,,stock ,,and ,,stalks ,a ,book for the ,dairy ,farmer ,,by ,j4 ,r4 ,,roberts ,president ,roberts ,sanitary ,dairy ,lincoln and ,sioux ,city ,henry ,westfall1 ,sales ,agent1 #abf ,so4 #aath ,street ,midwest ,bldg41 ,lincoln1 ,nebraska 7,all ,rights ,reserved7 ,copyright1 #aiba ,,by ,j4 ,r4 ,,roberts ,,stock ,,and ,,stalks ,,contents ,,chapter ,i ,,intensive ,,versus ,,by-,,product ,,dairying #a ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,dairy ,,type #ag ,,capacity ,,tendencies ,,physical ,,defects ,,diseases ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,pure ,,bred ,,sire #bc ,,chapter ,,iv ,,what ,,to ,,feed #bf ,,chemical ,,analysis ,,balanced ,,rations ,,pastures ,,hay ,,corn ,,fodder ,,silage ,,without ,,corn ,,silage ,,grain ,,feed ,,prepared ,,feeds ,,chapter ,v ,,how ,,to ,,feed #dd ,,balanced ,,rations ,,water ,,calf ,,and ,,heifer ,,feeding ,,chemical ,,analysis ,,rations ,,for ,,the ,,dairy ,,cow ,,chapter ,,vi ,,variations ,,in ,,milk ,,tests #ef ,,chapter ,,vii ,,suggestions ,,for ,,constructing ,a ,,barn #fa ,,chapter ,,viii ,,milking #fc ,,chapter ,,ix ,,milk ,,products #ff ,,butter ,,cheese ,,cottage ,,cheese ,,cream ,,skim ,,milk ,,whey ,,chapter ,x ,,market ,,milk #gd ,,weight ,,of ,,milk ,,legal ,,requirements ,,cleanliness ,,sanitation ,,cooling ,,milk ,,chapter ,,xi ,,experiments ,,being ,,tried ,,out ,,on ,,our ,,dairy ,,farm #hc ,,chapter ,,xii ,,different ,,points ,,of ,,view #ib ,,introduction ,in writing this booklet ,i hope to put into it information valuable to the average farmer who keeps cows4 ,i make no claim for this little book as an addition to dairy science4 ,it is rather a subtraction4 ,i mean that ,i have been careful to include only the most essential information4 ,where a great mass of scientific data is gathered1 it takes discrimination to distinguish between matters of great and less importance4 ,to do this discriminating and to point out the most essential things1 as ,i see them1 is the purpose of this undertaking4 ,those who wish more detailed information can easily find it prepared by those who have studied this matter in detail4 ,i have not4 ,in my experience in the dairy business ,i have tried to use to the best and most practical advantage the scientific knowledge that ,i could acquire from others4 ,my experience has all been an effort to apply science to business4 ,it has been a business experience1 not one of research and investigation4 ,there is much that ,i have found to be of no particular use to me1 but there are many things that ,i have found to be of great importance4 ,science digs out facts1 figures1 data1 knowledge1 or whatever it may be called4 ,to take facts of science and make use of them in business is one thing which ,webster's dictionary calls an art4 ,this booklet1 then1 may not be classed as science for the writer is not so very scientific2 it is not in itself a work of art for the writer is not strong on artistic ability2 but is written on the art of keeping cows and paying the feed bills4 ,stock and ,stalks ,,chapter ,i ,,intensive ,,versus ,,by-,,product ,,dairying ,agriculture as a science is comparatively new4 ,it is not like civil engineering1 for instance1 which is taught about alike in all places1 and much of it the same as was taught a generation ago4 ,since ,i can remember most of what is now known about dairy science has been discovered4 ,it is not surprising1 therefore1 that as the various ideas and doctrines come out they have both adherents and opponents4 ,it takes time to clarify a situation and to prove what is the right conclusion4 ,some blame our agricultural colleges for not knowing more and knowing it sooner1 and for spreading what we now know to have been in some cases misinformation4 ,but the course taken was really the only one possible4 ,experiment stations have to try out a lot of theories in order to find which are wrong and which are right4 ,at present there are many things still unknown and much difference of opinion4 ,if the discussion which follows seems to differ in some respects with recognized authorities1 ,i still think that ,i may be right2 and if wrong1 ,i claim as good a right as any one else to make mistakes4 ,here are some things to think about4 ,at one time there were more real dairy cattle in ,lancaster county than there are at present4 ,there were fairly large herds of grade ,holsteins producing milk where now there are scarcely any cattle at all4 ,intensive dairying at one time had a fine start in ,lancaster county1 but now there is not a herd large enough to be called a dairy1 except those owned by purebred breeders4 ,the city milk supply comes from a large number of farmers who produce milk as a side issue4 ,the methods of feeding and caring for cattle on these farms is in the main contrary to the instructions given by the dairy department at the ,state ,farm4 ,the men who made dairying a business here were learning and following agricultural college methods4 ,they had good grade dairy cattle and produced fully twice as much per cow as do the farmers now in the business4 ,they all quit because it did not pay4 ,it so happens that ,i was one of the men thus engaged4 ,i had a fine herd of fifty high-grade ,holsteins that were producing as much milk as is now being produced by thirty of our average dairy farmers4 ,my herd was sold after losing money for two years4 ,we were in a cow-testing association at the time and the fine records made by these cows helped to sell them at a public sale4 ,right in sight of the agricultural college all that had been accomplished seemed to fade away1 and the old red cow1 which dairy science has tried for a generation to kill1 came back to the very skirts of the city4 ,just now if every dairy cow in ,nebraska would be slaughtered1 their milk would hardly be missed but if the old red cow would go on a strike1 not a wheel in any creamery of the state would be turning next week4 ,why this remarkable turn of events8 ,well1 there are two theories4 ,one of these lets the agricultural college and all of us out without disgrace and is something of a slam on the farmer4 ,the other gives the farmer credit for having more sense than we had4 ,certain it is that the farmer milking his beef cow produced milk for less than we ,holstein men could do it4 ,the first theory is that the farmer did not know his costs and therefore kept right on while the deficiency came out of his hide4 ,the second is that the farmer had us beat on the cost of production4 ,is one or the other of these theories correct8 ,it must be4 ,it would be like taking the hot end of a poker for me to argue that the farmer is a fool and to have one of his number remark that1 even though he was1 ,i went out of business against his competition4 ,some one else will have to argue that side4 ,i have a different explanation4 ,in my judgment the difference came about in the general rise in price of labor1 grain1 and alfalfa4 ,the milk that we produced was like a garment cut out of new cloth--it all cost real money4 ,the farmer's milk was largely produced from corn stalks1 wheat pasture1 stubble fields1 and draws pastured--material that must either be turned into milk or wasted4 ,it had scarcely any market value4 ,our methods and our cattle were superior to his in many ways1 but not enough to make up the difference in the cost of feed4 ,the common method on the farm is to pasture corn stalks during the winter4 ,it is a very wasteful method of feeding but it requires no labor4 ,the cows gather the corn that was missed in the field and eat the leaves and husks4 ,few cows may be kept on a farm where such methods are in use1 but figuring the stalk of no value1 such methods produce the cheapest butter fat in the world4 ,the farmer had us beat on the cost of production4 ,he did not feed grain and forget to figure its value4 ,he fed the grain that the huskers left in the field4 ,it had no value except as it came to the milk pail4 ,illustration3 ,when the ,dairy ,cow ,needs a ,friend ,at one time ,i worked on a ranch in western ,colorado where a large number of range cattle were wintered4 ,alfalfa in that community was selling for three dollars a ton1 but we fed it to the weaker cattle only4 ,the strong ones could live on sage brush which cost nothing4 ,sage brush was not a better feed4 ,it was not nearly so good1 but the advantages offset the disadvantages4 ,so it was with us4 ,the advantages of the two systems were weighed and ours found wanting4 ,the average farmer's cow is a 8scrub40 ,she usually goes dry for three or four months of the year and1 even when fresh1 gives about half what a developed dairy animal should give4 ,why do farmers persist in milking 8scrubs10 then8 ,have we not all told them better8 ,i'll say so6 ,holsteins and ,jerseys are not so rare that farmers do not know what they are4 ,most farmers have owned a few but have gone back to the old red stand-by4 ,why8 ,are we wrong again8 ,in ,wisconsin1 ,michigan1 ,illinois1 ,ohio1 and all over the east the red cow is disappearing4 ,people there do a great deal more of dairying than we do4 ,who knows the business better1 they who do dairying as a business or we who do not8 ,but arguments are of no use when they go against known facts4 ,the color of the cow is the result of a condition4 ,the red cow has been better suited to a farmer's conditions and requirements4 ,dairy cattle can not rough it like beef or dual-purpose cattle4 ,where the custom is to stable feed and give good care to cattle1 dairy breeds naturally take the lead4 ,where the dairy business is a side issue1 and besides giving milk a cow is expected to face cold winds and to withstand periods of semi-starvation1 the dairy type is not in it4 ,illustration3 ,the strong1 lean1 well-developed dairy cows that have never been weakened by starvation or cold4 ,to understand the cattle business we must understand the fundamental principles upon which the various kinds of cattle are built4 ,hereford cattle1 for instance1 are a pure beef type4 ,the beef animal is trained and perfected in the tendency to save everything to itself and to load up with fat and muscle4 ,some ,hereford cows can hardly raise their calves because of the tendency of the mother to save all her nourishment for her own strength and protection4 ,the cow boys on the range rarely think of milking a cow that has lost her calf4 ,the typical beef animals give so little milk that they can go dry at any time even on good grass with little or no injury to themselves4 ,some dairy cows would die even though sucked by a big husky calf if they were not milked1 because they give so much more than the calf could take4 ,the dairy cow is bred and trained for generations to digest all she can and to give it all away1 keeping nothing with which to protect herself against hard times4 ,she builds no big muscles with which to climb mountains1 or wade through mud and snow drifts4 ,the beef animal if treated like a dairy cow simply gets fat and is finally turned to the butcher4 ,the dairy cow treated like a beef cow is a tragedy to behold4 ,i have seen both ,holstein and ,jersey steers out on the range where ,hereford cattle stay fat and strong and ,i have heard the cow boys cuss about letting them live1 for they were more of a ghost than a reality4 ,cussed they were by men and ,god-forsaken1 so it would seem4 ,since even the steers can not protect themselves to live where the ,herefords will thrive1 what can we ever expect of a producing cow8 ,when she has given all away then goes up against the period of short pasture or semi-starvation1 she begins immediately to readjust to meet the new conditions4 ,but the work of generations can not be undone in a life time and she fails to meet the emergency and loses the vitality she naturally possesses4 ,the red farmer's cow is often called the dual-purpose animal4 ,she is about half way between the beef and the dairy4 ,she protects herself well but not to the limit as does the ,hereford4 ,she produces milk well but not nearly so well as do the highly-bred and highly-developed strictly dairy types4 ,not one of these three types of cows will do to substitute for any other4 ,each has a place to fill and each is the best animal in her place4 ,there is nothing more foolish than to substitute the dairy breeds for common cattle before we substitute the dairy man for the farmer or else convert the farmer to the dairyman's methods in feeding4 ,the corn stalks and waste feed make the cheapest milk and the red cow is the most economical means of converting such feeds into milk1 provided we want only a small production with the least possible effort4 ,it takes more labor to prepare feed for animals and feed it to them than it does to let the animals range around over the field and do the best they can4 ,if farm dairying is to be carried on in the future just as it has been in the past1 the red cow is the farmer's best friend and he is not a fool for recognizing her as such4 ,this is not a pet theory of mine4 ,it is a conclusion that ,i have had to swallow against my will4 ,the situation has nothing of promise for the future4 ,if we become a dairy state1 we will have to put more labor and effort into milk production and do more like they do in other states4 ,the stalks left standing in the field1 feeding but a few thick-skinned cattle make the cheapest milk1 only in case we figure the by-product feeds as of no value4 ,we could produce a great deal more cattle for beef and for dairy purposes if we utilized what we now waste4 ,if all the corn in our state was shocked this year1 think how much good feed would remain after the grain is husked out4 ,think how many cattle might be wintered4 ,the stalks from one acre of average corn if properly conserved yield nearly enough rough feed for one cow during the entire winter4 ,fifty acres yield fully enough for forty head of cattle4 ,of course we should use alfalfa for part of the ration but alfalfa is our cheapest feed that is not a by-product4 ,grain will be required for cattle that milk1 but raising calves and keeping dry stock is as much a part of milk production as anything else4 ,all such cattle can be well-nourished and developed without grain4 ,it will not pay to refine them to such an extent that they can not live on rough feed4 ,but conditions are changing again4 ,labor1 grain1 and alfalfa are all coming down and land is high in price4 ,we will not long be taking only what we can get the easiest4 ,the time is at hand when we are going to imitate the packer who saves all but the squeal4 ,the conditions existing in the eastern states will be found here4 ,i do not know how soon but they are coming4 ,it will be a long time before the specialized producer can compete with the by-product feeder1 but the latter is going to save more of what he has and use it to better advantage as soon as he can get labor4 ,dairy products are going to be in great enough demand to pay the extra labor costs4 ,i do not look for all of the system to be reversed4 ,the farmer's idea of feeding cattle what could be used for nothing else has been and will still be his salvation4 ,those of us who produced nothing but milk were wrong1 from the standpoint of economy1 in my opinion4 ,what ,i look for now is a combination between the two systems4 ,cows will be taken care of as well as we cared for our high producers1 there will be a change in the methods of caring for feed1 but a large part of the feed will be the by-products of other farming operations4 ,what is the use of feeding all green-backs when we can make use of feed that costs nothing8 ,we could produce more milk by using specialized methods altogether but we can make enough without1 and it will be cheaper4 ,but the standard methods1 that always have been and still are taught1 are altogether intensive4 ,every one talks of high records4 ,there is not enough talk of low-cost records4 ,a few years ago there was published in the ,nebraska ,farmer the cow-testing association records of herds in ,lancaster county4 ,some of these herds yielded a large production and others yielded much less4 ,but the herds that produced less yielded at a higher rate of profit4 ,the difference was in the amount of grain and expensive foods consumed in proportion to the production4 ,during the last few years those who have fed grain and alfalfa as we used to feed1 have found it difficult to meet expenses4 ,we used to be taught that1 since a cow required so much to maintain her body whether she produced milk or not and only the amount she consumed above that amount could be available for milk production1 it was well to feed as much grain as possible without injuring the cow or reducing her flow4 ,but the price of feed must be reckoned1 as all admit now4 ,and if grain is too high the larger proportion of our milk must come from the cheaper feeds4 ,at present the grain market looks very bad and intensive dairying would be more profitable now than it has been for a long time4 ,but the combination1 which ,i think is ideal1 will be the best proposition all of the time4 ,in all further discussions in this booklet ,i refer to dairy breeds exclusively for ,i believe that the tide is turning and if the red cow and the old methods are still to take the lead1 it is a waste of time to study dairying4 ,if farmers wish to increase their milk production and find their way clear to devote more time to their cattle1 this discussion may be of some assistance4 ,dairy cows have certain definite requirements4 ,one of the most important of these is that they go through no periods in which they do not have all they want to eat of at least good grass or good hay or roughage4 ,if the grass begins to get a little short in the summer1 we must not neglect to feed4 ,another important requirement of the dairy cow is that she be not exposed to hardships such as cold winds and rains4 ,starvation and storms1 these two things above all--we must guard the dairy cow against4 ,i will describe how ,i think dairying should be conducted for the most profit on the farm so that the by-products may be utilized to the fullest extent practicable and at the same time the dairy type cattle may be kept producing to good advantage4 ,i am not inventing this system1 for ,i am describing the common practice of the people in the dairy states4 ,in ,wisconsin1 ,michigan1 and ,minnesota cattle are kept largely on by-products4 ,in the cheap feed lies the profits4 ,elsewhere ,i have described my own methods of handling pasture1 the idea of which came from ,europe4 ,but as to winter feeding1 the whole eastern part of the ,united ,states sets a good example4 ,i would want one or two silos1 small in diameter but tall4 ,i would want one acre of alfalfa and one acre of pasture for every cow that ,i expected to keep4 ,if we have a large number of young stock1 the pasture would need to be increased4 ,i would fill these silos with corn1 grain and all1 and use the silage to feed only the cows giving milk4 ,i would use a ,smalley feed cutter with snapping attachments and use cut-up dry fodder containing no grain as the principal feed for the dry cows and all young stock on the place4 ,the farmer usually milks only one-half as many cows as he has cattle all together4 ,by using 8,flink's ,perfect ,silo ,seal0 to protect the silage it may be fed all summer whenever needed without waste4 ,what stalks remain to be pastured may be pastured by the milk cows and so may wheat be pastured during good weather4 ,i would depend upon by-product feed for dry cattle and for part of the milk cow's ration4 ,the amount of grain that is in corn silage is never too much for any cow that is giving milk1 but silage1 corn and all1 is too expensive for cattle that are not milking4 ,by such methods the eastern farmer easily keeps at least twice the number of cattle that the average farmer here is now keeping1 and still he takes but little more of his land away from other farming operations4 ,the intensive dairyman uses all that he raises for his cows and usually buys some besides4 ,the by-product farmer in ,nebraska has been in the habit of setting aside hardly any acreage for the use of his cattle4 ,but the combination is positively a success and would have long ago been more in use in ,nebraska had not the labor situation presented difficulties almost impossible to overcome4 ,my farm is small and borders on the very edge of the city4 ,intensive dairying is the only thing practical for me even though ,i can not expect to produce as cheaply as farmers differently situated4 ,i am re-stocking the farm this year4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,dairy ,,type ,capacity4 ,the first thing that we look for in a dairy cow is capacity--capacity to digest feed and to turn that feed into milk4 ,the digestive and mammary systems of the cow should be strongly developed4 ,on account of the location of these organs the dairy type of cow is wedge-shaped1 being wider and deeper at the rear4 ,her wedge-shaped body1 however1 should be fairly wide over her heart and lung section1 for she is required to breathe a great deal of air and to have great blood circulation4 ,her udder and milk veins should be well-developed4 ,the four quarters of the udder should be fairly uniform in size4 ,her milk veins are more likely to indicate her history than her capacity1 for no cow has very large veins until they have been developed by heavy milk production4 ,still in all good dairy heifers you will find well-established milk veins carried fairly well forward4 ,these things indicate the capacity of the animal4 ,tendencies4 ,we must now determine her tendencies4 ,she must not convert her food into beef nor must she destroy her energy by nervousness and a tendency to too great physical activity4 ,the head of the cow should be clean-cut and lean1 the neck long and lean1 and the shoulders narrow at the top4 ,the joints should be open so that a man's fist could be thrust between the cow's front leg and her body4 ,the cow should not be beefy at the rear4 ,even though she be fat she should not be of a square beef type4 ,the udder should be attached high behind and the thighs should be narrow4 ,in fact1 we want a cow that is not an 8easy keeper0 but that will milk out clean4 ,the cow should be soft skinned and fine haired4 ,beware of the wild-eyed1 nervous1 quick-moving cow for she wastes her energy4 ,beware of the sluggish cow for she will be sluggish in appetite and will convert her feed into fat instead of milk4 ,perhaps the best way to describe the disposition of a good dairy cow would be to say that she is alert and intelligent but calm and sensible4 ,physical ,defects4 ,if you find that you have a cow with the capacity and the tendency to produce1 it is time to look for the physical defects in the animal4 ,probably more men fail to notice physical defects than any other thing1 when buying cattle4 ,begin by examining the mouth of the cow4 ,the age of the cow can be approximately told by looking at the front teeth4 ,if the cow is young1 her teeth are square1 flat1 and close together4 ,when the cow gets older1 they are round and wedge-shaped and tend to separate4 ,at about twelve years the cow begins to lose some of her front teeth4 ,in judging a cow's development and possibilities her age must always be taken into consideration4 ,the eye must look bright4 ,a sick cow usually shows it in her face and in the way she holds her head with her nose sticking a little too far forward4 ,she has lost her spirit4 ,if the skin is rough1 it is likely to indicate in some cases poor digestion and in other cases coarseness4 ,in either case we do not want the cow4 ,the thin form of the good milk cow without an ounce of surplus flesh must not give the impression of debility1 but of efficiency and strength4 ,the cow having digestive trouble is usually shrunken in the paunch and has the appearance of her skin being drawn tightly around her body in front of the udder4 ,she should not be constipated1 nor should she have scours4 ,the udder should not be meaty4 ,after a cow is milked1 her udder should be nearly like an empty sack4 ,each teat should be milked to see that it contains no evidence of garget4 ,each quarter of the udder should be felt to see that it contains no portion slightly more solid than the others4 ,the teats should be examined for slight lumps which have usually been caused by rough milking and which may make a lot of trouble4 ,diseases4 ,tuberculosis in cattle is a disease that is more contagious among barn-fed cattle than among those kept more in the open4 ,in fact1 ,i have never heard of range cattle being tubercular4 ,nevertheless1 under conditions that exist on the average farm1 the tuberculosis germ will thrive and cause havoc4 ,it pays to be careful not to introduce such a disease into the herd4 ,often the fattest1 sleekest cattle are affected and while they do not die from it quickly1 yet as it progresses in a herd an animal will now and then die from the disease4 ,hogs and even chickens running with the cattle become affected and much loss results4 ,the accuracy of the tuberclin test in the main has been established beyond doubt4 ,laws now require that cattle which are shipped from one state to another be tested1 and the infected cattle can not be legally shipped except to a slaughter house subject to inspection4 ,however1 many cattle are shipped under false certificates sworn to by unscrupulous veterinaries4 ,the only thing that we can do about it is to be careful in buying1 deal with responsible men and buy the cattle guaranteed4 ,the number of cattle infected in ,nebraska is probably about two per cent in the average farming districts and a much higher per centage among the strictly dairy herds of some sections4 ,while we do not feel that we are ready for a law compelling all cattle to be tested1 we do feel that each individual should protect himself and keep his herd free from infection4 ,bovine tuberculosis is not so contagious among human beings as it was once thought to be4 ,but it is enough so that no further argument should be necessary to an owner of stock than that his own family or some one else may be infected with the disease from the milk4 ,next to tuberculosis1 contagious abortion is probably the milk producer's worst enemy4 ,i do not know of any way for a farmer to detect this disease from an animal's appearance4 ,i usually look for evidence1 not in the cattle themselves1 but on the farm premises of the man who has cattle for sale4 ,be suspicious of any cow that does not readily get pregnant4 ,when buying fresh cows always endeavor to see the cow's calf4 ,this is not a doctor book4 ,i need not discuss the symptoms nor the cure4 ,i only wish to warn the buyer to be on the lookout4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,pure ,,bred ,,sire ,there is one law of breeding that does not seem to be recognized by people generally and in our judgment it is of greatest importance4 ,this law is that the influence of the parent animals are not equal upon the offspring4 ,this has been noticed in human experiences4 ,no child is exactly one-half like his father and one-half like his mother1 but is likely to be much like either one or the other4 ,he is likely to be nine-tenths like one parent and one-tenth like the other4 ,it is the same in grading live stock and this trait in breeding is of the greatest advantage to the breeder of grade stock4 ,if the calf takes after the sire and the sire is a pure bred of strong type1 the calf may be nearly as strong in producing ability as the pure bred ancestors4 ,on the other hand1 even pure bred cattle may breed back at times1 and their offspring resemble some distant scrub member in the ancestry4 ,breeders are well aware of this fact and try very hard to keep all inferior cattle entirely eliminated from their line of breeding4 ,it is important that they should for their line should breed as true as possible1 and really poor calves with them are rare4 ,the pure bred bull of a long established type is more likely to mark his offspring than is the scrub cow4 ,a fairly large per cent1 considerably more than half1 of the heifers will be good and some of them nearly as good in milk production as the pure breds themselves4 ,grade cows are very valuable as milk producers1 but grade bulls should not be used as sires because they do not have the ability to breed true like the pure bred4 ,most farmers have been in the habit of using a bull a couple of years and then selling him to the butcher before his real worth was discovered4 ,a bull's ability to produce heifers that make good cows can only be definitely told after his heifers have freshened and made records4 ,some of the best pure bred breeders in the ,united ,states will not use a bull on their best cows until one hundred of his daughters are in the ,advanced ,registry which means that beginning at the age of two years they must produce #bej4e pounds of butter fat annually and must increase the production to #cfj pounds of butter fat at the age of five years4 ,in this way the best bulls are ascertained and are used to the best advantage4 ,but there is also a way for the average farmer to receive the benefits of a good tested-out breeding stock at low cost4 ,i refer to the co-operative bull associations and quote from ,kimball's ,dairy ,farmer concerning them3 8,a co-operative bull association is a farmer's organization whose purpose is the joint ownership1 use1 and exchange of three or more high-class pure bred bulls4 ,the territory covered by the association is divided into three or more breeding blocks and a bull is stationed in each block for the service of the fifty or sixty cows in the block4 ,every two years the bulls are interchanged4 ,thus1 at a small cost1 a bull for every sixty cows is provided for six or more years4 ,the cost of bull service is greatly reduced1 the best bulls obtained1 and the bulls of outstanding merit are preserved for their entire period of usefulness40 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,what ,,to ,,feed ,chemical ,analysis4 ,the chemical analysis of feed does not by any means tell the whole story4 ,wheat straw1 for instance shows up very well in chemical analysis but experiments have shown that it takes more energy to digest it than it produces4 ,even when we figure only the digestible nutrients1 the nutrients which by chemical analysis are found to be digested by animals1 we do not by any means have the whole story4 ,for instance1 in human food we find that the protein in milk is about four times as valuable as the protein in the bean4 ,in the results of a feeding experiment reported in ,dr4 ,mc,collum's 8,newer ,knowledge of ,nutrition0 on page #ge1 it was found that when the source of protein was the bean1 four times as much was required for maintaining the body weight of the animal as when the source of protein was milk4 ,we used to figure protein as protein and carbohydrates as carbohydrates but now we discriminate4 ,we must learn to figure them in the results they produce4 ,this is extremely difficult to do scientifically4 ,when an animal must have a variety of feeds who can tell just what proportion of her production is due to certain foods eaten8 ,we can get at these things in a general way1 however1 by experience4 ,feeding has long been known as an art4 ,some day it may be entirely a science4 ,but that can not be said at the present time4 ,we must vary the feeds used and learn by experience and observation what gets the best results4 ,a chemical analysis of tender grass will not show it to contain more digestive nutrients than the old tough grass that the cows will hardly eat1 but it requires much less energy to convert it into milk4 ,one year ,i listed some squaw corn about the tenth of ,july in a wheat stubble4 ,by frost this corn was beginning to come into roasting ears4 ,but most of the ears had not developed kernels4 ,i filled the silo from this field and got1 as nearly as ,i could ascertain1 just as much milk from my herd by feeding that silage as by feeding silage made from mature corn containing considerable grain4 ,the same amount of dry grains were fed in both cases4 ,according to analysis this result could not possibly be obtained4 ,experiments have been tried in which the whole wheat plant1 grain1 straw and all1 also the oat plant and the corn plant were fed separately to young heifers4 ,the heifers fed the corn plant grew to maturity and bore young normally4 ,the heifers fed wheat and oats did poorly1 produced their young prematurely1 all but one of which died soon after birth4 ,this does not indicate that oat or wheat feeds are not good for cattle1 but in themselves they are not sufficient4 ,i do not think this deficiency can be shown in the chemical analysis but some of the food elements are hard to get4 ,i think if this wheat and oat plant had been young and tender as a growing grass instead of a mature grain the heifers would have done well4 ,ground oats is one of the best dairy feeds ,i ever tried4 ,balanced ,rations4 ,i do not know just to what extent a cow requires a balanced ration4 ,since some feeds have values over others that the chemical analysis does not show1 ,i think the balanced ration figures and tables have been overworked4 ,they are not entirely valueless1 however4 ,some will be placed in this book4 ,everyone knows that a cow should not be fed one kind of feed only4 ,we should give as great a variety of feeds as possible and the cow's likes and dislikes1 together with the results in the milk pail1 give about all the information concerning a balanced feed that the writer has ever used4 ,we do not need to worry about the supply of protein here because we use so much alfalfa1 or about the carbohydrates when we are feeding the product of the corn plant4 ,a variation from a balanced ration does not immediately affect the cow and usually one change offsets another4 ,experienced feeders of record-making cattle make use of the chemical analysis of feeds in their intense effort to have the cow digest a very large amount of food1 yield a large amount of milk1 and still keep her bodily weight about normal4 ,but for farm conditions we should know that too great an amount of alfalfa1 bran1 and like feeds usually results in sleek1 fat cattle and that cows fed principally corn and carbohydrates1 if they are milking well1 will look rather rough and get too thin4 ,the writer at one time had alfalfa in such abundance that he let the milk herd run out in the field and eat all they wanted from the stack4 ,they had silage and other feeds about as usual1 but they did not eat as much silage as they should have4 ,the result was that the herd looked fine and thrifty but produced less milk4 ,many people think that a cow is either lean or fat and if she fills out in her body she is always taking on fat1 but the amount of lean meat on the body also varies4 ,protein feeds are muscle builders4 ,they make animals grow4 ,carbohydrates supply fat and energy which is a separate thing from muscle4 ,many times if cows become overweight we reduce the total amount of feed consumed and get a large yield in the milk pail4 8,the eye of the feeder fattens his cattle40 ,it also fills the milk pail4 ,scientific knowledge can help a good feeder but ,i doubt very much if it alone can make one4 ,rules and system can not be made to take the place of interest and attention4 ,for those who care to go thoroughly into the subject of feeding ,i recommend 8,how to ,feed the ,dairy ,cow10 by ,hugh ,van ,pelt1 ,editor of ,kimball's ,dairy ,farmer1 ,waterloo1 ,iowa4 ,i have referred those who wish to go deeply into the subject of feeds to more eminent authorities because ,i have never raced cows in a record contest and am not an authority on the subject4 ,the reason ,i have for writing is that ,i have viewed the subject from the standpoint of profit making rather than that of high production4 ,feeding for profit has been too little considered4 ,pastures4 ,the way that pastures are generally used is1 in my opinion1 the greatest mistake in the milk business4 ,certainly we can make two blades of grass grow where one blade of grass and one weed grew before4 ,most of the pastures that we see are either bare like a desert or weedy enough to hide a calf three months old4 ,a cow can not get enough feed in the average pasture1 no matter how many acres she mows over4 ,there is no need to estimate how many acres of poor pasture a cow requires1 but one acre of well-cared for pasture per cow is all the writer has ever had to use4 ,while ,i have fed a small amount of alfalfa in the summer1 ,i think it is safe to say that our cows had more grass per head than almost any cows in the county4 ,next year ,i expect to pasture fifty cows on thirty acres1 feeding what is necessary in addition4 ,i expect to get nearly enough grass in a reasonably good year for that number of cows4 ,the secret of the system lies in the fact that ,i have the pasture divided into four parts and pasture one part at a time1 then use a mowing machine to clip off all weeds or remaining grass close to the ground4 ,before turning the cattle into one of these pastures1 ,i wait until the grass has had about four weeks to grow4 ,if the grass gives out1 the cow is given enough feed to make up the difference4 ,i do not let the grass stay short1 for if it stays short1 the roots will also be short and in that condition it can not withstand drought4 ,any kind of grass will yield two or three times as much feed per acre1 if allowed to grow a month at a time as it will if pastured off short all of the time4 ,i let the cattle eat the grass off the pasture about as often as alfalfa is cut4 ,everyone knows that if they would cut their alfalfa every three days they would have hardly a hat full of hay at the end of the season4 ,i aim to mow the pasture about the time that the cattle are taken out1 for ,i do not want any old1 tough grass for the next time that the cattle are turned into it4 ,much of our pasture is a mixture of blue grass1 timothy and sweet clover with the sweet clover predominating4 ,i do not want to place too much reliance on shallow rooting grasses1 such as white clover and blue grass1 although ,i have some pasture of that kind4 ,i like to have about five acres of sorghum or ,sudan grass to pasture once about the first of ,august and then again about the second week in ,september4 ,sweet clover will root about four feet deep4 ,alfalfa will root much deeper but is not practical as a pasture4 ,blue grass and white clover1 especially where cropped off short1 root very shallow4 ,sudan grass will draw moisture three or four feet deep4 ,sudan grass is like sorghum and may at some time turn poison late in the fall1 as far as ,i know1 but ,i know people who use it regularly for pasture and have never had any such trouble4 ,i have never pastured ,sudan grass but have used sorghum1 and have had no bad results4 ,to get the most out of pasture we must have all the surface available for use and we must give the plant an opportunity to breathe in order that it may root as deep as possible1 and then we should use deep rooting grasses such as sweet clover and ,sudan grass or sorghum4 ,in getting at the value of pastures be sure to remember that the cow goes out to harvest the crop4 ,i do not think that pasture is an expensive feed4 ,it is probably the cheapest feed we can get all things considered1 when properly managed4 ,hay4 ,four tons of alfalfa hay contain more nutrients than ten tons of silage1 and hay is cheaper to raise and cheaper to harvest4 ,the intensive dairy farmer makes alfalfa hay form as large a part of his ration as practical1 for a certain variety is needed4 ,however1 figuring alfalfa as against corn fodder1 the fodder is the cheaper under average conditions4 ,the by-product farmer will do well to use as little alfalfa as he can and still get good results4 ,the principal value in alfalfa hay for cattle feeding is in the leaves and the results obtained are so dependent upon the kind of hay we get that we consider that part of the secret of feeding lies in putting up the hay4 ,it has been demonstrated by ,headdon of the ,colorado ,experiment ,station that where alfalfa is put up by the most careful method1 three hundred and fifty pounds of leaves are lost for every ton of hay put up4 ,where alfalfa is carelessly handled and most of the leaves fall off1 we lose as much as three thousand pounds of leaves for every ton of hay put up1 and the hay that remains is of very little value so far as milk cows are concerned4 ,not only do we lose the leaves of alfalfa but we can lose the food value out of the leaf very easily4 ,the alfalfa leaf is very easily digested and the nutrients so easily digested are leached out by rain4 ,they even leave the plant when it is bleached in the sun4 ,the stem of the alfalfa has some value1 however1 if it is cut young enough to be tender4 ,old1 woody stems will show well in a chemical test but will show poorly in a profit test on a dairy farm4 ,we can judge the feeding value of alfalfa by its color4 ,well-cured hay should be pea-green1 without must and not dusty4 ,we get more alfalfa by raking it soon after it is mowed1 and by curing it in windrows or in shocks1 than if we let it remain spread out to bleach in the sun4 ,besides curing hay in the shock1 ,i have seen another method used and good results obtained where the barn was very large in proportion to the amount of hay put in it4 ,hay was hauled in from the field very green and dumped by slings along the center of the barn without being tramped4 ,after several days it is spread4 ,the heated hay1 when lifted up in the air and piled up loose1 cools off rapidly1 the heat helping greatly to dry off the moisture4 ,such hay will not heat again and it retains its color4 ,i do not think there is any other grass so valuable for hay as is alfalfa4 ,before we had alfalfa we used cane and millet4 ,sweet clover is favored by some4 ,it is about the same as alfalfa chemically1 and ,i do not doubt that it makes a good hay if not allowed to get woody4 ,i have never used sweet clover as hay4 ,sudan grass is a sorghum and has come into some favor4 ,it has about the same food value1 however1 as the corn stalk which the farmer already has available4 ,corn ,fodder4 ,there are thousands of acres of corn stalks being pastured in ,nebraska and ,iowa that have not much more value as they stand in the field than the dead grass by the roadside4 ,saved and utilized they are the great source of wealth that as yet is almost untouched4 ,their yield is like a low-grade ore found in abundance4 ,dry fodder containing no grain is worth at least half as much per ton as alfalfa and the yield is approximately two tons per acre4 ,i say it is worth half as much but ,i have to guess at it4 ,it contains just as many pounds of digestible nutrients per ton as alfalfa and more than prairie hay4 ,how much it is worth depends largely upon the conditions under which it is fed4 ,it costs no more to cut and shock fodder than to husk a field of corn4 ,cutting up the fodder and husking out the ears by machine is not an expensive operation4 ,remember that hay must be brought in from the field4 ,the entire cost of cut fodder for feeding can fairly be figured as about the cost of operating the machine that does the cutting and husking4 ,it is the cheapest feed that we can get4 ,many years ago there were several large corn shredding machines sold throughout this territory4 ,they husked the corn and shredded the fodder but they did not prove a success because fodder1 unless unusually dry1 gets musty if cut up fine with an ensilage cutter and piled up4 ,the new and really successful way of handling fodder is with a small machine that runs with a small gasoline engine4 ,a supply of fodder should be cut up every ten days or two weeks until a time comes when the fodder is real dry--not earlier than ,december4 ,then the job may be finished and the feed will last indefinitely4 ,silage ,without ,corn4 ,some feeders put this cut-up fodder in a silo as soon as the corn is dry enough to keep in the crib4 ,they run water in with it and all reports seem to agree that it makes a good silage4 ,i have not tried this1 but ,i hope the scheme has in it the final solution of the problem4 ,silo agents have been in the habit of arguing that you can afford to feed silage1 corn and all1 to all of the stock on the place and let the corn stalks that are not put into the silo go to waste4 ,i do not agree with them4 ,instead of putting fifteen acres of corn in the silo where much of it is to be fed to young stock and horses1 use twenty or even twenty-five acres of stalks alone and you will get just about as good results4 ,but think of the saving4 ,the corn stalks are a by-product4 ,you had to farm so many acres to get them4 ,a part of your business is raising corn and the stalks are paid for by the grain4 ,suppose then you feed grain grown on five acres of land4 ,you are using just one-third of the acres to feed your cattle that would be used if you had put in fifteen acres of corn and fed it1 corn and all4 ,this shows the advantages of the by-product producer4 ,it fills in the big gap that has been forgotten4 ,it is figuring on a cost basis rather than that of yield or speed in production4 ,last winter a feeding experiment was tried at the ,wisconsin ,experiment ,station in which corn silage with grain in was tested against silage from which the corn had been picked4 ,the result showed that the cows ate slightly more silage when it contained the grain and yielded on an average three pounds more milk4 ,the cost of the milk produced with and without the grain in the silage was exactly the same4 ,silage was figured at #f4ej per ton1 corn and all1 and without grain at #d4jj4 ,since the average farmer has cornstalks to waste and only has to figure the cost of saving them1 they should not be figured at nearly two thirds of the corn crop1 even after they have been made into silage4 ,however1 it usually pays to feed grain to cows that are milking4 ,the main saving in the use of husked fodder lies in getting cheaper feed for growing young stock and feeding dry cows4 ,i recommend a system of feeding silage1 corn and all1 to producing cows only4 ,if you do not have cows enough to prepare to feed them separately1 it will pay better to use no silos that have grain in them at all4 ,feed the grain to those cows only that are giving milk and will pay for it1 or the cattle that you are fattening4 ,hold the rest of the grain for high prices4 ,it will pay better4 ,silage4 ,the important thing about a silo is to make it tall enough and small enough around4 ,the following dimensions are approximately correct3 ,for #ab to #ae cows1 silo should be #aj feet in diameter ,for #bj to #cj cows1 silo should be #ab feet in diameter ,for #cj to #dj cows1 silo should be #ad feet in diameter ,for #dj to #fj cows1 silo should be #af feet in diameter ,silage will spoil on top unless at least two inches are fed off each day4 ,it usually pays to have several small silos rather than one big one because during the summer months you may want to feed only a part of a ration4 ,the figures given are for full rations4 ,have the silo air tight4 ,cut the corn fine and put lots of effort on tamping it4 ,the 8,flink's ,perfect ,silo ,seal0 is a canvas that is treated with some kind of tar preparation4 ,it spreads out over the top of the silo and is filled more than a foot deep with water4 ,this weighs down the silage and makes a good air tight cover4 ,very little silage decays under it4 ,with such a cover you can feed periodically and still lose hardly a day's feeding of silage4 ,grain ,feed4 ,grain should be fed mixed with other feeds4 ,i have often been told how foolish was the old idea of the cow losing her cud4 ,but a cow can hardly re-gurgitate and re-chew grain by itself1 and all food eaten by a cow should be re-chewed4 ,if food passes into the intestines without being chewed a second time1 it is likely to sour and cause scouring and loss of appetite or even death1 when a large amount of grain has been consumed4 ,we usually feed grains with silage or fine-cut alfalfa4 ,alfalfa run through an ensilage cutter without any re-cutting attachment1 is said to make cows' mouths sore1 but ,i would much prefer to feed it that way and risk sore mouths than to risk the grain by itself4 ,some farmers feed corn and cob-meal4 ,the cob is of no value except to lighten the ration1 but if there is nothing else to dilute the grain with1 by all means use the cob4 ,oats1 corn1 hominy feed1 which is a by-product in the manufacturing of corn meal1 bran1 which is not very valuable where plenty of alfalfa is fed1 and oil meal form our principal feeds for dairy cows4 ,some get very good results by feeding ground speltz and barley1 others by feeding ground rye4 ,corn1 oats1 wheat feeds and oil meal will generally form the main part of our ration4 ,the average farmer is hardly warranted in looking farther for grains to feed4 ,oil meal helps as a conditioner and is fed in small amounts only4 ,cottonseed meal may be of value but has never proven so in the writer's personal experience4 ,grain should be ground so that all of the nutriments may be absorbed4 ,the amount of grain to be fed varies with the amount of milk that the cow is producing4 ,one pound of grain to every five pounds of milk is a fairly good rule to follow4 ,if more grain is fed there should be another reason for it1 and that is that the cow readily responds to more feeding and makes sufficient profit to pay for the extra grain4 ,the old rule1 in the main1 is true that it takes a certain amount to maintain bodily weight of the animal1 and that the more feed above the maintenance ration that she can consume and turn into milk1 the more the profit4 ,but even that rule should not be taken too literally4 ,if the extra feed is all grain1 it may be too expensive4 ,prepared ,feeds4 ,there are many kinds of prepared feeds on the market and ,i have no right either to knock or to boost them1 because ,i know practically nothing about them4 ,where there are combination feeds1 intended to make a balanced ration1 ,i think the farmer would very likely be paying a good deal for the combining4 ,where a mill man buys grain from farmers and from those grains prepares feeds that are not by-products of other milling operations1 ,i think the price would be high4 ,i have known farmers to sell alfalfa hay and buy alfalfa meal1 but ,i do not think it pays to do those things4 ,all ,i would say concerning prepared feeds would be to experiment carefully and to buy them1 not on their guaranteed chemical analysis1 but on what results they actually show in the milk pail4 ,some prepared feeds contain oat hulls which are about like wheat straw to digest4 ,dried sugar beet pulp is a by-product feed containing mostly carbohydrates1 and seems to have some benefit as an appetizer4 ,cattle like it for a change4 ,where it is not too high and carbohydrate rough feeds are to be purchased1 it might be profitable to try it4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,how ,,to ,,feed ,balanced ,ration4 ,cattle like variety in their feed4 ,not all cattle have the same tastes and desires4 ,when one cow refuses to eat her grain1 it is well to try her on some other mixture4 ,a good feeder usually has several grain feeds on hand at a time and is continually changing and trying out rations4 ,by checking his results at the pail1 he acquires knowledge that is more practical than any chemist can impart4 ,we know that a cow's food must contain the necessary elements needed for her bodily maintenance and the production of milk4 ,we must supply the substances needed4 ,rules for figuring values of feeds and examples of balanced rations are given below1 but we also let the cow in on the discussion4 ,we should not follow rules so closely that we ignore her likes and dislikes or overlook the results that she puts in the milk pail and the pocket book4 ,there is probably no living creature that has for its natural diet a balanced ration1 unless it be a carnivorous animal that eats its prey whole--feathers and all4 ,a poorly balanced diet may be fed for several months before any results begin to show4 ,cattle do fairly well on the corn plant 7mainly carbohydrates71 and they also do well on pure alfalfa 7a protein feed74 ,they do better on a combination of the two1 but the combination does not have to be in just the right proportion4 ,in deciding what to feed a cow the good feeder uses his eyes more than his pencil4 ,if the muscle and body of the animal needs building up1 he uses protein feeds in large proportions4 ,cattle inclined to be too sleek and fat often milk better if fed more carbohydrates in proportion4 ,but we should never pass up one or the other completely4 ,notice that ,i speak of only two substances in food--protein and carbohydrates4 ,there are others1 but we need not be concerned about them4 ,all we want to know from the chemist is approximately the amount of these two elements the feed contains4 ,fat is considered the same as a carbohydrate but has more than two times the value of carbohydrates4 ,dairy cows should be kept sleek and thrifty1 but lean while they are producing milk4 ,the dry cow should be allowed to get as fat as possible1 for the fatter and more thrifty she is the more milk she will give1 after freshening4 ,to maintain the cow in the right condition1 we consider both the kind and the amount of feed4 ,many times we decrease the grain ration to keep a cow from getting fat and going dry too soon4 ,too much grain fed is a great waste4 ,the right amount to be fed can not be figured so much by the size of the cow as by what she does with it4 ,the milk pail contains the answer to most feeding problems4 ,increase the feed slightly and if no more milk is produced1 begin to decrease and watch what happens4 ,we have to do this for each cow just as we have to adjust the carburetor on a ,ford4 ,elsewhere in this book1 ,i discuss pastures and how to make the most of them4 ,i get grass that is tall enough for the cattle to eat to the best advantage and ,i keep it from getting old and tough by using the system of divided pastures described there4 ,but in doing this1 the grass must be pastured off fairly close before turning the cattle into the next pasture4 ,if care is not taken1 the cattle are having alternately a feast and a famine by the change4 ,to offset this1 ,i usually feed as much good alfalfa as the cows will eat all of the time4 ,it does not require much hay but it makes up for the variation in pasture4 ,even when on fine pasture1 cows like a little hay and should have it4 ,i usually pasture cows at night as well as during the day4 ,by all means feed cows at night if they are required to stay in the lot4 ,where the heaviest records are made in milk production1 they are nearly all made at prohibitive costs so far as the value of the product is concerned4 ,this is because too large a proportion of the feed consumed is high priced4 ,we must take into consideration the price of grain1 the price of rough feed1 and the price of milk products1 before we can determine the proportion of grain and other feed that should be given to the dairy cow4 ,we can make milk out of rough feed without any grain under the proper conditions4 ,when grain is too much out of proportion in price1 we can safely do without it1 if our rough feed happens to be good pasture or good alfalfa hay and silage4 ,if our roughage is too poor1 it rarely pays to compel good dairy cows to live on it alone1 for their future usefulness will be impaired by starvation4 ,a drought in summer with the resulting short pasture often knocks down the milk flow for all of the next winter and makes all that year's production more expensive4 ,starve a good cow and she soon becomes a poor one1 for she must adjust herself to the new condition4 ,the new condition she adopts is the same as that of the scrub4 ,the scrub is a product of starvation4 ,she has been bred to withstand hardships instead of using all efforts to produce milk4 ,never let a good cow go hungry for pasture or hay4 ,water4 ,a milk cow requires about twelve and one-half gallons of pure water per day4 ,in summer it should be fresh and cool water4 ,in winter it should be fairly warm4 ,the water should be as accessible as possible at all times4 ,twice a day is not often enough for milk cows4 ,especially when cattle are on dry feed1 the more water they can be induced to consume1 the more butter fat and milk solids it will put into the pail4 ,in the winter we usually water cows three times a day in the barn with water no colder than comes from the well1 and slightly salt their feed so that they will drink water in abundance4 ,i do not know just what effect stagnant1 dirty water has on a milk cow1 but do not think ,i would want to drink the milk that is made up largely of such water4 ,also if cattle wade in infected water and get their udders and teats in it1 the milk will to a certain extent be infected as is the water4 ,calf and ,heifer ,feeding4 ,in raising calves by hand there is more danger of overfeeding than of underfeeding4 ,there is also danger in feeding milk that is too cold4 ,in feeding an average young calf we usually take about two quarts of the first milk that is drawn from the cow1 which is low in butter fat1 and feed the milk fresh and warm with the animal heat in it4 ,after three weeks1 skim milk may be substituted especially if it is warm and fresh4 ,if the milk is artificially warmed it should be fed at a temperature of at least eighty degrees4 ,do not dilute milk with water4 ,let the calf have what water it wants separately4 ,a calf should have milk until at least three months old but at the end of a week it will eat shelled corn and oats4 ,these grains should be fed liberally to calves that do not have enough milk for a complete ration4 ,after a calf is one month old it may be raised on milk made from dried buttermilk or condensed buttermilk or on skim milk of any kind1 provided it is not fed too much at a time nor fed milk that is too cold4 ,no changes such as from sweet milk to sour milk should be made suddenly4 ,if feeding condensed buttermilk the milk after being diluted should be tested for solids with a lactometer4 ,some manufacturers of such products give directions for reducing it with water to such an extent that it would look like ordinary skim milk but have only half its value4 ,this may make it appear that the feeder is getting a lot for his money1 but he will not long be fooled by directions of that kind if he is watching the cost of his feed and the growth of his calves and knows what results he should expect for his money4 ,people sometimes tell of stunted calves that turned out to be good cows but ,i do not think that a calf can be stunted a minute without being affected4 ,if a stunted calf makes a good cow1 which seldom ever happens1 certain it is that if the calf had been well nourished the cow would have been even greater4 ,animals do not grow all of their lives4 ,they grow while they are young4 ,every minute of that youth period that we lose for growth is lost forever4 ,growth is the natural development of bone1 muscle1 nervous system1 circulation1 etc41 that the animal needs for hard work when mature4 ,breeders of pure bred cattle1 who expect to make records with their young stock1 feed them grain every day4 ,i do not think this is necessary or practical for the farmer to do1 but certain it is1 that no promising heifer should ever be allowed to get thin4 ,she should have good pasture during all of the summer and should have plenty of well-cured feed1 corn fodder or corn silage1 and a fair amount of alfalfa every day during the winter4 ,chemical ,analysis4 ,a chemical analysis of some of the most commonly used feeds for dairy cows follows3 ,total ,dry ,digestive ,nutrients in #ajj lbs4 ,,feeding ,,stuff ,matter in ,crude ,carbohydrates #ajj lbs4 ,protein ,fat ,total ,alfalfa ,hay #ia4d #aj4f #ci4j #j4i #ea4f ,timothy ,hay #hh4d #c4j #db4h #a4b #dh4e ,prairie ,hay 7,western7 #ic4e #d4j #da4d #a4a #dg4i ,clover1 ,sweet1 ,white #ia4d #aj4i #ch4b #j4g #ej4g ,sorghum ,fodder1 ,dry #ij4c #b4h #dd4h #b4j #eb4a ,corn ,silage #bf4c #a4a #ae4j #j4g #ag4g ,corn and ,its ,products ,corn1 ,dent #hi4e #g4e #fg4h #d4f #he4g ,gluten feed #ia4c #ba4f #ea4i #c4b #hj4g ,hominy #hi4i #g4j #fa4b #g4c #hd4f ,wheat and ,its ,products ,wheat #hi4h #i4b #fg4e #a4e #hj4a ,bran #hi4i #ab4e #da4f #c4j #fj4i ,wheat ,feed 7,shorts and ,bran7 #hi4i #ab4i #de4a #d4j #fg4j ,rye and ,its ,products ,rye #ij4f #i4i #fh4d #a4b #ha4j ,rye feed 7,shorts and ,bran7 #hh4e #ab4b #ee4h #b4i #gd4e ,oats and ,its ,products ,oats #ij4h #i4g #eb4a #c4h #gj4d ,oat ,hulls #ic4b #b4j #de4b #a4c #ej4a ,emmer 7,spelt7 #ia4c #i4e #fc4b #a4g #gf4e ,linseed ,meal #ij4d #ca4g #cg4i #b4h #ge4i ,cotton ,seed ,meal #ib4e #cg4j #ba4h #h4f #gh4b ,rations for the ,dairy ,cow4 ,haecker's standard for the feeding of dairy cows is as follows3 ,,daily ,,allowance ,crude ,prot4 ,carbo4 ,fat lbs4 lbs4 lbs4 ,for ,maintenance of #ajjj lb4 cow #j4g #g4j #j4a ,for each pound of #c milk #j4jdg #j4b #j4jag ,for each pound of #c4e milk #j4jdi #j4bb #j4jai ,for each pound of #d milk #j4jed #j4bd #j4jba ,to illustrate the table there follows the allowance for a #ajjj pound cow producing #be pounds of #d milk daily3 ,crude ,prot4 ,carbo4 ,fat lbs4 lbs4 lbs4 ,for ,maintenance #j4gj #g4j #j4aj ,for #be pounds of #d milk #a4ce #f4j #j4eb ---- ---- ---- ,total #b4je #ac4j #j4fb ,below are given some balanced rations commonly fed to dairy cows3 ,total ,dry ,digestible ,carbohydrates ,digestible ,matter ,protein and fats ,nutrients lbs4 lbs4 lbs4 lbs4 lbs4 ,no4 #a ,corn #aj #h4ie 4#ge #g4bd #h4eg ,corn ,stover #aj #h4aj 4#ba #d4ca #d4fa ,alfalfa ,hay #ab #aj4ig #a4bg #d4gh #f4ai ,no4 #b ,corn ,silage #dj #aj4eb 4#dd #f4bh #g4jh ,alfalfa ,hay #aj #i4ad #a4jf #c4ii #e4af ,wheat ,bran #b #a4gi 4#be 4#hi #a4ba ,corn ,meal #f #e4cb 4#da #d4ce #e4jh ,no4 #c ,corn ,silage #ce #i4bj 4#ch #e4di #f4ai ,alfalfa ,hay #aj #i4ad #a4jf #c4ii #e4af ,ground ,corn #e #d4dc 4#cd #c4fb #d4ai ,wheat ,bran #e #d4di 4#fb #b4bc #c4jd ,linseed ,meal #a #a4ce 4#dg 4#fa #a4ac ,at the ,nebraska ,state ,fair in #aibj there was in the ,dairy building a large ,holstein cow designated as the champion cow of ,nebraska for #aiai4 ,she is owned by ,chris ,stryker of ,red ,cloud4 ,i copied from the records the amount of feed she consumed in a year and the amount of her production4 ,they are as follows3 ,feed ,returns lbs4 lbs4 lbs4 ,corn #agij ,beets #ifde ,milk #bf1gba4e ,oil ,meal #aceb ,dried beet ,butter #a1jff ,barley #dfc pulp #abed ,bran #bcab ,hay #djfh ,oats #dih ,silage #dfhj ---- ------ ,total #fdeb ,total #ai1fdg ,it will be noticed that she consumed a little less than #ah pounds of grain per day on an average throughout the year1 that the grain consisted of five varieties1 and that the rough feed was of a high order1 which makes it more expensive than most of us can afford to use as a regular feed4 ,beets are chemically about equal to corn silage1 but in actual results in feeding they are considerably superior4 ,i have not fed dried beet pulp1 but ,i have fed it fresh and it is a very good milk producer4 ,cows milk down thin on it4 ,if we would increase the figures on the dried beet pulp to what it would be if the pulp were fed fresh1 it would bring the beet ration up to at least three times the amount of the silage ration4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,variation ,,in ,,milk ,,tests ,g4 ,w4 ,shaw in ,hoard's ,dairyman of ,march #aj1 #aiaf says3 8,it is a well-known fact that the percentage of butter fat in the milk of cows increases very materially toward the end of a period of lactation4 ,there are also other slight changes in that period4 ,during the first month the fat generally averages higher than during the second month4 ,under normal conditions of feed1 etc41 the fat increases from the third or fourth month to the end of lactation4 8,although it is a fact that cows cannot be fed to give beyond a certain percentage of butterfat1 yet it has been proven many times that if poorly fed for a considerable length of time1 the average test will decrease4 ,this is especially true if cows become thin and poor in flesh4 ,many times this will account for a farmer's average herd test dropping from one period to the next4 ,it is also noticeable that the quantity of water taken1 whether as water or succulent feed1 affects the herd4 ,this is particularly noticeable when cows are changed from a diet of dry hay to green feed or vice versa4 8,it has been noted that the change of weather affects the test4 ,a sudden cold period coming will usually decrease the quantity of milk1 but increase the percentage of fat4 ,if the cold period continues1 this change will tend to right itself4 ,it would seem that there is a connection between the question of heat and cold and the amount of water taken4 8,it is a well-known fact that the first milk drawn from a cow's udder is very low in butterfat1 not over #a1 whereas the last drawn is quite high1 sometimes reaching #aj4 ,the importance of exhaustive milking is evident4 ,by carefully milking to the fullest extent each time1 the test will undoubtedly be higher than if milking were not exhaustive4 ,this1 continued over a period of time1 would have its effect on the #ae-;day test4 8,another very important point we wish to make is this1 unless a man who does his testing at home understands how to do it thoroughly and is very careful in taking his sample1 he will not check with the factory test4 ,there are several reasons for differences between tests made on samples taken at the farm and those made on samples taken at the factory4 8,many farmers have a habit of taking a little cream or top milk for family use1 and think that it will not materially affect the average test4 ,as a matter of fact it will affect materially4 ,for instance1 if a farmer were producing #ajj pounds of milk testing #c4e and he used one quart of top milk1 testing #aj1 his average test would be reduced 4#b of #a2 that is1 instead of delivering milk testing #c4e it would actually test #c4c4 8,some farmers adopt another method2 they use1 for family purposes the milk from a cow which gives the richest milk1 so that the result is always the same1 the average test being lower4 8,another cause of difference in tests1 and we think this is a very important one1 is found in the condition of the milk when received at the factory4 ,some farmer's milk1 when brought in1 is smooth and homogeneous2 some bring in milk which is slightly churned2 that is1 there are small particles of butter1 which is separated butterfat floating on the surface4 ,this latter milk is very hard to sample2 the sampler is plunged into the milk and is likely to miss a due proportion of these floating particles4 ,in addition1 some of the separated butterfat is sure to be left behind1 both on the sides of can and on the cover4 ,butterfat adheres to any surface much more rapidly than any other of the milk solids4 ,it is quite evident that milk which is partially churned will get a lower test at the factory than it did at the farm before it became churned4 8,in order to prevent this churning1 it is most important that the milk be quickly and thoroughly cooled after milking4 ,if milk is poured into cans and stirred and handled in a half warm condition1 it is sure to separate to some extent4 ,while the particles of butterfat are not large enough to be particularly noticeable1 they are there and adhere to the surfaces as described4 8,another condition which causes trouble in sampling1 is found where some of the cream is firm and floats around in hard lumps but is not churned4 ,this kind of cream is also hard to sample and these lumps are liable to be left behind on the sides of the can and cover4 ,we believe this condition is caused by allowing milk to cool spontaneously4 ,that is1 instead of cooling quickly1 the farmer fills up his milk can and lets it stand to cool slowly4 ,this is liable to give a hard cream on the surface which does not break up readily4 ,the farmer1 therefore1 will get a better test by cooling his milk quickly and thoroughly and refraining from using the top milk for family use4 8,we have come to this conclusion1 namely1 that certain conditions affect cows and their work1 the same as that of human beings4 ,as someone has said3 #8,put yourself in a cow's place and try to get her point of view4 ,could you do good work if a swarm of flies were bothering you all the time8 ,what effect does an extremely warm day or two have on your capacity for work8 ,if you were out in a cold1 rain1 and wind storm1 how would it affect your work8 ,suppose you were thirsty and had to wait two or three hours before you could get a drink and then got foul and stagnant water8 ,or1 suppose that someone stronger than yourself would chase you away from the shade or sheltered spot or forced you to move when you were resting or eating8 ,suppose you were forced to eat food that you did not like or enjoy8 ,how long would it be before these things would show in your work8 ,any or all of them would impair your efficiency and lessen your ability4'0 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,suggestions ,,for ,,constructing ,a ,,barn4 ,since there is so much information available concerning construction of barns1 it is not necessary for me to discuss it here except to criticize the standard forms4 ,on most farms at hay-making time there is no time to haul hay to the dairy barn so it is stacked in the field and hauled in during the winter4 ,many large dairy barn hay mows are constructed at a great deal of expense and stand empty most of the time in this climate4 ,before building large1 expensive barns it might be well to consult those who have built to see how they are getting along4 ,on an average farm ,i would suggest a one story shed for the cows built as a lean-to or butting up against a hay shed4 ,this hay shed need not be very large4 ,in most expensive barns there is installed a litter-carrier that runs on a track4 ,if ,i were going to use a litter-carrier at all ,i would have the thing so that it could be let down below the level of the gutter and shove the manure down the gutter into it4 ,this means would save all the liquid manure which is more valuable and would save the effort required to lift the manure with a shovel4 ,when full the carrier could be hoisted1 run on the track1 and dumped into the wagon or wherever desired4 ,but why use a carrier8 ,why not have the gutters run through the side of the barn and a wagon or manure spreader standing beneath8 ,it is very easy to push the manure from ten cows down the gutter4 ,two gutters could run into one wagon which would be left standing outside of the barn on lower ground4 ,the barn could either stand on a side hill or a place could be dug to run the wagon into4 ,if hogs are to work over the manure1 a concrete basin should be constructed to hold it4 ,the feed trough should be so made that it may be used to water the cows during cold weather4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,milking ,the cow's milk is partly manufactured in the udder at the time it is being drawn4 ,the process is like digestion and is interfered with by any nervous tension or shock4 ,the prick of a pin that will make a cow jump at the time of milking has been known to greatly reduce the butterfat of the milk given and at the same time to reduce the supply4 ,shepherd dogs that go after cows are likely to perform their labor at a very high cost in milk4 ,a milk stool used as a weapon knocks a lot of money out of the farmer's pocket4 ,a rough milker who irritates a cow causes much trouble also4 ,if ,i were to judge a dairyman by just one thing ,i could tell most about him by noticing how well the cows liked to have him milk them4 ,where a cow has to dance to the jerking of rough hands and listen to profanity of the milker1 that is plenty of information to decide that on that farm dairying does not pay4 ,there are few cows that will treat a milker any better than he treats them4 ,for sanitary reasons ,i do not believe in milking with wet hands1 but if a cow's udder is caked1 the best cure that ,i know is to draw the milk into the hands very slowly and rub it into the caked udder until it is absorbed through the skin4 ,i do not know or care why1 but there is something about a cow's milk that is good for her caked udder when applied to the outside4 ,one treatment of an hour's duration1 milking the milk a stream at a time and working it into the caked udder1 is often sufficient to cure even bad cases4 ,cow's teats should never be allowed to get sore1 for clean milk can not be produced from sore1 bleeding teats4 ,it may be necessary to apply antiseptic medicines when they are sore1 but a good way to keep the teats soft and pliable so the cow will not be irritated by milking is to take the last streams or two in the udder1 milk it into the hand and use it to rub into the teat4 ,the solids in the last streams of milk are about one-half butterfat and this greases the teat with the best kind of grease that ,i know4 ,having employed a great many men on the farm ,i have found from experience that two out of three do not know how to milk4 ,of these1 some can be taught but many are not worth bothering with4 ,many are too rough and many do not seem to be able to get all the milk from the udder4 ,to get all the milk from one quarter of the udder the milker should use both hands1 using one hand above the teat to squeeze the milk into the teat and with the other hand milk it into the pail4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,milk ,,products ,every milk producer should make some study of the principal products that are made from milk1 for such information may help to market it to a better advantage4 ,butter4 ,the law requires that butter contain #hj butter-fat and that it shall contain less than #af moisture4 ,in #ajj pounds of creamery butter there is usually about #c pounds of salt1 #a pound of casein and between #ae and #af pounds of water4 ,figuring that butter contains #hj fat for the minimum which allows for the maximum amount of water1 the following amount may be obtained from #ajj pounds of milk3 #ajj lbs4 of #c milk will produce #c lbs4 of butter4 #ajj lbs4 of #d milk will produce #e lbs4 of butter4 #ajj lbs4 of #e milk will produce #f lbs4 of butter4 ,cheese4 ,it usually takes about #aj pounds of #d milk to make #a pound of cheddar cheese1 which is the common cheese usually sold at the stores4 ,this cheese will test out about #cf4h fat1 #be4e protein1 #f sugar1 ash1 etc41 and #ca4g water4 ,cottage ,cheese4 ,cottage cheese is usually made from skim milk4 #ajj pounds of average skim milk will make from #ab to #ae pounds of cottage cheese1 such as is usually sold on the city market4 ,where it is creamed the cream is put in after the cheese is made4 ,cream4 #ajj pounds of #d milk will produce3 #bj pounds of #bj cream and #hj pounds of skim remaining1 #ac pounds of #cj cream and #hf lbs4 of skim remaining1 or #aj pounds of #dj cream and #ij pounds of skim remaining4 ,the average cream sold tests about #cj butter-fat1 so on the average the farmer has left about #hf pounds or a ten-gallon can of skim milk for every #ajj pounds of #d milk4 ,skim ,milk4 ,the value of skim milk on the farm as feed is an important one for the farmer4 ,the price of whole milk in the city is not always high enough so that it pays the farmer to sell his skim rather than to use it for feeding4 ,during the flush season in the spring when milk dealers are all burdened with a surplus of milk1 it would be a great advantage if more farmers would separate and feed the skim milk to hogs4 ,i will endeavor to give here as accurately as possible what real information ,i can gather from ,experiment ,station reports concerning the feeding value of skim milk4 ,at the outset it might be well to state that on this question ,i have never known any two agricultural experts to agree and experiments need to be carefully analyzed before they yield true information4 ,i can prove to you from experiments published in ,henry ,morrison's 8,feeds and ,feeding0 that skim milk is worth only 4#jh a hundred pounds when corn meal is worth #a4jj a hundred1 and ,i can prove that skim milk is worth 4#ca a hundred pounds when corn meal is worth #a4jj a hundred4 ,in fact when an experimenter undertakes to prove a thing he has very easy sailing if he can line up conditions to suit the proposition he intends to prove4 ,the trouble with most experiments on this subject has been that they are apparently planned to be used as arguments for the purpose of increasing the feeding of skim milk and they do not undertake to solve the real question involved4 ,every one knows that corn alone is too unbalanced a ration to feed to hogs profitably4 ,where it is endeavored to show that skim milk has a very high value1 one bunch of hogs is fed corn alone1 and to compare with it another bunch is fed corn and a small amount of skim milk4 ,let those who are satisfied with the information that can be obtained by such an experiment use it and ,i will have no dispute with them4 ,but for most of us the question is whether we should feed alfalfa to the cow and the cow's milk to the pig or let the pig eat his own alfalfa4 ,a hog's ration may be balanced with alfalfa hay or with alfalfa or rape pasture4 ,the question is whether milk and corn makes as cheap a gain as alfalfa and corn4 ,it is very difficult to find experiments that answer this question and it is the most practical one in the world4 ,if it is good sense to use the cost of producing pork on dry corn alone as the basis of getting at the value of milk1 it is also good sense to use skim milk alone as the basis of figuring the value of grain4 ,in an experiment published by ,henry ,morrison on page #eig1 where little pigs weighing only twenty-five pounds were used and which are capable of making cheaper gains on milk than older hogs because they have smaller bodies to maintain1 it took #b1gci pounds of skim milk to make one hundred pounds of gain4 ,but where #bcc pounds of grain were fed with #ice pounds of skim milk there was also a gain of one hundred pounds4 ,figuring now as they do who would set the value of milk by the cost of feeding dry grain1 we will use skim milk as a basis of figuring4 ,if skim milk is worth 4#cj a hundred1 corn is worth #b4cb a hundred4 ,this is the same line of reasoning as is used when in an experiment reported on page #eih1 if corn is worth 4#ja a pound we find that skim milk is worth 4#cj a hundred4 ,all they prove is that a hog must have something besides corn or milk4 ,corn is the cheapest hog feed but it is too unbalanced a diet to get the best results when fed alone4 ,a small amount of skim milk or something else will balance the diet4 ,according to reports published by ,henry ,morrison on page #eih it will be noticed that #ehe pounds of skim milk reduced the amount of grain required to produce #ajj lb4 growth by #agi pounds4 ,if corn is worth 4#ja a pound and we figure on that basis1 skim milk is worth 4#ca a hundred pounds4 ,but notice what happens when the amount of skim milk is increased beyond what is needed to supply the elements which corn lacks4 ,when the amount of skim milk is increased by #dfc pounds more1 the amount of corn meal eaten was only reduced by #ef pounds1 so that for the first #ehe pounds the farmer was getting 4#ca but for the next #dfc pounds he was getting only 4#ab a hundred pounds1 and when the skim milk was again increased by #hdi pounds the amount of corn meal required was only reduced #ga pounds and this figures down the last batch of skim to only about 4#jh per hundred pounds4 ,these experiments prove that we must keep somewhere near a balanced ration but do not prove anything regarding a definite value of skim as a feed4 ,what your skim milk is worth on the farm depends altogether on how much it is needed to balance the diet in hog feeding operations4 ,it is of much more value for little pigs than for larger hogs that are more capable of digesting grasses4 ,professor ,henry says1 8,pigs fed skim milk and grain gained nothing from pasture4 ,grazing stimulates the appetites of pigs getting grain but no milk and they eat more grain and make larger and more economical gains40 ,so we see that pigs will pass up pasture for milk and that when milk is fed to pigs on pasture it replaces the use of pasture so that it does not do much good to pasture hogs that are fed milk4 ,experiments reported on page #fad show that pigs on alfalfa pasture require #cdd pounds of grain to gain one hundred pounds and that on rape pasture only #cdj pounds are required4 ,different experiments always vary slightly as to the amount of grain required to make a certain growth4 ,but taking the most advantageous ration that we can prepare with milk and corn as shown by these experiments1 we may conclude that something like #cjj pounds of grain and #ejj pounds of milk will make one hundred pounds of growth on one hundred pound hogs1 and that about #cej pounds of grain fed to hogs on pasture will make the same amount of growth4 ,let each farmer figure out what pasture and grain cost him and he can get approximately the real value of skim milk4 ,for large hogs milk will be worth less than here shown4 ,for smaller hogs it will be worth more4 ,it may be interesting to know the cost per pound of skim milk solids figured at different prices1 but the chemical analysis we are not considering4 ,one hundred pounds of milk usually contains about #i4be pounds of solids4 ,if #ajj pounds of skim milk is worth 4#bj1 one pound of dry matter would be worth 4#jbaf and a ton would be worth #dc4bj4 ,at 4#dj a hundred1 one pound of dry matter would be worth 4#jdcb and a ton would be worth #hf4dj4 ,at 4#ej a hundred1 one pound of dry matter would cost 4#jedj and one ton cost #ajh4jj4 ,whey4 ,the average composition of whey is about as follows3 water #ic4ab1 and total solids #f4hh4 ,of the total solids there are about 4#bg fat1 4#ha nitrogenous substances and #e4hj sugar1 ash1 etc4 ,for pigs whey has a feeding value about half that of skim milk4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,market ,,milk ,weight of ,milk4 ,the weight of milk varies slightly with the temperature and also because of the difference in the amount of solids it contains4 ,an average gallon of milk at #fj degrees weighs #h4f pounds4 ,a ten-gallon can filled to the lid should weigh #hf pounds4 ,a can large enough to hold #ajj pounds of water would hold #ajc4b pounds of average milk at #fj degrees1 #ajc4f pounds of skim milk1 or #ij pounds of pure butterfat4 ,cream weighs less than water4 ,the butterfat in milk is in the form of little particles or globules1 which float around in the milk4 ,in ,holstein milk they are small1 in ,jersey milk they are larger4 ,cream is simply milk containing a large number of particles of fat4 ,legal ,requirements4 ,the law requires market milk to test not less than #c butterfat4 ,milk containing #c butterfat but less than #aa total solids is usually considered watered milk4 ,we determine fat content by ,babcock test and the solids-not-fat by an instrument called the lactometer1 which is simply an accurate means of determining the weight of milk4 ,milk from cows known to be diseased1 or from cows fifteen days before coming fresh can not legally be sold4 ,after freshening1 milk can be sold as soon as it attains a normal condition4 ,it is illegal to sell milk to which water or any other substance has been added1 or milk which has been exposed to disease-producing bacteria1 or milk that has been stored1 handled or transported in an unclean or unsanitary manner4 ,cleanliness4 ,the greatest handicap in the milk business is the difficulty of getting milk that is as clean as other food which people eat4 ,it is not impossible to do1 but it is rarely done4 ,in most all cities of the ,united ,states milk that meets the highest requirements as to cleanliness and sanitation is being sold for from #bj to #ce cents a quart4 ,such milk is guaranteed to be pure by a medical board and is labeled certified milk4 ,there are various requirements in producing certified milk that need not all be explained here4 ,but to the average consumer the main difference is that the producer of certified milk is as careful concerning cleanliness in milking and caring for the milk as a clean1 respectable housekeeper is in making bread4 ,in regular market milk we do not require cleanliness up to the standard for certified milk1 but all producers and dealers in milk should recognize and admit the truth that common milk is not nearly as clean as it should be4 ,the public is well aware of this fact1 and the demand for dairy products would be immeasurably increased if thousands of people did not feel an aversion to drinking milk because as they say1 8,it's so dirty40 ,we can not go to the public and ask all we would like to have unless we1 in turn1 give them just what they want4 ,the public wants clean milk and ,i believe that if milk improves in quality the public will use more of it4 ,no person with dirty hands should ever milk a cow and use the milk for human food4 ,a cow's udder should be washed4 ,the hair on the udder and flanks should be clipped short1 and to prevent dust and hair from getting into the milk1 her flanks and udder should be slightly dampened before milking4 ,a gunnysack cut up in pieces about #ad inches square makes a very good towel on which to dry the udder and the milker's hands4 ,a clean towel should be used for each milking4 ,the cleanliness of milk is usually judged by filtering a small amount through a disc of cotton4 ,this is called the sediment test4 ,this test1 in a measure determines the amount of filth and foreign matter which milk contains4 ,sufficient straining will make most any milk so that it will show a clean record on the sediment test4 ,but remember that a strainer acts as a sort of pulverizer4 ,milk running through a strainer gradually dissolves and washes away the particles until they are so thoroughly in solution that we can not get them in a clarifying machine4 ,we would prefer milk strained through a metal strainer only1 but in many localities health departments require that it be filtered through cloth or cotton4 ,where this is required we oppose no objections4 ,the greatest difficulty with cloth strainers is that they do not get washed clean enough4 ,a farmer usually rinses out his cloth in cold water and hangs it up to dry4 ,sour strainers are about the first thing we look for on a farm where the people have been having trouble keeping milk sweet4 ,absorbent cotton is all right1 providing no cloth is used with it1 but that it be held between metal straining discs1 or that the cloth be thrown away each time with the cotton4 ,since to throw away cotton strainers each time is expensive1 ,i do not think the system is practical for general use4 ,it is easier and far better to keep dirt from getting into the milk than to let everything go in and then try to get it all out again4 ,sanitation4 ,sanitation means 8pertaining to health40 ,clean milk might be unsanitary for it might contain injurious bacteria4 ,bacteria are plants4 ,to avoid infecting milk with bacteria which cause souring and decay we can not depend upon cleanliness alone4 ,the first few streams of milk from each teat of the cow will be found already infected to a considerable extent4 ,in certified dairies the first streams of milk are never used4 ,when cows are not milked dry at each milking there is a considerable development of bacteria that takes place in the teats and udder4 ,careless milkers have their trouble starting before the milk leaves the udder4 ,various diseases infect the milk of the cow4 ,milk from cows with garget or diseased udders causes sore throats in children and should never be used as food4 ,dirt that gets into milk is of itself objectionable1 but it is also one of the greatest sources of infection4 ,milk utensils should be sterilized4 ,this may be done by the use of a chlorine solution called ,bacilli-,kill1 by boiling water1 or by the direct rays of the sun4 ,most sterilization is not perfect and even the dust particles in the air contain enough bacteria to1 in a measure1 re-seed any surface4 ,bacteria can not grow without moisture4 ,if utensils are not washed perfectly and food particles are left for bacteria to grow on1 there will immediately start a new development from the re-seeding that will take place after the sterilization4 ,tin cans can not be washed well enough to make them perfectly free from foodstuffs on which bacteria may live4 ,when milk dealers put cream in cold storage1 expecting to hold it sweet for as long as two months they use cans that have never been used before4 ,a metal surface is rough and ,i know of no way to wash a milk can as perfectly as a milk bottle4 ,the milk utensils should be thoroughly cleaned with washing powder1 rinsed thoroughly with boiling water1 then carefully dried4 ,in the operation of cleaning cans the most difficult thing to do in a factory is to get the can properly dried4 ,when it cools down there is likely to be a certain amount of moisture deposited on the inside of the can and there is always enough food left on which bacteria may grow if the can is moist4 ,in milk plants we sterilize all equipment just before using4 ,cans washed and sterilized at the plant and used on the farm twenty-four or thirty-six hours later become rancid because of being shut with moist air in them4 ,it is our ambition to sometime be able to send cans to the farmers that will remain perfectly sweet1 dry and sterile1 even if they are kept closed for a week4 ,but now we must confess to imperfection1 and cans that get stale before being used are perhaps the greatest menace to our milk supply4 ,if a farmer can set these cans in the sun with the lid off1 it will help greatly4 ,if he can scald them with boiling water just before he uses them1 it will help even more4 ,some farmers have great difficulty in delivering milk once a day and having it sweet when it arrives at the plant4 ,we have kept a bottle of certified milk for more than three weeks in a refrigerator where the temperature is above forty degrees and at the end of that time it had not turned sour4 ,such results can be only obtained by experts1 but it is not difficult to become expert enough to always be able to sell milk that is in a good marketable condition1 delivered once a day4 ,cooling ,milk4 ,the growth of bacteria in milk depends a great deal upon its cooling4 ,milk has a great tendency to take up bad odors1 and its tendency to do this depends upon its temperature4 ,milk should be cooled within thirty minutes after it is drawn from the cow4 ,if cooled below seventy degrees immediately and kept at that temperature or below1 there will be very little difficulty of milk souring1 provided due care has been taken regarding sanitation and cleanliness4 ,well water temperature in this climate is usually fifty-four degrees4 ,by pumping fresh water through a tank1 having it overflow so that the warm water will flow off1 it is easy in a short time to get milk as low as sixty-five degrees4 ,when running water is not available1 it is better to stir the milk until it is as cold as it will get in such water as you have1 then set the cans in a small tank of fresh water that can be pumped by hand if necessary4 ,many farmers use the stock tank to cool the milk in first1 then use some half barrels cut off at a height so that the water can not overflow into the milk but that it will stand slightly higher than the milk in the cans4 ,use one half-barrel for each can of night's milk4 ,in the morning cool the milk in the tank only4 ,however1 the most satisfactory arrangement would be to have a small engine with which fresh water may be pumped at milking time1 and let the milk tank overflow into the stock tank until the milk is cooled and the tank is full of cold water4 ,a tank should be divided by partitions made of slats running up and down so that a can partly filled may float without tipping over4 ,it is not absolutely necessary that milk be uncovered while it is being cooled1 but the cover prevents the milk from cooling as rapidly4 ,remember that warm water always rises4 ,the cold water will be at the bottom of the tank4 ,some farmers divide their milk so that the cans will all float4 ,the milk warms the water and the warm water rises above the level of the milk in the cans4 ,milk should always be covered when left sitting by the road waiting for the hauler1 and should always be covered in the wagon or truck4 ,wet the blanket or canvas that covers the milk4 ,this helps to keep it cool4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,experiments ,,being ,,tried ,,out ,,on ,,our ,,dairy ,,farm4 ,on our farm we are equipping to produce certified milk4 ,this will be a new business for us4 ,when we have had more experience along this line we may write up the results for publication4 ,however1 none of our experiments are far enough along now for us to be justified in giving the results as final4 ,those things which would probably be of greatest interest to farmers are our small grain elevator1 the layout of machinery to shell corn1 grind feed1 cut and re-cut alfalfa and our facilities for handling manure4 ,we use electric power which1 so far as we know1 is the most satisfactory power where it is available4 ,the motor requires no firing up as does a steam engine1 and no tinkering such as goes with the use of gasoline4 ,the motors generally run when you want them to and as long as you want them to and give very little trouble4 ,illustration3 ,showing arrangement of machinery4 ,the conveyor to the silage blower is just below the floor4 ,silage or cut hay drops from the ensilage cutter to this conveyor4 ,opposite the ensilage cutter is the feed grinder into which runs the grain spout from the corn sheller4 ,the ground feed also flows to the conveyor and by shifting the spout of the corn sheller the shelled corn will go to the conveyor without being ground4 ,illustration3 ,rear view of the barn showing the arrangement of silos4 ,the blower pipe for the ensilage cutter will extend through the barn and with a long arch swing around from one silo to another4 ,our ensilage cutter is permanently installed at one side of a driveway in the barn4 ,it will fill three silos without re-setting4 ,by the use of a re-cutting attachment with the ensilage cutter we make finely-chopped alfalfa of all the stems that the cows will not eat4 ,cattle will eat these stems after they are cut up fine and they make excellent feed for our delivery horses4 ,the blower 7made by the ,american ,harvester ,company of ,minneapolis7 which we use for elevating is separate from the cutter4 ,it is also used to elevate shelled corn1 oats and ground feeds to bins overhead4 ,the conveyor to this blower is slightly below the floor level so that ground feed will run from the feed grinder to the conveyor1 so also will our shelled corn1 or oats that we are unloading from wagons1 and the re-cut alfalfa4 ,everything goes to the blower and is distributed to different bins by turning the spout4 ,an ordinary ensilage cutter can be used as an elevator for grain just as well as the separate blower that we use4 ,our system of hauling manure is probably more original than our arrangement for handling feed4 ,we do not shovel the manure out of this barn1 neither do we push it out4 ,we wash it out with a two-inch stream of water4 ,the gutters slope from the ends of the barn toward the center1 being two feet deep at the center of the barn and one foot deep at the ends4 ,over these gutters we have cast-iron grates to prevent a cow from slipping down4 ,a ten-inch tile leads from the gutter to a large cess-pool outside of the barn and from this cess-pool we pump the sewerage along a ridge to the highest ground of the farm and irrigate it down over the fields4 ,we have an abundant water supply available1 cheap power1 and hope this plan will prove a practical means of handling manure4 ,so far it has been a very easy matter to flush the manure from the gutters and our sewerage pump throws #bjj gallons per minute through a four-inch pipe up the hill as far as we want to go4 ,we use cut straw for bedding and run plenty of water in with the manure so the pump will not clog4 ,the picture of the pump shown is taken from the catalogue of the ,american ,well ,works and does not represent our cess-pool but is similar to the outfit we use4 ,illustration3 ,showing the gutter behind the cows with some of the grates removed4 ,the gutter is being filled with water4 ,when full the cover to the opening to a #aj-;inch tile is removed and the rush of the water carries all with it4 ,illustration3 ,electric-driven sump pump with #c-;inch intake and #b-;inch discharge which pumps manure and water at the rate of #bjj gallons per minute4 ,illustration3 ,interior of the barn showing large ventilating flues4 ,at the side of the room are the air-intakes4 ,our water pump requires a ten horse-power motor and will throw #aej gallons per minute4 ,besides a means of getting manure hauled out1 we expect to do some irrigating in dry weather4 ,while running both the pump at the well and the sewerage pump we require about ten kilowatts of current per hour4 ,this costs us about five cents per kilowatt4 ,we have installed the ,king ventilating system4 ,where a large herd of cows are kept in a barn such a ventilating system is a great help4 ,our barn is warm and comfortable but not steamy and close4 ,these systems cost a good deal of money and may not all prove practical4 ,we are not urging that our example be followed but will be glad to give any of our readers such data as we may have concerning the success of these operations4 ,at our barn we prepare the feed for all of our delivery horses and we expect to keep sixty cows4 ,the method of handling manure will eliminate most of the breeding places of flies4 ,since this milk will be used raw and is produced for babies especially1 extra precautions are necessary in our case4 ,these things we have taken into consideration when planning so expensive a layout4 ,in a few months we will know more about these systems and in a few years we will have a conclusive test made4 ,those who wish to drop in occasionally to see how we are getting along will be welcome4 ,illustration3 ,interior view of milk house showing sterilizing oven1 cooler1 bottle filler and conveyor for cases4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,different ,,points ,,of ,,view ,even though ,i have a farm that at one time ,i went in debt for and which ,i paid for by milking cows1 and even though ,i have spent more of my working years on a farm than in an office1 ,i can not always pass as a farmer4 ,at one time ,i attended a farmers' meeting where the city man was up for discussion and a fellow nudged me and said1 8,old man1 how do you like it8 ,haven't we got you city guys figured out about right80 ,i answered1 8,city people are just like country people in at least one respect4 ,they are just as much inclined to think their own troubles are greater than any one else's40 ,farmers sometimes speak of themselves as the producers1 and so1 too1 do the labor union men4 ,even the business men at their meetings are inclined to pat themselves on the back and to take credit for a very liberal share in production4 ,we all look at things from our own point of view4 ,we have gone through certain experiences and have not experienced others4 ,we can not all expect to be of the same opinion4 ,but we all have the ability to understand each other when we are given the chance to see things as other people see them1 and it is this understanding which ,i hope to promote as ,i write this brief chapter4 ,i write this not as a farmer but as a city man giving opinions gradually formed in several years as a city milk distributor4 ,to me all are producers alike4 ,the man who sews the shoe for the miner who digs the ore that makes the plow that plows the field that raises the wheat that makes the bread that the grocer distributes1 does what is just as important but no more so than any other man or woman in the long line which production takes4 ,if one may insist that his task forms the foundation1 another man may claim that his forms the roof4 ,but what is the difference8 ,without whom can we well get along8 ,we hear much about the 8middle man0 who is considered a luxury or rather an extravagance that ought not to be permitted4 ,well1 ,i am one of those middle men and the thing does not look that way at all to me4 ,i think that all we do for the people--all the service we render1 is worth what we get for it4 ,we middlemen have our troubles and call ourselves producers and are not in any way conscious of being 8parasites40 ,what economic laws apply particularly to one set of people but do not apply to others down the line8 ,what makes one man's lot harder than that of another1 and who really has the hardest row to hoe8 ,what shall we do to the other fellow to keep him from crime and have justice8 ,these are questions answered in as many different ways as there are people with different viewpoints4 ,do we doubt the patriotism of the club women in cities who decided to boycott eggs and milk to bring down the price just at the time when these commodities were very hard to produce and the price already too low for the cost8 ,if we do1 it is because we do not understand their viewpoint and their lack of information on which to form different conclusions4 ,a few years ago ,i often used a certain argument which now ,i do not use any more because now ,i am over on the other side1 as they say4 ,from the other side of the fence the proposition does not look at all the same4 ,the argument is that the farmer sells his produce in town at the price the city man is willing to pay and then must buy at the price that the city man will sell for4 ,since the city man does all the price fixing the farmer gets the worst end of the bargain all of the time4 ,i have no doubt that various markets are juggled by speculators of various kinds and that there are many exploiters in cities who have their knives whetted for any one's meat they can get4 ,the world has not yet worked out its complete salvation4 ,we all have a few suggestions that we would not mind making to the party in power4 ,but of this ,i feel sure1 the majority of business men make their living by rendering service the same as do farmers4 ,they are up against propositions that are a good deal alike4 ,i have not noticed much difference4 ,i have to pay my farmers a good or better bargain than they can get any where else4 ,in the same way ,i must compete for labor4 ,i must render the best service the customer can get for the money4 ,after ,i do all of these things1 if there is anything left ,i may have it1 and my luck at different times is good1 bad1 and all shades between good and bad4 ,all of us city business men would make more if we could4 ,you can at least credit us with being ambitious1 but more of us fail than do business men in the country4 ,at this time probably half of the factories in the ,united ,states are closed down1 banks are practically all in a critical condition1 stores are advertising merchandise at half price and yet no one seems to buy and the farmers' troubles need no description4 ,what shall we do8 ,well1 ,i know some things we should not do that ,i can illustrate with a story4 ,a man in ,arizona looked down over a ledge of rocks on a cliff and saw several rattle snakes sunning themselves on a ledge thirty feet below4 ,having a small pistol he shot a bullet down among them4 ,immediately there started a battle at the end of which all the rattlesnakes were bitten4 ,in a few minutes they were all dead4 ,an examination showed that the bullet had apparently not hit any snake4 ,the snakes had all lost their lives as a result of a misunderstanding4 ,i heard ,major ,general ,wood make a speech in favor of universal military training but his argument had a different meaning for me than he intended it should have4 ,he argued that there will be war as long as people have honest differences of opinion--therefore always be prepared for war4 ,to me it seems that since no amount of preparation and war equipment can insure peace we must prevent that honest difference of opinion4 ,we must keep with all people a better understanding4 ,wars are misunderstandings and well meaning people murder each other because the misunderstandings are kept up with censorship and propaganda4 ,people are armed with poisons more deadly than the rattlesnake and all will fight at the drop of the hat if they feel that they are wronged4 ,what then brings any hope of things better8 ,it is the spirit that says 8,come let us reason together0 that points the way to 8,peace on earth1 good will toward men40 ,there is one thing that all should remember and that is that we are all of us the public4 ,there is no corporation 8without a heart and without a soul0 more heartless than the public4 ,all men strive to do the thing the public wants most to have done for only those who please the public's fancy get paid for their efforts4 ,the public pays no one interest on investment4 ,it pays no one for time or effort spent4 ,it pays for the service it wants at the time it wants it and all who misjudge the public demand may get nothing4 ,any new process or new invention puts many people out of business for the public turns coldly from the old to the new service which it more desires4 ,if we produce too much of anything the price always goes below cost4 ,where there is an undersupply of any thing1 there is the best market and the more profitable business4 ,so it is that by paying or withholding the price this great ,dame ,public keeps all courting her favor and doing the things she wants most to have done4 ,she wins with every winner and then taxes his income1 and lets the loser lose alone4 ,but although we are all up against the same general laws that govern business there is a difference between farming and most other business4 ,a contractor will build a building for us if we agree to pay a price that he figures will pay his cost plus a profit4 ,otherwise he will not do the work4 ,contracting is supposed to be a somewhat hazardous business but it is not so risky as farming for the builder knows before he starts what price he is to get4 ,a farmer can not tell until he is ready to market his crop what the market will be4 ,the farmer must pay the cost1 hoping4 ,weather has a great deal to do with results in farming operations and that makes the business more risky4 ,business men in cities as a rule can work much closer to their pay checks4 ,this makes it possible for them to come much nearer a system of always getting cost plus a profit4 ,manufacturers usually aim to take orders ahead of their output so that knowing their cost and having their goods already sold at a profit leaves them comparatively clear sailing4 ,how the farmer can get on the same basis ,i do not know4 ,but city business is not all a round of pleasure1 for city competition is keen4 ,if one farmer raises forty bushels of corn per acre and another can raise sixty1 each receives compensation in proportion to his crop4 ,but if one merchant had that much advantage over his competitor the unfortunate one would be put clear out of business4 ,customers to a merchant are as valuable as pigs are to a farmer and it is perfectly legal to get the other fellow's customers in broad daylight4 ,so we in competitive business keep busier than some people think4 ,i have often been asked what ,i think of farmers' organizations4 ,well1 most business men in other lines of business have associations4 ,they usually result in some good4 ,it is those who expect too much that are disappointed4 ,so simple a thing as an organization can not cure all of the difficulties in farming4 ,some farmers in ,kentucky organized to boost the tobacco market by agreeing among themselves to plant fewer acres4 ,after the agreement many expected a high price for tobacco and planted more acres4 ,this is about the kind of co-operation we all have learned to expect in associations where money interests are involved4 ,these farmers were right1 however1 in realizing that in order to boost the market they had to limit the supply of the product4 ,the law of supply and demand always works4 ,it works to the advantage of him who can limit the supply or can increase the demand4 ,let me tell you how a trust operates4 ,there is an agreement to fix prices and production is limited to what will sell at the fixed price4 ,then there are fights made against any one outside of the combination who undertakes to produce that line of goods4 ,the trust magnate knows well that to control a market he must limit the amount of goods for sale by combining to fight competition4 ,without that feature trusts would be harmless4 ,a trust is a 8combination in restraint of trade0--a fighting organization4 ,common business men are not afraid to compete with trusts4 ,it is always the trust that is afraid4 ,to compete means to race4 ,trusts always want to hamstring the fellows against whom they are racing4 ,to go back to farmers' organizations1 on account of the nature of their business farmers can never successfully organize to fight down competition of other farmers and prevent them from producing4 ,they can not then create an artificial market4 ,others can sometimes combine to take advantage of farmers4 ,farmers can never 8get even40 ,but here is a truth that many do not realize and it is that although some may have a less difficult business than farming1 not one person out of a thousand can avoid competition or has any unfair advantage over other people4 ,those who would differ from this statement could only change the figures in the proportion4 ,change them as you like1 and yet we must agree that it is a good thing that a majority must earn a living in which there is no graft for they will stand for truth and fairness in the land4 ,we want freedom in the country and there cannot be freedom without fair competition--equal opportunities for all as nearly as the law can insure them4 ,where co-operation among farmers can increase efficiency they should co-operate4 ,the same is true of any other business4 ,for any one to co-operate in a legitimate way for legitimate purpose is always a legitimate thing to do4 ,co-operation need not interfere with free competition or fair play4 ,i have no word of warning to give to farmers' organizations that ,i would not apply as well to others4 ,but ,i have a warning that ,i would like to sound to all the world4 ,beware of him who accuses all others of guilt4 ,beware of him who sees only bad in the world4 ,there are those 8reformers10 they may be called1 who would poison us against our fellows4 ,watch closely the suggestions of such4 ,test their advice by the golden rule4 ,a propaganda of hate is never needed in a good cause4 ,peace on earth can only come by fairness and good will4 ,we need each other's point of view4 ,transcriber's ,notes ,page #bj3 8,ofter the fattest10 changed to 8,often the fattest10 ,page #df3 8what hapepns0 changed to 8what happens0 ,page #ef3 8the fact increases0 changed to 8the fat increases0 ,page #ic3 8an extravangance0 changed to 8an extravagance0 ,page #ii3 8corn per ace0 changed to 8corn per acre0