1018 
Live Stock and Dairy 
THE BROWN SWISS BREED. 
M UCH lias been written concerning 
this well-known breed, and there 
has been some discussion as to whether 
it should be rated as a dairy or dual-pur¬ 
pose breed. The Brown Swiss cattle are 
rated as dual-purpose animals only by 
Americans. The cows have always been 
regarded as dairy animals by the Swiss 
people, and nothing is more distasteful 
to them than to know that their favorite 
dairy breed is considered only mediocre 
as milk producers by American authori¬ 
ties. In all fairness, it should be stated 
that this rating is given on account of 
the inability of the Brown Swiss breed 
THE RURAL. 
A BUNCH OF DAIRY QUESTIONS. 
W OULD' it be possible to go into the 
market and purchase 25 or 30 
cows (grades) that, with a ration 
of corn silage and Alfalfa hay, would 
yield a gross income for a year of $60, 
with good care and pasture in Summer? 
2. About what would these cows cost per 
head? 3. How many pigs could be grown 
and fattened from the skim-milk of 30 
cows, and what would it be necessary to 
add in order to balance the ration for the 
pigs? 4. Would it be just as profitable 
to feed the skim-milk back to the cows 
as it is to feed it to the pigs? 5. What 
is the proportion of corn silage and Al¬ 
falfa hay to feed to a cow in milk when 
no grain ration accompanies it? 6. If a 
cow is fed all she will eat of a ration of 
corn silage and Alfalfa, we know the 
flow of milk is not so great as it would 
be where there is grain or something sim¬ 
ilar added, but will the difference in the 
r n , , ,, amount of milk or butterfat pay for the 
to present the form demanded by the additional grain ration? 7. Are the pres- 
American standard in judging dairy ent day milking machines entirely prac- 
cattle. 
Records as a Dairy Breed.—I am 
like our editor in that I do not believe 
the milk-producing capacity of a cow or 
the egg-laying ability of a hen can be 
told by an external examination alone. 
The measure of the spring of rib, size 
of barrel, width of hip, length of tail, come of dairy products amounting to $60 
tical where one has to depend upon help 
to operate and care for same, with a per¬ 
sonal supervision of only once a week, 
but with telephone connection? a. f. g. 
Pennsylvania. 
1. It would be quite possible to go into 
a dairy district and purchase the cows 
as suggested that would yield a gross in¬ 
diameter of milk wells or texture and 
capacity of the udder are important 
points, but no system of lineal measure¬ 
ments will tell the number of pounds of 
butterfat a cow will produce in a year. 
When the Brown Swiss form is compared 
with that of the commonly accepted dairy 
breeds, the comparison is so unfavorable 
that the Brown Swiss is called “dual- 
purpose,” if there be such an animal. 
However, w'hen this breed is judged by 
the milk and butterfat production of the 
individual animals, it becomes a dairy 
breed. Some years ago, when Mi 1 . F. H. 
Mason was United States consul in 
Switzerland, he reported that at Cham, 
where the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk 
Company was supplied by 6,000 cows, the 
average nine months yield was 5,315 
pounds. This was obtained by feeding 
only grass and hay. 
Before me I have a report by Ira In¬ 
man, Secretary Registry of Production 
for the Brown Swiss breed, in which he 
gives some of the recent records which 
were completed the first of June. Of the 
mature cows, the lowest record is 9,016.3 
pounds of milk and 32S.51 pounds of but¬ 
terfat, while the highest record is 14,- 
145.9 pounds of milk and 575.29 pounds 
of fat. In the two-year-old class, the low¬ 
est record is 6,223.8 pounds of milk con¬ 
taining 259.11 pounds of fat wiiile the 
highest record is 11.312.2 pounds of milk 
containing 477.10 pounds of fat. Added 
to these, the fact that old College Bra¬ 
vura 2nd produced over 19,000 pounds of 
milk in a year has become a matter of 
history, and unlike so many cows after 
they have made the world’s record, she 
is a good cow yet. When we consider 
that the average yield of butterfat 
throughout the country is only 150 
pounds per cow and that the average 
yield for the 2,800 Guernseys, of which 
we have records, is 425 pounds of but¬ 
terfat and 8,500 pounds of milk, the 
Brown Swiss rank favorably with the 
other dairy breeds. 
Brown Swiss Characteristics. —A 
dark mouse color shading lighter along 
the back and head is preferred by most 
breeders. The conformation is somewhat 
blocky, while the head and neck are 
rather large and covered with long hair. 
This makes the animals appear coarse, 
and taken together with a sleepy eye, they 
present a temperament which is usually 
called “lymphatic.” The limbs are par¬ 
ticularly straight. The cows range be¬ 
tween 1,400 and 1,500 pounds in weight 
usually and the one great point of dairy 
excellence, as judged by the score-card, is 
the udder. It is usually well hung, am¬ 
ple, and decorated with well-placed, good- 
sized teats, one at each corner. The 
Brown Swiss is a dairy breed. However, 
the number of purebred individuals in 
this country is very limited and will ne¬ 
cessarily remain so as the government 
has issued a quarantine against their im¬ 
portation on account of the prevalence 
of the foot-and-mouth disease in Switzer¬ 
land. I. J. MATHEWS. 
Ingham Co., Michigan. 
per year. It might be good judgment to 
add a small amount of grain to the sil¬ 
age and Alfalfa ration, but if uniformly 
NEW-YORKER 
gives 40 pounds of milk, and the ration is 
increased to 12 pounds of grain per day, 
and the milk flow increased by only five 
or six pounds, it is plain to be seen that 
the added amount of grain is not properly 
utilized. It is true that cows will not 
give as much milk on Alfalfa and sil¬ 
age, but it is very probable that the cost 
per unit would be less, and the net profit 
greater. Whether the difference in the 
amount of milk or butterfat produced 
would pay would depend upon a number 
of factors. In the first place silage and 
Alfalfa are both bulky feeds, and the ani¬ 
mal would be able to digest and assimilate 
a larger amount of food nutrients than 
she would consume of these bulky feeds 
in case there was any question about 
their condition or palatability. In other 
words she would consume a maintenance 
ration, but whether or not she would 
consume a maximum amount would be 
the question. Undoubtedly she would last 
much longer if she was fed in this way 
than if fed concentrated feeds, and less 
difficulty would be experienced w 7 hen be¬ 
ing mated. It would be good judgment 
to try under one’s conditions the addition 
of a small amount of grain, and determine 
by such means the extent of the profit. 
7. I think it must be admitted that the 
milking machine is as yet in the experi- 
BROWN SWISS BULL, CARL 3577. 
good individuals were selected they 
ought to meet this condition without 
much effort. 
2. Grade cows of good age, tuberculin- 
tested, would cost from $90 to $135 each, 
the price varying with the individuals, 
mental stage. Instances can be cited 
where the machines have been used to a 
distinct advantage, and with entire satis¬ 
faction to the owner, and again they have 
been used tentatively and discarded and 
condemned by the owner. Machinists 
somewhat with the breed selected, and usually do not apply for positions on 
also depending upon their stage of lacta- dairy farms, and it must be admitted that 
tion. It is not uncommon to pay $150 it requires considerable skill to operate 
for a grade cow of known usefulness. 
3. Assuming that the 30 cows would 
yield an average of 10 quarts of milk 
per day, which would indeed be high, it 
would mean the yielding of approximate¬ 
ly 250 quarts or let us say, 500 pounds 
of skim-milk a day. This amount of 
skim-milk could be used to advantage in 
the feeding of a herd of 25 brood sows 
and their progeny. It is assumed, how¬ 
ever, that during the Winter months there 
would be some animals on the place fat¬ 
tening, and possibly during the early 
Spring months, in which case more milk 
could be used to advantage. A safe rule 
the milking machine, and keep it in good 
working order and repair. It would de¬ 
pend largely on the kind of help that your 
correspondent is employing. This argu¬ 
ment has been met, however, with the 
statement that in large dairies they have 
no more trouble in operating the milking 
machines than exists in their endeavor to 
get responsible milkers. f. c. minkler. 
PUREBREDS FOR CHEESE DAIRYMEN. 
tiT AM $10,000 ahead by breeding pure- 
J- breds for the past seven years,” 
declares James Haynes of Ashtabula 
County, Ohio. “Purebreds for the man 
to apply in general is to feed five pounds who receives cheese factory and creamery 
Cynicus : “I once knew a fellow who 
gave a girl an engagement ring of opais.” 
Sillicus: “Gracious! Wasn’t it un¬ 
lucky?” Cynicus: “You bet it was! 
She married him.”—Judge. 
of milk for each one pound of grain, 
slightly increasing the grain in case the 
animals are being fattened. In this pro¬ 
portion they should be given all that they 
will eat or drink with relish. In addi¬ 
tion to the skim-milk it would be neces¬ 
sary to have ear corn, digester tankage 
and red dog flour or wheat middlings. 
Some Alfalfa could be used to advantage 
during the Winter months, in which case 
it would require only ear corn, and this 
hay to balance the ration for the brood 
sows, provided some digester tankage was 
added to the ration as farrowing time ap¬ 
proached. 
4. It would not be profitable, in fact 
the system is not practiced by successful 
dairymen of feeding back to the cows the 
slcim-milk. It can be used to advantage 
in feeding calves, but is not a safe nor 
an economical practice to use in the herd. 
5. If the animals are fed only corn sil¬ 
age and Alfalfa hay they should be per¬ 
mitted to consume all that they will eat 
with relish of both products. 
6. I have oftentimes claimed that there 
are a great many dairy cows that might 
yield 50 pounds of milk per day at a 
loss when they would give 40 pounds of 
milk at a profit. This difference results 
prices for his milk are the best profit 
producers. I am not looking for my in¬ 
come from market milk, but my stock put 
my returns on the right side of the ledger. 
That is why I want to give the dairy¬ 
man who only gets an ordinary price, the 
hint to get into good stock. Get the good, 
and breed better. When I first started 
in the purebred business, my father-in- 
law drove over to inspect my ‘fool’ buy, 
and he gave me the laugh. I bought 
just one cow, and here is where I made 
a mistake. I would have been a year 
ahead had I bought more than one. My 
first calf was a bull calf. Well, in spite 
of what my father-in-law said about the 
black and white stock, and my brother’s 
assurance that in two years the best 
would not demand more than $10 above 
that of the grade, I rolled up my sleeves 
and went into the game. I sold the 
scrubs at public sale, and invested in 
good stock. Then whenever I happened 
on a couple of neighbors visiting they 
looked cheap, seemed to have side-tracked 
their conversation, and I know they had 
been talking ‘fools not dead yet.’ I am 
just an ordinary farmer, and many far¬ 
mers, not all, can do as well as I. First 
select your breed, and stick to it, whether 
from the cost of the extra amount of feed, it be Holstein, Guernsey, Jersey or Ayr- 
and oftentimes is not keenly appreciated shire. Feel satisfied with your breed, 
by the dairymen. I or instance, if a cow read about your breed and advertise your 
is fed eight pounds of grain per day, and stock, and your breed. The breeds are all 
August 15, 
good, and the competition among the 
breeds is what is keeping interest and 
prices alive. 
“Another proposition is to get the best 
bull you can. That is where I first made 
a failure, in the belief that one regis¬ 
tered bull is as good as another. Here 
is where I was wrong. I did some breed¬ 
ing to ordinary registered animals when 
I was in the primary class in registered 
stock. Now I have learned through ex¬ 
perience and reading that that is the 
wrong system. Breed to a bull which is 
better than your best cow, and follow 
that practice. If I had to breed one of 
my good cows to an inferior bull I would 
hesitate a long time, for the live stock 
end of my dairy is the profit producing 
end, while my neighbors are vealing 
calves for $10 or $12, with close, if any 
profit over cheese factory milk prices. I 
have a likiug to older bulls, for, in my ex¬ 
perience, they produce more heifer calves. 
Every time I have changed bulls, I found 
that I had more bull calves when a young 
animal is introduced. 
“I would advise in selecting a bull to 
get one with a history behind him. Get 
one whose ancestry not only has trans¬ 
mitting ability, milk production, but but¬ 
ter fat as well, and breed for better stock. 
Buy the best bull you can and if you are 
short the cash, try to co-operate with 
some of the breeders within a dozen miles 
of your home and buy a bull that is right. 
That is what I am trying to encourage 
some of my breeder friends to do. 
“There are some men whom I would 
not advise to engage in high-bred stock, 
and those men are poor feeders. They 
are men who are gruff in their homes, 
and who are unkind in their families and 
herd. They are poor feeders, and the 
purebred animal will not stand the grief 
that a dung-hill is able to withstand. 
When I look back and see that I have 
paid my original $1,700 investment, and 
nearly $2,500 besides, and have now con¬ 
servatively figuring $6,000 in stock, while 
the income from the dairy products have 
gone further in maintaining the family 
aud improving the farm than a greater 
number of scrubs, I feel that I have ac¬ 
cumulated over $1,400 each year for the 
past seven years in the form of live stock 
pretty easily, and I find that the man who 
keeps pure-bred stock is on the right 
trail.” 
Mr. Ilaynes is only milking a dozen 
cows, four of which are in the A. R. O. 
class, and he intends putting the re¬ 
mainder of his herd under test for ad¬ 
vanced registry the coming Winter. 
w. j. 
Mare With Bruise. 
I have a 12-year-old mare, weight about 
1.150 pounds. A large soft, swelling or 
tumor has appeared on her chest, between 
the shoulder blades. It is swelling far¬ 
ther down between fore legs. It has a 
slight fever. In no possible manner could 
collar have caused the swelling, as it is 
too far below. Her health otherwise is in 
good condition. What can be done for it? 
Pennsylvania. h. d. 
The swelling no doubt comes from 
bruising on the manger or floor, or from 
striking by the neck yoke. Tie her up 
short in a stall so that she cannot lie 
down, then bathe the swelling with hot 
water three times a day. When heat and 
pain subside the swollen lump remaining 
may be painted with tincture of iodine 
each other day. If a serious abscess 
(cyst) forms, it may have to be opened 
by a veterinarian. a. s. a. 
Depraved Appetite. 
1 HAVE a cow that freshened October 
15, and after taking the calf from 
her in December, she formed the habit 
of eating droppings in the henhouse, and 
even picks them up on the yard when 
turned out to water. I have to keep her 
in the stall all day. She is rather thin, 
but eats well. I also have a young sow 
which farrowed February 6, since which 
time she has also taken up the same hab¬ 
it. Please tell me what I can do for 
them? d. J. D. 
Virginia. 
Feed plenty of wholesome feed to cow 
and sow and they will not waste time 
eating hen manure. Make them take 
abundant exercise out of doors every day. 
Add roots or silage to the rations, and 
make bran one of the chief feeds of the 
cow. Bran fed generously soon stops de¬ 
praved appetite in cattle. Possibly the 
reason is that bran contains a lot of phos¬ 
phorus. Phosphate of lime, or ground 
bone, may also be given when cows pick 
up bones, earth and other foreign mat¬ 
ters. Indigestion is present in such cases 
as you describe. Add 10 per cent, of di¬ 
gester tankage to the rations of the sow. 
A. S. A. 
