The Dairy Dilemma of 1876

As the time approaches for drying off cows, which ought to be completed two months before calving, all food calculated to stimulate the production of milk ought to be withheld—such as grain, shorts, and succulent hay. The cow should be fed on the coarsest of the roughage, with a quantity of corn meal if the cow is very thin, which is always to be avoided. Do not be impatient. Begin to dry off by milking once a day, and, as the flow diminishes, every other day. When the flow becomes so small that it does not pay to milk longer for profit, comes the time when, in careless hands, mischief is most imminent, especially with the better class of cows, which dry off with difficulty. The milk ought not to be left more than two days undrawn; long delay is injurious, and, contrary to a prevalent notion, we believe it is always better to entirely empty the udder rather than to leave a portion under the idea that it would hurry up the process. It is well to examine the udders of all cows every day to see that no hard lumps are forming, since these hard lumps are the spots where trouble will begin after calving. Then is the time they may often be dispersed by friction, either dry or with glycerine, which is far better for this purpose than any savory or greasy application. An ounce of preventative is worth a pound of cure. More cows are spoiled in drying off than in any other way. We lay down as a principle that at no time should painful distension of the udder be allowed. It is as cruel as it is unwise.