18 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
April 13. 
familiar to many of the readers of The Cottage Gar¬ 
dener. 
Hay, then, although it be inferior in quality, must 
be obtained; but it must be remembered, that in some 
cases it will pay better to buy it than to grow it. For 
instance, a person may have a flourishing plot of ground, 
of a deep and rich character, near a town possessing 
good markets, and where plenty of manure is attainable, 
such land will often prove more profitable for vegetable 
culture, roots, &c., and, in such cases, such articles as 
; brewer’s grains may be obtained, and they are capital 
i for forcing milk, and, of course, tend to economise the 
hay and other fodder. Sometimes, too, hay may be 
purchased very cheaply, and this may be allowed to 
influence the course of culture. When, however, Cows 
are dry or barren, a very moderate amount of hay will 
suffice, and oat-straw may be used instead, and even 
wheat-straw; and here I may just point to the practice 
which prevails amongst our Cheshire cheese farmers, 
who know as much practically as most men about stock, 
as may be well supposed. Their chief aim is to have 
their cows calve in early spring, in order to have a long 
summer in which to make cheese. This they call 
“ coming in to a good note,” and February, March, and 
April, may be counted as the period. Of course they 
are thinking about good pasturage, and have to econo¬ 
mise both hay and straw; and well they may, for even 
the daily maintenance of a dairy stock is no trifle; 
some large cheese farmers milking as many as from fifty 
to seventy cows. 
j Well, then, soon after Christmas there is, in general, 
a hue and cry about hay; their stacks become more 
noted for heighth than for bulk, and now it is, or even 
sooner, that the majority have to fall back on oat-straw 
or even wheat-straw. But this does very well indeed 
for stock in a “ dry” state, and, in my opinion, is one 
of the reasons why the losses at calving-time are so 
trifling with these great cow-keepers; I mean, the loss 
that so often takes place where cows have been petted 
and highly “ forced” as to their milking powers. 
When I was a youth, in the neighbourhood of the 
great southern metropolis, there was a constant dread of 
cows “ dropping” at calving time, but these oldCheshire 
veterans in the cow way never seem to care a straw about 
it; the fact is they cannot afford to pet cows in a dry 
condition, and thus they escape, in the main, those seri¬ 
ous inflammatory attacks, which are the result of an 
over-fed condition acting injuriously on the peculiar 
condition of the animal; as they use principally oat- 
straw, and inferior hay, with a few Swedes, and this 
carries them up to calving time, in very proper con¬ 
dition, according to Cheshire men; but I suppose what 
some of our friends in the neighbourhood of large towns, 
j who keep a couple of cows, would consider half-starved. 
As soon, however, after calving time, as they feel safe 
: from “ milk fever,” they of course use the best fodder 
' they possess. Their cows for the next year’s cheese tub 
| are generally thrown “ dry ” about the beginning of 
December; they have then about seven or eight weeks 
of rest. Since, however, this introduction of improved 
chaff-cutting machines, turnip slicers, &c., our farmers 
| have departed a good deal from the old-fashioned prac¬ 
tice, which, indeed, in former days, in these parts, fre¬ 
quently consisted in giving the dry stock coarse oats, or 
wheat straw; hay was too choice, and as for turnips, 
their culture was indeed limited. Aud this brings me, for 
a moment, to the matter of steaming food, or of otherwise 
cooking it: this was scarcely a reality a century since. 
Everybody, of any real weight in this question, knows, 
in these progressive times, that as with the human 
species, so with our domesticated animals; health, and 
the consequent due performance of the functions of the 
animal system, must be sought for in a carefully assisted 
digestive process; for, as has been well observed, the 
stomach is like the boiler of the engine, and every body 
knows that if the boiler is deranged, or its propulsive 
power is obstructed, the machine but drags its slow 
length along, is thrown out of gearing, or even a “ blow¬ 
up,” may occur. 
Steaming, or otherwise cooking the food of animals, , 
is a proceeding which, in my opinion, cannot be too 
highly recommended, both on the score of principle and 
of economy ; and many of our farmers, who would have 
ridiculed the idea only a few years since, now fully 
recognise its importance, and possess their cookiug 
machines. Straw-cutting machines, too, have been so 
improved as much to economise labour; and my neigh- i 
hour, Mr. Corues, of Barbridge, has, I believe, produced j 
the best yet out. Such, with turnip-slicers, oat-bruising 
machines (called here “ kibbling,”), all conspire to bring 
the cooking question forward. As to economy in the 
use of fodder, much refuse hoy, straw, &c., which in 
former days went to the dunghill, or was used as bed¬ 
ding litter, is now worked up with other materials, and 
a little steaming, with a handful cf salt, soon renders it 
capital food. 
With regard to corn for cows, the Cheshire cheese 
maker will hear of nothing but oats ; indeed, whether 
for cows, or pigs, he has a prepossession for oats; but 
little barley is used in this county. This, however, 
probably arises from the fact that barley is little culti¬ 
vated, the soil in general being too adhesive. Since 
Indian corn became so much cheapened, it has proved 
a rival of the oats in pig-feeding, but for the Cows oats 
are still the principal food. 
The milking stock in Cheshire is fed soon after five , 
a. si., and if kept to the stall dufing bad weather, again 
at noon ; and, finally, at five p.m. ; but the “ stock 
tender” “ looks them up ” at about eight o’clock for the 
night, in order to see that every Cow has been properly 
served, and that no fodder is wasted ; also to provide j 
against any accidents through the mode in which they 
are fastened. 
At calving time, they are, of course, very attentive to 
the stock, aud, if possible, they like them to calve in¬ 
doors (a loose house—the cow being turned loose), 
l They are very cautious in their use of fodder on such 
occasions. As soon as the cow has calved she has a 
i bucket of oatmeal gruel warm, about two handfuls of 
oatmeal, and a pinch of salt added ; this about three 
or four times in the whole day, and a little of very good 
hay, aud this is continued for about three days, when, 
if all is well, they gradually fall into the regular dieting. 
The Cow should not be allowed to have access to cold 
water until out of danger. The placenta, or “ cleansing,” 
should come away in from a couple of hours to eight or 
ten; and if not away in twenty-four, a cleansing drink 
of some kind is given : any veterinary surgeon or drug¬ 
gist will furnish this.* 
Before entering farther into this subject, I may advert 
to their mode of rearing calves. Of course, these are of ! 
two classes—those for stock, and those for the butcher; | 
they, however, share the same fate for about three 
weeks or so, when it is generally expedient to separate 
them, inasmuch as it is not necessary to make those for 
j stock as fat as those for the butcher. The calves are, 
in general, removed from their mothers as soon as they 
are dropped; this is hard usage, I confess ; but when it 
j is considered that the butcher’s calf is a secondary con¬ 
sideration, “ the cheese tub ” being the primary one, the 
reasons will appear tolerably plain. The fact is, that 
quietness being necessary for the Cow at as early a 
* If the cleansing is delayed, give the cow a dose of physic, composed 
of one pound of Epsoin salt and two drachms of ginger, in some warm 
gruel. Leave the calf with the cow for a few days. The following drink 
may also be given—Cummin-seed powder, two ounces ; sulphur, two 
; ounces; bay berries, powdered, one ounce; turmeric, one ounce; boil 
them together in a quart of water for ten minutes, strain it, and give it t 
I when cool mixed with a little gruel. 
