ON THE LAND.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2444, 8 March 1909, Page 2

ON THE LAND.

FEEDING COWS. The feeding of dairy cows (says' ‘Nemo,” in “Farmer and Stockbreeder”) is .a' matter ’which requires both forethought and care at the hands jf all whose concern it is. We see many cases where farmers take no consideration of the' feeding values of foods so. long as they supply bulk, :or do they pay attention to the breed of animals they buy, so long at t is a cow—that seems to 'he ali Ley require. It is very obvious that .Lis is a .mistake. Before mention, ng a few suitable rations for dair, .tows, I should like to draw atten don to a few points which < may In. taken into account before fixing ra~ h)ns. It is important that one hould possess a slight knowledge of the way in which milk is formed in the >ody before we consider the effect >f feeding on the quantity and qiial,ty of the milk produced. Milk k lot simply a secretion, nor filtered blood, as was formerly thought, but Is principally ithe breaking up of Band cells in the udder, and is in reality a “liquefied organ,” an organ tiiatHias been liquefied by fatty degeneration, or rather tlie free ends oi cells suffer degeneration and a renewal of the cell material takes place at the opposite end. These cells, which are largely composed of albumen receive their nourishment from the blood supply. It is very evident from this that both the quantity and quality of the milk produced must be. primarily determined by the size md general growth of tlie nv-lk glands,-as the larger and more weldeveloped the gland is the more milk the cow will give. It is a matter ol common ‘knowledge that two caws, fed in exactly the same way, often field verv different standards of mil*, ■both as regards quantity .and quality. From this we see that diet plays secondary part in milk production, ‘•lit at the "same time the- manner and extent of feeding have a very marked effect on the quantity of the milk produced.) The breed Sand individuality of the cow must appear as the primary consideration, the quality core than the quantity :s dependent an these latter qualifications. No ■mount of feeding could possibly change the milk of an inferior German cow into the rich milk of a Jersey, and also a Jersey, ed "on only a moderate diet, would give a higher standard of milk v ield than a cow of a non-dairy breed

• •'d on a richer diet. Therefore our first essentials are to procure cows of .iiitable breed and of individual merits. Having got so far, we must now v- attention to the judicious feeding of the same. Foods, like turnips, •wedes, brewers’ grains, etc., increase the milk yield but the milk is if. a much more watery character. Before everything else we must give our cows a liberal supply of food of n albuminous kind, such as decorticated cotton and linseed cakes, peas, oca ns, etc., as albumen favours the ■production of milk, because it .induces a continued and rapid building-up' of gland cells, which latter, as before mentioned, are built up with and charged irom albumen. It is, however, true that a food which. is not rich in ni- ‘ logon, but is nevertheless appreciated by the cows, often produces a large yield of milk. The intensity of milk production is such with good ailch cows that a high rate of milk production is often maintained for a ionn time despite a poor and inadequate diet. This, however -is effected at the expense loij hoddy tissue, and the cow becomes more or less thin. It is very essential that cows should not be allowed to get into this condition, as not only are the milk qualities affected, but it is often a very difficult matter to get the cow in a good condition, again md restore, a high standard of milk. The standard (Wolff’s) of digestible albuminoids for a cow of 10001 b live weight, is 2Gb. We can easily see that it cannot be less, for if we take it that a cow yields two gallons ot milk per day for a period of several nontbs, we find that 21b of digestible albuminoids are required to produce this, so that there is not much lelt over to maintain the energy of the. digestive organs, and tlie calf, etc. A matter that is worthy of notice is that if a cow lias been kept on a poor diet,, and then suddenly given a much ’richer fare, then .iff will be noticed that the quantity and quality of the n milk will increase, but- it is only maintained for a short; time, and then the. milk standard gradually goes back to what it was originally, oven if the rich diet is kept up, thus secreting glands for the time only, and not permanently. Nevertheless it pays to feed liberally for the milk yield is maintained for a longer period. Practice and science have both indicated that a cow of the above live weight requires some 241 b to 251 b of dry organic matter in her food per day. Of this 171 b will be for the maintenance of the cow. and 71b to Sib will be for milk. With regard lo this dry matter, 161 b out of the 241 b should be in the shape of coarse fodder, such as hay, straw, etc.,: as if sufficient of this kind of food is not supplied, the animal will not maslicate her food properly and digestive- disturbances will result. Ihe above quantity of dry matter should supply a cow with 21 lb of digestible albuminoids, 121 b to 131 b of digestible carbohydrates (starch, sugar, etc.),- and lib. of digestible fat.

Farm and Station.

In considering the different quantities of food stuffs we have at our disposal, wo may take it that 3 to 4 stones of roots, 1 stone of long straw, and half a stone of hay will ensure sufficient bulk for most cows. Besides these foods about 41b of concentrated foods will be required for each gallon of mil It yielded. Below are given a. few suitable rations” for milking .cows for the different seaof the year. Taking first summer: lcwt-. of pasture grass and 21b of nndecortieated 'otton cake (A.R. 1 6-3); autumn, 101 b cabbages, 201 b turnips, 101 b , oat straw, ,101 b meadow hay, 61b oatmeal, lib beaai mdal; winter a/nd (early pring, 401 b of mangels, 201 b of meadow hay and oat straw, 21b peas, and 31b of decorticated cotton cake, uid- 31b of oatmeal (A.B. 1 6-2); foliate spring tlie. mangels may be reduced, and a teach crop of fodder, such as green rye, may be introduced. A cow that is dry and in calf may have 501 b of roots, 201 b of oat straw, «n<T 21b of linseed cake (A.B. 1 10-4). Brewers’ grains cause the cows to give a large yield of milk of watery character, draining- the cows severely, rind causing them to lose flesh. No more than 301 b of the wet grains or 41b of the dry grains should be given a day to a cow. The above rations have been found in practice to produce very good results. WOOLBUYEBS’ TEEMS. While woolbuyers and manufacturers understand the. varied qualities of wools, the average grower has no very clear idea of what is meant when a wool is spoken of -as being "40’s” or “60’s.” How far will it .‘■pin? is a question almost analogous to saying what quality it is. Each and every quality of wool has its limit f > which it will spin without the. yarn becoming imperfect, i.e., unsound, uneven, and unwearable, and this is always detea-mined by its quality, spoken of as 32’s, 36’s, 40’s, CD’s, or -any length number that is mentioned. In the worsted trade the highest limit to which eacli quality can be carried fixes the counts, and these range upwards from c2’s to 80’s, beyond which only the very choicest lots are spun. . The meaning of 32’s quality wool is that it will spin to the limit of 32 hanks to the pound weight, each hank containing 560 yards. In other words, 560 yards multiplied by 32 gives the that there are that number of yard lengths of .yarn to one pound weight when it is spun. To speak of a 60’s quality of wool means that there are 00 hanks, each hank measuring 560 yards, to weigh one pound, or, in other words, there are 33,600 yards of spun yam of this quality to every pound weight of material. DAIRYING IN ARGENTINA. Dairy work in Argent.pi a is conducted in a somewhat rough-and-ready way. The Argentine farmer considers milking a mere adjunct to fat stock-raising, which probably accounts for his methods. A rude enclosure of hard-wood posts, crooked as a ram’s horn, run with wire, is erected in the open for the. cows, and a smaller one near it for the calves. The herd is divided into two lots for milking, and the calves are kept apart from their dams for 12 hours before milking. One of the • two lots of cows is driven into the large enclosure, and several calves, which have already been placed in the smaller one, arc -allowed access to the cowyard. They, of course, seek out their dams and begin to suck. An attendant, called the “tyer-up,” at once pounces upon one/ of the cows thus singled out and fastens her hind legs above the hocks with a green-hide rope; the calf is then dragged away and tied to her foreleg, while the milker, who has his stool strapped to .him, comes with his bucket and draws off the milk she lias let doAvn. He leaves some for the calf, Avliich is set free -as soon as he has taken as much as he thinks proper, and sets to work on the next cow which the tyer-up has hobbled ready for him. Unbroken coavs are held*for milking by a different method. Each in turn is lassoed round the horns by a horseman., AA’ho drags her by main force to a pair of posts firmly planted in the ground for the purpose; her head is fastened to one post and her hind legs to the other in such wise that she- cannot move an inch, AAihen the milker fakes Avliat he can get from her.