Agricultural Column.

Bruce Herald, Volume III, Issue 125, 30 August 1866, Page 5

Agricultural Column.

THE DAIRY. It often strikes us that we are paying too much for our dairy produce. 3s. a pound for butter, albeit we are in midwinter, is certainly too much, and more, we think, than the farmer is justified in requiring for his production. What one farmer can do, another usually can. Certainly the positions were similar here; but the fact is, one of our friends depends unon his pastures alone for hi 3 cows, and the other believes in assisting his grass and cattle with a few acres of mangolds ; one has his cows in a very thin, condition, with some fine youno- calves ready to grow into veal could they but get a bellyful, and the other has all his "in profit' cows indulged with a dozen rootsa day ; the one dairy is scarcely averaging three pounds a cow a week, the other nearly comes up to six pounds per beast. Now this last-named return is about the average which well-cared for cattle, fed with roots (partially), and having a sheltered straw yard to run in, ought to give, even at this season, when the weather is somewhat inclement. Our dairies certainly do not produce so much as well-conducted establishments ought to do. We are often astonished, if not ashamed, at the acreable returns of grain furnished by our Regis-trar-General ; but it he could give us the returns in pounds of butter and cheeseper cow, we should be much more astounded. Wb have known a half-bred animal give four gallons of milk twice a dayj but the eighth of this quantity would be a flattering representation of the yield of over half our dairy cows. This may look a bold statement; but from information which we sought for, added to our experience, we firmly believe such to be the lamentable fact. Another fact is, that with many of bur cow holders there is an absence of knowledge of whaf a good cow ought to be. Of course, a difference of opinion will occasionally exist as to the various points necessary for a good cow to possess. The form and qualifications of many a handsome cow are only fit for fattening purposes, or breeding for a butcher ; they possess, in face, the best points of an ox, while a dairy cow ought to be almost wedge-shaped, fine-drawn head, thin and hollow in the neck, narrowin the breast, wide as you like in the quarters, and having no inclination to put on fat. As a general rule, a cow with a large head, high back-bone, a small ndder and teats, and drawn up in the belty, will beyond all doubt be proved a bad milker. At the same time, it has long* been proved that there are some cows vvhich occasionally act contrary to their supposed character as butter-} r ielders. A dairyman, & few weeks since mentioned that his cream, turned frothy, and most obstinately declined to become butter; and not until every cow's milk was separately churned! was it discovered that the cream from one would not churn, but notwithstanding repeated trials under different systems continued ' oily' and frothy. This falling off was not noticed last season; but this past autumn the cow had been upon different pasture, and very inferior food — the latter may have occasioned the misfortune, and if so it is a nity that further inquiries are not made. Upon the other hand, many a> cow esteemed only as an average cow in a dairy produces as much cream as any other two. Those simple little glass tubes,, accurately graduated lactometers, of the same diameter ought to be in the possessionof every dairying establishment — the valueof every cow ouuht to he known in £ s. d. characters. Different cows fed on the same food produce milk differing in quality,, and the »vine cow differently fed yields milk varying greatly in quality. The condition of the cow, in regard to her calving, etc., affects also the quantity and quality ot her milk. All these things need to be studied, and studied carefully. A. dairy managed well pays well ; on the contrary, a slovenly-conducted establishment never proved anything but a failure. Thfi labor is even moi'e expensive attending* ,to bad cows than good ones, and the former will most decidedly consumeas much foodasthelatter; our mostsuccessful dairymen are those who have paid some attention to the comfort ot their cattle. We don't wish our cowkeepers to imitate the Dutch, who not only keep their cow-houses as neat and as clean as their kitchen, allow their cows clean cotton jackets in summer, and blankets in the winter ; but upon passing some dairy cattle the other day, a few miles from ■town, we saw them vainly seeking- warmth under the lee of a wire fence, and it certainly struck us that such miserable, cold, shivering* objects would be more profitable by being made more comfortable. We looked upon them as being so much capital lying idle. What a difference it would have made in their appearance had but a few loads of stones (and thousands of loads were lying about) bt-en placed in shape of a whall, with a slight roof over, and a handful of hay or oat-straw given them in a crib every morning. Warmth will always assist in economising food. Keep your dairy stock well sheltered and warm, and you will save many a hundredweight of food, and your cattle will be in better condition. At this time of the year particularly the cows need a little dry food, as nothing will prevent abortments so much as a raorning^s meal of hay, straw, or chaff. This can be done without much trouble, and all would benefit by it. Superior food produces superior milk, in quantity and quality. This has been satisfactorily proved, and the clamps of roots and carrots can now be used with very satisfactory results. Many fanners , in England and Scotland profess not to keep a cow which won't give her own weight of sweet milk cheese in the year; but this is expecting too much, half the cows are not equal to it. — ' Australasian.*