Mr. Harley--whose admirable dairy establishment was erected for the purpose of supplying the city of Glasgow with a good quality of milk, and which has contributed more than any thing else to improve the quality of the milk furnished to all the princ.i.p.al cities of Great Britain--adopted the following system of feeding with the greatest profit: In the early part of the summer, young gra.s.s and green barley, the first cutting especially, mixed with a large proportion of old hay or straw, and a good quant.i.ty of salt to prevent swelling, were used. As summer advanced, less hay and straw were given, and as the gra.s.s approached ripeness, they were discontinued altogether; but young and wet clover was never given without an admixture of dry provender. When gra.s.s became scarce, young turnips and turnip leaves were steamed with hay, and formed a good subst.i.tute. As gra.s.s decreased, the turnips were increased, and at length became a complete subst.i.tute. As the season advanced, a large proportion of distillers" grains and wash was given with other food, but these were found to have a tendency to make the cattle grain-sick; and if this feeding were long-continued, the health of the cows became affected. Boiled linseed and short-cut wheat straw mixed with the grains, were found to prevent the cows from turning sick.
As spring approached, Swedish turnips, when cheap, were subst.i.tuted for yellow turnips. These two roots, steamed with hay and other mixtures, afforded safe food till gra.s.s was again in season. When any of the cows were surfeited, the food was withheld till the appet.i.te returned, when a small quant.i.ty was given, and increased gradually to the full allowance.
But the most elaborate and valuable experiments in the feeding and management of milch cows, are those made, not long since, by Mr. T.
Horsfall, of England, and published in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society. His practice, though adapted more especially, perhaps, to his own section, is nevertheless of such general application and importance as to be worthy of attention. By his course of treatment he found that he could produce as much and as rich b.u.t.ter in winter as in summer.
His first object was to afford a full supply of the elements of food adapted to the maintenance, and also to the produce of the animal; and this could not be effected by the ordinary food and methods of feeding, since it is impossible to induce a cow to consume a quant.i.ty of hay requisite to supply the waste of the system, and keep up, at the same time, a full yield of the best quality of milk. He used, to some extent, cabbages, kohl rabi, mangolds, shorts, and other substances, rich in the const.i.tuents of cheese and b.u.t.ter. "My food for milch cows," says he, "after having undergone various modifications, has for two seasons consisted of rape cake five pounds, and bran two pounds, for each cow, mixed with a sufficient quant.i.ty of bean-straw, oat-straw, and sh.e.l.ls of oats, in equal proportions, to supply them three times a day with as much as they will eat. The whole of the materials are moistened and blended together, and, after being well steamed, are given to the animal in a warm state. The attendant is allowed one pound to one pound and a half per cow, according to circ.u.mstances, of bean-meal, which he is charged to give to each cow in proportion to the yield of milk; those in full milk getting each two pounds per day, others but little. It is dry, and mixed with the steamed food on its being dealt out separately. When this is eaten up, green food is given, consisting of cabbages, from October to December, kohl rabi till February, and mangold till gra.s.s time, with a view to nicety of flavor. I limit the quant.i.ty of green food to thirty or thirty-five pounds per day for each. After each feed, four pounds of meadow hay, or twelve pounds per day, is given to each cow. They are allowed water twice a day, to the extent which they will drink."
Bean-straw uncooked having been found to be hard and unpalatable, it was steamed to make it soft and pulpy, when it possessed an agreeable odor, and imparted its flavor to the whole ma.s.s. It was cut for this purpose just before ripening, but after the bean was fully grown, and in this state was found to possess nearly double the amount of alb.u.minous matter, so valuable to milch cows, of good meadow or upland hay. Bran or shorts is also vastly improved by steaming or soaking with hot water, when its nutriment is more readily a.s.similated. It contains about fourteen per cent. of alb.u.men, and is rich in phosphoric acid. Rape-cake was found to be exceedingly valuable. Linseed and cotton-seed cake may probably be subst.i.tuted for it in this country.
Mr. Horsfall turned his cows in May into a rich pasture, housing them at night, and giving them a mess of the steamed mixture and some hay morning and night; and from June to October they had cut gra.s.s in the stall, besides what they got in the pasture, and two feeds of the steamed mixture a day. After the beginning of October the cows were kept housed. With such management his cows generally yielded from twelve to sixteen quarts of milk (wine measure) a day, for about eight months after calving, when they fell off in milk, but gained in flesh, up to calving-time. In this course of treatment the manure was far better than the average, and his pastures constantly improved. The average amount of b.u.t.ter from every sixteen quarts of milk was twenty-five ounces--a proportion far larger than the average.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "ON THE RAMPAGE."]
How widely does this course of treatment differ from that of most farmers! The object with many seems to be, to see with how little food they can keep the cow alive. From a correct point of view, the milch cow should be regarded as an instrument of transformation. The question should be--with so much hay, so much grain, so many roots, how can the most milk, or b.u.t.ter, or cheese, be made? The conduct of a manufacturer who owned good machinery, and an abundance of raw material, and had the labor at hand, would be considered very senseless, if he hesitated to supply the material, and keep the machinery at work, at least so long as he could run it with profit.
Stimulate the appet.i.te, then, and induce the cow to eat, by a frequent change of diet, not merely enough to supply the constant waste of her system, but enough and to spare, of a food adapted to the production of milk of the quality desired.
SOILING.
Of the advantages of soiling milch cows--that is, feeding exclusively in the barn--there are yet many conflicting opinions. As to its economy of land and feed there can be no question, it being generally admitted that a given number of animals may be abundantly fed on a less s.p.a.ce; nor is there much question as to the increased quant.i.ty of milk yielded in stall feeding. Its economy, in this country, turns rather upon the cost of labor and time; and the question raised by the dairyman is, whether it will pay--whether its advantages are sufficient to balance the extra expense of cutting and feeding, over and above cropping on the pasture.
The importance of this subject has been strongly impressed upon the attention of farmers in many sections of the country, by a growing conviction that something must be done to improve the pastures, or that they must be abandoned altogether.
Thousands of acres of neglected pasture-land in the older States are so poor and worn out that from four to eight acres furnish but a miserable subsistence for a good-sized cow. No animal can flourish under such circ.u.mstances. The labor and exertion of feeding are too great, to say nothing of the vastly inferior quality of the gra.s.ses in such pastures, compared with those on more recently seeded lands. True economy would dictate that such pastures should either be allowed to run to wood, or be devoted to sheep-walks, or ploughed and improved. Cows, to be able to yield well, must have plenty of food of a sweet and nutritious quality; and, unless they find it, they wander over a large s.p.a.ce, if at liberty, and thus deprive themselves of rest.
If a farmer or dairyman unfortunately owns such pastures, there can be no question that, as a matter of real economy, he had better resort to the soiling system for his milch cows; by which means he will largely increase his annual supply of good manure, and thus have the means of improving, and bringing his land to a higher state of cultivation. A very successful instance of this management occurs in the report of the visiting committee of an agricultural society in Ma.s.sachusetts, in which they say: "We have now in mind a farmer in this county who keeps seven or eight cows in the stable through the summer, and feeds them on green fodder, chiefly Indian corn. We asked him his reasons for it. His answer was: 1. That he gets more milk than he can by any other method. 2. That he gets more manure, especially liquid manure. 3. That he saves it all, by keeping a supply of mud or mould under the stable, to be taken out and renewed as often as necessary. 4. That it is less troublesome than to drive his cows to pasture; that they are less vexed by flies, and have equally good health. 5. That his mowing land is every year growing more productive, without the expense of artificial manure.--He estimates that on an acre of good land twenty tons of green fodder may be raised.
That which is dried is cut fine, and mixed with meal or shorts, and fed with profit. He believes that a reduced and worn-out farm--supposing the land to be naturally good--could be brought into prime order in five years, without any extra outlay of money for manure, by the use of green fodder in connection with the raising and keeping of pigs; not fattening them, but selling at the age of four or five months." He keeps most of his land in gra.s.s, improving its quality and productiveness by means of top-dressing, and putting money in his pocket--which is, after all, the true test both for theory and practice.
Another practical case on this point is that of a gentleman in the same State who had four cows, but not a rod of land on which to pasture them.
They were, therefore, never out of the barn--or, at least, not out of the yard--and were fed with gra.s.s, regularly mown for them; with green Indian corn and fodder, which had been sown broadcast for the purpose; and with about three pints of meal a day. Their produce in b.u.t.ter was kept for thirteen weeks. Two of them were but two years old, having calved the same spring. All the milk of one of them was taken by her calf for six weeks out of the thirteen, and some of the milk of the other was taken for family use, the quant.i.ty of which was not measured.
These heifers could not, therefore, be estimated as equal to more than one cow in full milk. And yet from these cows no less than three hundred and eighty-nine pounds of b.u.t.ter were made in the thirteen weeks.
Another pound would have made an average of thirty pounds a week for the whole time.
It appears from these and other similar instances of soiling, or stall-feeding in summer on green crops cut for the purpose, that the largely increased quant.i.ty of the yield fully compensates for the slightly deteriorated quality. And not only is the quant.i.ty yielded by each cow increased, but the same extent of land, under the same culture, will carry double or treble the number of ordinary pastures, and keep them in better condition. There is also a saving of manure. But with us the economy of soiling is the exception, and not the rule.
In adopting this system of feeding, regularity is required as much as in any other, and a proper variety of food. A succession of green crops should be provided, as near as convenient to the stable. The first will naturally be winter rye, in the Northern States, as that shoots up with great luxuriance. Winter rape would probably be an exceedingly valuable addition to the plants usually cultivated for soiling in this country, in sections where it would withstand the severity of the winter.
Cabbages, kept in the cellar or pit, and transplanted early, will also come in here to advantage, and clover will very soon follow them; oats, millet, and green Indian-corn, as the season advances; and, a little later still, perhaps, the Chinese sugar-cane, which should not be cut till headed out. These plants, in addition to other cultivated gra.s.ses, will furnish an unfailing succession of succulent and tender fodder; while the addition of a little Indian, linseed, or cotton-seed meal will be found economical.
In the vicinity of large towns and cities, where the object is too often to feed for the largest quant.i.ty, without reference to quality, an article known as distillers" swill, or still-slop, is extensively used.
This, if properly fed in limited quant.i.ties, in combination with other and more bulky food, may be a valuable article for the dairyman; but, if given--as it too often is--without the addition of other kinds of food, it soon affects the health and const.i.tution of the animals fed on it.
This swill contains a considerable quant.i.ty of water, some nitrogenous compounds, and some inorganic matter in the shape of phosphates and alkaline salts found in the different kinds of grain of which it is made up, as Indian corn, wheat, barley, rye, and the like. Where this forms the princ.i.p.al food of milch cows, the milk is of a very poor quality--blue in color, and requiring the addition of coloring substances to make it saleable. It contains, often, less than one per cent. of b.u.t.ter, and seldom over one and three-tenths or one and a half per cent.--while good, saleable milk should contain from three to five per cent. It will not coagulate, it is said, in less than five or six hours; while good milk will invariably coagulate in an hour or less, under the same conditions. Its effect on the system of young children is, therefore, very destructive, causing diseases of various kinds, and, if continued, death.
So pernicious have been the consequences resulting from the use of this "swill-milk," as it is called, in the largest city of this country, that the Legislature of the State of New York, at a recent session (1861-2), interfered in behalf of the community by making the sale of the article a penal offence.
CULTURE OF GRa.s.sES FOR FODDER.
As has been already stated, the gra.s.ses in summer, and hay in winter, form the most natural and important food for milch cows; and, whatever other crops come in as additional, these will form the basis of all systems of feeding.
The nutritive qualities of the gra.s.ses differ widely; and their value as feed for cows will depend, to a considerable extent, on the management of pastures and mowing-lands. Some considerations bearing upon the subject of the proper cultivation of these leading articles of food are, therefore, proposed in this article.
[Ill.u.s.tration: PATIENTLY WAITING.]
If the turf of an old pasture is carefully examined, it will be found to contain a large variety of plants and gra.s.ses adapted for forage; some of them valuable for one purpose, and some for another. Some of them, though possessing a lower percentage of nutritive const.i.tuents than others, are particularly esteemed for an early and luxuriant growth, furnishing sweet feed in early spring, before other gra.s.ses appear; some of them, for starting more rapidly than others, after having been eaten off by cattle, and, consequently, of great value as pasture gra.s.ses.
Most gra.s.ses will be found to be of a social character, and do best in a large mixture with other varieties.
In forming a mixture for pasture gra.s.ses, the peculiar qualities of each species should, therefore, be regarded: as the time of flowering, the habits of growth, the soil and location on which it grows best, and other characteristics.
Among the gra.s.ses found on cultivated lands in this country, the following are considered as among the most valuable for ordinary farm cultivation; some of them being adapted to pastures, and others almost exclusively to mowing and the hay-crop: Timothy, Meadow Foxtail, June or Kentucky Blue Gra.s.s, Fowl Meadow, Rough-stalked Meadow, Orchard Gra.s.s, Perennial Rye Gra.s.s, Italian Rye Gra.s.s, Redtop, English Bent, Meadow Fescue, Tall Oat Gra.s.s, Sweet-scented Vernal, Hungarian Gra.s.s, Red Clover, White or Dutch Clover, and some others.
Of these, the most valuable, all things considered, is TIMOTHY. It forms a large proportion of what is commonly called English, or in some sections meadow, hay, though it originated and was first cultivated in this country. It contains a large percentage of nutritive matter, in comparison with other agricultural gra.s.ses. It thrives best on moist, peaty, or loamy soils, of medium tenacity, and is not well suited to very light, sandy lands. On very moist soils, its root is almost always fibrous; while on dry and loamy ones it is bulbous. On soils of the former description, which it especially affects, its growth is rapid, and its yield of hay large, sometimes amounting to three or four tons the acre, depending much, of course, upon cultivation. But, though very valuable for hay, it is not adapted for pasture, as it will neither endure severe grazing, nor is its aftermath to be compared with that of meadow foxtail, and some of the other gra.s.ses.
JUNE GRa.s.s, better known in some sections as Kentucky Blue Gra.s.s, is very common in most sections of the country, especially on limestone lands, forming a large part of the turf, wherever it flourishes, and being held in universal esteem as a pasture gra.s.s. It starts early, but varies much in size and appearance, according to the soil; growing in some places with the utmost luxuriance, and forming the predominant gra.s.s; in others, yielding to the other species. If cut at the time of flowering, or a few days after, it makes a good and nutritious hay, though it is surpa.s.sed in nutritive qualities by several of the other gra.s.ses. It starts slowly after having been cut, especially if not cut very early. But its herbage is fine and uniform, and admirably adapted to lawns, growing well in almost all soils, though it does not endure very severe droughts. It withstands, however, the frosts of winter better than most other gra.s.ses.
In Kentucky--a section where it attains its highest perfection and luxuriance, ripening its seeds about the tenth of June--and in lat.i.tudes south of that, it sometimes continues green through the mild winters. It requires three or four years to become well set, after sowing, and it does not attain its highest yield as a pasture gra.s.s till the sod is even older than that. It is not, therefore, suited to alternate husbandry, where land usually remains in gra.s.s but two or three years before being ploughed up. In Kentucky, it is sown any time in winter when the sun is on the ground, three or four quarts of seed being used to the acre. In spring the seeds germinate, when the sprouts are exceedingly fine and delicate. Stock is not allowed on it the first year.
The MEADOW FOXTAIL is also an excellent pasture gra.s.s It somewhat resembles Timothy, but is earlier, has a softer spike, and thrives on all soils except the dryest. Its growth is rapid, and it is greatly relished by stock of all kinds. Its stalks and leaves are too few and light for a field crop, and it shrinks too much in curing to be valuable for hay. It flourishes best in a rich, moist, and rather strong soil, sending up a luxuriant aftermath when cut or grazed off, which is much more valuable, both in quality and nutritive value, than the first crop.
In all lands designed for permanent pasture, therefore, it should form a considerable part of a mixture. It will endure almost any amount of forcing, by liquid manures or irrigation. It requires three or four years, after soiling, to gain a firm footing in the soil. The seed is covered with the soft and woolly husks of the flower, and is consequently light; weighing but five pounds to the bushel, and containing seventy-six thousand seeds to the ounce.
The ORCHARD GRa.s.s, or ROUGH c.o.c.kSFOOT, for pastures, stands pre-eminent.
This is a native of this country, and was introduced into England, from Virginia, in 1764, since which time its cultivation has extended into every country of Europe, where it is universally held in very high estimation. The fact of its being very palatable to stock of all kinds, its rapid growth, and the luxuriance of its aftermath, with its power of enduring the cropping of cattle, have given it a very high reputation, especially as a pasture gra.s.s. It blossoms earlier than Timothy; when green, is equally relished by milch cows; requires to be fed closer, to prevent its forming tufts and growing up to seed, when it becomes hard and wiry, and loses much of its nutritive quality. As it blossoms about the same time, it forms an admirable mixture with red clover, either for permanent pasture or mowing. It resists drought, and is less exhausting to the soil than either rye gra.s.s or Timothy. The seed weighs twelve pounds to the bushel, and when sown alone requires about two bushels to the acre.
The ROUGH-STALKED MEADOW GRa.s.s is somewhat less common than the June gra.s.s, but is considered equally valuable. It grows best on moist, sheltered meadows, where it flowers in June and July. It is readily distinguished from June gra.s.s by its having a rough sheath, while the latter has a smooth one, and by having a fibrous root, while the root of the other is creeping. It possesses very considerable nutritive qualities, and comes to perfection at a desirable time, and is exceedingly relished by cattle, horses and sheep. For suitable soils it should form a portion of a mixture of seeds, producing, in mixture with other gra.s.ses which serve to shelter it, a large yield of hay, far above the average of gra.s.s usually sown on a similar soil. It should be cut when the seed is formed. Seven pounds of seed to the acre will make a good sward. The gra.s.s loses about seventy per cent. of its weight in drying. The nutritive qualities of its aftermath exceed very considerably those of the crop cut in the flower or in the seed.
FOWL MEADOW GRa.s.s is another indigenous species, of great value for low and marshy grounds, where it flourishes best; and, if cut and properly cured, makes a sweet and nutritious hay, which, from its fineness, is eaten by cows without waste. According to Sinclair--who experimented, with the aid of Sir Humphrey Davy, to ascertain its comparative nutritive properties--it is superior in this respect to either meadow foxtail, orchard gra.s.s, or tall meadow oat gra.s.s; but it is probable that he somewhat overrates it. If allowed to stand till nearly ripe, it falls down, but sends up innumerable flowering stems from the joints, so that it continues green and luxuriant till late in the season. It thrives best in mixture with other gra.s.ses, and deserves a prominent place in all mixtures for rich, moist pastures, and low mowing-lands.
RYE GRa.s.s has a far higher reputation abroad than in this country, and probably with reason; for it is better adapted to a wet and uncertain climate than to a dry and hot one. It varies exceedingly, depending much on soil and culture; but, when cut in the blossom to make into hay, it possesses very considerable nutritive power. If allowed to get too ripe, it is hard and wiry, and not relished by cows. The change from a juicy and nutritious plant to a woody fibre, containing but little soluble matter, is very rapid. Properly managed, however, it is a tolerably good gra.s.s, though not to be compared to Timothy, or orchard gra.s.s.
REDTOP is a gra.s.s familiar to every farmer in the country. It is the Herd"s gra.s.s of Pennsylvania, while in New York and New England it is known by a great variety of names and a.s.sumes a great variety of forms, according to the soil in which it grows. It is well adapted to almost every soil, though it seems to prefer a moist loam. It makes a profitable crop for spending, in the form of hay, though its yield is less than that of Timothy. It is well suited to our permanent pastures, where it should be fed close, otherwise it becomes wiry and innutritious, and cattle refuse it. It stands the climate of the country as well as any other gra.s.s, and so forms a valuable part of any mixture for pastures and permanent mowing-lands; but it is, probably, rather over rated by us.
ENGLISH BENT, known also by a number of other names, is largely cultivated in some sections. It closely resembles redtop, but may be distinguished from it by the roughness of the sheaths when the hand is drawn from above downward. It possesses about the same qualities as redtop.
MEADOW FESCUE is one of the most common of the fescue gra.s.ses, and is said to be the Randall gra.s.s of Virginia. It is an excellent pasture gra.s.s, forming a very considerable portion of the turf of old pasture lands and fields; and is more extensively propagated and diffused from the fact that it ripens its seeds before most other gra.s.ses are cut, and sheds them to spring up and cover the ground. Its long and tender leaves are much relished by cattle. It is rarely sown in this country, notwithstanding its great and acknowledged value as a pasture gra.s.s. If sown at all, it should be in mixture with other gra.s.ses, as orchard gra.s.s, and rye gra.s.s, or June gra.s.s. It is of much greater value at the time of flowering than when the seed is ripe.
[Ill.u.s.tration: A CHANCE FOR A SELECTION.]
THE TALL OAT GRa.s.s is the Ray gra.s.s of France. It furnishes a luxuriant supply of foliage, is valuable either for hay or for pasture, and has been especially recommended for soiling purposes, on account of its early and luxuriant growth. It is often found on the borders of fields and hedges, woods and pastures, and is sometimes very plenty in mowing-lands. After having been mown it shoots up a very thick aftermath, and, on this account, partly, is regarded of nearly equal excellence with the common foxtail.
It grows spontaneously on deep, sandy soils, when once naturalized. It has been cultivated to a considerable extent in this country, and is esteemed by those who know it mainly for its early, rapid, and late growth, making it very well calculated as a permanent pasture gra.s.s. It will succeed on tenacious clover soil.
The SWEET-SCENTED VERNAL GRa.s.s is one of the earliest in spring and one of the latest in autumn; and this habit of growth is one of its chief excellencies, as it is neither a nutritious gra.s.s, nor very palatable to stock of any kind, nor does it yield a very good crop. It is very common in New England and all over the Middle States, coming into old worn-out fields and moist pastures spontaneously, and along every roadside. It derives its name from its sweetness of odor when partially wilted or crushed in the hand, and it is this chiefly which gives the delicious fragrance to all new-mown bay. It is almost the only gra.s.s that possesses a strongly-marked aromatic odor, which is imparted to other gra.s.ses with which it is cured. Its seed weighs eight pounds to the bushel. In mixtures for permanent pastures it may be of some value.
HUNGARIAN GRa.s.s, or millet, is an annual forage plant, introduced into France in 1815, and more recently into this country. It germinates readily, and withstands the drought remarkably, remaining green when other gra.s.ses are parched and dried up. It has numerous succulent leaves which furnish an abundance of sweet fodder, greatly relished by stock of all kinds. It attains its greatest luxuriance on soils of medium consistency and richness, but does very well on light and dry plains.
RED CLOVER is an artificial gra.s.s of the leguminous family, and one of the most valuable cultivated plants for feeding to dairy cows. It flourishes best on tenacious soils and stiff loams. Its growth is rapid, and a few months after sowing are sufficient to supply an abundant sweet and nutritious food. In the climate of New England, clover should be sown in the spring of the year, while most of the natural gra.s.ses do far better when sown in the fall. It is often sown with perfect success on the late snows of March or April, and soon finds its way down into the soil and takes a vigorous hold with its root. It is valuable not only as a forage plant, but as shading the ground, and thereby increasing its fertility.
The introduction of clover among the cultivated plants of the farm has done more, perhaps, for modern agriculture than that of any other single plant. It is now considered indispensable in all good dairy districts.