The farmers' institute "question box" on cattle and the dairy. A book of practical and authentic information on various topics pertaining to stock and dairy management as discussed at farmers' institutes, dairy conventions and in the agricultural press, with an introduction by Hon. Geo. T. Powell ... Pub. by J. Wallace Darrow

Front matter

[COPYRIGHT 1892.]

PRICE, 30 CEN^TS.

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CHAPTER I. Cattle: Thieir Care and Managerrierit

CHAPTER 11.

Feedirig and Food Rations.

CHAPTER in.

Tl^e Dairy: MilK and Butter.

CHAPTER IV.

CHAPTER I,

Remedy for Garget. — How should garget be treated ? Give remedies !

Chronic cases require different treatment oftentimes. Give 2 oz. spirits turpentine and i^^ pints of raw linseed oil; repeat in 24 hours. Mix in feed or give as a drench three times a day 2 tablespoonfuls of the following powder: Powdered iodide potass, 4 oz. ; powdered chloride potass, 6 oz.; powdered colchicum root, 3 oz. ; mix. Feed no corn or cottonseed. Another treatment is to apply about 30 drops tincture poke weed in a glass of water, to udder. Another cure is one ounce each of white vitriol and copperas mixed with an ordinary charge of gunpowder in one quart of water. Bathe two or three times a day. For caked bag the following is also recommended: Give cow 12 oz. Epsom salts and the day following I oz. salt petre. Bathe udder in warm water and rub it gently until softened. Give bran slop after hardness has gone. Still another garget remedy is this : Give y^ lb. Epsom salts every three or four days, rub the udder with a little iodine ointment once a day. Give the cow an ounce of the following medicine in feed or otherwise three times a day: Bicarbonate of mercury, i>4 dr.; iodide of potass, 4 oz.;

water, i qt.; mix. She must not have corn, rye or wheat.

Cow Slobbering.— A small, full-blood cow, 8 or 9 years old, about 5 months in. calf, has poor appetite, and slobbers badly. Feed is cut timothy hay with a small per cent, of clover and malt sprouts, corn meal, oat chop, wheat bran and middlings. Hay wet and feed mixed with it; of this, all she will eat. Hair rough, and hide not as loose as it should be.

Take away the clover hay and corn meal. Give her i lb. Epsom salts, repeat in four days. Mix in feed twice a day two tablespoonfuls of the following powder : Powdered nux vomica, i oz. ; powdered wood charcoal, 8 oz.; bicarbonate of soda, 12 oz.; mix.

Warming the Water. — Will it pay to warm water in winter for animals? /

It's a question whether all can go to that expense. It is desirable to have all cows watered in the stables from water that is considerably above the freezing point. A dairyman in the Hudson river valley made a gain in the milk of forty cows, of two cans of forty quarts each, by following this plan. The experiment stations have demonstrated that it does not pay to warm water, but to give it to the cow at about the temperature of the earth.

The Farmers' Institute Question Box.

Grain, After Calving. — How much grain should be fed a dairy cow, after calving to secure best results at least expense ?

It depends upon the kind of cow you have and her ability to assimilate food and turn it into milk. Some have a much greater capacity to do this than others have. Prof. Robertson of the Ontario Experiment Station found, after making several experiments that the average is about 8 lb. Good judgment is necessary in feeding cows, and the feeder should be cautious in how and what he feeds, and only a test of each cow will will give him the desired information.

Saving Manure. — How can manure best be saved and cared for, and how best applied?

By having tight gutters behind the cows, absolutely water tight. These are made by bedding plank in cement. You must also have sawdust or something to absorb the liquids. If the manure is not to be put on the land at or^ce, it should be kept under cover. Prof. Roberts computes that there is a loss of 48 to 54 per cent, in value of manure when left out and exposed to the weather.

Cov\/ not "Cleaning." — A Jersey cow four years old, dropped her calf and was not known to "clean," as we term it. She has not a very good appetite, does not give much milk, and is gradually falling away in flesh. What is the treatment?

Give one of the following powders three times a day, in feed or dissolved in warm water: Powdered sulphate of iron, 8 oz.; powdered nitrate of potash, 6 oz. ; powdered anise seed, 10 oz.; powdered gentian, 10 oz.; mix. Make into sixteen powders.

Cow Holding Back Milk.— What shall be done with a cow that persists in holding back her milk ?

Sometimes a strap buckled around the body directly in front of the udder will prove effectual. A ration of bran to be eaten during the process of milking, will sometimes effect a cure; but some cows can never be cured of the habit, once they have acquired it. It is best to begin with the calf and train her properly. The first calf may have been left with the mother too long, and when taken away she held back her milk. Never allow a calf to suck more than once, especially if it is the first calf. This habit of holding back the milk is almost incurable, and is largely due to the leaving of the first calf too long with the mother:

Clover or Timothy. — Which is considered the more valuable to feed, clover or timothy hay ?

The timothy hay is very deficient in albuminoids, while the clover hay is rich in them. These go to make milk and growth in the young animal, and also contain the greatest amount of fertility to be returned to the soil. Therefore it is of double value.

Crowding the Heifers. — Is it best to crowd heifers at two years, to then- full capacity ?

Give them what they will eat and assimilate and keep them at work from the first. Often they will not do as well the second year as during the first, but they "get there'" the third year. A study of the nature of rations is absolutely necessary, because, as the cow grows older, more carbonaceous food is necessary.

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The Farmers' Institute Question Box.

Corn Meal for Calves. —Is corn meal a proper food for young calves ?

No; it is too carbonaceous and produces too much fat. Sell the corn and buy nitrogenous foods — linseed meal, cottonseed meal and wheat bran, which feed with sweet milk and nice clover hay, to the young calf. Do not feed more than a teaspoonf ul of linseed meal at first, which increase as the calf grows older. One great trouble with raising calves comes from over-feeding. A calf four or five days old should not be given more than three quarts of milk at a time which may be increased gradually.

Failure of Appetite. — Cow five j-ears old had had two calves, been now in milk nearly two years, refused to eat or drink

for about a week. Had considerable mucous discharge from nostrils, very slight faecal discharge quite thin; no fever discoverable; face and nose cold and muzzle as dry as back of hand.

Give y^ dr. quinine; i oz. powdered gentian; i oz. nitrate potass, and % dr. powdered golden seal twice a day. Mix with pint of hot water and add gill of molasses. Give 2 oz. spirits turpentine and 8 oz. raw Unseed oil; repeat in 48 hours.

Best Succulent Foods.— Is ensilage the best succulent food we can give cows?

Perhaps not the best. Some beets are equally good, but we cannot raise them as cheaply as we can corn ensilage and put it mto the silo. We have grown sugar beets and mangolds which gave good results, but we prefer good ensilage because we can get more dollars and cents from one acre for the same cost than from any other crop.

Difficult Breathing. —SeveraX fine heifers eat well, and seem in perfect health while lying down; but when they rise and walk around appear to be affected with a cold in the head or windpipe — breathing heavily, closely resembhng a horse with the heaves

Give each a laxative. Put a tablespoonful of the following in mouth two or three times a day: Powdered nitrate of potciss, 4 oz.; muriate of ammonia, 2 oz.; licorice root, 8 oz.; fluid extract of belladonna, i oz.; tar I qt.; mix.

Cows Indoors or Owf.— Do you recommend keeping cows in, all winter?

If you are keeping cows for immediate profit — butter and milk only — would recommend you to so keep them; but if you want to keep them to breed from, and wish to have strong, robust, healthy progeny, turn them out and allow them a few minutes out of doors every day when the weather is warm.

The Best Turnips. — What variety of turnips is the most profitable to grow to feed to cattle ?

The "Yellow Globe," one of the varieties of Swede turnips. It is a good feeder and very sweet and nutritious. It costs too much to raise carrots; they are, perhaps, better than the turnips for stock purposes, but their extra cost bars them out.

Cow Pox. Give cure and prevention of cow pox ? Is not sulphur considered good ?

Use sulphur in a dry form. Vaseline and sulphur mixed is very effective. Mix sulphur with salt, and feed to a cow once a week, enough to have her get a teaspoonful of the sulphur.

The Farmers' Institute Question Box.

II

Affection of the Brain. — I have a two-year-old heifer that has been aihng for six weeks. The trouble seems to be in her head. She holds her head down, staggers when she walks, and will stand for hours in one place without eating. Her horns are cold and chipping off. Have been told that it is "horn ail," also have read that there is no such disease.

"Horn ail" is a myth. The trouble is evidently some brain affection. This occurs from a variety of causes such as heat of the sun, blows on the head, parasites within the brain, tumors causing- pressure on the brain, etc. They also occur in connection with many other diseases, especially with those of the digestive organs. Pressure on the brain may often be relieved in the early stages by a good active purgative, and ice or cold water applied to the head. The trouble mentioned having existed for some length of time, probably an active purgative would do no good; but see that the digestive organs are in as good a state as possible, and give a saline laxative, or purgative, if admissable — about half a pound to a pound of Epsom salts, with a little ground ginger, in a quart of water. The animal should be kept from exposure to the heat of the sun. Apply cold water to the head and give two or three drachms of the bromide of potassium twice a day in a little water as a drench, or give it in the food, if the animal will take it.

Effect of Skim Milk.— W\W. not sweet skim milk physic calves or constipate pigs ?

Yes, if fed in excess. Mix butter milk with skim milk for calves; for pigs mix with it wheat middlings. Feed skim milk before it is sour, and never feed a young pig corn meal.

Bull out of Condition.— A three-year-old bull was a splendid animal when one year old. Since then has never done well; was very lousy the last two winters. Has not grown well, although fed same as the cows, which have done well.

Give four tablespoonfuls of the following powder, mixed with a pint of hot water and a gill of molasses, twice a day : Powdered extract haematoxylon, 4 oz.; powdered gentian, 6 oz.; powdered caraway, 4 oz.; powdered capsicum, i oz.; mix. Give gruel and whole flaxseed steeped; these should be bottled down him three times a day in good quantities.

Skim-milk for Ca/i^es.— What shall I add to skim milk to make it the best food for calves ?

A little linseed meal made into a jelly. After the calf is four or five weeks old feed half a pint a day of two parts wheat bran and one part linseed meal, increasing the quantity as the calf grows older.

Flies and Wounds.— ^NhaXi^ best to keep flies from wounds or other open sores?

A little spirits of turpentine will kill maggots and keep flies out of wounds.

Cottonseed Meal and Health.— V\h^t is the effect of cottonseed meal on the health of a cow?

We have fed it to our forty or more cows several years, and without any bad effects. It is highly nitrogenous and should not be fed too largely; three pounds per day to a cow, mixed with some carbonaceous food, such as corn meal, or, if you have it, good rich corn ensilage, wnll be found profitable, and ^/^Z injurious to the cow's health.

Sore Eyes. —My cattle are having sore eyes which discharge, and a white buncii forms in one corner; then it spreads all over the eye and becomes a bright pink, and the eye is entirely blind.

Give them a dose of physic and twice a day open the lids of affected eyes and put in some of the following lotion with a camel's hair pencil: Argenti nitras, 20 gr.; fluid extract opium., I dr.; fluid extract belladonna, I dr.; water, 4 dr.; mix. Your druggist will fill the prescription for vou.

Loss of Cud. —What causes a cow to lose her cud ?

Sickness, when her normal condition is disturbed. She does not raise her food to be masticated. The natural conditions are arrested for awhile. When they return, or when she is relieved of her sickness, she will raise her cud, which she does at will.

Fits in Cow. —My cow, three years old. had a calf about a year ago, and appeared all right. Early this spring I noticed there was something wrong, and now she has what I call fits, and they grow more frequent and worse. But she eats well and her milk appears all right.

Bleed her at the neck until you get .from two to four quarts, according to the size of the cow. After this, put her through the following course of medicine: Powd. belladonna, I oz.; powd. nux vomica, i oz.; powd. saltpetre, 4 oz. ; powd. gentian, 4 oz.; Epsom salts, 2 pounds. Mix the whole thoroughly and give a heaping tablespoonful three times a day. Apply also some turpentine and camphor oil to the spine, beginning at back of horns to middle of the back. Do this daily.

Scours in Calf — A calf, six weeks old , has scours. At first discharge was thin and watery, then slimy with some blood, accompanied with straining. Gave laudanum and catechu with but little effect.

Give 15 gr. chloral hyd.; i dr. powdered extract haematoxylon; mix with I gill of warm molasses; repeat twice a day. The diet should be equal parts of sweet milk and flaxseed tea at proper temperature. After each meal, which should be 4 times a day, give 5 gr. pepsin and 10 gr. sub nitrate bismuth. Another simple remedy for scours is to mix a pint of strong coffee with same quantity of hot milk. Give two or three doses if necessary.

Same Food Without Same Results. — In a herd of cows, will they all produce the same results on the same food ?

No; every cow has her individuality. They are not alike constructed. Some cows use more food in support of nervous energy. Nervous animals usually require more food because they waste more energy.

Eruption on Heifer. — A 2-year-old heifer has had an eruption of the skin, which appeared when she was three months old. Her color is black and white. On the white spots the skin is affected, but there is no eruption on the black spots. The hair comes off, and the heifer is greatly annoyed from itching.

White skin, like white horn, is more susceptible to disorder than the darker shades. Apply a little of the following to the affected parts, aud wash it off in three days: Fish oil, I oz.; whale oil, i quart; murcurial ointment, i oz.; sulphur, 6 oz.; mix thoroughly. Do not cover more than one-eighth of the animal with the dressing at one time.

The Farmers' Institute Question Box.

Swelled Jaw. — A heifer was taken with severe pain, one side of jaw swelling until e3'e was closed. With application of bran poultice, eye opened, but jaw continues swollen and hard. This heifer has dried up and appetite is poor. Is it lump jaw?

Rub the swelling once a day with some of the following- liniment; rub it in well: Spirits of turpentine, 6 oz.; linseed oil, 5 oz.; aqua ammonia fort., 2 oz.; mix. Apply Hniment mornings and poultice nights. As soon as it is fit to open use the lancet, making a good free opening. Then inject equal parts of spirits of turpentine and oil daily, and keep parts clean. Examine her mouth for foreign bodies and decayed or broken teeth.

Period in Milk. —How long should a cow be in milk 't Is a long period of rest reqired ?

Let cows go dry only from four to six weeks. There is no necessity for a long period of rest. If a proper system of feeding is adopted it is not necessary for cows to go dry but a very short time. Should recommend four to six weeks, and wouldn't keep a cow that wouldn't milk nine to eleven months out of the year.

Lumps on Leg.— A young cow showed small, hard lumps on right hind leg over femur bone, several months since. The largest is the size of a guinea egg and softer than the smaller ones. They appear to follow a vein; are not painful but disfigures the cow; they number a' out a dozen, the same as at first apparently, but but much larger in the aggregate.

Apply golden blister externally and give an ounce of the following medicine in feed twice a day: Bichloride of mercury, 2 dr. ; iodide of potass, 5 oz.; water, 3 pts.; mix.

"Foul" Foot. -How should cows afflicted with "foul" in their feet be treated?

The best remedy is cleanliness. Once the disease appears it should be attended to promptly. Clean the foot thoroughly, then wash with a solution of carbolic acid and warm water. Supplement it with fine tar and keep the animal in the barn or in a thoroughly dry pasture. The disease comes from wet, miry pastures. Kerosene oil, applied frequently, is also an excellent remedy. Have a can of it always in the stables and examine the feet of the cows often.

Abortion in Cows. —I have had three abortions in my herd of cows within the last six or seven months. If I keep a cow that has had an abortion from the herd for a month or more, will there be any danger of abortion m the herd if suffered then to run together ?

When abortion assumes an epidemic form, it requires that the affected animals be treated, disinfected and isolated. The pregnant cows need preventive treatment also. A cow that has aborted should not be allowed to run with pregnant cows under two months, and should be disinfected and washed off as far as tail can reach.

First Milking of Heifer. — At what age do you advise beginning to milk a heifer?

From twenty to twenty-four months. Get them into milk as soon as possible. Usually, when a heifer goes three years before coming into milk, she will take on the beef form and will not develop into as good a milch cow as when she comes in milk at two years. Begin developing her udder when she is a calf.

The Farmers' Institute Question Box.

Blue Sweet Corn Ensilage.— ^iW this blue sweet corn make good ensilage for cows ?

The very best, if properly grown and secured in the silo. It should be cut in the field when the ears are in "boiling stage," and put immediately into the silo, and put in whole, not cut, as it is very full of juice as sweet as syrup, which easily leaks out if the stalks are cut finely. This juice turns to acid very rapidly after the stalks have been cut. Put in whole; there is a much less loss from this source as there is less leakage. Remember, however, this corn must be secured in an air-tight silo. Cover with planks a foot wide, which are weighted and covered with hay or straw. When you want to open the silo, remove the straw and weights from one plank, turn it back, and with a broad axe, cut down the pit flush with the edge of next plank. The silage is ^ then one foot in length, easily handled, and the cows will eat every morsel of it before touching anything else offered them. You will cut and feed enough each day, so fed from the silo, to prevent any loss from exposure.

Lumps in Udder. — Three weeks after cow dropped calf, bag became swollen and lumpy. What was the proper treatment ?

Give one-half pound Epsom salts every three days. Mix in drink daily I ounce powdered nitrate potass.; get one pound of this. Do not feed corn in any form. Rub the udder twice a day with some of the following: vSpirits camphor, two ounces; tincture aconite root, two ounces; tincture opium, two ounces; alcohol, eight ounces; mix.

Salting Cows Daily. —Why should cows have salt every da3' and what is its province?

Because in the process of digestion food tends to fermentation in the stomach, and this becomes a disease with them, producing gas and giving rise to various disorders, such as hollow-horn, hoof-ail, etc. The daily use of salt tends to prevent this fermentation. Fermentation in the stomach causes fermentation in the blood, and that is one reason why butter will not come. Experience with two churnings that had to be thrown away, showed a high state of putrefaction, because two cows strayed and drank from a pool covered with frog-spawn, decayed weeds, etc. The butter was not right for many days after.

Scouring in Cow. — A cow was taken with severe scourmg two weeks after calving. Has been fed on cob meal, corn bran, wheat bran, clover hay and corn fodder in barnyard. Kept in warm stable with water constantly before her. How should she have been treated ?

Give 4 drachms of chloral hydrate in one-half pint of water. Repeat in 24 hours. Give 3 tablespoonfuls of the powder ifi a gill of warm molasses two or three times a day. Bicarbonate of soda, 4 oz.; powdered charcoal, 4 oz.; nitrate potass., 6 oz.; mix. Her diet should be good oats, hay and bran.

Feeding Apples.— Can you give us any light upon feeding apples to milch cows ?

There have been some experiments made which show that apples fed in moderation will increase the flow of milk and not injure the quality. If fed in large quantities it destroys the appetite, if in small quantities it stimulates it.

The Farmers' Institute Question Box.

4 Self-Sucking Cow. — Do j'ou know anything to cure a cow of sucking herself?

A thick leather strap about five inches wide buckled around her jaws just above her nose and filled in front with very sharp-pointed nails, projecting three inches, with the two lower rows driven so as to point downward. This is supported by a narrow strap over the head, and it ought to do the business. Adjust the strap over the head so that the one around the jaws will not interfere with the cow's eating and yet hang low enough for the nails to prick the udder before the cow can reach the teats with her mouth. Two square frames of hard wood to fit around the neck of tha cow and joined together with rods long enough to keep one frame close to her head and the other near her shoulders, will prevent the cow from reaching her udder, and sometimes this plan must be adopted. Also smear the teats with something disagreeable to the cow, say cayenne or snuff and lard, so that if she manages to get her tongue to them the bad taste will discourage her.

Breeding In-and-in. — Do you believe in breeding cattle in-and-in ?

No more than to the second generation. The more we do it the more we intensify. Ordinarily, there is more profit found in native herds graded up to three-fourths or seven-eighths by good thoroughbred butter sires.

Sore Teats. — What is a good application for sore teats ?

A mixture of tar and lard melted, in such proportion as not to be too sticky. Apply once or twice a day.

Scours in Ox.— A valuable ox has the scours; does not chew his cud; sweats but small amount on the nose; rather damty; did eat oats (dry), but now refuses altogether, eats dry hay and corn fodder, and so keeps along, but scours remain.

Give 2 oz. of spirits of turpentine in one pint of raw linseed oil at one dose. Then give dose of the following powder in some water, turned down the animal three times a day: Powdered gentian, i lb.; bi-carbonate of potassium, 6 oz.; bi-carbonate of soda, 1)4 lbs.; powdered zinziber, 4 oz.; powdered rhubarb, 3 oz.; mix. Make into 16 powders; give one powder as a dose. Such cases should be attended to before they become chronic.

Manurial Food Values.— Give the manurial valuf» of different cattle foods?

The following table was prepared by Dr. E. H. Jenkins, director of the Connecticut Experiment Station:

Timothy hay Clover hay Maize - Oats - Wheat bran Pea meal - - - Linseed meal. (No.4) Cotton seed meal Skim milk - - Apple pomace

Nitro-

Phos.

gen.

Acid.

Potash.

19.;^

7.2

29 6

36.6

13.9

44.0

33.8

14 2

8.0

36 2

16.0

11.6

47.4

60.2

85.0

18.2

19.8

105.4

43.5

30.9

134.6

60.6

12.39

5.0

2.8

4.3

1.9

14.3

Blood Disease. — Some of my cows are constantly becoming lame in the forward legs. The ankle will swell, and then the skin will crack; there is a disagreeable, smell; the disease slightly resembles scratches. The pastures are all diy, so that they do not have to go through mud.

Their blood is out of order. Give' them a full dose of general cow drink, and three days later half a dose, and repeat in four or five days. Apply the following ointment to the cracks daily: Powdered sulphate of copper, 2 oz.; vaseline, 8 oz., mix.

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The Farmers' Institute Question Box.

Ox -Warble. —Is the life history of the oxwarble sufficiently well known to enable us to app]^' a sure remedy against its larvae, which produce those disgusting grubs found along the baclvs of cattle, especially in the spring of the year ?

We think not, says the Mirror and Farmer. The supposed life history of the warble or ox-bot fly has been found recently to be entirely erroneous. It is similar to, but not the same as, hypoderma bovis, so common in Europe, the life-history of which is not known. The species we have to deal with is now known as hypoderma lineata, and it would seem to be of American origin, as it is not known in Europe, nor does hypoderma bovis appear to be known here. Hypoderma lineata has been found in buffaloes, but only in a few cases. This may be its origin. But, to return to its life history. The eggs are not laid on the back of the animal, where they hatch and thus make their way through the skin, as has been supposed. Later investigations show that the eggs are laid on the legs — hence in Texas it is called the "heel fly" — on the flanks, at the roots of the tail and in such places as the animal can reach to lick. Thence they are licked off, lodge in the throat and oesophagus and slowly but painfully and surely make their way through the tissues to the back of the animal, where the larva makes a hole through the skin for air and becomes encysted to complete its development to the pupa state. Then it drops to the ground, becomes a fly and begins its disgusting work. No practical remedy is known.

Partial Soiling.— What is thought of partial soiling ? Are peas good for the purpose?

Some farmers supplement pastures with oats and peas and clover. First, oats and peas, then the second cutting of clover. Also feed oats and peas in winter. Peas belong to clover family, and take nitrogen from the atmosphere; they, therefore, do not exhaust the soil. Sow about a bushel and a peck each to the acre.

Lice on Cattle.— How may cattle be rid of lice ? Is carbolic good !

Mix two pounds lard and half pound sulphur. Apply to hair and skin especially along the back with a stiff brush. Wash or spray the stables with one part of carbolic acid in 50 parts warm water. Three parts kerosene to one part lard makes a good application for lice.

Silage as Milk Ration. — Would you recom- 'niend silage alone for milch cows ?

No. Add cotton seed meal and wheat bran mixed, and a small ration of good hay at noon. Five or six pounds are enough of the hay. The cottonseed meal and bran should be fed separately from the silage, and fed for the purpose of balancing the ration.