66 Bulletin 152. 



cow can be best controlled. When cattle are kept in the stable, 

 bad weather is expected and provisions are made to protect the 

 animals from the elements, to keep them dry and warm, and to 

 make their environment as uniform and comfortable as possible. 

 Under such conditions the cow may be expected to do her best. 

 On the other hand, with the cows at pasture no provision is 

 usuall}' made for feed in the stable, other than grain, and they 

 are obliged to sta}- out-of-doors no matter what the weather. If 

 it be warm and dry the cow is likely to do well, but if it be cool 

 and damp, as is often the case during the early summer months, 

 she cannot be expected to do her best. Extreme changes in tem- 

 perature or continuous rainy weather wath the cold, damp ground 

 to lie on at night are not conditions calculated to be followed by 

 large records. From our recollections of the tests we are led to 

 say that possibly the majority of tests on pasture were made 

 under unfavorable weather conditions. But few notes were taken 

 on this point and thus no definite conclusions can be arrived at. 



The Food Consumed. 



In Table II is given, after the name of the cow, the amount 

 of each kind of grain and coarse fodder and the total pounds of 

 grain and coarse fodder she consumed daily. Also the total 

 amount of dr}- matter consumed during the seven days, the 

 pounds of dry matter consumed for each one hundred pounds of 

 milk and each pound of fat produced, and the nutritive ratio of 

 the food. In the calculations of dry matter and nutritive 

 ratio pasture is not included. 



The data for compiling this table was obtained, in each case, 

 from the statement of the owner or feeder of the animal as to 

 what food she was receiving daily. It was usually based upon 

 the actual weight of food consumed for some one day of the test. 

 No attempt was made, except in the case of "Economic Food 

 Tests," to secure official information as to the exact amount of 

 food consumed by each animal, but we have every reason to 

 believe that the statements made by the owners or feeders are 

 substantiall}^ correct. We have seen no instance where there 

 appeared to be any attempt to give the cow more food than the 

 statement called for. We believe, therefore, that this table gives 



