Mr. Geo. E. Waring, Jr., in his “Ogden Farm Papers,” says he expects
to be able to feed a cow from May fifteenth to November fifteenth from
half an acre of ground, but the average citizen had better not attempt
it, but keep his half acre to raise vegetables and fruit, buying the
food required to keep his cow. A cow can be made very profitable if kept
in the following way; First, as to the accommodation required, a yard
fifteen feet by fifteen, and a stable or cow-shed arranged as in the
following plan. _A_, manure shed; _B_, bin for dried earth; _C_, cow;
_D_, store-room; _E_, window for putting in hay; _F_, door; _G_, trap
to loft; _H_, feeding trough. Have her food provided as follows: into
a common pail put one quart of provender (“provender” is oats and peas
ground together, and can be purchased at any feed store), one-quarter
pound of oil-cake, then fill the pail nearly full of bran and pour
boiling water over the whole; stir well with a stick, and put it away
covered with an old bit of carpet until feeding time; give her that mess
twice a day. Have her dinner from June to November consist of grass or
fodder cut and brought in twice a week by some farmer or market gardener
in exchange for her manure and sour milk. In Montreal, grass and fodder
are brought to market by the “Habatants,” and sold in bundles. As to
quantity, a good big armful will be sufficient, and it is more healthful
for the cow if it is a little wilted. In the winter hay and mangels are
to be fed in place of the grass and fodder. She should also have salt
where she can take a lick when so minded, and fresh water three times
a day. The yard should be kept clean by scraping up the manure every
morning into the little shed at the end of the stable.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.—STABLE AND YARD.]
The following table shows the food required to keep one cow through the
entire year:
Hay, the best, two tons, at $10 per ton $20.00
200 pounds of Oil-cake, at $4 per 100 pounds 8.00
800 pounds of Provender, at $1 per 100 pounds 8.00
Half a ton of Bran, at $12 per ton 6.00
One ton of Mangels 5.00
-----
$47.00
Your cow will require the following “trousseau”:
One five-gallon stone churn $1.25
One and a half dozen milk pans, at $2 3.00
One milk pail and strainer .60
One butter bowl (wooden) .50
One paddle and print .20
Two wooden pails for feed .40
One card .25
-----
$6.20
Cost of a good cow 40.00
-----
Interest at 6 per cent $3.69
Any ordinary family will take from a milkman at least one quart a day. We
in Ottawa pay eight cents per quart, making per year (365 × 8,) $29.20.
It is a very poor cow that will not average five pounds of butter a week
for forty weeks, and that at twenty-five cents per pound, that is 40
(weeks) × 5 (pounds), × 25 (cents), equals 50 (dollars).
So the account stands thus:
Butter $50.00
Milk 29.20
------
$79.20
Cost of food for one year $47.00 }
Interest on cow and trousseau 3.69 } 50.69
------
Profit $28.51