Frsrvuary 19, 1906 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
1 
Shelter v. Exposure of the 
Dairy Cow. 
Tue dairy and animal husbandry department 
of the Kansas Experiment Station undertook to 
determine by experiment the loss that could 
be attributed to neglect by not sheltering the 
cow. 
The relation of the comfort of the cow and 
the cash received for her products is one that 
every dairyman should study. Enough good 
food and pure water, shelter from heat in sum- 
mer and storms in winter, kind treatment, are 
just the conditions man demands for his own 
comfort, and just what is due to every animal 
from every owner from an economic standpoint. 
The body of the cow, which is a complicated 
mechanism, is so constructed as to do its work 
pest at a temperatuce of 101 deg. F. From this 
particular it might be well to comyare her tu 
the steam boiler, which requires more fuel and 
does less work if not properly insulated or pro- 
tected from the cold. 
Any marked deviation from the normal 
temperature of the cow indicatesan abnormal or 
diseased condition of the body. This tempera- 
ture is maintained by the generation of heat 
within the body itself, from the food that is 
eaten. ‘he food serves as fuel, to be burned to 
keep the body warm. The body mast be kept 
warm, tut not too warm. When the air is 
warmer or as warm as the body itself moisture 
is brought to the surface, and the evaporation of 
this has the necessary cooling effect. It is essen- 
tialthat the body must be kept dry and com- 
fortable, ; %) 
When one considers the functions of foodcin 
the body, how it serves the cow, we find that it 
has a great many important uses: aside from 
being converted into a product we desire for the 
market, it keeps the machinery going and 
repairs the waste, aud lastly, maintains the tem- 
In following out the familiar law of 
which is said to be the first law of 
ns are conserved first, and 
perature. 
conservation, 
nature, these junctio 
if need be at the expense even of that product 
intended for the nurture of the young. 
If, then, a protitable flow of milk is to be 
maintained, not only must the feed be supplied 
for its manufacture, but for those other necessi- 
ties of the body which vary to meet the demands 
imposed by outside conditions. Qn several 
occasions some of the cows were exposed to 
re ranging from 18 deg. to 50 deg. for 
A previous record was 
get their approximate 
a temiperatu 
geveral days at a time. 
taken of the cows to 
production when kept in a com 
fortable shed. ‘The milk was weighed, the test 
was taken, the amount of food, and the weight 
of the animal was determined. ‘The experiment 
indicated a loss of 12 per cent. on the quality of 
milk and 11 per cent. on butter fat. 
average daily 
Light in the Stable. 
To the absence of proper light in the stable 
may be attributed many of the diseases to which 
the eyes of horses are liable, It is easy to 
imagine what the animal must feel, and the 
consequences which are likely to be the result 
from our own painful sensations on issning 
from a dark place to the fuli blaze of the sun. 
A repetition of this several times during the 
day would be inevitably attended with most in- 
jurious consequences. 
A stable ought to be as well lighted as a house 
so that this source of injury may be avoided, 
and also that any want of cleanliness may be 
readily detected. in stables which have a 
proper quantity of light, the shutters may be 
partially closed when the animals have fed pro- 
perly and lie down to sleep. Many animals 
stand too long on their limbs, and this subdued 
light is more apt to produce drowsiness, inclin- 
ing him to repose, during which time the food 
is well known to have the most salutary effect 
in increasing the muscular fibre and the cellular 
and adipose substances. 
Watering Horses. 
Oprnrons probably differ more on the subject of 
water for horses than on any other part of their 
treatment, and owners, breeders, and grooms are 
never likely to agree as to whether it is better 
that they should be watered befure or after 
feeding. his subject, therefore, need not be 
discussed here, but something may be said re- 
garding the advisability of allowing a heated 
animal to drink copiously of cold water when 
he comes in from work. Of course there are no 
two opinions regarding the inadvisability of 
letting a horse drink much at a time when he is 
on a journey, but it is when the work is com- 
pleted and the animal is hot that opinions 
differ, Some excellent authorities contend that 
along draught will not harm a horse, but the 
majority entertain a contrary view; and it is 
always wiser to be on the safe side, and to avoid 
risks of colic or the horse overgorging himself 
with fluid. 1 may also be remembered that 
one or two or more short drinks—at intervals, 
equivalent, as it were, to human beings’ short 
sips—are quite us effective quenchers of thirst 
as a very long one, and as there is danger in the 
latter and not in the former, itis well to pursue 
the safer course. 
Twin helfers will breed, but a twin heifer 
with a bull seldom does, 
A rough, noisy roustabout person in the cow- 
yard is often a serious damage to the cows. 
No sensivle farmer can expect to grow a pro- 
fitable crop by planting good seed in impover- 
ished or unfertile soil. Neither is it possible to 
make horse breeding profitable by wating in- 
ferior mares with the best of stailions. 
“When Danes went milking they put on 
white suits—cheap, certainly, but easily kept 
clean by washing. In New Zealand, on the 
other hand, people generally put on the worst 
clothes they had as overalls, and he had seen 
pants that would stand alone. The vital points 
he advocated were cleanliness, more care of the 
milk, and adequate dairy inspection. In Den- 
mark they had expert veterinarians and inspec- 
tors going all over the country, visiting every - 
farm at intervals of two or three weeks, If 
farmers would not voluntarily improve there 
were regulations to compel them to do so.”—J. 
A. Kinsella, New Zealand Government Dairy 
Commissioner. 
Sometimes farmers get it into their heads 
that they can carry on three or four kinds of 
business at the same time on the same farm, 
This is a mistake, and thousands have found it 
out when their pockets were empty and their 
health and strength gone. 
The up-to-date dairyman, knowing himself 
to be part of the very foundation of this great 
industry of dairying, will not be found guilty of 
sending stale cream to the factory. He will at 
all times deliver his cream as clean and sweet as 
he used to bring his milk and as often. The 
reputation of Australian butter is at stake, and 
all hands should make a determined effort not 
to let the quality deteriorate, as thereby thou- 
sands of pounds will be lost to the milk pro- 
ducer, and perhaps the business made unprofit- 
able to the tactory. 
Among the crying needs of the butter in- 
dustry in Australia is better buildings, better 
sanitation and better equipment. Another, and 
not the least, is better and cleaner supply of 
raw material upon which to show our factory 
manager’s skill in making a finished product. 
BOOTMAKER 
Rundle Street, Kent Town 
* KK KK 
Repairs a Speciality 
Match’s 
Cheap 
ALE 
Signwriting 
Painting 
P e 
aperhanging 
WMiawectin, 
Pirie St., opp. Hindwarsh square 
