DEC. 27 
THE BUBAL NEW-YOBKEB. 
and gives it a rich yellow color. Corn meal 
Is an excellent feed for color and quality of 
butter, but it often decreases the yield of milk 
when used alone ; a mixed meal of oats, corn 
and wheat or rye middlings In equal quanti¬ 
ties, is excellent feed for butter; but when 
the oats are used in excess, there is often 
trouble iu churniug. A new feed in this coun¬ 
try is rice meal, whieh is the refuse from the 
bulling machine, ground into a flue meal. Its 
feeding value is theoretically high, but ex¬ 
perience alone cau fix Us actual value. I am 
now usiug this meal and shall soon be able to 
give an opinion as to its value for milk and 
butter. 
Fodders arc of various kinds. The first iu 
value is undoubtedly clover hay cut in an early 
stage. The next is orchard grass, clover and 
Kentucky blue-grass mixed. The mixed 
grasses of an old meadow which are chiefly 
red top, some of the fescues, with some tim¬ 
othy and blue grass, make a good hay for 
the dairy. Fodder corn grown especially for 
this use, and thickly planted so as to have 
their stalks and plenty of leaves, cut while in 
blossom aud well cured in the shock, has 
proved with me to be equal to the best hay. 
Sweet corn of the lartje kinds is preferable to 
field corn ; the Blount’s White Prolific is a fine 
fodder corn, growing tall, having leave's to the 
bottom, and mauy half-grownears when plauted 
as late as June, and being very sweet. A few 
acres of this corn planted last season, turned 
out a largo crop of the finest fodder, which 
gave a better yield of milk thau mixed timothy 
and clover bay. 
Roote are. however, the chief dependence of 
a winter dairy. Turnips and ruta-bagas 
should never be used. I would as soon feed 
onions to my cows. A delicate taste can even 
detect the flavor of turnipB that have been 
stored on the barn floor upon which cows have 
been fed, although the cows have eaten none. 
There is uo use in trying to believe that tur¬ 
nips will not flavor milk and butter if given to 
the cows immediately after milking. I have 
tried it oftentimes, and invariably my custom¬ 
ers have complained of a taste in the milk, 
whieh they suspected was from dirty milking, 
aud I ean detect the scent and flavor of the 
turnips in the butter. Maugels, the Yellow 
Globe or the long red varieties being the best, 
are unexceptionable, giving much nnlk and 
that of a good, rich color. From oue peck to 
half a bushel per cow, sliced and sprinkled 
with feed, will make a profitable feed for a 
dairy cow in full milking. 
In feeding cows in winter, a dally ration of 
salt should be given. Oue ounce, or a lable- 
spooniul per day, is a fair allowance for a 
cow. The want of salt will cause slow churn¬ 
ing, aud foaming in the churn, aud butter not 
coming may often be attributed to this. It 
should go without saying that perfect cleanli¬ 
ness in food and water is of paramount im¬ 
portance. Where the dairyman intrusts the 
feeding to a hired man, the observance of 
cleanliness should be insisted upon as abso¬ 
lutely as honesty or sobriety. To use a dung- 
fork for mixing feed, or trampling upon hay 
or fodder with filthy boots, eanuot be per¬ 
mitted with impunity. It will pay for the em¬ 
ployer to keep one man special I 3 'to feed the 
cows where 10 to 20 are kept, aud not permit 
him to handle manure or clean the cows, or to 
provide him with rubber boots for working iu 
manure aud in the yards, for the purpose of 
maintaining perfect cleanliness. Lastly, the 
water should be pure and given fresh and 
warm from a spring or well. 
®J)f Ijfrisntait. 
' WINTER FEEDING FOR STOCK.-No. 2. 
PROFESSOR E. W. STEWART. 
Cattle. 
Cattle feeding represents our greatest stock 
interest, since the number of head now reaches 
at least 30,000,000 valued at $750,000.000; aud 
sheep and swine only number two to five mil¬ 
lions more each, so that the cattle interest 
greatly exceeds both of these. The only other 
stock interest that approximates to it in value, 
is that of horses, something over ten millions 
iu number, estimated at $000,000,000. But the 
cattle interest represents the most important 
element.- of animal food among civilized peo¬ 
ple—beef and dairy products. The feeding of 
cattle, in this couutry, has only lately entered 
upon its scientific stage—that stage in whieh 
all the elements of success are taken into con¬ 
sideration. It is only of late that serious in- 
quiiy has been made as to the cost of growing 
a pound of beef, but this apparently simple 
imattcr is very indefinitely understood either 
n this couutry or elsewhere. Perhaps Iu 
Germany the value of foods has been more 
carefully studied than iu any olher couutry, 
but even there the cost of a 1500-pound bullock 
has never been accurately determined. If we 
had the cost of feeding 20 calves from the 
time they were dropped until they averaged 
1500 pounds live weight, with the cost separ¬ 
ately determined for each three months, and 
the food consumed accurately noted, we should 
have a more complete test for determining 
the cost of beef than we ean now refer to in 
all the knowledge extant. The investigations 
of the last flfteeu years have brought out, in 
clear light, the important fact, that the cost 
of beef under the best system oi feeding, is in 
proportion to the age of the animal—that is, 
the younger the animal the less it costs to put 
on a pouud live weight—and, consequently, 
if a steer is grown to 1500 pounds weight in 
two years, it will cost much less thau to 
reach that weight In three to four years. There 
have been so many cases of cattle reaching 
1400 to 1500 pouuds iu 24 months, that this 
may be considered as an average attainable 
under a proper system of breeding and feed¬ 
ing, aud a less result should uot be considered 
satisfactory feeding. This requires a gain, 
from birth, of two pounds per day for two 
years. The first year should give a weight of 
about 900 pounds, as a full-fed animal gains 
faster the first year than the second. 
The Calf. 
The proper winter-feeding of calves is first 
in order. As we have just seen in reference to 
growing beef, the rapid growth of the young 
animal is of the greatest importance. Farm¬ 
ers, then, cannot afford to winter their calves 
in an indifferent manner, keeping them, as 
is too frequently the case, in a state of sus¬ 
pended growth till grass comes again, rely¬ 
ing upon that to give them thrift. It costs 
two-thirds as much to keep calves in winter 
without auy iuerease in weight, as it does to 
make a fine growth. The gain in full feeding, 
all comes from one-third of the food—two- 
thirds being expended to keep the calf alive 
without loss. Is it not, therefore, very bad 
economy to throw away two-thirds of the food 
required to make a good growth, in order to 
save the last third? All growth comes from 
the last third of the food in a full ration. 
When farmers fully understand this, they will 
cease to throw away food in starving young 
animals. Some fanners are careless even in 
keeping the calf the first summer, allowing it 
to gather all its food In a poor pasture after 
the short season of milk feeding. The calf 
thus takes on a stuuted condition before win¬ 
ter comes. Iu such case the greatest skill is 
required to change this condition into one of 
thrift, aud if it be uot done, it would be much 
more profitable to skin the calf in the fall than 
to keep it in that stand-still condition, for its 
food through the winter will cost more than 
the calf is worth in the spring. Having 
treated in a previous article upon the impor¬ 
tance of warm, well ventilated stables, it M ill 
be understood that calves arc to have com¬ 
fortable quarters. And, if the calves have 
come to winter-quarters in poor condition, 
the best food to Btart them, when it can be 
had is, six or eight quarts of skimmed milk 
with two quarts of oats aud one pound of lin¬ 
seed oil-meal per day, with good hay. This 
ration for four to six weeks will 6 tart. any calf 
in December that is not past recovery. But it 
will not often happen that the farmer has 
milk at this season of the year, bo we mast 
give a ration that is not difficult to obtain. 
Most farmers have corn meal and oats, and 
linseed oil meal is obtainable in almost auy 
part of the country. Give each poor calf two 
pounds of corn meal, two pounds of oats, and 
one pound of oil-meal per day, in two feeds. 
This, with good clover hay or rowen, will 
soon change the thrift of the calf. Pernaps 
the farmer will say he cau not afford it; well, 
then he cannot afford to beep calves at all. 
This feed for 150 days will cost about seven 
dollars, as an average—iu the Wesc somewhat 
less. Now, calves with this ration ought to 
gain at least 300 pounds ; whereas, if only fed 
hay, being poor on the start, they will not 
gain anything in weight. Will not these 800 
pounds’ gain in weight with the greater value 
per pound of the whole animal, be full com¬ 
pensation for this extra expenditure? This 
extra weight and condition will more thau 
double the value of the calf in spring. 
If the calves come to winter feeding in good, 
thrifty condition, they will winter finely upon 
two quarts of oats and one pouud of oil meal. 
1 mention the oil meal because of its sanitary 
value iu keeping the stomach and bowels in a 
healthy condition. But, if it is uot easy to ob¬ 
tain it, feed three quarts of oats per day to 
each calf with good hay, aud you bring it 
through finely. If you have not oats, but 
corn and good clover bay, feed three pints of 
coru meal or shelled corn on a thin layer of 
hay in the manger; or, better, if you have 
wheat brau aud corn meal, feed two quarts of 
bran and one quart of corn meal mixed, iu two 
feeds. If you live near grape-sugar works, 
your calves may be fed still cheaper on four 
quarts of sugar meal aud one pound of oil 
meal with hay, or the sugar meal with one 
quart of oats per day. The sugar meal is uot 
a complete food in itself and should always be 
fed with a small portion of other grain. But 
whatever ration you adopt, feed liberally ; in 
that will be found the most profit. For 
heifers intended for the dairy I have uot 
given different rations from those for calves 
intended for beef, because they both require 
nitrogenous rations to grow the frame and 
muscles, and I have not given excessive ration 
that would injure young heifers intended for 
breediug. 
Fattening Cattle. 
This is a subject of great iuterest to the 
American farmer at the present time. Since 
Europe has opened up a market for all our 
surplus first-quality beef, it stands us iu hand 
to study the question of economical feeding ; 
for it must become the life-blood of our agri¬ 
culture. The true system of growing the host 
beef begins with the calf and continues till the 
animal is ripe for market. But we must con¬ 
sider the best mode of fattening cattle that are 
ready for the last stage of feeding steers two 
and a half to three and a half years old. The 
mo 6 t difficult problem to solve in fattening 
pertains to those cattle that have been raised 
on the old plau of slow growth. Their diges¬ 
tive capacity is small, comparatively, and it is 
exceedingly difficult to start the fattening 
process in a' satisfactory manner. Ilaviug 
grown bo slowly, they cannot, at once, assimi¬ 
late food enough to make a respectable in¬ 
crease in weight. It must take a longer fat¬ 
tening period than with thrifty steers that 
have grown rapidly. The feeder must take 
this iuto account when he buys this kind of 
cattle to fatten. I have thoroughly tried the 
experiment, aud find that it requires from two 
to four months to put such steers iuto a thriv¬ 
ing condition. The ration best adapted to 
start thrift in this class of steers must contain 
a portion of flax-seed or liuseed oil-meal 
Flaxseed ground with other grain, as men¬ 
tioned last week, or oil-meal, has a most de¬ 
cided effect upon the secretory system—slick¬ 
ing the hair, looseuing the skin, seeming to 
lubricate the whole animal machinery, and 
putting it in condition to assimilate other food. 
Take these steers oi 1000 pounds-weight, and 
the following ration will have the best effect: 
one part of flaxseed ground with sixteen parts 
of corn—six pounds of this mixture, four 
pounds of brau or middlings, with 18 pounds 
of good hay, or ten pounds of hay, and ten 
pouuds of straw; or three pounds of liussed 
oil-meal, six pounds of corn-meal and four 
pouuds of middlings with hay or hay aud 
straw ; continue this for 30 or 40 days. Then 
increase the corn-meal to eight pounds, the 
other parts remaining the same for SO days— 
again iuerease the corn-meal to ten pounds, 
oil-meal, middlings aud hay as before, and con¬ 
tinue this as loug as it seems to be a full ration, 
say for 30 lo 40 days. Now increase the corn- 
meal to twelve pounds, two pounds of bran, 
oil-meal as before, and continue this until 
ready for market. 
This has proved a very successful ration 
with the writer, and it will transform these 
stunted cattle, if anythiug will, iuto nicely 
rounded beeves. But such cattle are uot 
profitable to feed unless purchased very low. 
Of course, this ration may be greatly modified 
to suit circumstances—corn and oats ground 
together may be fed eight pouuds of the mix¬ 
ture to begin with, and increased gradually as 
the beasts can bear it; or, corn meal and bran 
in equal weights, iucreasiug as before; or, 
peas and corn ground together, starting wilh 
six pounds and increasing with one pint of 
cheap molasses dissolved in a gallon of water 
and used to wet the hay. This will give appe¬ 
tite, and the molasses is laxative. Corn fed 
alone to such steers creates a feverish and 
constipated state of the system, and the skin 
does not loosen. 
For thrifty, well grown cattle, the following 
ration will succeed:—one pint of oil-meal, 10 
pounds of eoru-meal, four pounds of bran with 
hay aud straw, and it will, under favorable 
circumstances, produce a gain of 2 .\ to three 
pounds per day. Western cattle are generally 
fed on corn aud corn fodder ulmost wholly, in 
winter. The Germans would call this a bad ra¬ 
tion ; but these cal tie have been well nourished 
on grass during the summer aud come to the 
corn ration in a very thrifty condition: they 
thus keep their health better aud generally 
fatten well on 20 pouuds of corn aud the 
stalks. 
fnshu&i'g. 
ORIGIN OF LINCOLN SHEEP, “DASHES” 
OF BLOOD. 
In the Rural of Oct., 11. Col. Curtis, in 
speakiug of the Lincoln sheep, says they are 
a cross between the Cotswold amt the Bake- 
well Leicester, a statement in which I can by 
no means agree with him. The original 
Lincolns were very large, coarse sheep, dou¬ 
ble Lhe size of the BakewdU Leicester® and 
larger thau the Cotswolds. To give them a 
better quality, however, breeders gave “dash¬ 
es” of Cotswold and Leicester blood; but ani¬ 
mals of this breed have still more than half of 
the original blood, which gives them their great 
size, 'lhe heaviest Lincolns run from 300 to 
350 pouuds, aud there have been two instances, 
or two of 400 pounds. The Cotswolds run 
from 250 to 350 pounds, and the Leicester from 
200 to 300 pounds. Each of these breeds 
has received “ dashes” of blood from other 
breeds, but the breeders were careful to avoid 
any direct cross. 
The “ dash” of blood is given something iu 
this way—aud I know, because I was raised in 
the midst of the greatest sheep district in Eng¬ 
land and my father and self were well acquainted 
with breeders of Cotswolds aud Leicesters, while 
another member of my family has now the 
only flock of pure Bakewell Leicesters iu Eng¬ 
land and—well, as I was about to say, the 
“dash” of blood is given, say of the Leicester 
to the Cotswold. by a breeder of the latter 
looking through some flocks of the former and 
choosing one of the largest and most Cots- 
wold-looking rams of the best quality, and 
usiug him with some of his finest ewes which 
have every good point but the one predom¬ 
inant in the Leicester ram, and then he uses 
a ram of this cross with his flock or with such 
part of it as his judgment tells him will be 
benefited by this infusion of new blood. Thus 
the Lincoln breeders chose Cotswold and Lei¬ 
cester rams to improve their flocks without 
doing the thing in too violent a manner. 
G. G. 
Col. Curtis, having seen the proof of the 
above article, on calling at this office while on 
a visit to the Dairy Fair, makes the following 
remarks :— 
“ Unless we are mistaken in our recollection, 
we were told by Mr. Gibson, manager for Wol¬ 
cott & Campbell when their Lincoln sheep 
were imported, that the breed was formed by 
crossing the Cotswold with the Leicester. This 
statement agrees with G. G., who says they 
were improved with 1 dashes ’ of Cotswold and 
Leicester upon the old heavy-bodied, long- 
wooled Lincolns. By Lincolns, we do uot un¬ 
derstand a distinct breed before these ‘dashes’ 
were made, but a name for the sheep of a lo¬ 
cality. This is a eommon custom in England 
to call animals alter the locality in which they 
were bred ; thus, we have a half-dozen differ¬ 
ent names for Suffolk pigs, aud we doubt not 
but the same peculiarity exists in regard to 
sheep, and that if the histories of the different 
breeds could be traced to their origin, it would 
be found that they all originated by crossing 
the Cheviot, Cotswold and Leicester; or, per¬ 
haps, the black-faced and white-faced sheep 
were the only foundations for all. We under¬ 
stand * dashes' to be crosses, and this is what 
they are. aud thi 6 is substantially what we 
mcau, that the Lincoln sheep are made by 
crossing or dashing the Leicester with or upon 
the Cotswold. Close observers, with experi¬ 
ence iu breeding sheep, will undoubtedly come 
to the same conclusion if they should see the 
sheep and study their characteristics, eveu 
though traditionary accounts might be op¬ 
posed. A ‘dash’ of Cotswold would make 
half Cotswold, and a ‘ dash ’ of Leicester 
would make half Leicester, leaving only a 
quarter of Lincoln after the double cross, aud 
reducing the Lincoln with other ‘dashes ’ to an 
eighth or sixteenth, etc." 
-- 
Housing (sheep. 
Mr. Jonathan Talcot should take a trip to 
the home of the Cotswolds; he would there 
see teus of thousands of them on cold, damp 
ground, eating the turnips whieh are slieed up 
tor them by machines, after having been pulled 
up, thrown into heaps aud covered with earth. 
A rick of hay is iu some convenient part of 
the field, and from this the sheplierd feeds his 
flock morning and evening, aud the fattening 
sheep, which are the wether tegs aud the draft 
ewes, have some grain or oil-cake given them 
once per day—generally at noon. 
If these sheep were driven home ami housed 
in stormy weather, the laud would uot have au 
even distribution of manure aud urine, aud as 
I never heard of sheep taking cold iu this 
their natural state, it is probable they would 
be made tender and they would uot be so 
bealtby. I don't think the wool ever becomes 
wet through to the skiu, aud I dou't believe 
they ever feel cold, for the Swedish turnips 
have a healing tendency, aud it is so arranged 
that Swedes are always fed to them after 
Christmas, when cold weather is most severe. 
Americans have uo proper conception of 
sheep husbandry, as it is conducted iu Eng¬ 
land. The idea of housing the sheep with 
Bitch buildings as exist there, is out of the 
question. Besides, on every farm animals of 
different ages aud sexes are kept separate, aud 
a shepherd would have to run one lot after 
another home, if there were places for the 
purpose, till it would take him more thau half 
his time going to and fro. As for my giving 
no argument that the sheep would not have 
been better off for housing, it is only necessary 
to say the wellier tegs, at the close of the tur- 
uip season, will shear from 10 lbs. lo 14 lbs. of 
washed wool (all wool is washed there), aud 
the weight, when dressed, will be from 100 lbs. 
up to 150 lbs., accordiug to skill in feeding. I 
have myself sold draft ewes iu March, which 
weighed 100 lbs. each, dressed weight. 
If the small number usually kept iu the 
Eastern States were only kepi iu England by 
