When The Kye Come Hame (1902)
A Western district (Vic) dairy farmer, a Scotchman, thinks that in certain lectures
recently delivered in Melbourne the breeding and capacity of Victorian cows have been
unduly reflected upon. He contends that even the best cows in Ayrshire, Denmark,
or elsewhere would not give an average of 500 gallons of milk per annum if they had
to put up with the starvation treatment that cows are subjected to here. All they want,
he says, is fair treatment in feeding, and this is how he takes liberties with the songs
of his country. We quote from the Leader :--
Come all ye dairy women and likewise dairymen,
I'll tell ye o' secret that some folk dinna ken.
What is the best advice that experience can frame ?
'Tis "put something in the manger when the kye come hame,
When the kye come hame, when the kye come hame,
Put in ensilage and green stuff when the kye come hame."
'Tis not in getting bulls and cows imported by the Crown,
'Tis not in praising foreign kye or running local down
'Tis in looking to the manger, and in filling up the same
Wi' the bonny sappy fodder when the kye come hame,
When the kye come hame, when the kye come hame,
Put in ensilage and green stuff when the kye come hame.
If Danish kye give lots of milk, and ours give less by half,
It's not all through their breeding, but likewise bran and chaff ;
Then select and use the Babcock, with improvement for your aim,
But be sure you fill the manger when the kye come hame,
When the kye come hame, when the kye come hame,
Put in ensilage and green stuff when the kye come hame.
Notes
From the South Australian newspaper the Border Watch (Mount Gambier, SA) Wednesday 25 June 1902, p. 1.
The song derives from the Scottish Borders poet James Hogg, also known as the "Ettrick Shepherd" whose song of the same name begins:
Come, all ye jolly shepherds,
That whistle through the glen,
I'll tell ye o' a secret that courtiers dinna ken.
What is the greatest bliss that the tongue o' man can name?
'Tis to woo a bonnie lassie, when the kye come hame,
When the kye come hame, when the kye come hame,
Tween the gloamin' and the mirk,
When the kye come hame.