THE SUBSTITUTION OF ROOTS FOR CONCENTRATED FOODS IN 

 RATIONS FOR MILK PRODUCTION 



The purpose of this experiment has been two-fold: to determine 

 the value of the dry matter in mangels as compared with the dry matter 

 in silage, and to determine the value of the dry matter in mangels as 

 compared with the dry matter in grain, in rations for milk-producing 

 cows. The work has been calculated on the basis of dry matter, since 

 that seems to bear a somewhat close relation to the energy values in 

 the different foods. No attempt has been made to draw exact mathe- 

 matical comparisons of the constituents of the different foods. The cows 

 have been fed practical milk-producing rations, conforming as nearly 

 as possible to the ideal conditions as seen by those conducting the 

 experiment. Conclusions have then been drawn when the results seemed 

 definite and clear. 



Attention was first called to this subject by results obtained in a 

 Danish experiment, which is discussed somewhat in detail on pages 

 480 and 481. This experiment seemed to show that one pound of dry 

 matter in roots was equal to one pound of mixed cereal grains. This 

 result suggested the possibility of placing before the farmers of New 

 York State a means by which they could reduce their grains bills mater- 

 ially and produce more of the food for their milk cows on their own 

 farms. During the last six years, the cost of concentrated feeds has 

 increased steadily, as the following table indicates. The table considers 

 the retail prices of wheat-bran, corn-meal, old-process linseed-meal 

 and cottonseed-meal only, since these are well-known feeds and what 

 is true of them will be rela,tively true of other milling and waste products. 

 The prices were obtained by averaging the market reports of the first 

 week of the months of January, April, July, and October. 



Table I. Prices of Feed per 100 Pounds, 1903-1908* 



* Weekly reports of Albany Grain Market in "The Country Gentleman." 



