Rensselaer Union, Volume 1, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 July 1869 — Summer Care of Cows. [ARTICLE]

Summer Care of Cows.

Cows require shade in summer, and if at liberty will travel a great distance to obtain it. It is reasonable to suppose that they are the best judges of their wants, and if deprived of this comfort and com pelled to stand or lie all day without any screen from the hot sun, a decline of flesh, loss of vital energy, and a marked de ’crease in the flow of milk must follow. The grazing times for cattle in hot weather are at night fall, and early in the morning when the grass is fresh with dew; and they should by no means be confined in the yard during the night time, and retained there no longer than is necessary at milking time. A good supply of fresh pure water is as essential as plenty of feed to keep up the yield of milk, and a very great error is- entertained by some who suppose that if cows get their fill once a day it il all they require. If a farmer is compelled to water his stock at the well in a dry time, a large trough should be furifi>hed, and kept filled so that they can driDk when they choose. The water is all the betterfor standing a sho/t time exposed to the atmosphere. Farmers some times get the idea that cattle do not want water bat once a day, for the reason that they will come to the welt only that often o get it. When drink first fails thefh in

the panture, cattle will visit the well two or three time* a day for a short time, bat ■oon learn that water is furnished only at certain times, and then they remain away, however thirsty they may become, until the hour arrives which has been set as a time to supply them. A great deal of trouble is experienced some seasons by the cow-pox getting into the dairy. This .pustule eruption usually first appears upon one cow, and many times may be kept from going any further by the exercise of caro. The beet way to prevent its spread is to always milk the cow having it last. This disorder is contagious and can easily be conveyed upon the hands of the milker from one cow to

Cow-pox first appears in small yellow bunches upon the teats, which contain purulent matter and afterwards break out nto discharging ulcers, becoming very troublesome ana hard to heal. The teats should be washed clean with warm cas-tile-soap suds and di eased with some healing salve, oil or ointment. Jennings recommends citrine (not citron) ointment which may be obtained at any drug store; but we have never seen any greater benefit from the use of this, after giving it a thorough trial, than from the use of a#»ot oil alone, or from an ointment made of lard two parts, and ono part each of rosin and calamine (carbonate of zinc.) The calamine should be finely powdered and added after the first two have been melted together, and partly cooled.— American Stock Journal.