Pratts Practical Pointers on the Care of Livestock and Poultry | Page 9

even in winter.
They should be allowed to go out daily for an hour or more into a
sheltered yard, save on days when the weather is extreme; or, better
still, be given the liberty of a closed and well-ventilated shed during a
portion of the day. It should be supplied with a fodder rack.
In summer, cows in milk must be protected from storms, from
excessive sunshine, and from flies, as far as this may be practicable.
Pratts Fly Chaser is unequalled as a fly repellant. It is perfectly safe to
use, does not injure or gum the hair, and is economical. A light spray is
both lasting and effective.
Cows in milk should be driven gently. The pasture should not be too
distant from the stable, and driving during the heat of the day should be
avoided.
The quality of milk is easily injured by coming in direct contact with
foreign substances or by imbibing odors. The milk must be drawn from
clean udders, with clean hands, into clean pails, and amid clean
surroundings. The stables must have attention. The udder and teats
should be wiped off by using a damp cloth. Milking should be done
with dry hands into metal pails, kept clean by scalding. Milking before

feeding prevents dust particles from getting into the milk. Noxious
odors are kept down by the prompt removal of droppings and by
strewing sand, plaster, rock phosphate, or dry earth in the manure
gutters.
----------------------------------------------------------------- _Elderton, Pa.
"I have used Pratts Cow Remedy with best results. I fully believe it
cannot be surpassed for increasing the flow of milk."
JAS. YOUNG._ -----------------------------------------------------------------
Unless milking is done at stated times, and by the same person, there
will be a loss in the production. When milking is delayed, a decreased
flow is noticeable the following morning. When a change of milkers is
made, some cows resent it by withholding a part of the milk.
It is not easy to dry some dairy cows prior to the birth of the next calf,
and yet, as a rule, it ought to be done. When they are to be dried the
process should begin by milking them once a day and putting them on
dry food. The food may also be reduced somewhat in quantity. Later
the milk is taken out at intervals which constantly increase in length
until the cow is dry. The udder should be carefully watched during the
later stages of the drying process.
Where suitable pasture may be obtained, it is usually a cheaper source
of food for cows than soiling food or cured fodders, as the element of
labor in giving the food is largely eliminated. The best pastures, viewed
from the standpoint of production, are those grown on lands that may
be irrigated during the season of growth. These consist of clover and
certain grasses. Permanent pastures which are grown on moist land, and
which contain a number of grasses, are usually satisfactory, but the
nature of the pasture must, of course, be largely determined by the
attendant conditions. Blue grass pastures are excellent while succulent
and abundant, but in midsummer they lose their succulence for weeks
in succession. Brouer grass is a favorite pasture in northwestern areas,
and Bermuda grass in the South. In the Eastern and Central States, the
most suitable pastures are made up of blue grass, timothy, and orchard

grass, and of the common red, white and alsike clovers.
There is more or less of hazard to cows when grazing on
alfalfa--liability to bloating, which may result fatally. Likewise second
growth sorghum or the second growth of the non-saccharine sorghums
is full of hazard, especially in dry seasons when it has become stunted
in growth. Nor should rape and rye be grazed, save for a short time
after the cows have been milked, lest they give a taint to the milk.
The change from winter rations to grazing should never be suddenly
made, or purging caused by the fresh grass will lead to loss in weight
and loss of milk, though at first there will probably be an advance in
the same. The change may be made in outline as follows:
(1) The cows will not be turned out until after the food given in the
morning has been sufficiently consumed.
(2) They will be kept out an hour, or two the first day, and the time
increased.
(3) The time called for to effect the change should never be less than
one week or more than three.
(4) As soon as the change begins, the reduction in succulent food,
ensilage, and field roots should also begin.
(5) The dry fodder should be continued morning and evening as long as
the cows will take it.
[Illustration: ~AYRSHIRE COW~]
(6) There should be some reduction and it may