1013 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
May 20, 102g 
TheDe Laval 
Milker 
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The De Laval Milker we 
During this time it has mver 
fa We have a herd of 50 head 
nettle out"of U shape, tnt since 
milking these cows with the 
De Laval Milker, the teats and 
udders have improved and all 
trace of garget has disap- 
machine is simple, sub¬ 
stantial, reliable and easy to 
operate. It is being operated 
by Mrs. Brook, the wife of 
the foreman. 
WALKER’S DAIRY, 
Bloomington, Ill. 
The De Laval Milker has been in successful 
use for over three years, milking cows of every 
breed. It has been used to especial advantage on 
purebred cows and where certified milk has been 
sold at advanced prices, and also in A. R.O. work, 
because of its sanitary, easy to clean features. 
Many farmers have installed the De Laval 
after careful investigation and comparison, which 
convinced them that it provided the best-known 
means of milking cows quickly and sa fely. Its 
positive, gentle and unfailing action pleases the 
cows and in many cases induces increased produc¬ 
tion—at the same time reducing the labor of milk¬ 
ing and making it easy and pleasant. 
The De Laval Milker is a distinctly different 
type of machine, positive and uniform in action, 
and it is faster, more reliable and more sanitary 
than any other method of milking. 
Write to nearest De Laval office for Milker 
Catalog, mentioning number of cows milked 
The De Laval Separator Co. 
165 Broadway 
New York 
29 East Madison Street 
Chicago 
61 Beale Street 
San Francisco 
Live Stock Matters 
Conducted By Prof. F. C. Minkler 
Feeding Small Herd 
I am in charge of two grade Guernseys 
and one purebred Guernsey heifer, and I 
should like to know a good ration for 
them. One gives an average of 40 lbs. 
per day. the other 20 lbs. I have no 
means of testing their milk for butterfat. 
The heifer is not yet milking, as she is 
due to calve in September. They have 
been fed a ration of two parts wheat 
bran, two parts ground oats, one part 
gluten, one-half part Alfalfa mj?al and 
two parts cornmeal; two feedings of poor 
hay and one at noon of good clover hay. 
Tliey have 3 qts. twice a day of dried beet 
pulp. R. K. 
Massachusetts. 
It is not necessary to make butterfat 
determination in order to .select a ration 
well suited for feeding milch cows. A ra¬ 
tion based upon the quantity of milk 
produced per day would he a safe guide, 
and has served every reasonable, purpose. 
Hence, your Guernsey cow that is yield¬ 
ing 40 lbs. of. say. five per cent mil’-: per 
day, should be given 12 or 14 lbs. of 
grain ration, consisting of equal parts 
of corn. oats, bran, oilmeal and gluten. 
The heifer that, has not freshened would, 
require less protein, and a mixture of 
equal parts of corn, oats, bran and oil- 
meal would supply her dailv needs. 
Enough should be given to keep the 
heifer in good condition and make it pos¬ 
sible for her to put on some flesh in order 
that she may calve in good condition. If 
the heifers have access to grass, then the 
ration could he simplified still further by 
feeding only cornmeal where the pasture 
grass is abundant. If the grass is scant, 
then equal parts of cornmeal and gluten 
should he supplied. You do not indicate 
whether you have silage to feed during 
the Winter mouths. If not. you should 
feed some such substitute as moistened 
beet pulp or malt sprouts. 
Drying off Cow 
I am the owner of a family cow, and 
pat myself on the hack when I claim 
that she is the best, milker in this vicinity. 
Slie is due to freshen in June, and still 
gives 10 qts. a day. What is the proper 
course to pursue to dry her up? I am 
feeding cornmeal. ground oats, gluten and 
Alfalfa meal. Ilay is very poor mixed. 
Am told by former owner that she dropped 
her last calf in April of last year. It. R. 
New' York. 
You are indeed to he congratulated on 
having a dairy cow that is a persistent 
milker and that yields 10 qts. of milk per 
day during the end of her lactation period. 
She .should by all means he forced dry, 
and this can only he accomplished by 
denying her all grains and feeding her 
exclusively upon hay of the poorest qual¬ 
ity obtainable. Milk her regularly on 
the lmy alone twice a day for three or 
four days, then commence milking her 
once a day for four or five days, and then 
once every other day for the next four 
or five days. In all probability at the 
end of this period sin* can be safely dried 
off. ami then milked only once or twice 
a week. I >o not make the mistake of at¬ 
tempting to dry her off and at the same 
time continue her regular grain ration; 
and do not turn her out to grass at this 
season of the year with the expectation 
that you can dry her off and let her lum¬ 
ber daily fill of palatable grass. After 
she is once completely dry, then yon 
should begin feeding her abundantly of 
the grain ration of corn, oats, bran and 
oilmeal. 
Keeping Family Cow 
I own a thre---year-old Holstein c-ow 
(part Jersey). She freshened a week 
ago, dropping a fine hull calf. She. is 
now giving about 25 lbs. of milk daily. 
I took the calf from her in four days, and 
am giving it <> qts. of milk daily. I feed 
her I <tt. •each of ground oats, bran and 
cornmeal and all the Timothy and corn¬ 
stalks she will clean up. The grain is 
given morning and evening. As I have 
no water system to my barn. I have to 
water her by pail, and give her all she 
will drink before feeding her. _ Her milk 
is very rich, producing a thick, heavy 
cream. I got this cow solely for family 
use, and intend her to ‘‘keep us.” not we 
to keep hex-. Can 1 make her produce 
more by more feeding, or would I run 
danger of crowding her? Can I keep hex- 
in the barn all year around, as 1 have 
no pasture unless I can x-ent it. Will 
she need barnyard exercise when the 
weather is suitable? When must I breed 
her again? T. E. It. 
Connecticut. 
Yon arc quite right: your dairy cow 
should lx* fed and cai’ed for in such a man¬ 
ner iis will enable her to produce your 
milk economically, rather than for you 
to follow the practice that many dairy¬ 
men are following in paying well for tin- 
privilege of keeping cow boardei-s. A 
Holstein c-ow that only produces 25 lbs. 
of milk a day when fresh might easily he 
classified as' a boarder, and surely you 
might reasonably expect her to increase 
iier How of milk as the peak of her lacta¬ 
tion period approaches. You could safely 
feed her more corn without forcing her, 
and, as we have said many times, the 
feeding of 1 lb. of grain for each 3 or 4 
lbs, of milk produced per clay is a fairly 
•safe i-ule to follow. A mixture consist¬ 
ing of equal parts of cornmeal. ground 
oats, wheat bran and oilmeal would serve 
your purpose as well and perhaps as eco¬ 
nomically as any mixture that you could 
purchase in small quantities. These are 
all standard feeds, and can he secured 
at any feed store. If the cow has access 
to grass or pasture of any sort, then it 
would he possible to eliminate the bran 
and oats and feed her largely on cornmeal 
and oilmeal. or cornmeal and gluten, if 
the latter is less costly per ton than the 
linseed meal. Let her have all the water 
that she wants to drink twice daily, 
"’here is. of course, no objection to water¬ 
in'? hex- during the middle of the day if 
she <1 -sires it. It is possible to keep a 
cow coaiined to a barnyard throughout the 
entire year; but exercise and some suc¬ 
culent feed is very much more desirable 
and surely the general health and vigor 
would he increased substantially in case 
she were pastured during the flush grass 
season. Exercise is not essential for ma¬ 
ture dairy cows as for young growing 
animals, and she would not suffer from 
confinement on this score. The denial of 
succulent feed, particularly luxuriant pas¬ 
ture grass, would he the greatest criticism 
of the confinement system. 
I should breed her three months after 
calving, as this will make it possible for 
her to freshen once each year, and this 
practice enables her to produce, I believe, 
the maximum amount of milk. During 
the Winter season, or in case it is neces¬ 
sary to confine her in the stable, she 
should he given some succulent substitute, 
such as moistened beet pulp or saturated 
malt sprouts. During the Summer the 
feeding of freshly cut grass would serve 
a useful pux-poso. Be sure to keep her in 
good condition, using a generous amount 
of such protein-carrying foods as oilmeal, 
gluten meal or linseed meal, if it is de¬ 
sired to establish and maintain maximum 
production. Holstein cow ought to 
yield from 45 to • !(► lbs. of milk per day 
when fresh, and she ought to average dur¬ 
ing her entire lactation period at least 10 
or 12 qts. per day. 
Cost of Wintering Cow 
I understand by your article on “Cost 
of Wintering Cow and Calf.” page 435, 
that it would cost $20 per month to keep 
a dry cow during the Winter. As there 
are generally seven months to feed a cow, 
it would cost you $140 to keep it (lining 
the Winter. Where would there he any 
profit in keeping dairy cows? Would not 
a man be better off if he sold his cow and 
bought another in the Spring? Would 
not a cow exit more than it would be 
worth ? c. f. 
Pennsylvania. 
Surely the kind of a cow that a suc¬ 
cessful dairyman would maintain in his 
herd would not go dry seven mouths out 
of tin- year. If she did. of course it 
would be more profitable to dispose of her 
when she went dry and purchase a fresh 
cow for milking purposes. If you will 
refer to page 435 you will find that, the 
question related to an appropriate charge 
to make for wintering a dry cow where 
it was required that sin- be fed some 
grain in addition to the regular roughage. 
With feed at $70 a ton, it does not take 
very many pounds of gruin per day to 
aggregate an expense account of $20 per 
month per animal. Unless one is in the 
position to feed his cows properly during 
the dry period in order that they may 
freshen in good condition, there is little 
prospect of his getting a new dollar for 
tin old one in the operation. 
Feeding Moldy Corn 
I have a lot <>f corn that I did uot get 
husked last Fall on account of labor short¬ 
age. Now I find it is badly moldy. Can 
it be fed to hogs or other stock with 
safety, or is it better to throw the whole 
crop away? w. T. A. 
(’onnecticut. 
There is very little feeding value in 
moldy corn, especially if it has stood in 
the shock all Winter. A great iuauy 
farmers experienced the same difficulty 
last year, owing uot only to the shortage 
of labor, but to the fact that the Winter 
season came upon us very early and snow 
covered tin* ground during file entire Win¬ 
ter. No doubt !he crows helped them¬ 
selves to what little good corn might be 
found in the shocks, and what the crows 
did not <-af the rats and mice thoroughly 
enjoyed. We have been feeding some 
such corn to our steers and pigs. Some 
of our colts likewise have had the op¬ 
portunity of picking over some of this 
noddy stuff. At the outset it did cause 
some digestive disorders. Scours auuoyed 
the animals badly, but after they were 
accustomed to its use- they developed a 
rather amazing appetite for it. although 
we are not convinced that there.was much 
feeding value in it. Hauling this material 
into the yards and letting the pigs pick 
it over is the only way I know of to gel- 
rid of the stuff. The bottom of the stouts 
are no doubt wet. and they will not burn, 
and if they are put in a pile it will take 
them forever to compost. Our advice, 
therefore, would be to haul these stalks 
into the yard and let the pigs work tliein 
over, and eventually if they, are worked 
over in the barnyard they will make ma¬ 
nure and thus yield some little value. 
