196 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



first use to which it puts its food. This we call the ration of main- 

 tenance, and it is practically a fixed charge. That is, it is prac- 

 tically the same whether the animal is being utilized for maximum 

 production, or if the animal is being merely kept without producing 

 any milk at all. 



In the case of an ordinary dairy cow this ration of mainten- 

 ance amounts to about 60 per cent of the ration that she is given. 

 In the case of a heavier producing animal, for example, one pro- 

 ducing 1 pound to 1% pounds butter fat per day, this ration of 

 maintenance amounts to about one-half the total feed of the animal. 

 It should be clear that, after going to the expense of giving the 

 animal the necessary amount to keep her alive, it is the poorest 

 economy to refuse to furnish the other 40 or 50 per cent which she 

 would utilize exclusively for milk production. On the average farm 

 this is one of the most common mistakes made. The importance 

 of liberal feeding for economical production can be easily under- 

 stood from the following illustration : 



Cows of high production capacity liable to be underfed. 



Full Ration 

 Ration of Maintenance Used for MilK production 



■Oil—— ■ ' 



ThrfeQuarters f?ATION 

 Avai/ab/efor 

 Ration of Maintenance ^'' H . f r °' i " ct . '. °" 



HAlF Ration 

 Ration of Maintenance 



9 - 



The first illustrates the proper feeding of a heavy producing 

 cow, which is the one usually underfed. The line a — c represents 

 the total capacity of the animal for food, or a full ration. The first 

 half from a to b represents the amount of food required to main- 

 tain the animal's body, or the ration of maintenance. The second 

 half, that portion from b to c, represents the proportion of the 

 food used for the production of milk. In this case there is no fat 

 being produced on the animal's body and the cow is supposed to 

 be of such dairy quality that all the feed she can eat in excess of 

 that required for maintenance is used for milk production. 



The line below represents what would happen if the feed of 

 this animal is reduced one-fourth. The ration of maintenance re- 

 mains practically the same as in the first case. The amount repre- 



