922 
Tkt RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Live Stock Matters 
Conducted By Prof. F. C. Minkler 
Production and Reproduction 
Part II. 
Home-grown Heifers. —It is my be¬ 
lie! that we should grow on our own 
farms the bulk of the heifer calves that 
will be required to replace cows that are 
removed for any reason. I recall an in¬ 
stance that occurred at the Experiment 
Station in New Jersey several years ago. 
The late Dr. Voorhees made it a prac¬ 
tice to go through the dairy barn almost, 
every evening, and on one occasion he 
sighted a Holstein heifer that was carry¬ 
ing a relatively large amount of flesh, 
and he remarked that he doubted very 
much the advisability of maintaining her 
in such high condition, adding that she 
evidenced more beef-making characteris¬ 
tics than milk-making propensities and 
suggested that she would best he sold as 
beef. This particular heifer was out of 
a cow that was more than an average 
producer, and I argued that in time she 
would develop into a vexy useful dairy 
cow. Shortly after this incident he went 
abroad and did not return to the stable 
for more than a year. On the occasion 
of his next visit to the stable his alert 
eye caught eight of a Holstein heifer that 
had recently freshened, and was at that 
time yielding 55 lbs. of milk per day with 
her first calf. He at once inquired as to 
where that heifer was purchased, and this 
inquiry met with my response that this in¬ 
dividual was the one that he condemned 
more than a year ago as one scarcely 
promising as a profitable producer of 
milk. He was amazed beyond descrip¬ 
tion, and admitted that he-had beem de¬ 
ceived. I bad faith in this heifer be¬ 
cause her dam was a producer and her 
sire was a tried (fire; one whose heifers 
invariably produced more milk the first 
year thaxi their dam had produced during 
her second, and, in. some instances, 
third and fourth periods of lactation. 
This is the one evidence of constructive 
breeding that should obtain on a farm 
where dairy animals are being produced. 
Feeding Qualities. —The dairy farm¬ 
er must rely upon liis own herd to pro¬ 
duce calves to replenish this herd. I be¬ 
lieve that the calf must be well grown 
during the early stages of its growth in 
order that it may obtain normal develop¬ 
ment. I believe that the heifer should.be 
fed some grain throughout its growing 
period, and, if she is more or less mature 
and promises normal growth and size, she 
should be mated to a tried sire, and fol¬ 
lowing this mating should be liberally fed 
in order that every support possible 
may be given to develop the inherent feed¬ 
ing qualities and production qualities that 
lie in waiting. Even though she may put 
on a surplus amount of flesh during this 
period it will do her no harm, but rather 
evidence those feeding qualities that are 
absolutely essential in all profitable dairy 
COWS. x’ . 
The Cow as a Machine. —The dairy 
cow is but a machine whose function is 
production and reproduction. It is her 
business to convert farm-grown products 
into food products more concentrated and 
hence more valuable than when given her 
as raw material. It is man’s business to 
supply food or fuel units for this machine. 
Sometimes it is the cow’s fault; again it 
is the man’s fault, that the machine gets 
out of order, or that the fuel is too expen¬ 
sive or not adapted for use. in the ma¬ 
chine. Sometimes chemists find elements 
in food that cows cannot find, and the 
man is deceived and the cow blamed. 
This is not apt to be the case if the hulk 
of the food product is home-grown. The 
problem of the dairy farmer today in¬ 
volves the working out of a system of 
crop rotations that will enable him to 
eliminate, for tin*' most part, the purchas¬ 
ing of feeds tuffs at high cost, and make it 
possible for him to produce on his own 
farm the everyday feeds that are neces¬ 
sary for making milk and growing calves. 
To this end the dairy farmer must con¬ 
sider the points involved in practical herd 
management, with proper consideration 
for efficient crop rotations and yields. 
Herd Management. —Practical herd 
management involves consideration of 
those factors that determine efficiency, 
economical production and reproduction, 
vitality of the cow, and satisfaction of the 
man. In other words, it is a matter of 
giving attention to the wants of the cow 
in accordance with the judgment of man. 
Successful crop rotation does not neces¬ 
sarily mean the making of two blades of 
grass grow where one grew before, but 
rather involves the growing of such crops 
as are adapted to the soil and the cow; 
crops that will supply the necessary food 
nutrients in palatable form in abundance 
at low cost. They must be in their prime 
at a season of the year when they can be 
utilized or stored to the best advantage. 
It is clearlv possible for a cow at ease to 
give 40 lbs. of milk per day at a greater 
profit than would result in case she gave 
50 lbs. of milk per day under pressure. 
The difference would mean not only the 
cost of the food units necessary for forc¬ 
ing, but the cost to the cow physically. 
She is asked to function under pressure, 
consequently nature’s response might en¬ 
tail taxing both her vitality and her re¬ 
productive function. Increased production 
must be bred into -a cow’s veins rather 
tlan forced through her digestive system 
by means of expensive concentrated foods. 
True enough, the world famed cows reach 
the zenith of their popularity by perform¬ 
ing extraordinary feats in the way of 
milk or butterfat production. The rec¬ 
ords have no doubt been brought about 
and made possible by the feeding of large 
amounts of feed, regardless of cost to the 
owner in dollars and cents, or of the cost 
to the cow in vitality, udder trouble or re¬ 
productive function. In other words, this 
dairy cow is a bulletin board, advertising 
not only the breed but the breeder or 
owner, and goes to show some of the 
great possibilities and wonders of the 
modern dairy cow. 
Cash Profits. —This question of ad¬ 
vertising, however, is not the chief prob¬ 
lem with the dairy farmer. The achieve¬ 
ment of making world-beating records 
should not be the aim of the practical 
everyday farmer whose bread and butter 
depend upon the net profit resulting from 
his dairy activities. For him it is rather 
a problem of making 40 lbs. of milk per 
day with a profit in cold cash, rather than 
uncovering a 300-lb. cow for the sake of a 
write-up or special publicity. He cannot 
feed his family on newspaper notoriety, 
but he can satisfy his youngsters’ wants 
,on economically produced milk and its 
i products. 
What does this all mean? Stripped of 
all descriptive terms, it means that the 
dairy farmer of today must select as his 
machine a cow that can produce and re¬ 
produce. The milk itself must pay a real 
profit over the cost of feed, and the heifer 
calves that she reproduces must carry 
on the Hag of function developed to an 
even higher plane of efficiency. 
Efficiency. —This cow and her calf 
must be fed A. II. C foodstuffs. A for 
, Alfalfa. T! for brains and C for corn and 
corn silage. C might stand for cotton¬ 
seed or clover, and B might stand for 
Ilnickwheat middlings, but A must spell 
Alfalfa. The color of the cow does not 
matter much. It is what she does rather 
than what she appears to be that counts. 
She might please the eyes as well as the 
pocketbook, but the twinkle in the eye 
of the man who pays the hills is focused 
largely by the new dollar in the pocket- 
book. If we. as dairymen, could get 
down to brass tacks and rely chiefly on 
the foodstuffs that grow on our own 
farms, and be satisfied with a reasonable 
record at a clear profit, rather than an 
extrordinary record at a possible loss, it 
would seem to me that we might recover 
from many of the perils that prevail. 
May 31, 1919 
pasture, and I am sure that the increased 
production would more than justify the 
cost of the grain, even at the present high 
prices. 
Cows on Pasture Without Grain 
Will it pay to keep five cows on pas¬ 
ture land and not grain them, or 10 cows 
on same ground and grain them? What 
are the right grains to feed these 10 cows 
so’ as to got the best results? Would it 
just pay to keep the five cows? F. v. S. 
’Pennsylvania. - *** 
Pasture grass itself, provided there 
are some legumes and clovers present, 
makes an excellent and well-balanced 
ration for dairy cows in milk. Unless the 
pasture is abundant, however, it is well 
to supplement this pasture with some 
grain. I am inclined to believe that it 
would pay you to put on an added num¬ 
ber of cows and feed them a mixture of 
seven parts of corn or hominy meal and 
three parts of gluten in conjunction with 
the forage. I am assuming that you have 
a good outlet for your milk, and that you 
could care for 10 cows with the same 
labor that would be necessary for five, 
and feel sure that this practice would 
justify itself. Usually the pastures are 
very short during July and August, and 
it is necessary to supplement them with 
some grain. In any event, however, by 
giving the cows some grain throughout the 
season they will not be as harsh on the 
Breeding Young Heifer 
I have a registered Ayrshire six months 
old; intend to put her in pasture this 
Summer. In the same pasture with her 
will be a grade bull. I do not want her 
bred until she is about 15 or IS months 
old. Do you think there is any danger 
of her being bred this Summer? If she 
was bred to this grade bull, would that 
hurt her for future rearing of purebred 
stock ? j. k. o. 
New York. 
The chances are about. 30 to one that 
the purebred Ayrshire heifer in question 
would be bred during the Summer season 
in case she were pastured in the same lot 
with a grade bull. Ayrshire heifers do 
not come in use as early as Jersey or 
Guernsey heifers, yet if she is well grown 
and mature it is very probable that she 
would accept service when nine or 10 
months old. Instances are rather fre¬ 
quent where heifers perform freaks of 
this sort, and if she is a valuable animal 
I should surely try to make some other 
arrangement for pasturing either the 
heifer or the bull. If. by chance, she is 
mated at this early age. her usefulness as 
a breeder would be decreased, inasmuch as 
she would fail to develop the size and 
stretch necessary for useful dairy cows, 
and it is not wise to have heifers come in 
milk when they are immature. Size is 
essential, especially with Ayrshires, and 
by all means I would let this heifer be 'at 
least two years old before she is mated, 
which would bring her in with her first calf 
when she is about ill or 32 months old. 
The simple fact that she might receive 
service from a grade bull would not in¬ 
terfere with her producing purebred ani¬ 
mals later in case she were mated with a 
purebred bull, but the loss would follow 
from her failure to grow to a normal size 
owing to the conditions of her early mat¬ 
ing. 
Their stomachs 
are about the same size. 
It would take a stomach larger than the cow herself, if the big 
milker were to give her maximum amount on grass, when the 
protein runs low. It is hard for even the low producer to get 
enough protein for the 6mall amount of milk she is capable of 
Any milk cow should be fed 
while on pasture 
to balance tne irregularities in grass. Otherwise she will overwork her sy*« 
tem and waste feed in digesting carbohydrates she can’t use (or milk. 
Purina Cow Chow 
(24% Protein) 
“Old 24,** as many dairymen call it, supplies the protein that grass lacks. 
It enables the cow’s energy to be utilized in milk-making rather than in 
digesting an overload of carbohydrates. It enables the average cow to 
produce six pound of 
extra milk at one cent per pound 
This extra milk costs only about 6c per day. Most Purina feeders figure 
$3.00 extra profit per cow per month clear, from feeding Cow Chow. Ask 
your dealer for Purina Cow Chow. Write ua, if he doesn’t keep it. 
100 Lbs 
PURINA 
.PROTEIN 
HORSE IJJHHTl SWINE 
dairy ir . y steer 
POULTRY ftuJ CALF 
Purina Mills, 
Ralston Purina Co., Prop. 
827 Gratiot Street, St. Louis, Mo. 
Sold in checkerboard bags only . 
f^rJcHECKlR 
1 1 BOARD 
BAGS 
MM 
srow puriwa 
