THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
February 10 
92 
CONNECTICUT DAIRYMENS’ ASSO- 
CIA TION. 
Part II. 
Dr. Jos. B. Paige, of the Massachu¬ 
setts Agricultural College, gave an illus¬ 
trated stereopticon lecture on Stable 
Ventilation. He said that the old style 
of dairying with an inch crack between 
every board supplied plenty of fresh air, 
but this has been superseded by close, 
tightly-built barns in order that the food 
of the animal may not be used up in 
keeping her warm. We spend time and 
energy to give the cow proper food in 
proper quantities, but too olten neglect 
the air she breathes, which is of equal 
vital importance. Tight barns confining 
too many animals for a given space may 
account for the spread of tuberculosis 
and contagious disease in general. He 
favors the one-story stable, as it allows 
of better ventilation. Remove the ex¬ 
crement as often and as far as possible 
from the stable, and avoid having the 
stable so fixed that air must pass over 
manure piles before entering it. He ex¬ 
plained the fallacy of building long 
shafts with a number of right angles in 
them to allow fresh air to come in or 
stale air to go out. Every right angle 
decreases the current one-half, so that 
after a number of these are in the shaft 
it is practically useless. He also ex¬ 
plained how, by having windows that 
hung on pivots or hinges, instead of the 
ordinary sliding sash, much better re¬ 
sults in simple ventilation can be se¬ 
cured. Currents can be deflected so that 
with windows on a level with the cows 
the air must pass up, over and down, 
instead of directly upon the animals. 
Stables built north and south are better 
than those east and west, as we get 
morning and afternoon sun in the for¬ 
mer at the cooler times of the day, and 
at the warmest time the sun is shining 
upon the roof. 
Mr. Dillon, of St. John, N. B., spoke 
of the Cheese Industry or Canada. He 
was present at the raising of the first 
cheese factory in Canada in 1864. At 
that time Canada imported from the 
United States annually cheese to the 
value of $350,000. She now exports 
over $17,000,000 annually. Her cheeses 
are uniform throughout the Dominion, 
and all are branded Canadian. Skim 
and filled cheese are prohibited. The 
government has fostered the industry, 
and Canada cheese is booming. Prof. 
Hills, of Vermont, gave a very meaty 
talk on Economical Dairy Poods. At 
the close of his address he was ques¬ 
tioned for fully an hour, showing the 
interest in the lecture, and also that 
Connecticut dairymen are seeking all 
possible light on the feed question. His 
explanation of the functions of food in¬ 
gredients was so clear that it is given 
nearly in full: 
What are the functions of the ingredients 
of the food in the building up of the animal 
frame or in the manufacture of milk? It 
may be said parenthetically that these 
functions are much the same for either 
purpose. Milk is formed either by the break¬ 
ing-down of the mammary gland, or from 
the blood, or by both processes. It is 
probably true that rations well adapted to 
the making of flesh are also good for milk¬ 
making. 
We need only consider the functional 
activities of protein and of carbohydrates. 
The functions of protein are five-fold. 
(a.) From it are formed flesh, tendons, 
cartilage, etc., and the nitrogenous con¬ 
stituents of milk (casein, albumen, etc.) 
(b.) It forms body fat and perhaps at 
times milk fat. 
(c.) It furnishes material for the produc¬ 
tion of heat to maintain bodily warmth. 
(d.) It furnishes material for the produc¬ 
tion of muscular energy. 
(e.) It is held by some to be a stimulant 
to milk production. 
(a.) The primary function of protein is to 
be found in the formation of flesh. With¬ 
out it no muscular tissue can be developed. 
Animals fed on materials devoid of protein 
have starved in the midst of plenty. Flesh 
can no more be made in the absence of pro¬ 
tein than can silk purses be made from 
sows’ ears. 
(b.) (c.) (d.) These three functions, the 
formation of body fat, the furnishing of 
heat and of muscular energy may very 
properly be termed the secondary functions 
of protein, inasmuch as these offices can 
be performed more successfully and more 
cheaply by the carbohydrates 
(e.) It has long been known that, within 
certain limits, the more highly nitrogenous 
the ration, the greater its value as a milk 
maker. Protein, in other words, seems to 
act somewhat in the manner of a milk 
stimulant. 
The functions of the carbohydrates are 
four in number: 
(a.) It forms body fat. 
(b.) It furnishes material for the produc¬ 
tion of heat to maintain bcdily warmth. 
(c.) It furnishes material for the produc¬ 
tion of muscular energy. 
(d.) It is not improbably a main supply 
of material from which milk fat is made. 
There is no one function of the carbohy¬ 
drates which, like the flesh-forming func¬ 
tion of the protein, can be considered more 
important than the others. The first three 
functions are all of the utmost importance 
to the animal economy. 
(a.) It has been very thoroughly proven 
that the fat of the body is mainly derived 
from the carbohydrates of the food, and 
but seldom from the protein unless the 
former be in small quantity, a condition 
seldom occurring in ordinary practice. This 
statement is probably correct not only of 
the true fats of the food but also of the 
nitrogen-free extract matter (starch, sugar, 
etc.) Indeed, animals have been fatted on 
rations containing far less actual fat than 
was formed in the body. While fat may 
be formed from protein, this ingredient is 
at least no better fitted for this purpose 
than are the carbohydrates and, since it 
costs several times as much as does the 
latter to grow or to buy, its use for this 
purpose is obviously not economical. 
(b.) Carbohydrates serve as the main 
supply of fuel wherewith to maintain 
bodily heat.' A. certain temperature is 
necessary for the functional activities of 
the animal body. If for any cause it falls 
below a certain point or through fever it 
increases beyond a certain point, death 
generally ensues. This heat is kept up by 
the destruction or burning of certain food 
ingredients in the body. If sugar or starch 
were burned in a stove, they would evolve 
more or less heat, and would form, among 
other things, carbonic acid gas. If, instead 
of being burned, the starch and sugar were 
eaten, they would be consumed by the vital 
processes of the animal, the same amount, 
of heat would be formed, and the same 
chemical compounds result as in the burn¬ 
ing. Combustion would be slower, but the 
results would be the same. 
(c.) Whenever there is any decided exer¬ 
tion of muscular force it is accompanied by 
greatly increased expenditure of the car¬ 
bohydrates. The nitrogenous materials 
suffer but little loss. Of course they are 
necessary, yet the carbohydrates appear to 
be the material most vitally concerned. 
Fat more than any other constituent of the 
body appears to be available for this pur¬ 
pose, and some investigators have claimed 
that the fat of milk was derived from the 
protein of the food; others that the food 
fat alone was concerned, v r hile still others 
maintain that the carbohydrates in general 
furnish the raw material foi the butter fat. 
In an address before the Vermont Dairy¬ 
men’s Association, Dr. Jordan made an 
epigrammatical statement which is worthy 
of emphasis and reiteration. He said that 
‘he proper function of the farm in dairy 
feeding was that of a carbohydrate fac¬ 
tory and the proper function of the market 
was that of a protein supply. What did 
he mean by this statement? He meant 
three things. 
(a.) That carbohydrates were growm upon 
the farm with relative ease but that it was 
difficult to grow enough protein upon the 
farm to feed a large number of animals and 
to balance the ration. 
(b.) That as the by-products of several 
industries are notably rich in protein and 
are sold at reasonable prices it is often 
cheaper to buy this material than to raise 
it. 
(c.) That it was usually in the line of 
economy to endeavor to grow carbohy¬ 
drates in as large amounts as possible, and 
to buy protein in order to supplement this 
growth, thus properly balancing the ration, 
provided the class of cows to which the 
ration was fed was of the proper grade. 
He classified feeding stuffs under four 
heads. 
Economical roughages: Early cut hay; 
silage from matured corn; oats and peas; 
clover. Uneconomical roughages: Late cut 
hay; silage from immature corn; roots; 
new' and untried crops. Economical con¬ 
centrates: Cotton-seed meal; linseed meals; 
certain gluten meals and feeds; dried brew¬ 
er’s grains, malt sprouts, etc.; bran, mid¬ 
dlings, etc.; corn meal (sometimes). Un¬ 
economical concentrates: Cornmeal (usu¬ 
ally); oats; oat feeds; mixed feeds or pro- 
venders; condimental foods, etc. 
He favors putting mature corn in the 
silo, and says that putting immature 
corn in the silo is only an expensive way 
of watering cows. He does not believe 
in buying a pound of corn, but in grow¬ 
ing all possible, and having a silo the 
year around. He favors buying only the 
concentrated feeds, like cotton-seed 
meal, linseed meal, gluten, wheat bran, 
as the cheapest sources of protein, and 
also as a great saving by putting so 
much more value in the manure. A 
two-days’ session, with one evening 
meeting was tried i-is year, instead of 
three days, as before. It seemed to be a 
success, as all the sessions were widely 
attended. The prizes were paid during 
the meeting, and the fortunate ones 
called up in schoolboy fashion to receive 
them. This seemed to be a pleasing in¬ 
novation. n. g. m. 
RAPE IN IOWA CORNFIELDS. 
I have sown 100 pounds of rape seed 
for the last three years in cornfields, 
after the last plowing, as late as July 
17, and have had fine crops. I turn 
lambs into the cornfield as soon as corn 
begins to dent, and my lambs soon fat¬ 
ten well. I have sown rape early in the 
Spring, as soon as danger of freezing is 
over; the plants are like cabbage plants. 
Turn in sheep and lambs as soon as rape 
is one foot high, let them feed off the 
leaves and then let the rape rest, until 
it leafs again, and turn the sheep back. 
Do not keep the animals on too long; 
if so, they will eat the stump, and stop 
the growth. Otherwise, it will grow till 
severe frost kills it. In our climate I 
feed till Christmas, but hard freezing 
will kill it. It will not live over Winter 
in the cold climate of Iowa. 
Rape does best on low damp land. I 
have had it grow four feet high, and I 
would not farm without sowing 100 
pounds of rape seed. I send a man 
through the cornfield with a hand-seed¬ 
er, and sow broadcast, 2V£ to three 
pounds per acre. I am keeping 1,400 
sheep, and there is nothing better for 
them, but care is needed in turning in at 
first, as, like cabbage, it will cause 
scours. One hour a day is long enough 
for feeding at first. geo. b. goocher. 
Howard Co., Iowa. 
GOOD MILK; HOW IT VARIES. 
1. What per cent, by the Babcock test, 
is a poor, and what a good result for milk? 
2. Will each cow hold the same test, no 
matter how she is kept, or when the test 
is made? o. n. c. 
Granby, Conn. 
1. The breed of the cow governs largely 
our estimation of whether a test of milk 
is poor or good. What would be con¬ 
sidered a good test for a Holstein, that 
is, 3.5 to four per cent, would be count¬ 
ed as poor for a Jersey. In general, it is 
safe to say that any milk falling below 
three per cent of fat is poor milk. For 
ordinary, everyday consumption, four 
per cent is good, and the prevailing 
opinion seems to be that such milk is 
sufficiently rich in fat for household use. 
For buttermaking a five-per-cent milk 
is better, because one-fourth more but¬ 
ter can be made from the same amount. 
2. The milk of any cow will vary more 
or less in per cent of fat from day to 
day, or from one milking to the next. 
Usually there is more variation between 
morning and evening milkings than be¬ 
tween the average daily tests for one 
week, when compared with the average 
daily tests for the succeeding week. For 
example, if the milk of a cow average 
four per cent of fat for a week, it will 
usually be found that the average for 
the next week is slightly, if any, differ¬ 
ent. On the other hand, the same cow’s 
milk may contain three per cent of fat 
in a morning milking, and the next 
night test five per cent. No one has yet 
found out why this great variation oc¬ 
curs. Where a cow is well cared for, 
and is kept under uniformly comfort¬ 
able conditions, there is not likely to be 
so great variations, and she will give 
more milk than when she is poorly fed 
and poorly housed. It is also claimed 
that she will give milk richer in fat un¬ 
der the former conditions than under 
the latter, but whether this claim be 
true, I am unable to say. A discussion 
of both these questions is found in Bul¬ 
letins 152 and 173 of the Cornell Experi¬ 
ment Station, Ithaca, N. Y. l. a. 
Oat hulls only contain 3.4 per cent pro¬ 
tein. Grinding corn with oat hulls doesn’t 
help the oat hulls. Look out for mixed 
and chop feeds. There isn’t a whole oat in 
these mixtures. 
Why pay $150 to $200 per ton for a patent 
food? You can make one yourself just as 
efficacious. They are mostly made up of 
grain, salt, sulphur, charcoal and a little 
fenugreek. Your cows don’t need patent 
foods. 
W. J. Buss, Golden, Ill., advertises his 
“Lightning Seed Sower”—60 acres a 
day. See card .—Adv 
25 Combination 
and Double Wheel Hoe* 
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