4S0 ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



lion: I will undt^rtake to'keep my cattle iu as good condition on the 

 silage, and get as mucli milk, a.s on the dry stalks and two pounds of 

 grain daily in addition. What does that mean? That 1 am to that 

 extent free from tribute to the grain dealer. 



While we are talking of silage, let mo linisli up. The corn that we 

 feed our dairy cows can be most economically' fed in the form of 

 silage, and I am satisfied that the corn is worth as much, pound foi- 

 pound, in silage, as it is in meal. In my country it costs about one- 

 tenth to husk the corn, and we have to give the miller about one- 

 tenth to grind it for u.s. There is one-fifth of the value of our crop. 

 Furthermore, I believe if we add so much corn to our silage that our 

 gutters are full of the corn, it is a waste and an injury to the cow. 



Now, if we go and eat a big dinner and ou it go and eat a big piece 

 of mince pie, see what happens. The same thing happens to ttie 

 cow. I claim that if we feed our cow more than she can digest, it 

 is a positive injury. I have fed Ihe cows lots of good corn meal 

 that was not necessary, and both the cows and I lost by it. I believe 

 that not more than sixty bushels of corn per acre is as much as we 

 can safeh' put into silage, when we give the cows all the silage they 

 will eat twice a day. But when wv have all the corn we need the 

 silage; it does not pay to add corn to it in feeding. Then what are 

 we going to feed with it? We must give that cow more proteiUj but 

 where are we going to get it? Perhai^s we have the corn stalks, 

 which are high in fi})re and heat-forming elements, but not rich in 

 protein, ^^'e do not g<4 it in the corn stalks, nor in the silage, nor in 

 the corn meal, and I want to feed all I can of these, because they 

 are grown on the farm, and are cheaper. But they are deficient in 

 protein, so there is a limit to tlie amount we can feed. 



Now, I keep a book, into which I ( nler, month by month, on one 

 page, the returns of ray dairy, and on the opposite page the cost of 

 the feed, and 1 am much pleased witli the results of my dairy until 

 I turn the leaf and add up the cost of the feed, and subtract that 

 from the returns of my dairy; then 1 don't feel quite so good. Per- 

 haps you do the same, and I want to see whether we cannot learn to 

 keep that cow a little more economically from the stuff that grows 

 on the farm. 



Well, then, we will take the clover, nearly three times as high in 

 protein as the corn stalk, and nearly three times as high as timothy. 

 Now, my friend Wing is here from Ohio to preach the doctrine of 

 alfalfa, and I am glad, because there is about eleven pounds of 

 protein to the hundred pounds — nearly twice the amount as in the 

 clover. 



Take next the cheaper grades of bran and middlings, which are 

 upon the market. I agree with Mr. Fuller that the standard of bran 

 and middlings has been raised the past few years. If you will cut 

 your hay when the plant is half in bloom, you will get as much 

 value out of it as from the hay (hat i.'* allowed to reach full maturity, 

 with a pound of grain per day added. I will stake my reputation on 

 that. You see that I am not recommending anything that will cost 

 a big outlay of money on the part of the average farmer. 



Now, what next? We take the Canada Pea. I consider it superior 

 to the clover, and next t*o the alfalfa, as an economical milk producer. 

 About two bushels of peas and one of oats make a good mixture. 

 But when the oat head is forming and peas are in blossom, what 



