222 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



FEEDING DAIZIY COWS. 



[Review and partial reprint of Bulletin l-^i9j Annual Report 1898, page 



250.) 



C. D. SMITH^ DIRECTOR. 



Bulletin No. 234. 



There are several terms used in the literature relating to cattle feed- 

 ing, the meaning of which ought to be clearly understood. Among these 

 terms are, dry matter, protein, earhohydrates, and digest ihility. 



All of our cattle foods, no matter how dry they nuiy seem, contain 

 some water. If pulverized and exposed for a period to a perfectly dry 

 atmosphere and a low heat all of the water in the original substance 

 will be driven off. The residue is called dry matter. The water thus 

 driven off by the heat and taken up by the dry air has no value for feed- 

 ing purposes whether it comes from hay or from mangolds or turnips 

 unless it be in rendering the material phjsically more readily digested. 

 Roots are not primarily valuabJe because they contain water, but be- 

 cause of the amount and composition of the dry matter left when all 

 the water is dried out of them. It is fair to compare stock foods on the 

 basis of the dry matter which each contains, assuming that the water 

 content has no food value whatever. This does not mean that the qual- 

 ity of succulence is not one to be considered or that domestic animals 

 should not receive roots or some other succulent feed during the winter. 

 Ruminants seem to be benefitted by roots or silage wliich exert a loosen- 

 ing effect upon the bowels, keeping the coat sleek and the aninml in a 

 thrifty condition. It is not yet shown that this succulent feed increases 

 the amount of material digested from the ration. 



The meaning of the word protein is a little harder to illustrate. A 

 reference to the diet of men may aid in making its significance clear. 

 No dinner seems complete without meat. Lean meat contains a large 

 amount of water. If this be driven off, the dry matter would be found 

 to consist of red muscle, fat and connective tissue. It is the red muscu- 

 lar tissue that is the characteristic constituent of lean meat. If meat 

 is wanting, the housewife finds it possible to sujjply its place with eggs. 

 One hundred i)0unds of eggs contain not far from GO pounds of water 

 and 34 pounds of dry matter. The dry matter is made up of many in- 

 gredients, chief among wliicli are 0..5 pounds of fat and 13 pounds of 

 a material having a chemical comjiosition very similar to that of the 

 dry red muscle of lean meat and called albumen. If eggs were not obtain- 

 able as a substitute for meat, its place might be acceptably filled by a 

 sufficient quantity of cheese. Of Clieddar cheese, 100 pounds contain 

 35.6 pounds of water and G4.4 pounds of dry matter. The G4.4 pounds 

 of dry matter contain 32 pounds of fat and 28.2 pounds of a substance 



