68 Vermont Agbicultxjbal Repobt. 



proportions of protein. These protein substances are very im- 

 portant in milk production. It follows therefore,, that the grasses 

 and entire cereal grains are not fully suited to the best results 

 in milk production, if fed exclusively. They need the richer 

 protein products of the clovers to balance them up, or in other 

 words to make up for the lack of protein. The true grasses and 

 grains however, may be improved by adopting the most advanced 

 methods of culture. This branch of the subject will be treated on 

 later in this article. 



COMPOSITION OF GRASSES. 



The value of hay is dependent mainly upon two factors, the 

 digestibility and the proportion of the various food nutrients 

 which it contains. The percentage of digestible protein which 

 the hay contains is one of the most important factors affecting 

 the composition. From the table it will be seen that of the pure 

 species of grass, timothy contains the lowest percentage of di- 

 gestible protein, while orchard grass, red-top and Kentucky blue- 

 grass are the richest in protein, containing about 5 percent, 

 against a little less that 3 percent in the case of late cut timothy. 

 From this table it will also be seen that rowen hay ranks with the 

 clovers in composition. This is due to the fact that young imma- 

 ture grasses always contain a higher percentage of protein than 

 those which are fully grown. The high feeding value of the 

 clovers is also due to the high percentage of protein which they 

 contain. Early cut clover will contain about twice as high a per- 

 centage of protein as our common grasses. 



DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS IN HAYS OE COMMON GRASSES AND 



CLOVERS. 



(From Mass. Expt. Station Report, 1901.) 



Protein. 



Kentucky blue grass 5.1 



Orchard grass 5.7 



Red-top . 4.6 



Timothy 4.6 



Timothy (late cut) 2.7 



Mixed hays 5.3 



Rowen 8.8 



Alsike clover 10.9 



Medium red clover 8.1 



Peas and oats 8.6 



Vetch and oats 9.1 



