EDUCATED COWS

Evening Star, Issue 14185, 9 October 1909, Page 6

EDUCATED COWS

DO MUSIC AND MORE MILK GO

TOGETHER ? , Those are the days of scientific farnir mg. Nevertheless it will come as a surprise to many to hear to what a degree of perfection, the higher education of the cow has been carried hy an American lady, Mrs Howie by name, who has a farm in Wisconsin. This lady, it is said, stimulates the milkgiving capacity of her large and amiable gets by playing suitable music to them. She finds that the happy and sympathetic feelings engendered by the harmony produce a particularly abundant How of rich and pure milk. Not only docs Mrs Howie’s plan contribute to ■ . hj'iipim ss_ of herself and her bovine Inends, bnt it leads to very excellent practical results, for there is probably iso woman in the neighborhood who can show so large an income from dairy fanning as she. Evidently there is common sense as well as sentiment in ner plan. It has long been recognised ihat anything which frightened the cow r as thunder and lightning, or harsh noises and actions—injured the quality and flow of the milk. Why, then, should not soothing the animal by agreeable sounds improve the quality and flow of the fluid? This is the reason upon which Airs Howie has proceeded, and it has been amply justified by results. For long she maintained that the fanner did not turn the cow’s love of music to practical advantage. He should know, sho said, that the cow is a slow', quiet, peace-loving creature. Harsh and violent sounds disturb her serenity and her digestion, w’.hile soft, low harmonies promote her well-being. Is not "chewing the cud” a phrase synonymous with placid happiness and contemplation. Following up these ideal, Airs Howie plays soft, low harmonies to her cows, generally upon the mandoline. Every cow hears at least one tune at milking time. A favorite with nearly all the stable is the old, sentimental song, *ln the Gloaming,’ with its soft-, low melodies. The result of playing this soothing tune to one of the cows has been to increase her yield .of milk by one-third. Mrs Howie gained a profound knowledge of music and the arts and the refinements of life before devoting herself exclusively to cow culture. She was formerly a Milwaukee society \onmn, and ‘followed iliG usual round of society life until circumstances led her to take up farming. Some inquirers who had heard of her experiments in music and cow culture obtained an introduction to her, and visited her at her farm, where they inund her in the midst of her pets. “I never approach them without a kindly word.” she declared, as she sat cnatting with a black-nosed cow, " and, if that is coddling, I certainly am a coddlcr; but any fancier who studies cow nature along with scientific cow feeding will coddle them too. Yes, X love my little Jerseys—they coma next to my family; in fact, I may say they are my babies, for you seo my children are all grown up. I believe that the stronger the maternal instinct in a woman the greater are her chances for success in cattle raising. You see a cow is a mother nearly all her life, beginning at two years. I tell every man or woman who has ambition to become a stock fancier that it is not enough to invest in blooded animals and to study methods in scientific feeding. One must have a large reserve fund of love upon which to constantly draw, quite apart from the sentimental side or it; for, you may take my word for it, every kindly stroke, every tender word, every bit of attention and appreciation bestowed upon the gentle creatures will come back to you in dollars and-oents.”