better after 
calving in proportion to the length of time 
they are dry ; for I have seen cows go dry 
after milking for four or five months, and 
they would not do as well as cows that 
were not dry at all. 
Meadville, Pa. 
FROM L. F. ALLEN. 
There are several ways of drying off a 
cow from her milk, such as milking only 
once a day ; not milking the udder clean ; 
rubbing the bag with salt and water, and 
some other ways familiar to all cow keep¬ 
ers. A period of four to six weeks is long 
enough to let a cow go dry. To let her re¬ 
main so longer than that is to lose time. I 
have not, as a rule, made changes in the 
food of the cows while they are going dry. 
I have found little difference in drying off 
different breeds of cows. The habit is ac¬ 
quired chiefly from the treatment of the 
cow when breeding early. 
The Guernseys, in my experience, hold out 
longest in milking. It is impossible to dry 
off many of them from the time they have 
one calf until they have another, and still 
they bring a good. calf. The yield of milk 
will increase for days or weeks until the 
usual quantity is given. I prefer that a 
cow should go dry for four to six weeks. 
Buffalo, N. Y. 
FROM C. M. WINSLOW. 
I should like to have my cows go dry 
about a month or six weeks ; hut I seldom 
get them dried off much before they be¬ 
gin to “spring” and sometimes I am not 
able to dry them entirely then. I milk 
once a day for a few days; then skip a day; 
then skip two days, etc., but when I milk, 
I milk clean. I find some variation among 
cows of the same breed and even of the 
same family. A cow will also milk up to 
calving time some years, wfliile in others 
she will go dry a longer or shorter time. I 
think both cow and calf are stronger if the 
cow goes dry a month or so, and the cow' 
usually has a better udder after she has 
had a rest. In trying to dry off a cow, I 
should, of course, take away the extra feed. 
Brandon, Vt. 
FROM DAVID CARLL. 
My cows are Jerseys, all of my own rais¬ 
ing, and are inclined to milk until near 
calving time. I feed a grain ration of 
wheat-bran and corn-meal to all milch cows 
the year round. About six week before 
they are due to calve, I reduce this feed 
from one-half to two-thirds, milking them 
only once a day for a few days and then 
every alternate day for a few days more, 
when they usually dry up. Occasionally 
one will milk up to calving. A few years 
ago I had a Jersey cow that dropped six 
calves before she was seven years old, and 
he w r as never dry after she first came in 
s 
ration in winter; in summer I stop it alto¬ 
gether, but let the cow have all the hay or 
grass she wants. My cows are registered 
and high-grade Jerseys and this breed is one 
ot persistent milkers, the from-calf-to-calf 
kind. Of course, there is some difference 
even between cows of the same breed, but I 
don’t believe my Jerseys average much 
over two weeks “ dry ; ” I don’t think lever 
had one go dry for four weeks. Some of 
my cows have never been dry since they 
dropped their first calves ; for instance, my 
oldest Jersey is now 7 carryiug her seventh 
calf, calving the first time at two years old, 
and she has never been dry. Her calves 
make fine cow 7 s, two of them being consid¬ 
erably larger than their dam. It is reason¬ 
able to suppose that a calf dropped by a 
cow 7 that gave rich milk nearly up to calv¬ 
ing time, will not enter the world in a 
“fat” condition, but “change of pasture 
makes fat calves,” and if you want a fat 
calf you can “change its pasture” after 
its birth, and find cheaper pasturage than 
the butter fat of the milk. I w 7 ant no 
calves fat except the bull calves to be sold 
for veal. I have not noticed any injury to 
cow 7 or calf as the result of milking the cow 
up to time of calving and do not know of 
any reason why there should be. 
Catonsville, Md. 
FROM W. B. PRATT. 
To dry off a cow, milk but once a day for 
awffiile ; then less frequently as the flow 7 is 
checked, giving the milk to the pigs, and 
when the secretion is wholly arrested empty 
the udder thoroughly to avoid danger from 
garget or other obstructions in the teats 
when the cow Again comes in. Cows should 
A PAIR OF TAME DEER. 
milk until she died w 7 hen eight years of 
age. She produced some valuable calves 
and gave a good quantity of milk wTiicli 
made as large a quantity of butter as the 
milk of many cows does in a life-time of as 
many more years. 
In my opinion a cow should go dry six 
weeks. It is undoubtedly better for the 
cow and for the calf. There is a difference 
in cows of the same breed and of the same 
family. I think a good deal depends upon 
the management of the cow the first year 
she is in milk. If she is well fed and 
properly milked to near calving time, she 
will be more likely to continue giving 
milk persistently than if she is carelessly 
milked and allowed to dry up soon. 
Suffolk County, N. Y. 
FROM A. L. CROSBY. 
When I have occasion to dry off a cow, I 
milk her but once a day fora few 7 days, then 
every alternate day for a few 7 days more, 
and after that w 7 atch her udder to see that 
there is not too much milk in it; if so I 
milk out a part of it. But my practice now 7 
is not to dry the cows off at all, but to 
milk them up to the time the milk changes, 
just before calving. The only change I 
make in the feed is to decrease the grain 
From a Photograph. Fig. 283. 
have a rest of at least two months, and if 
they get more than that, there is no loss of 
yearly profit and there certainly is a saving 
of time in drawing grudgingly-yielded 
strippings. A good cow 7 will store up flesh 
and energy during her vacation, and run 
off the same into the milk pail when 
she resumes business. One that will not 
do so has mistaken her calling and should 
be disposed of. No change should be made 
in the feeding except that special messes, as 
of meal, should be omitted w 7 hen early-cut 
hay and corn-fodder are so good as to cause 
an increase of weight and improvement in 
the general condition during the period of 
idleness. If the cow does not thus improve, 
cut the fodder earlier next year, feed plen¬ 
tifully, and there will be no failure or un¬ 
natural stimulation by a meal diet to the 
animal’s harm. A great difference appears 
in different breeds and herds and the per¬ 
sistent milking quality appears to so run 
in families that the character of the calf in 
this respect when matured can be safely 
predicted. The man who keeps but a sin¬ 
gle cow would perhaps be better served by 
a long milker; but where a number of 
cows are kept, I am inclined to think that 
long milkers are not so very much more 
valuable than the others, as people usually 
think. I have cows that would give milk 
up to the time of calving, but I have never 
allow ed them to do so; and therefore 1 have 
not had experience on this point. The rule 
has been to choke them off at a proper 
time beforehand. I have had cow 7 s so lib¬ 
eral and persistent in their milk yields as 
to become too shadowy to please the eye of 
the lover of sleek-looking stock. Such a 
tendency has been checked by extending 
the intervals between calving to a year and 
a half. This may be advantageously done 
when a part of the herd are wanted fresh 
for winter use. 
Prattsburgh, N. Y. 
FROM C. M. LUSK. 
I milk twice each day till about the first 
of December and then once each day till 
the cow t s are within six or eight w r eeks of 
calving; then I stop short and after three or 
four days, I milk them clean ; I dosoagain 
about a week later. I have never had any 
trouble in drying off a cow 7 in this w 7 ay. I 
aim to let my cows rest about tw r o months. 
Some will go longer and some not so long. 
All the change I make in the feed is to give 
less grain ; or none at all if I have been 
feeding. I do find a great difference be¬ 
tween cow 7 s of the same breed as to drying 
off. I have had cows that could hardly be 
induced to give milk tow’ithin four months 
of coming in ; while others would give 
milk to the day of calving, both kinds be¬ 
ing kept on the same feed. The former 
are disposed of at the first opportunity. 
I now have two cows that w 7 ill give milk 
to the time of calving and they did it last 
season although I intended to dry them off 
two weeks before calving. I do not think 
the calves were as strong as they would 
have been had the dams dried off, but the 
cow 7 s did as w 7 ell as any cows I had. A cow 7 
that is disposed to run to milk requires 
more feed than one that is not in order to 
keep her up. It is a poor policy to feed all 
cows the same ration of feed. The more 
milk a cow gives the more feed she ought 
to have. I have had cows that I could uot 
get fat while milkiug and feeding, conse¬ 
quently I had to stop feeding till they w r ere 
dried off. Other cow’s w 7 ould take on fat 
without materially increasing the flow 7 of 
milk. The former are the cows for the 
dairy; the latter for beef, and the sooner 
they go to the shambles the better. 
Broome County, N. Y. 
TAME DEER. 
Some weeks ago our friend William An¬ 
derson, of Alcona County, Michigan, wrote 
of a brace of tame deer that had become 
genuine family pets. At our request he 
sent a photograph of the deer, a reproduc¬ 
tion of which is shown at Figure 283. It is 
a beautiful little picture—we do not know 
w’hen w 7 e have seen a prettier one. It will 
mak» some of our Eastern readers think 
hard when they consider the surround 
ings of farmers who can show such 
pets right out of the neighboring forests. 
“Farming pays,” however, right in the 
locality w 7 here these animals were bred. 
“Farming pays” anywhere, for that matter, 
w 7 hen brains and business are used as a farm 
team, and the kindness and patience that 
were needed to turn these naturally wild 
animals into gentle and loving pets, have 
done their full share towards making 
“ farming pay ” in the highest And noblest 
sense. 
♦ 
A CHEAP METHOD OF INCREASING 
BARN OR STABLE ROOM. 
At Fig. 284 w 7 e show 7 a cheap method of 
increasing the scanty barn room of many 
farms. The addition consists simply of a 
lean-to added to either end of an ordinary 
barn ; these may be used for stables, for 
storing implements, w’agons, etc., for a 
shop, or various other purposes. The artist 
has represented them as having each a 
small door, but for housing implements 
larger doors will be necessary. Windows 
might also be added, and other changes 
may suggest themselves. The cut is in¬ 
tended simply as a hint of the possibilities 
of such additions. The capacity of a baru 
may be nearly doubled, while the expense 
need not be heavy. Floors may be added or 
not, according to the uses to w’liich the ad- 
