94 AGRICULTURE OF MAEXE. 



profitable cows in full flow of milk, what of them? Shall they 

 be fed low? A cow on maintenance ration will consume 15 

 pounds of fodder a day, to maintain her existence. But to keep 

 her at her best as a producer of milk, she will average to con- 

 sume 28 or 30 pounds per day. One-half of that ration is for 

 maintenance, the other half goes to production. Now shall we 

 cut down this ration of production, in order to carry our cows 

 through the season? I say no. because after we have given so 

 large a volume of food as is required in the maintenance ration, 

 it seems folly to fail to give the rest that goes to profitable work. 

 Now how far can you go with an increased ration and keep 

 within the limits of profit? That question has been asked by 

 Prof. Hills of Vermont, by the Canadian Experiment Station, 

 and two or three others. I remember the day when the teacher 

 of animal nutrition said that on account of the large amount 

 required for maintenance the only practical policy is to give the 

 cow all she will consume. As the quantity of food is increased, 

 the ratio of that which is used for production is increasing; so 

 they say, put into the cow all the fuel you can. But recent 

 experiments have shown that there is a point after which you 

 can feed a cow when that ratio of production shows a decrease. 

 That is, if 24 pounds would give a pound of milk for a pound 

 of food, a ration of 30 pounds might not show as well. The 

 result of such experiments when first seen by the high feeding 

 reader leads him to the reduction of his ration. Is that wise? 

 There is one factor which these gentlemen who are carrying on 

 researches do not mention. I do not know as it is their busi- 

 ness to mention it. They give you facts and you do what you 

 please with them. If a cow when she first drops her calf gives 

 a large flow of milk she begins to decrease in weight, and trials 

 have shown this decrease to be a pound a day for two or three 

 months. Under high production and low feeding she may lose 

 in a short time, in the course of two or three months, 100 

 pounds. Sir John Laws and others have shown that it takes 

 ten pounds of food to produce a pound of growth. The man 

 who takes that much off the weight of his cow will have to put 

 it back again at the expense of 1,000 pounds of food. Now is 

 this policy to feed low and seem to get good economical results, 

 and afterwards have to put your hand into your pocket, or the 



