104 THE CONNECTICUT AGRICULTUKAL 



thought desirable to feed the hay on the farm, more cows could 

 have been kept. Instead of 40 cows, 49 might have been kept on 

 the same amount of hay, by purchasing extra corn meal and 

 linseed meal. It is easy to calculate that the extra amounts thus 

 required per day would be: — Of corn meal 14 pounds, and of 

 linseed meal 106 pounds. At the rate of $1.50 per hundred for 

 the corn meal and $30.00 per ton for the linseed meal, these would 

 cost, together, $1.80. If we suppose that the cows yielded no 

 more milk on this ration than on the old one, the 54 quarts of milk 

 from the nine new cows would cost $1.80, or 3,3 cents per quart, 

 plus the cost of the extra labor involved. If we suppose the yield 

 of milk to have been increased to 7 quarts per day, then we 

 obtain 103 quarts of milk more than before, at a cost for extra 

 feed of $1.80, or at the rate of 1.1 cents jjer quart, plus the extra 

 labor required. 



Plainly, the results of such a calculation will vary with the 

 prices of the feeding stuffs, while the question of gain or loss will 

 depend also on the price which can be got for the milk, and would 

 properly involve the value of the manure also. The above com- 

 putation is simply intended to illustrate the principle on which 

 such calculations can be made. It would be easy to make a 

 similar computation for the other rations, and to estimate whether, 

 under any given circumstances, better feeding would probably 

 pay. Other elements, of course, might also enter into the calcu- 

 lation, such as the necessity of producing good butter in Mr. 

 Norton's case, or considerations of the health of valuable cows, as 

 in Mr. Starr's case. 



Mr. Webb's ration differs from the others in containing nearly 

 the amount of digestible protein called for by the standard, but 

 less carbh yd rates. The difference is not great, and several ingre- 

 dients whose digestibility is doubtful enter into this ration, so 

 that it would not be entirely safe to base positive conclusions on 

 the results obtained. If our estimates represent accurately the 

 quantities of digestible nutrients, it is probable that an increase 

 of the digestible carbhydrates by two or three pounds would 

 cause a somewhat greater flow of milk, or that as good a result 

 could have been reached with less of the costly protein (albumi- 

 noids)" and more of the cheap carbhydrates. 



Another point worthy of notice in these rations is the amount 

 of total dry matter. Tliis, compared with the total digestible 

 matter, shows us how much indigestible matter the animal had to 



