Rensselaer Republican, Volume 26, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 January 1894 — “MILK CHURCH” COLUMN. [ARTICLE]

“MILK CHURCH” COLUMN.

Devoted to the Dairying Interests of Jasper County. ‘‘Does it Pay to Shelter Milk Cows in the Winter ?” The above significant question is the subject matter us one half of Bulletin 47 from the Experiment Station of the Purdue University of Indiana. One would think such a question need only to be asked of the men who lived in the dark ages. Can it be that real bona fide American farmers, men who pretend to know that they are living in this year of our Lord 1894, need to have such a question thrust upon their attention ? Can it be that there are farmers—dairymen—who believe that cows do not need shelter in winter? Well, yes. There are lots of them. Even in the old dairy districts of New York there are thousands of farmers who turn their cows out of the stable in cold weather, at nine o’clock in the morning and leave them out till four o’clock in the afternoon. During the last month we have seen scores of such herds of cows wanderTngAuikle deep in the snow over the fields, hunting for something to eat. Director Plumb in the aforesaid Bulletin Bays: “In one of the coldest days of December, 1892, when the air was filled with flying snow flakes the writer rode 150 miles on the railways within the borders of Indiana, and for over two-thirds of the whole of this distance within view of the cars stood herds of humped-backed, shivering cattle in the fields. Instances have been known of herds of twenty or thirty dairy cows turned into the corn fields wheie the temperature was -considerably below zero, and cows have been seen with blankets of ice or sleet on their backs that would not melt owing to the excessive cold.”

To establish something definite in the way of conclusion on this point Director Plumb took six cows and divided them into two lots so as to make each about even in milk yield. Lot I was kept in the barn m stalls except for about an hour each day, when the weather was sunny or mild when they were turned into the barnyard. In disagreeable weather the cows of this lot were turned out only to water and returned at once to the stable. Lot II was turned into the yard each morning at eight o’clock in all sorts of weather and left until four o’clock e. m. As all the cows were kept over night in 4 warm stable, the conditions were better than many herds received. A trial of these two lots under these conditions was made for 48 days. The character of the food fed was the same in each case, it being clover, hay, corn meal and bran. It is very interesting to read the account of this experiment all the way through but we have not the room to publish more than the final conclusions which were as follows.

Of food consumed lot I consumed 1,996.2 lbs. clover hay, 1,239 lbs. com meal, lbs. of bran. Total, 4,403.7 lbs. Lot II consumed 1,483.8 lbs. clover hay, 1,627 lbs. corn meal, 1,536.7 lbs. bran. Total 4,674.5 lbs. The cost of the food is based on $8 a ton for hay, S2O a ton for corn meal, sl3 a ton for bran. At these rates lot I made a saving in food of $4.23. The milk of each cow was weighed and recorded at each milking. Lot I gave 3,041 2 Lot II gave 2.880.1 It 8; gain of lot I over lot 11, 161.1 lbs. At the market price of milk, 15 cents a gallon. the gain of lot I over lot II was $2 79. The figures show that lot II ate more food and made less milk than lot I. In the gain in live weight the difference was very marked. Lot I gained during the experiment 231 lbs. while lot II lost 33 lbs. We get the following summary as deduced by the Bulletin:

Saving-in cost of feed eaten .., ©4.2.3 Increased value of milk product ... ' 2.19 Value of 231 lbs. flesh at per 1b... 5.77 A mount saved by sheltering 3 cows 48 days $12.79 Amount saved by sheltering 1 cow 48 days ( $4.26 Every item, save that of the gain in live weipht. was at once available in cash. The usual length of time for foddering cows in northern climates is 200 days, what would the savintf fur a whole winter? Then, if this be true of three cows, where will tn.- wicked and ungodly appear that hhve 15 to 40 6r 50 cows? Any man v>ho has ciphered as far .Jong tiivisK-’i ought to be able to . i n -. p iip. waste that is going on because of this out door huitness. —Hoard’s Dairyman.