4b Bureau of Farmers' Institutes. 



Dr. Smead. — Practically, there is but little difference; the 

 German is the earliest, Hungarian the finest. Beth analyze about 

 the same. 



Question. — What is the ration for a dairy cow? 



Mr. Smith. — It will depend on the coarse foods. 



A Fanner. — - 1 am feeding corn ensilage, oats and hay. I do not 

 think, however, that I am feeding protein enough. 



Mr. Smith. — Oats are not a narrow ration, and they do not 

 contain as much protein as do some other foods. It is Letter to 

 mix some pea meal with them or wheat bran. 



Question. — Would 10 pounds of good timothy hay be enough 

 for a cow! 1 



Mr. Smith. — There is a difference in timothy hay, but what 

 you or I might call " good " would not be so considered by the 

 New York dealer. "When it is cut before the seed begins to 

 perfect, it is better for the milch cow, but the New York buyer 

 prefers to have it more fully ripened. If the hay is too much 

 ripened, a cow would have to eat about 70 .pounds of it to 

 obtain a sufficient supply of protein, a quantity she cannot eat and 

 digest. 



Question. — Which Avould be most profitable, to pasture cows 

 in summer, or feed them corn ensilage? 



Mr. Lillie. — I think there is no doubt that it would be far better 

 to feed the ensilage in place of pasture, and I believe the time is 

 rapidly coming when we will abandon the pasture, especially where 

 the land is high in price. Pasturage costs too much when com- 

 pared with ensilage. Only on land which is not tillable can we 

 afford now to pasture. But every dairyman ought to have a sum- 

 mer silo, no matter how much pasture he has, because he cannot 

 depend on pasture Avhen the drouths come, but he can depend on 

 the silo when filled with good ensilage. 



Question. — Give a ration for cows that give over 50 pounds 

 of milk per day — with ensilage, timothy hay, pea and oat hay 

 and oats unthreshed. 



Mr. Lillie. — Fifty pounds of ensilage, five pounds of timothy 

 hay, 10 pounds of pea and oat hay. and 10 pounds of oats. 

 It would give 2.54 pounds of protein. But, it would be better 

 to sell the oats, and feed in their place eight pounds of bran and 

 a pound and a half of cotton seed meal. Such a combination 

 would give the same quantity of protein and would cost less. 



Quest ion.— How about barley straw for feed? 



Mr. Woodward. — It is much better than timothy hay, espe- 



