142 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



pected to produce milk. ]\Iilk contains definite quantities of 

 water, proteids, fat, sugar and asli. The cow, therefore, must 

 be given food containing these elements or food from which 

 such elements can be manufactured. It is necessary to study 

 the nutritive value of the different feeds and try to feed the 

 cows so as to supply the elements needed for the manufacturing 

 of the milk and the elements necessary to sustain the cow. A 

 ration for the dairy cow should not only contain the necessary 

 elenients for producing milk but should be palatable, succulent 

 and made up of a variety of feeds. 



Having selected the necessary feed stuffs, the question is how 

 much to feed. A common mistake is not to feed enough. It 

 takes from 35 to 60% of the amount of food consumed by the 

 cow for her maintenance ration. As a cow's feed is increased 

 above her maintenance ration there will be a corresponding daily 

 increase in the amount of milk and in the profit until a point is 

 reached where additional grain will give no increase in the milk 

 flow. The cow has then reached her limit of production and is 

 receiving more grain than she can digest and assimdlate and 

 convert into milk. A cow gives the greatest profit when she is 

 fed to the limit of her economic production which can only be 

 ascertained by a careful comparison of the amount of food 

 consumed and the amount of milk produced. 



An increase in production from feeding is not obtained alone 

 by the proper feeding of the cow for milk production, but in- 

 cludes also the proper feeding of the calf from the time it is 

 born until the time of its first calf. A calf and heifer should 

 be fed with the end in view of developing tendencies for milk 

 production. They should be fed liberally on foods that will 

 produce maximum growth and develop capacity but not have a 

 tendency to fatten the animal. 



KEEPING OE RECORDS. 



A systematic keeping of records of the individual cows in 

 the herd is absolutely essential in the dairy business. To know 

 if a cow is profitable or not, records should be kept of the fol- 

 lowing : 



1. The total amount of milk produced in a year. 



2. The total amount of fat produced in a year. 



3. The amount of food consumed yearly. 



4. The economic use made of the food. 



