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The Feeding or Milking Cows. 

 The object of this test was to discover the eftect of substituting corn ensilage 

 for hay and roots, and also the effect of substituting hay and roots for corn ensilage 

 in the ration of milking cows. A study was also made of the economic effect of 

 feeding different quantities of ground grain and meal in the rations. Eighteen 

 milking cows were selected. For one week they were all fed upon a ration com- 

 posed of — 



Lb. 



•Jorn ensilage 25 



Roots (carrots, mangels) 20 



•Straw (oat and barley) 1j 



Bran 3 



Meal (pease, barley, oats) 2 



Cotton-seed meal 2 



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Each animal was allowed as much of the mixture as it would eat every day. 

 Twelve of the cows (afterwards Lots 1, 2, 3 and 4) were fed twice a day ; and six 

 of the cows (afterwards Lots 5 and 6) were fed three times daily. The eighteen 

 cows were divided into three groups of six cows each. The six cows of each group 

 were again divided into two lots of three cows each. The cows in each lot were 

 arranged in such a way that the cows in the one lot of each group, were of nearly 

 equal weights, milking capacity and period of lactation, with the cows of the other 

 lot in the same group. For the first four weeks of the experiment eight tests of the 

 morning and eight tests of the evening milk of each cow, were made with the Babcock 

 milk tester, to determine the percentage of fat. Only four tests of the morning milk 

 and four tests of the evening milk of each cow, were made during the second feeding 

 period, after which the testing apparatus was unexpectedly required for the work 

 of the travelling dairy instructors. The tests, which had been made, twice of morn- 

 ing milk and twice of evening milk, of each cow, every week, had shown such wide 

 variations and unaccountable fluctuations in the quality of the milk of the same cows 

 that it was decided that the data on the percentage of fat in the milk could not be 

 considered reliable unless the milk were tested everyday. 



A series of experiments to discover the effect of the quality of the feed upon the 

 percentage of the solid constituents in the milk of 25 cows has been undertaken 

 since, and will be reported upon when it is concluded. At the time of writing, 

 enough information has been secured to warrant the statement that a progressive 

 increase in the richness of the ration, by the addition of one pound of meal per cow 

 per day, every fortnight, does not appear to have any appreciable effect towards 

 increasing the percentage of solids in the milk, within three months. 



The Cows OP Group 1., Lot 1 (Daisy, Pinkie, Blossom) wore grade Shorthorns, 

 and at the commencement of the test — 23rd March, 1891 — had been milking for an 

 average period of 46 days. The average weight of the cows was 1,195 lb. each. 



First Period. 

 rom 23rd March to 19th April the three cows of Group 1, Lot 1, were fed on 

 ration 1, which was composed as follows : — 



Lb. 



Corn ensilage. (iO 



Wheat bran 2 



Chopped pease 2 



Oilcake.. 2 



. Cotton-seed meal 2 



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