DAIRY MEETING. 1 27 



winters are rather severe, we have a clay subsoil, and the 

 ground freezes and heaves a good deal. I do not believe we can 

 raise alfalfa to any extent. Two years ago we made some 

 experiments with feeding alfalfa, which we bought, as against 

 clover hay. Of course we did not get the best hay, not as good 

 as we are raising. The best conclusion we could reach, and 1 

 think we were fully justified, was that the alfalfa hay was 

 worth one-third more than the clover hay, which was good 

 average clover. 



QuES. Would you decrease your grain ration as the cow 

 dries up? 



Ans, Our ration is varied somewhat in proportion to the 

 amount of milk the cows give. At the home farm, where all 

 our fresh cows are, we feed from 8 to 12 pounds a day of the 

 mixture which I have mentioned, 8 to those that do not readily 

 respond, and 10 or 12 to those that do. The feeder is all the 

 time watching the results, and it is his business to see that if 

 a cow is going back on her feed in any way a less amount is 

 given. 



QuES. What kind of gluten do you feed? 



Ans. The car-load coming was sold to us as the Chicago 

 gluten, I suppose what you would call Chicago gluten meal. 



QuES. Do you feed grain from the close of the milking 

 period until the cow is fresh again ? 



Ans. We have not heretofore, but with our poor ensilage we 

 are intending to feed a very small ration of grain this winter. 

 With good hay, and we have that at Barre, as that is a fine hay 

 country, we do not think the cows will need very much grain. 

 They will shrink somewhat in flesh after leaving the home 

 farm before they come around fresh; and just whether we are 

 wise in not continuing the grain ration under any circumstances 

 I have not fully determined, but with good ensilage I should 

 not do it. 



QuES. Do you feed your heifers heavy rations? 



Ans. Yes, if they respond with the milk. We feed them 

 almost as heavily as we do the cows. We would give the cows 

 more if they would respond to it. 



QuES. Do you give them anything to stimulate their appe- 

 tites ? 



