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VOLLX
INDIANAPOLIS, OCT. 28, 1905.
NO 43
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CARE OF DAIRY COWS DURINO WINTER.
Have A Oood Warm Cow Barn.
1st Premium.—A. herd of good dairy
cows dcerves to havo good ran-. Up to
a certn-u point full pasturage is ns good
ns iu any other part ot the year, but after
ono or two hard frosts, it is well to offer the cows some nice hay when they
come in at night, and it they cnt it with
a relish one way lie pretty certain the
season lifts arrived to gradually change
the herd from pasture to stable for winter. .The cows should not he left out
■nt night after it becomes chilly, or be exposed to cold autumn storms. They
may be allowed in the field a few hours
on all pleasant days, until snow flies, but
without expecting them to get much he-
sides water nod exercise. Mean-while the
cow barn should be prepared for tlie
(■tabling season. Koxes, stalls, feeding
troughs and floors are thoroughly cleaned.
Then assign each cow her particular place
for the winter.
The cow house should be on the ground
level, rather than- in a basement, and
should he light, dry and roomy. The
stnlls for dairy animals should -occupy
the sunniest side of the stable, i. e., the
south side. Do not keep the cows in a
dark, sunless place. If the stalls are
destitute of windows, saw out two or
three openings, large enough to admit
a half sash. Throw the windows open-
wide on warm, sunny days, airing thoroughly. The purest of water is given
and daily allowance of salt.
The bedding and absorbents should Ibe
provided in abundance, and in ample
season for all to be quite dry. Use no
damp material under a cow, no rotten
straw, no moist earth or sawdust. If
the floor on which the cow lies is dry and
not cold, very little litter is needed for
tedding. If it is necessary to use straw
as part of the food during winter, their
it is best to begin with straw first, and
reserve the better food until later, as
stock will rarely take to it well at the
last. It is not advisable to use straw
as food if it is possible to get other roughage, bnt with a supply of grain, etc.. in
addition* stock can be kept in fairly good
condition, on straw, but the milk snpply
will be diminished. Give cows a change
of diet as often as possible. They relish
a change- quite as much as yourself. I've
followed this plan for several winters and
find it pays. All care bestowed upon
tlie cow wil! be amply repaid.
Ohio. F.  S.
Keep tbe Cow in Oood Flesb.
2d Premium.—To take the dairy cow
through the winter witli profit, several
things must be considered. She must
lie started in the winter in good flesh; if
she is fat enough for beef it will not be
against her, but will add more profit to
her credit on the book. She should
have warm quarters to stay in, not be
left to "rough it" around sonic old
straw stack or in some old stable, with
large cracks where the old wind rain
and snow can blow in, an-d where you find
her with the hair on her back turned
the wrong way and her back bowed up
till she looks more like a camel than a
co.r. Don't expect profit from a cow
treated in this way. She does well just
to keep alive through the cold weather.
The drinking water should not be ice
cold ibut will add profit for the keeper
and be better for the cow if it is warmed slightly or pumped from a cistern* or
well. The  feed  should  be  bright  nnd
clean. She should have roughage three
times u day, cut fodder itiorniiig uud night
Feed her a good quantity of ground feed
with clover hay or sheaf oats for dinner.
Feod her n good qu.'iutity of ground feed
twice n day; it. is not wasted. Clean
out the stables at least once n day,
antl give the cows a good bed to lie down
on. Milk regularly; not oue morning at
ti o'clock and the next morning 9 o'clock.
A cow that is started in the wniter in
poor flesh, fed what is not fit for the
horses or oilier stock; put in* any old
place for the night, drinks witter front
a hole cut in the ice, and is uot milked
ly every day. Milk contains a high per
cent of water. Therefore, it is essential thnt the con* have access nt an times
to good pure water that is not too cold.
Provide plenty of good bedding for your
eow.
This  moans  that    there  is    something
every day for us to do iu the stable, but
it  will   surely  pay   to  take  good  care  of
your dairy   cow  through   the   winter.
• Kosciusko Co. M. A. .Af.
No. 501, Nov. -1,—A. hat preparations
should be made for winter comfort and
pleasure in the farm homo?
No. 505, Nov. II.—Tell how to get
Ihe  greatest value  out  of  the corn  crop.
'--.,tVs«t!kt**,\*',i'f.V&-cl^
The Farm Home of George Adc, the Author, near Brook, Indiana.
at all when the thermometer registers below zero, is an expense to her keeper.
Treat a cow with care aud she will pay
you well for your time and trouble.
Dairyman.
Always Feed Generously.
3d Premium.—The specific utility of tbe
dairy eow is milk and butter production.
Milk is a product of food and nervous
energy. Its secretion* will be stimulated therefore by rational feetling. The
feeding should be generous at all times.
There nre those who seem to think that
every pound they feed a cow is so much
loss, rather it is every pound they do not
feed that results in a loss, within certain
limits.
Good pasture grass is a perfect food.
Experiments have demonstrated that
grain fed to cows on good pasture produce no financial gain. Next to grass
stands silage. By means of the silo, in
the winter, we are able fo preserve in
a nutritions form large quantities of food
at a small cost. This gives us summer
conditions in winter, and as the profits
of the dairy depend on the difference between the cost of production and the price
obtained, the cost of the food is an important item.
In feeding, the fodders will furnish the
roughage, and the grain the protein. The
food should bo made as tempting as can
be, and should be fed in nice, clean- mangers. As a rule, it will pay to cut
the fodder and sprinkle meal over it, as
the oow will then eat larger quantities
of it with less waste. Then, too, it
will pay to keep the cow warm, and to
give her exercise in the open air regular-
MAKING PUKE CIDEll VINEGAR.
The Department of Agriculture has in
press a timely bulletin on cider vim-gar,
which is interesting in view of the enormous amount of vinegar which is sold
which never saw apple or other fruit. The
best quality ot vinegar, it is stated, is
made from fruit juices; cheaper grades are
made from the grains and sugar refinery
wastes and these are often colored and
"doctored" and then sold as cider vinegar.
A number of states have laws establishing
vinegar standards. It is possible under
faulty management for pure cider vinegar,
however, to fall below these standards.
Two important changes take place in
tho conversion of fruit juice into vinegar.
First the sugar and the juice is converted
into alcohol, and second, the alcohol is
converted into acetic acid. To secure
five per cent of acetic acid in' ven-egar,
which is the maximum standard, at least
ten per cent of sugar in the apple juice
is required. The juice of ripe apples
varies in sugar from seven to fifteen per
cent with an average around eleven per
cent. Summer   apples   are   lowest   in
sugar, fall apples next, and winter apples highest. Green apples contain little
sugar and over-wpe apples contain less
sugar than ripe .apples. Contrary to the
usual lieliei, sweet apples arc usually no
richer in sugar than sour apples. Tbe
sweet flavor is caused by the absence of
malic acid.
In ordinary cellar i-torage it takes
— From one to six months —
for all the sug.-.r in cider to become conceited '.itr- alcohol, •.aryitrg with the temperature and the presence of yeast. In
a cellar with a temperature of 45 degrees
to 55 degrees F, it took six months to com
plete alcoholic fermentation. Iu another
cask nt 85 degrees F, three months was
sullicient. The fermentation is caused by
a yeast plant in the juice. At a temperature of 05 degrees to 75 degrees F, the
>cast plant grows much more rapidly than
at lower temperature. At a temperature
much higher than 75 degrees, there may
be loss of alcohol by evaporation. The bulletin states that the period of nlcoholic
fermentation can be cut in two by the addition of yeast to the fresh juice, if the
cider is kept nt a temperature of 65 degrees or 75 degrees.
To convert the alcohol into acetic acid
requires, in* the ordinary cellar, from eighteen months to two or three years, this,
however,    can be hastened by   Uie use of
"mother."    In a cool cellar cider that had
inoculated by tho addition of cider vinegar
or "mother" reached marketable condition
a year sooner than whero the vinegar was
not added.    It is important that vinegar
should never be added to cider thnt has
not    completed its alcoholic fermentation.
Manv farmers,    it is stated,    nnd vinegar
manufacturers make the bad mistake of
adding fresh apple    juice to    old vinegar
stock in the hope of securing a more rapid
conversion   of the   product into   vinegar;
then    they    complain that    their vinegar
"won't make."
The organisms causing acetic fermentation require abundance of air. It is therefore wring to*plug up the Ibunghole of a
barrel where the cider is undergoing the
-change from the alcoholic to the acetic
ncid stage. After the acetic fermentation'
is completed, however, and the vinegar is
made, the barrel should be tightly bunged,
otherwise the vinegar may become weak,
or possibly alkaline. The following practical suggestions are made:
Use only ripe, sound fruit. Dirt will
likely introduce micro-organisms that will
interfere with the normal fermentation.
For profit, use a power press. With a
hand press only two gallons of juice per
bushel of apples could Ire secured at the
Virginia station, while with a power press
four gallons were obtained.
If water is added to the pomace aud a
second pressing is made, tho juice is deficient in sugar ami will not make standard
vinegar. If possible, put the fresh juice
into some largo receptacle and allow to
stand for a few days before barreling.
This will allow for the settling of considerable  solid   matter.
Casks should be well cleaned with live
steam or boiling water and should not be
over three quarters filled.
Leave out the bung and use a loose plug
of cotton to decrease the evaporation and
keep out dirt.
After alcoholic fermentation has occurred, say six ttionths, from two to four
quarts of good vinegar, containing more or
less  "mothor,"  should be  added.
It will then require from six months to
two years to make good vinegar according
to the temperature and treatment.
The long time required to make vinegar
by the cask and storage method has led
tc the use of vinegar generators, by the
aid of whieh the acetic fermentation can
be completed in n few ays. The process is profitable only when vinegar is
made on a somewhat large scale and the
vinegar is not equal to that poduced by
Ihe longer process, especially for table use,
though it is stated to be suitable for
pickling.
Vinegar can be made from various fruits
such as grapes, plums, etc., and the bulletin describes excellent vinegar made from
Oregon prunes which was the color of
very dark  wine.