MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY CATTLE.

Gisborne Times, Volume VIII, Issue 705, 29 December 1902, Page 3

MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY CATTLE.

No. 2. Young cows, particularly, .suffer greatly from swelling and tenderness. Fresh butter is Hie best thing possible to apply, and should be well rubbed in with the hand. For sore .eats also it is an ehectual remedy. Cows with white teats are more liable to become sore than those with brown, so that it is important to try and secure those with the darker shade. inis can be accomplished by attention to the male, which should enhance his value over another, other points being equal. Afeain, .the milking snouid he done with as little friction as possible between the person and the cow. Legroping should only be allowed in very, extreme cases, such as injury, to the udder. Cows that can be managed in this way are of more value, and are readily sold as family cows., On a well-regulated dairy, all cross natured and tough milking cows will ire got rid of at once, no matter now excellent they are in other respects.. It is cows of that character that tend to the dislike taken by many to milking Cows should Ire tested as to their value as milk givers or butter producers, and only those coming up to a set standard should have a place in .the herd.

No place will Ire properly managed unless a cow register is kept; by .this it cair be shown exactly when tne cows will come in, and they can ire dried oir accordingly and given the necessary spell, which should he at lease eight weeks, Ido not think it is

well lor a cow to have two calves within the twelve months as a rule, for two reasons—first, on account ol the strain that would naturally, ne placed ou the cow’s constitution ;; secondly, there would be a loss in the I quantity of butter produced if the cow - were allowed to go in caif, say, three ® weeks after coming in on account ol - the call requiring a good deal of the nourishment that would otherwise be turned into milk. If this course were ( adopted, it would ho tiieieiore neces- ( sary to keep the hull secured, and the cow also .should be kept- apart from the others, for if allowed to run at that particular time she would cause unrest in the herd. Uows newly in require special care and feeding. Lasily digested foot should he given, such as wan mashes , the bran should be given hot and as a slop. This kind of food, to which dark sugar could he -dded, will great ly aid the animal in clear ng the system at this particular time. It must be remembered that cows bred up to a high state oi excellence as milkers will have great stress put upon them, and should therefore m every way possible have ihe best at tention. This class of cow will also tif in high condition and running on luxuriant pasture at the uirnc of calving) he in danger of what is known as milk-fever. There arc various remedies advanced lor this; but having nau loss two years ago from that complaint, we have adopted lie fore calving with good results, borne of the cows have been milked twice a day for a week before coming mWhen there is evidence that the cow is overburdened with milk, it seems to me to be consistent that she should be relieved; but, at the same time, it is not well to have cows come in during the dead of winter (.unless shelter is provided), for the animal in its anxiety for the loss of me calf will expose herself in the wildest weather, and thus may give trouble to the owner if not actual loss. One of the most important features in dairying is the feeding. For sev.ial months I when the natural grasses uie auiindanc cows will do for themselves, but as soon as .the grass is drying recourse must be had to feeding ll the milk supply would he kept up and the condition of the cow preserved. This is a critical time, fo-r the summer crops which should be provided will not ne ready. A good plan is to have a sheltered place sown with a late maturing cereal, which can oc cut anti fed to cows with profit to the owner and benefit to the cows. It is terribly bad •management to keep on milking cows throughout the summer with out nourishing food, and then to ne turned out with wasted frames to pick up what they can during the autumn and early winter. One of the best of summer feeds- is lucerne, and wherever it w ; li thrive it i should be grown. It is iearea by 1 great many owing to the danger of lioi veil and the odor it imparts to the , milk. We do not find any difficulty i in this way ; we have ha« cows running in it kr..-e-high, but ol course they are only flowed to pasture thereon [ for a short time ; for the iirst few ) days after that they can be allowed j on it for two or three liouis without danger. If hungry cattle were turned on to* any green feed ol luxuriant growth injudiciously they would most “ likely become blown. l'nen, as to ’ taint, we find the milk from the cows 9 quite odorous, but if sepauied irnme--9 diately the odor is almost completely 9 gone. During the separating process 9 if you go to the skim-milk can th: 9 odor is pronounced, nut in the creatn 9 vessel it is reduced to a minimum; it seems feasible enough that the odor should cling to the skim-milk, it being the heavier body, whereas under in: 9 pan-setting system the cream remain--9 iug on the milk for the necessary time 9 would become so tainted 'tnat wher 7 made into butter the flavor would « disagreeable. Lucerne will provide 9 feed until the crops sown with lirsi II rain for green feed are ready, v . , 11 Cows should be supplied with plenty of water; this is of great importance 0 because they Will not be at their bes 13 without it. On many places the wate is so far "away that one drink a da; is all the cows get; this is not enoug Impaction of the digestive organs : I 9 often the result of want of water 8 Anyone going in for da.iymg ,shoul 8 try and provide water as close as pin 6 sible to the yard, so that the animal 5 can get it whenever needed. Cow 0 will often go without water when bai ly needing "it rather than travel a di: 3 ranee to quench their thir-t. A grec 8 deal more could be done 111 this dire 0 tioa than is the case. I will tell of ease in point— A young nan recent.

returned from the West a.id decided t-o go farming ;• the place which he secured was one apparently suitable for dairying, but the former occupants could not get on well owing to losses of cows ; the new comer eJieved that thc-ir non-success lay in that tire cows had a difficult climb to and from the w ter, and would there fore often go without it, so he resolved to remedy that, and lie now has a windmill close to the water's edge, forcing Water to the lop of the hill, a uistance of over 300 ft., and having the wgter convenient the cows are known to drink as often as three times daily, and are doing well. Money spent in this way ts certainly well laid out.

A private letter received by a Wellington resident from a friend in Yokohama gives the interesting information that a party of Japanese commercial magnates, accompanied by an English acquaintance, intends touring New Zealand next year, with a view of spying out the land, and ascertaining whether there is a likelihood of trade in certain marketable commodities being opened up between the two countries. The party is likely to number 14 in all.

An extremely severe hailstorm was experienced in the Kakahu district, inland from Timaru, the other day. A gentleman who was out driving states that there were apparently two lines of hail. The second was simply a fall of blocks of ice. To protect his horso ho had to cover it with his rugs and buggy mat, while he used the buggy cushion to protect his own head, his hands suffering very sovorely from the force of tho stones. Tho storm lasted from 15 to 20 minutes, and during that time tho buggy was filled to overflowing with hailstones.

Only 5s (id ! Gents’ Tweed Trousers, in all sizes, only 5s 6d per pairThe cheapest line in New Zealand.— C. Rosie and Co.