I (46 
Wk RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Junt' 26, 1020 
DE LAVAL 
MILKER 
at Roseiand 
Dairy 
Roseiand, N. J, 
Messrs. Henry Becker & Son, 
the owners, write as follows : 
J 
Th» Ds Laval Separator Oo., 
1S5 ^roadway. 
Hen York City* 
Gentlemen* 
Having now used a Blx unit Da 
Laval Milker for nearly four years 
on more than one hundred oowa,we 
wish to say that wo are very well 
satisfied with the working of this 
machine in every detail* 
The cows all take kindly to the 
De Laval Milker,which fact of it¬ 
self proves the operating of it Is 
very gentle.With labor conditions 
the way they have been for tha laet 
three or four years, we wouVS havo to 
dispense with part of our cows 
had It not been for the De Laval 
Milker. 
And we must say that the Bervlos 
you renderDo Laval userB la prompt 
and effective* 
Henry Beoker * Son, Inc. 
T HE De Laval Milker is a tried 
and tested De Laval product. It 
is a distinctly different type of ma¬ 
chine—the only milker having master 
control of pulsation speed, uniform 
milking at all times, Udder Pulsator, 
positive alternating action, and self 
adjusting teat-cups. 
The De Laval is faster, more re¬ 
liable, more sanitary than any other 
method of milking. Its action is gentle 
from the start—old cows that are hard 
to milk, heifers and high-strung pure- 
breds are all milked successfully. 
The De Laval Milker is made and 
sold by the same Company which for 
over forty years has earned an en¬ 
viable reputation for service to users. 
When a man buys a De Laval product 
the Company considers that its obli¬ 
gation to him has just started. 
Write to nearest De Laval office for Milker 
Catalog, mentioning number of cows to be milked 
The De 
165 Broadway 
New York 
Laval Separator Co. 
29 East Madison Street 61 Beale Street 
Chicago San Francisco 
Live Stock Matters 
Conducted By Prof. F. C. Minkler 
Calves on Pasture 
When is it safe to pasture a purebred 
Guernsey calf dropped February 26 this 
year? At present price of calf feed and 
labor this baby will run into big money 
before she is six months old. and calves 
are getting: cheaper every day. The farmer 
cannot win out. w. E. D. 
New Jersey. 
There is an honest difference of opinion 
as to whether there is any advantage in 
turning calves out to pasture before they 
are at least six months of age. While it 
is true that there are certain benefits from 
foraging young animals, they will not 
gain and" grow satisfactorily on grass 
alone, and when grass is fed in conjunc¬ 
tion with milk it is believed that quite as 
good results would follow from the use 
of milk and grain alone. Outside of the 
question of freedom and exercise and san¬ 
itation there is very little to be gained 
by pasturing calves of this age. 
It is true that the cost of feeding calves 
with purchased feed is almost prohibitive 
and. unless she is a particularly promis¬ 
ing heifer calf, she is likely to eat her 
head off every three months. It is not easy 
to lend encouragement to dairymen during 
these trying days when the price of milk 
is very low. while the cost of every feed 
ingredient incident to its production is 
advancing. The reason why cows are 
cheap is that the number of dairymen 
who are contented to charge up their milk 
production operations t<> experience alone 
is getting fewer and fewer every year, 
and many have reached the conclusion 
that, since they cannot get a new dollar 
for an old one in the transaction, they 
would best dispose of tlieir cows and go 
out of the dairy business. 
With farm production decreasing and 
food cost increasing it is easy to imagine 
what conditions will prevail during the 
coming Winter. There is not a possible 
chance of equalizing values and reducing 
the cost of living uutil the spirit and in¬ 
dustry and the resolve to work and pro¬ 
duce something return to the working 
man. The inefficiency and independence 
of the laboring man is driving not only 
dairymen but other classes of farmers out 
of the business, and. harsh as it may 
sound, there is evidence that the only 
way to bring this class of people to tlieir 
senses is to let them go through a starva¬ 
tion period. The question of wage is not 
the most important item ; it is the ques¬ 
tion of efficiency and production. 
Keeping Silage Over Summer 
What is the best way to preserve silage 
until next Winter? We have a silo 14 ft. 
in diameter, and it has been filled almost 
to tlu* top. What silage there is in it 
now is pretty well packed down and in 
good condition. There is about ft ft. left. 
How many tons is this? 1 haye reduced 
my herd to eight head of cattle, and next 
Winter I don’t intend to keep any more, 
and instead of putting in silage next Fall 
I would like to use the said ft ft. I have 
now. F. it. 
New Jersey. 
The average weight of silage approxi¬ 
mates 42 lbs. per cubic foot. While you 
have failed to give us the height, of this 
silo, you are. no doubt, aware that the 
pressure increases very rapidly as the 
height increases. Tt is very doubtful 
whether you will be able to carry over 
the 3 ft. of silage in the bottom of the 
silo until next year without having it fer¬ 
ment and spoil during the Summer season. 
It would best be covered with road dust 
or bay, and this material can be loosened 
up from time to time to allow air to cir¬ 
culate through it. and thus prevent rapid 
settling and spoilage. In any event you 
will lose a considerable portion of the 
silage, even though some of it may be 
preserved. You are also reminded that 
the milage in the bottom of the silo is in¬ 
variably more acid than that even in the 
middle of the silo, and unless it is fed up 
rather promptly it is not palatable, and 
it is doubtful if it would be safe to feed 
this material after it bad gone through 
a Summer exposed to the air. 
Keeping Up Milk Flow 
I wish advice on how to keep up milk 
production through the Summer. We are 
feeding silage, cornstalks and Alfalfa, 
about all of each that they will eat up 
clean, with 400 lbs. of cobmeal. 200 lbs. 
dried brewers’ grains, 200 lbs. wheat 
bran and 200 lbs. gluten meal ration, 1 lb. 
to every fl 1 /:! lbs. of milk. As our rough- 
age is limited we ♦urn out on rye in April, 
tlieu on a meadow with considerable 
clover until after harvest, when we can 
pasture off the rowen. Our cows freshen 
about even from August until April, but 
we have never been able to make as much 
milk after the first six weeks on pasture 
as we do in Winter. What kind and how 
much grain should I feed after turning 
out? I sluill have silage another season. 
What grain should I feed then on the 
same kind <>f pasture? s. s. J. 
New Jersey. 
The combination mixture that you have 
been feeding to your dairy cows is a very 
good our and ought to give you excellent 
results. It lias been my experience that, 
even though the pasture may be abundant 
and the cows appear in good condition, it 
always pays to feed some"jrain during the 
entire pasture season. A mixture of three 
parts of corn meal and two parts of gluten 
makes a splendid combination. I should 
feed 1 lb. of this grain mixture for each 
4 or 5 tbs. of milk produced per day. 
While it is.true that luxuriant pasture 
grass offers a well balanced ration in 
itself, it is nevertheless true that a cow 
producing a generous amount of milk 
must consume a vast quantity of 
this material in order to meet the require¬ 
ments of her milk making as well as her 
body requirements, and if it is supple¬ 
mented with some grain, greater vigor 
and vitality are maintained, and the cow 
can go through the season with less effort 
and expenditure of energy. I realize 
that one has to look twice at a grain 
ration nowadays to determine whether lie 
can afford to feed it; but. even so, with 
average producing cows I am satisfied 
that, you cannot afford to eliminate all of 
the grain from the ration. At prevailing 
prices corn is clearly the most economical 
source of carbohydrates, while gluten 
likewise affords a pound of digestible nu¬ 
trients at the lowest cost. 
The ration that would be well suited 
for the coming Winter’s grain mixture 
would depend, of course, upon prevailing 
prices, and we shall be very glad to sug¬ 
gest a ration when the proper time comes. 
As a general rule one should put in his 
supply of oilmeal. cottonseed meal and 
gluten during May. .Tune and July. In¬ 
variably they are cheaper at this season 
of the year than during any other period, 
largely because there is less usage for 
them, and distributers are anxious to dis¬ 
tribute their output throughout the season 
if possible. It is easier to make ship¬ 
ments during -these months, owing to a 
less congested condition of traffic. If one 
takes the pains to investigate, he will 
find that the most successful dealers in 
feed products make it a rule to place 
their orders for these materials at this 
season of the year. 
Pig-Fattening Questions 
I can get whey from half skim cheese 
free. Will it pay me to haul it a mile 
for feeding April pigs? I have plenty 
of ear corn (flint) raised ou the farm, 
and clover aud rape for pasture. What 
else do the pigs need? Will it pay to 
haul the corn two miles and pay 20c per 
cwt. to have it ground? J. R. s. 
New York. 
You certainly can afford to haul skim- 
milk half a mile, provided it is obtained 
free of cost and intended for feeding 
young pigs. It. is the very best supple¬ 
ment to your flint corn that can be ob¬ 
tained, and your pigs will need absolutely 
nothing else, provided they have access 
to clover and rape pasture. It certainly 
would not pay yon to haul this corn two 
miles and pay 20c per cwt. to have it 
ground. Young growing pigs have grind¬ 
ing machines of their own that do not 
get out of repair, and one that is always 
in working order; and the feeding value 
is increased only three or four per cent 
by the process of grinding. A scoop 
shovel is the only implement required for 
feeding corn to pigs, and where you have 
skim-milk and a forage crop available 
you have ideal conditions for pig produc¬ 
tion. Keep before the pigs at all times 
what we have come to know as a mineral 
mixture, consisting of equal parts of 
ground limestone, salt, charcoal, bone meal 
and rock phosphate. This will keep them 
from rooting, and will make sure that 
they are generously supplied with the 
necessary phosphates. 
Cistern Water for Cattle 
I have a cistern about 25 ft. from the 
stable, full of water to the top. The cis¬ 
tern is about 12 ft. deep, but in the Sum¬ 
mer only half full. The water has not. 
been used in years, but is clear. The 
earth around the cistern is level. There 
is another cistern 150 feet away that 
collects all the rain water from the house. 
I do not understand where the cistern 
collects its water from. Would this 
water be fit for cattle to drink? I wish 
to install a pump in my barn, and thought 
by digging about three feet in the ground 
and drilling a hole in the cistern I could 
pump water to the stable. 1 have other 
sources of water and 600 or 700 feet from 
the stable, but much lower than the cis¬ 
tern. I would like any suggestions as to 
how to obtain water. t. R. 
New York. 
If the supply of water in the cistern is 
constant, the only explanation one could 
make at long range would be to suggest 
that it must be fed by a spring, it 
would be a comparatively simple matter 
to put a test pump on this cistern and 
determine definitely whether it was stag¬ 
nant water or fresh water from such a 
source as suggested. There is no reason 
why this cistern should not be_ tapped 
and the supply used for watering live 
stock. Of course, one would want to 
make sure that it was not surface water; 
otherwise, after it. had been pumped down 
a few times I can see no reason why it 
might not serve the purpose intended. In 
such circumstances an ordinary suction 
pump with the working barrel placed 
near tin* bottom of the well would be all 
the equipment necessary. 
