Principles and Practice of Stock Feeding 25 



The roughages left on hand would admit of feeding 5 pounds clover 

 hay and 40 pounds silage a day to each cow. This is a full-sized silage 

 ration for a 1,000 pound cow. It would be eaten if a minimum of hay 

 were fed. The hay and silage would furnish 15 pounds of dry matter or 

 nearly two-thirds of the total called for by most standards. It is perhaps 

 questionable whether more clover hay and less silage would not be an 

 improvement. The former being found on sale at $7.50, 5 tons are bought 

 and the residue of the silage not used by the cattle in the 200 days of barn- 

 feeding — say 20 tons — are kept for use in summer to help out the pastures. 



Our feeder now concludes to adopt the Lehmann standard as a guide 

 and to fit his calculations to the medium standard as being on the whole a 

 fair average for the winter. He has on hand : 



*& v 



Dry Digestible Digestible 



matter protein carbohydrates 



15 tons clover hay 25,400 lbs. 2,100 lbs. 12,600 lbs. 



60 tons silage 31,600" 1,400" 21,200" 



57,000 lbs. 3,500 lbs. 33,800 lbs. 



This is short of standard 

 for 4,000 days' feeding 59,000 lbs. 6,500 lbs. 22,600 lbs. 



He has $287.50 left unexpended. He can feed 7h pounds of clover hay and 

 30 pounds silage daily to each cow, giving her thus from 14 to 15 pounds of 

 dry matter in roughages when 29 pounds in all is required. 



And now for buying. Study of market prices, costs of a pound of 

 digestible dry matter and of a pound of digestible protein, as shown on 

 pages 34-37, the tables of digestible ingredients, and knowledge of the 

 effects of feeds upon animal and product lead him to choose bran, cotton- 

 seed, linseed and gluten meals. Corn meal and the oat feeds are not bought 

 because relatively costly and not adapted to his needs; and, moreover, the 

 silage is from mature corn well eared. Bran is chosen rather than mid- 

 dlings or mixed feed as the wheat offal, not because it is cheaper or as 

 digestible, but because of its good mechanical effect on the ration, its 

 well-recognized milk-making properties and its safety when fed in any 

 amount. Its dry matter and protein are moreover but little more costly 

 than those in the other wheat offals. Cottonseed meal is chosen for use 

 to the limit permisable, being rich in digestible protein, which, moreover, 

 is the cheapest on the market. Linseed meal is a good laxative, has coun- 

 ter effects on animal and product to cottonseed, is pre-eminently healthful, 

 but is comparatively expensive. Gluten meal, at the prices assumed, fur- 

 nishes perhaps a little cheaper protein but not as cheap dry matter as 

 gluten feed. Either may be chosen. 



As a matter of convenience let us fit protein needs first and then note 

 how closely other requirements will be met. 6,500 pounds of digestible 

 protein would be furnished by 27 tons bran, by 8 tons cottonseed meal, by 



