34 VERMONT DAIRYMEN'S REPORT. 



feed supply of the late autumn when the pastures yield but 

 little food, and form the stepping stone to the silo in Novem- 

 ber. 



The great objection to growing the numerous green crops 

 just mentioned is the cost of labor involved. Numerous small 

 pieces of land must be plowed, harrowed and seeded at various 

 times during the busy summer months. Again, the cost of cut- 

 ting and bringing the green material to the barn is considerable, 

 it being a puttering job, taking a considerable amount of time. 

 Another method of supplying feed during the summer to help 

 out the pasture is to possess a summer silo, which should be 

 filled with corn the autumn previous. This silo should be quite 

 deep and have a very small surface area — not over five square 

 feet per cow. The cows can be fed about twenty pounds of 

 silage per day, and about two quarts of some grain, as gluten 

 feed or a few quarts of a mixture of one-third cotton or gluten 

 meal and two-thirds bran. On hay farms, hay can be fed in 

 place of the silage. The writer has not been very partial to 

 the summer silo, for the reason that after animals have been 

 fed thirty or forty pounds of silage during the entire winter, 

 a change of feed from sour ensilage to unfermented green crops 

 is desirable. Many, however, are employing the silo as an ad- 

 junct to short pasture, with seeming success. 



Clover of itself makes an excellent summer feed, fed at 

 the rate of thirty-five or forty pounds daily. When this amount 

 is fed in addition to the pasture feed, no grain is necessary. 

 By having an acre of clover for every ten cows, one secures a 

 large amount of the very best green material during the sum- 

 mer months. The land for this purpose should be kept very 

 rich, and should produce three good crops during the season. 

 By the time the first cutting is completed, a beginning can be 

 made on the second. 



Having considered somewhat in detail the most suitable 

 coarse feeds, let us turn our attention for a few moments to the 

 concentrated feeds. 



E. CLASSIFICATION OF CONCENTRATED FEEDS. 



The term "concentrated feed," taken in its broadest sense, 

 is meant to include the grains and other seeds of agricultural 

 plants, as well as their manifold by-products left behind in the 

 process of oil extraction and in the preparation of human foods. 

 As here used it is applied more particularly to the various by- 

 products. 



