OF INTEREST TO DAIRYMEN.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 29, Issue 18, 6 March 1917, Page 7

OF INTEREST TO DAIRYMEN.

FEEDING DAIRY CATTLE IN > BUMMER. !

j A matter in which there is uni doubtodly room (or reform with o I large proportion of dairymen is ia ‘ the summer feeding. Many believe : that the product is secured kt tfce '■ least cost by relying sfmpjy on th* i although th«y admit it <ioea i not always bring the largest product, j But experience m feeding- a little j ext a food—bran cake, «tc. for | some years pact, even when the <•"•8 ! are on flush smmiufc p-ature, c6ni vinced us of its wisdom and profit. I The extra ration should not be large, but it should be given iregularjly. It bs not claimed that the increased produce every day ©r every week will pay for the extra feed, but that it will when the whole season is averaged cannot well be doubted. Its great value is in maintaining a steady and oven flow of milk.

Even under the best conditions a pasture varied greatly throughout the season, growing scant at times of drought, and-being too rank and succulent during periods of prolonged rainfall. The extra food then acts as an equaliser, balancing the ration, and making good the deficiencies. Cows that are fed a little extra through the summer will not shrink so suddenly when the change is made from grass to winter feeding, and will keep up a longer period of proStable production before going dry. This prolonging of the milking season, which would naturally come at a time wheh dairy products have the greatest market value, will often pay, for the entire cost of the extra feed. This la a matter that is well worth considering, and is an experiment that may bo easily tried without much cost, and that may he abandoned at any time that the results do not seem to justify ita 'continuance,

U'e do not believe that any dairyman who once begins it mnd follows the practice systematically,' but not extravagantly, will want to abandon if. Any procedure that helps to fix the milking habit, and to keep up the profitable flow of milk beyond the ordinary time, cannot be too highly valued.

There is no greater drawback to profitable dairying than that of having cows go dry after a short period of milking, and then continuing, so through a long season of expensive feeding. Many cows do this which:are exceptionally heavy milkers when fresh, and one of the reasons for it is that nq pains are taken to supply a steadily nutritive ration. If the milk flow shrinks from any cause it is always difficult to rest .re It, jfnd much more experrivo than < c maintain it from the beginning l.y liberal feeding.—‘‘New Zealand Dailyman.” - ' , . CHANGE 0? BLOOD IN THE HERD

; We BometiwuHS hear of Torts and, henis which are suppos'd to he run out—that in, they have decreased vitality.. The cure is to have a change of sires and to introduce animals oS undoubted vigour who have no blood relationship to the others. This, however, has to be done very carefully. A sire that is kept too long may be used on his own progeny, and nothing would reduce the vitality of the stock more than this. On the other hand a very drastic change might be disastrous, and a. certain amount of care must be exercised in making the change. The fact that animals in a state of nature run wild and breed anyhow has no bearing at all on the subject. A herd of cattle, for instance, always have a "king bull” at their head, and he £e,ts, his place simply by * strength and vigour in fighting other bulls and, keeping them in the back-, ground. As soon as he weakens a bit some other bull disposes him, and in this way the vigour of the herd' is kept up. Then, again, all weaklings ; would either die or get killed. The foal or calf which is not able to follow the others would very soon be snapped up by wild beasts, and thus nothing but the most vigorous survive, and are .Jpred from in turn by the most vigorous males. In domestication our animals are artificially preserved, and therefore some means have got to be taken to prevent undue consanguinity.

Most plants, for instance, to Ulus* trate the matter from the vegetable world, have an elaborate arrangement for cross fertilisation; and de- , pend on the pollen brought from some other plants of the same species, so that in this way new blood, as -it were, is always introduced in the -

vegetable kingdom. The thing may be illustrated again by the fact that nearly all first crosses are vigorous, and have all the characteristics ; of the parents—such things as early maturity, high milking power, and so on. Indeed, some of tha crossbreds are particularly notable, such .as the Shorthorns and the 1 Galloway producing the famous "blue-grey” cattle, the Devon Longwool, and the Hampshire Down, and so on with many others.

As- a general rule, crossing in this way is beneficial, but when carried to a second and third cross the consequences are nearly always a failure, and produce 1 mongrels. The; introduction of fresh blood practically amounts to crossing in a sense, but crossing within#the breed itself. All the progeny are practically crossed between the sires and the dams, and thus the introduction of fresh blood in this way is likely to do good in the majority of cases. There is the danger, of course, from animals becoming too in-bred, and there is therefore all the mere reason for introducing fresh blood from, ou+vide, While keeping to the same breed*