876 



EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



for each cow is compared with that in 1896. It is shown that in the 

 case of every cow the milk was materially richer in fat in 1896 (when the 

 molasses feed was fed), the average increase being 0.466 per cent. Com- 

 pared with the first period, in which barley meal was fed, there was a 

 gain in fat content of only 0.122 per cent over 1895. The author con- 

 siders that the feeding of molasses preparations in 1896 increased the 

 fat content during the period of feeding nearly 0.5 per cent over that 

 in 1895. The relative fat content of the milk of individual cows in the 

 2 years was nearly the same, i. e., in both years No. 1 gave the richest 

 milk and the relative richness of the milk of the other cows was very 

 nearly the same for both years. 



Effect of molasses in comparison with cane sugar. — To determine 

 whether the beneficial effect on the fat was due alone to the sugar in 

 the molasses, an experiment was made with 2 cows covering 11 periods 

 of 10 days each. Barley meal was fed in the first and the last 2 periods, 

 and in other periods molasses peat feed and fresh molasses were com- 

 pared with cane sugar fed alone and with palm cake and various salts 

 (Kreuznach salts, potassium sulphate, and common salt). The results 

 are given in detail for both of the cows. One of the cows shrunk 

 rapidly in milk and was found later to be tuberculous. The results are 

 briefly summarized in the following table: 



Average results with barley meal, molasses, and cane sugar. 



Feed. 



Milk. 



Fat. 



Total 



solids. 



Average of periods 1 and 11. . . 



Average of periods 2 and 4 



Average of periods 3 and G 



Average of periods 7, 8, and 9 . 



Barley meal 



Molasses 



Cane sugar, without salts 

 Cane sugar, with salts . . - 



Kg. 



20. 920 

 19. 172 

 16.948 

 16. 715 



Kg. 



0. 77364 

 . 73372 

 . 66508 

 . 66352 



Kg. 



2.61281 

 2. 43555 

 2. 20517 

 2. 17841 



The molasses was not quite equal to the barley meal, but was plainly 

 superior to cane sugar. The addition of various salts to the cane sugar 

 to approximate the salts contained in molasses appeared to have little, 

 if any, effect on the relative results. 



Feediiuj molasses to cows with calf. — Two cows in the last months of 

 gestation were fed 8 kg. of molasses daily, per 1,000 kg. live weight, 

 and after calving the feeding was continued. There was apparently no 

 injurious effect from this feeding, either in the condition of the cow or 

 the development of the calf. 



In conclusion, the author expresses the belief that molasses is an 

 advantageous, safe, and, at present local prices, cheap feeding stuff for 

 milk production. Concerning the different forms, the experiments indi- 

 cate the liquid molasses and the mixture of molasses and the residue 

 from sugar-beet factories to be the best. Molasses-peat feed and 

 molasses and palm cake have not given quite so favorable results, and 

 the molasses pulp, while it gave good results, was not readily eaten by 

 cows. 



