Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/805

Rh DAIRY 709 ton-seed meal, and 6 to 10 Ib of good hay, chiefly Hungarian. On another American farm, at Cumberland, Rhode Island, each cow receives in summer 2 quarts of cotton-seed meal daily in addition to pasturage, and in winter 4 quarts of cotton-seed meal, and from 2 to 4 quarts of Indian meal, with English and swale hay; neither Indian meal nor wheat shorts can be substituted for the cotton-seed meal without lessening the produce of a cow by a quart per diem. The best pasturage for cows is that afforded by good old grass land, in sheltered inclosures of moderate size, where there is a constant supply of pure water. To have dairy produce of the best quality, the grass must be so stocked as to keep it always fresh grown and sweet. This is most easily secured by frequently changing the cows from one field to another ; and hence the advantage of having small inclosures, one of which can be rested, while another is keeping the stock. When soiling is resorted to, Italian rye-grass is at once the cheapest and best forage that can be used; but it can be varied, as circumstances dictate, with clover, sainfoin, vetches, or green rape. When cows are kept entirely at pasture during the summer, from 1 to 2 acres of grass land is required for each animal; and if hay alone is given in winter (as is the practice in Gloucestershire), the produce of another 1 J acre of meadow is required to supply their winter keep. As from 1 to 1| cwt. of green forage is an ample daily allowance for a cow, and as two cuttings of clover or Italian rye-grass, averaging 8 tons each per acre, can with suitable manuring be easily obtained, it is obvious that by soiling in summer and feeding on roots and cooked food in winter, half as much land will suffice to maintain a cow on the latter system as on the former. And, above all, the produce in milk, besides being of richer quality, is greater in quantity by fully one-fourth. The average yield per annum of milk of 3 a u [ in Elevation and Plan of Dairy F arm- steading. a cow in Gloucestershire is estimated at 525 gallons, and in Ayrshire at about 425 gallons. Under a generous house-feeding system an average of 680 gallons may be obtained. Salt ought always to be a constituent of the food of the dairy cow ; to cows at grass it should be given daily, and in May and June it may be advantageously supplied twice p3r diem. Withholding it for five days has been found to occasion a loss of 2 per cent, in the quantity and 7 per cent, in the quality of the milk. All changes of diet must be made with caution. The utmost vigilance must also be used to insure regularity in the times of feeding aad milking, in seeing that the latter process is thoroughly performed, and in guarding the cows from exposure to extremes of heat or cold. Through inattention to these particulars the flow of milk may easily be so diminished as to render the keeping of a dairy a profitless business. Buildings. The accompanying plan shows the general arrangement and dimensions of the different portions of a modern dairy farm steading for fifty cows. It has been drawn by Mr James Cowie, of Sundridge Hall, after the model introduced by him and approved of by the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, an engraving of which was given in the last edition of this work. The interior of the steading is intended to have two roofs, and is so constructed as to facilitate with the least possible labour the supplying of the cattle with straw and roots, which latter are wheeled on a tramway. The dung, which is also removed by tramway, is deposited in an adjacent covered yard, where, if need be, cattle and pigs can be kept for treading down the dung. Sufficient ventilation can be obtained by very simple methods, and must be provided for in the course of erection. It is necessary only to add, that the principle on which the steading is constructed can be ap plied to either larger or smaller establishments as required. Dairies are of three kinds, viz. new-milk, butter, and cheese dairies. VI- - 97