RURAL N li Vv - VOK K li 
506 
THE HEIFER AT MOTHERHOOD. 
How should a heifer be cared for before 
and after her first calf to guard against 
any misfortune, supposing she was likely 
to be bothered with caked or inflamed ud¬ 
der before or after calving or both? If 
the udder is very tender should the calf 
be left or taken away? Is a heifer more 
likely to calve before the 280th day? 
Should the milk be started before calving? 
You will see I am a beginner, and there 
are many things which I do not know 
whether to let alone and let nature take 
her time or whether they need attending 
to. If I understand it rightly, a caked 
udder is a mild case of garget. Would 
an ounce of saltpeter twice a day for two 
or three days before calving help to pre¬ 
vent caked udder? f. d. c. 
Suncook, N. H. 
In the preparation of a heifer for 
motherhood, I like to begin with her 
own calfhood. There is no time in the 
interim when the dairyman can shirk 
his duty without great danger of giving 
the world what it does not need—an¬ 
other poor cow. From the start, one 
should keep in mind the end to be at¬ 
tained. Dr. Davenport, in his book on 
•The Principles of Breeding,” refers 
to the tendency of the plant or animal 
to adapt itself to conditions. If the 
conditions are hard, the food supply 
short, the vital functions are reduced to 
the lowest possible point and life still 
be maintained. Such a state, he says, 
may easily become chronic. The man 
who is responsible for the future of 
the young heifer should avoid this, and 
also the other extreme of overfeeding. 
He should keep to the middle ground of 
maintaining from the start a good, 
thrifty growth. In my own practice, I 
have been able to accomplish this by 
feeding the calf five pounds twice a day 
of its mother’s milk for the first two 
weeks, and then gradually changing to 
a like amount of warm milk from the 
separator. As the calf grows older, this 
ration is increased up to eight pounds 
twice each day. As soon as the calf will 
eat hay, this is supplied, and a liberal 
amount is fed each day. After the 
milk is drank a small feed of grain is 
given. Bran or mixed feed with a 
little linseed meal is good. I like to 
feed the skim-milk until the calf is a 
year old if possible. A good, healthy, 
normal growth is maintained, and the 
heifer always has a prosperous appear¬ 
ance—not fat, but thrifty. In the sec¬ 
ond year the treatment should still be 
generous, for eternal vigilance is the 
price of a good cow. In Summer the 
yearling may be turned into a good 
pasture, but never turn her out until 
she is a yearling. In the Winter feed 
liberally of silage or apple pomace and 
good hay with two or three pounds of 
grain, which now may be made up of 
some of the heavier concentrates. Some 
cotton-seed meal, gluten feed or linseed 
meal may be mixed with bran or mixed 
feed as the market warrants. 
A heifer so treated should be bred so 
that she will freshen at two years old. 
But remember that as she approaches 
the period of motherhood you must fur¬ 
nish her with food for her own bodily 
growth and also for the growth of the 
foetus. By all means, be generous now, 
because neglect at this time will surely 
mean failure. I have seen this proved 
during these two dry years. Our heifers 
that freshened soon after they came in 
from a dry pasture were nearly always 
a disappointment, while those that fresh¬ 
ened later after a period of generous 
feeding in the barn gave remarkable 
milk yields. Now to guard against mis¬ 
fortune at calving time, as this ap¬ 
proaches I should avoid too heavy feed¬ 
ing with heating feeds like cornmeal, 
and should be careful with the heavy 
concentrates, cotton-seed, linseed, etc. 
Bran is a safe feed at this time. Keep 
the bowels open. A pound of Epsom 
salts dissolved in a quart of hot water 
and given as a drench will help if the 
udder is caked. After calving I should 
warm the drinking water and feed bran 
alone for grain. A bran mash made 
by pouring boiling water over two or 
three quarts of bran, covering this 
with a little more dry bran and letting 
it stand until cool enough to eat, is 
good. If the udder is badly swollen it 
may be well to relieve it by milking a 
little before calving. I prefer to leave 
the calf with the mother for two days. 
If all the conditions surrounding the 
young animal are right, the stable clean 
and well ventilated, and judicious feed¬ 
ing practised, no great trouble will be 
experienced. e. s. brigham. 
THE VALUE OF SUCCULENT FEEDS. 
I have often read in Tiie It. N.-Y. about 
the benefit of a “succulent” feed for the 
cow during the long Winter season. Of 
course, silage is the proper and best thing. 
But for the “one-cow suburban farmer” 
that is out of question. Hoots, such as 
mangels, sugar beets or ruta bagas are 
often mentioned to be beneficial for the 
cow and milk pail, but 1 never saw any¬ 
thing about the raising and storing of 
such crops. Will you give some informa¬ 
tion on this subject? Perhaps others be¬ 
sides the writer will appreciate it. 1. What 
is the best for this purpose, mangels, ruta 
bagas or sugar beets? 2. How many roots 
(or pounds of roots) are an advisable ration 
for a cow (in addition to hay and grain) ? 
3. How large a piece of land would be 
needed to raise enough for one cow ? 
4. Should the seed be sown and then trans¬ 
planted like cabbage, or is it sown and 
thinned out? 5. Will roots keep in a 
house cellar or would they better be buried 
outside? c. H. 
Chicago, Ill. 
1. Mangels are probably the best roots 
for cows, with sugar beets a close 
second. More mangels can be grown 
to the acre than sugar beets, and the 
former are relatively richer in protein, 
having a nutritive ratio of 1:5, while the 
nutritive ratio of the sugar beet is 1:9. 
Ruta bagas and other turnips, when fed 
to cows are very apt to taint the milk. 
These roots are more suitable for grow¬ 
ing or fattening stock. 
2. From a peck to half a bushel a day, 
in two feeds, would be a fair ration of 
roots for an ordinary cow. For a 
large cow, two feeds of half a bushel 
each would not be excessive. Start in 
with a small feed and gradually in¬ 
crease until you reach the amount which 
seems advisable for your particular cow. 
Overfeeding of roots will cause diar¬ 
rhoea. Sugar beets, being richer than 
mangels, should be fed in smaller quan¬ 
tities. 
3. From one-eighth to one-quarter 
acre, depending upon the fertility of 
your land, ought to supply an abundance 
of mangels or sugar beets for one cow. 
4. A rich, well-drained, mellow soil 
is required for roots. You can sow on 
the level, or make up ridges two feet 
apart and sow upon these. Roll the 
land before sowing to produce a firm 
seed bed. When the plants are two 
or three inches high thin out to about 
six inches apart—rather more space is 
required for mangels than for sugar 
beets. This thinning, or singling, as it 
is called, can be done with a hoe. If 
the man behind the hoe is an old coun¬ 
tryman, trained to the work, he will 
make a short job of a quarter of acre 
of roots. 
5. Roots will keep in a dry, cool cel¬ 
lar. If your cellar is damp or warmed 
by a furnace it would be better to pit 
them outside. If this is done make 
your pit in a dry place, cover lightly 
with straw until cold weather comes on, 
then add more straw, or strawy horse 
manure, and cover the whole with a 
layer of soil. c. s. M. 
Cow Peas or Canada Peas? 
Are eow peas or Canada field peas the 
better to produce nitrogen and for green 
fertilizer? I want something that will 
keep green during the Winter if planted 
in the Fall, and the thermometer 10° 
above zero. Is there a practical machine 
for pulling beans? E. r. 
Oregon. 
Of the two plants named, Canada field 
peas would be better for your purpose. 
The cow peas are tender, and would be 
killed by the first hard frost. No doubt 
Winter vetch would be better for you than 
either. Machines for harvesting beans 
work on the principle of cutter knives or 
slicers, which cut off the vines at the root 
and leave in windrows. 
THE NEW 
MONEY MAK¬ 
ING WAY 
TO FEED 
A CALF 
" .IF 
<fOK suSrmjTt 
f OR YO UNG LIV ESTOCK i 
CUT ON DOTTED LIRE 
TO SEE THE OLD 
MONEY LOSING WAY 
TO FEED A CALF 
CUT OTM DOTTED LINE- 
FOLD BACK ON BLACK LITRE 
CUT OR* DOTTED LINE. 
There 
are two GOOD way* of 
T.I.t'tl 1 VZSIMI feeding Calve*, Pig* and Colt*. 
There is one BEST way and that is the 
cheaper of the two. 
A whole milk diet is pretty good for young 
stock, but it is expensive. You can’t sell your milk 
and feed it at the same time. 
By using Sugarota Calf Meal, you can sell your milk 
and still feed the calves. 
The cost of raising one calf on a whole milk diet equals 
the cost of raising four on Sugarota Calf Meal, and the milk diet 
is not so uniform and reliable as the Sugarota Calf Meal 
WE GUARANTEE SATISFACTION 
If Sugarota Calf Meal does not satisfy you that it is the best and 
cheapest young live stock food you ever used, we will be glad to return 
yon the money you pay for it. 
Get acquainted, through your feed dealer, with every variety of 
iaro\ 
Each separate brand is a different feed, specialized in the making 
for the purpose for which it is to be fed. Sugarota Dairy Deed. 
Sugarota Cattle Feed, Sugarota Horse Feed, Sugarota Swine 
Feed. Sugarota Sheep Feed, Sugarota Scratch Feed, and Sug¬ 
arota Chick Feed—each ior its purpose—is guaranteed to pro¬ 
duce belter results than any other feed, home mired or 
manuiactured. They are not in the class with the general 
purpose feeds, and can be absolutely relied upon. 
Ask your dealer ior any brand of Sugarota Feed to 
meet your wants. If he SHOULD M’T have it, write us 
and we will furnish you what you require under an 
absolute guarantee. Our booklet on Raising Calves 
Right will save you money aud calf troubles. 
Write a postal for it today. It's FREE. 
NORTH-WEST MILLS CO.. 
509 W.Third St. .Winona 
Minn. 
Tarot 
SSj 
Is Your Milk Really Clean 
or Merely Clean Looking? 
Strained milk all looks alike, it 
may be crowded with germs, or posi¬ 
tively sanitary. Straining takes out 
the coarse dirt; but if the dirt ci7id 
milk once become mixed , the milk is 
tainted and cannot possibly be cleaned 
by straining. 
The Sterilac Pail assures really 
clean milk, because it keeps the milk 
and the dirt from ever coming into 
contact. It is the only effective, lozu- 
cost device for producing pure milk. 
Furthermore, it is better made and will 
pail that you ever owned. Try it at our 
Note the strainer cloth on 
which the milk strikes. 
Note the dirt -shelf which 
catches the dirt falling from the 
udder. The projecting top 
shields the strainer cloth from 
falling dirt. 
It is easy to use, because the 
opening is of ample width. 
It does not spatter. 
last longer than any 
risk. 
Here Is our offer : We will send a pail, prepaid delivery. You try it for 10 
days. If you are not satisfied, send it back at our expense. If you like it. 
send us $2.50. Write us that you accept our offer, and we will ship the pail. 
Specify a seamless pail if you prefer it, at an increase in price of 50 cents. 
STERILAC COMPANY 5 MERCHANTS ROW, BOSTON, MASS. 
Modern Sanitary Milk Apparatus of all kinds. 
NEWTON’S HEAVE 
COUCH, DISTEMPERS*| IDE* 
AND INDIGESTION V/UI\Ci 
The Standard Veterinary Remedy. 
SO years sale. Send for 
Makes the horse sound, stay sound 
DEATH TO HEAVES 
The first or second $1.00 can cures. The third can 
is guaranteed to cure or money refunded. 
$1.00 per can at dealers, or express prepaid. 
THE NEWTON REMEDY CO., Toledo, Ohio 
SeldomSee 
a big knee like this, but your horse 
may have a bunch or bruifte on his 
Ankle, Hock, Stifle, Knee or Throat. 
^fiSORBINE 
will clean them off without laying the 
horse up. No blister, l»o liair gone. 
$:i.00 per bottle.doliv’d. Book 8 D free. 
A 1 ISO 11 It INK, J It., for mankind, $1. 
Removes Painful Swellings. Enlarged Glands, 
Goitre, Wens, Bruises, Varicose Veins, Vurlcos- 
ities. Old Sores. Allays Pain. Book free. 
W. F. YOUNG, P. D. F., 88 Temple St., Springfield, Mass.. 
25 Acres 
—Nlne-roont house; barn28x38. Water 
village: main road. Price. $1,600. half cash. 
HALL’S FARM AGENCY. Owego. Tioga Co., N. Y. 
ut 
The hardest part of stable work is the carrying in of feed and the throwing 
out of litter. You can make this boy’s work by installing 
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601 Broadway, Fairfield, la. 
.L0UDEH. 
