‘Ibt RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1 623 
Usually in dairies where calves are fat¬ 
tened they let their poorer cows or those 
they intend to sell for beef or bologna 
nurse the calves, and do not permit theii 
good cows to be milked out in this way. 
If the plans you have in mind suggest a 
continuation of this practice, then it 
might be safely followed, but if it is only 
a temporary makeshift. I should say that 1 
it would not be safe to follow your sug-l 
gestion. In other words, if the cows you 
propose to let. the calves suck are intend¬ 
ed to be milked during their next or some 
successive lactation period, you would 
find that a number of the cows would 
develop unsound udders, and that they 
might not milk as persistently as before. 
It would not make as much difference 
with older cows as with heifers with their 
first or second calf. We are mindful of 
the fact that it is not an easy matter to 
hire men to milk cows at the present 
time; nevei-theless you do take chances 
of ruining some of the cows if large 
calves are allowed to nurse them. 
Ration with Skim-milk 
I have 30 Guernsey cows and am sell¬ 
ing butter. I wish to feed the skim-milk 
to the pigs. What is the cheapest ration 
to supplement this skim-milk? Is there 
any better ration than 3 lbs. of skim 1 
milk to 1 lb. of corn? H. K. M. 
New Hampshire. 
I can suggest no better combination 
for fattening pigs than the one you have 
suggested, viz., skim-milk and corn. If 
you have an abundance of skim-milk you 
might allow as much as 5 lbs. of milk 
for each pound of corn consumed. If. 
however, hominy meal is less expensive, 
pound for pound, than shelled corn or 
cornmeal, it could be substituted pound 
for pound. Without hominy, however, 
it would be well to mix, say, 20 per cent 
of either ground oats or ground barley, 
for it is less palatable than a straight 
corn ration. If the pigs weigh more than 
74 lbs., ear corn or shelled corn would 
be quite as useful as the meal; in fact 
I prefer shelled corn to chopped feed, be¬ 
lieving that it. is more palatable and loss 
likely to become rancid. 
In certain sections of South Jersey thev 
use a combination of blackstrap molasses 
and ground rye, supplemented with di 
gester tankage or skim-milk as a suitable 
p 
ration for fattening pigs. There are 
conditions under which this ration might 
less expensive than a straight corn 
diet. It would depend entirely upon the 
market prices of the various grades. 
Whei’e a straight ration of cornmeal 
and skim-milk is used in fattening pigs, it 
is necessary to keep before the animals 
at all times a mineral mixture carrying 
such materials as salt, charcoal, bone- 
meal and sulphur in order to make sure 
that the growing animals are generously 
supplied with the necessary phosphates 
Beggarweed for Hay 
On looking over my agricultural text¬ 
book I notice beggarweed hay given 00.8 
dry matter, 0.8 protein, 42.8 carbohy¬ 
drates, 1.6 fat. As beggarweed grows 
wild here, I wish to ask if there is any 
reason why it should not be cut for hay? . 
Arkansas. R. D. 
The late Joseph E. Wing, the ardent 
Alfalfa enthusiast, was a very careful 
observer and student of grasses suitable 
for pasture and for meadow use. In 
speaking of beggarweed we quote him as 
follows: 
Beggarweed, sometimes called Florida 
clover, is a valuable hay crop; but it 
is not grown so extensively as it should 
be. It is seldom seen in the fields dur¬ 
ing the time that the crops are being cul¬ 
tivated; but, like crab grass, it springs 
up quickly when cultivation ceases. To 
make the best quality of hay. beggarweed 
should be cut before the stems beconm 
hard and woody. After such crops as 
oats, melons, cabbage aud cucumber?, two 
good crops of beggarweed can be secured. 
If the first crop be cut as early as tin* 
first week in August, there will be time 
enough for a second cutting. 
If, as you have indicated, beggarweed 
grows naturally in your district, there is 
no reason why it should not be used more 
extensively for hay. As the analysis 
shows, it compares very favorably with the 
common varieties of grasses used in our 
permanent meadows. We have never had 
any experience in feeding beggarweed hay. 
hut since it grows vigorously and under 
the conditions suggested,' where you could 
harvest two crops during the same season 
without planting, we know of no reason 
why this volunteer crop should not be 
cut and made into hay. 
"My 13 year old son milks the cows with the Perfection as well as I can and is back 
in the house in one hour from the time he leaves it.” —V. D. Cummings. 
Interest Your Boy In Milking 
TYID you ever notice the in- 
^ terest your boy takes in 
fine machinery ? Why not 
use that interest to solve your 
milking problem. 
With a Perfection your 
young son can save you the 
wages of one or two men. 
Perfection more than pays for 
itself each year in the wages 
it saves. 
and he has the best labor sav¬ 
ing machinery to work with. 
And he will do a better job of 
milking when he milks the 
Perfection way, because Per¬ 
fection milks nature’s way. 
Perfection’s gentle suction 
followed by a downward 
squeeze and a period of rest 
duplicates perfectly the action 
of the calf. 
Get a Perfection and inter¬ 
est your boy in being an up 
to date dairy farmer. He will 
like the farm and be glad to 
stay when the drudgery is gone 
Send For Catalog 
Write for the names and addresses 
of Perfection owners near you. We’ll 
also send you a free copy of our book, 
”What the Dairyman Wants to Know.” 
Why milk by band? 
Perfection Manufacturing Company 
2115 East Hennepin Avenue Minneapolis, Minnesota 
