267 



judicious fcvdiii^ have produfocl these profitable animals and herds. What has 

 been accomplished by the few sJiould be striven for by the many, and feed mast 

 be a prime factor in developing the idejil dairy animal or herd. Careful breed- 

 ing and selection nuist hold tlie most i»rominent place, biit l)reeding and selection, 

 unless accomp.-mied by good care and judicious feeding, will ultimately result in 

 failure. 



Tables and explaiiatiou.s show the ehemical coiuposiliou of feeding 

 atuffs coiiniion in New York: the digestibility (by coefficients of diges- 

 tibility of ntiti'icnts) as shown by American digestion exix'rinients 

 with domestic animals, and the pro2)ortions of digestible nutritive 

 ingredients in cattle foods as calculated from the composition and 

 digestibility. A conveniently arranged table shows the amounts of 

 digestible materials in dirt'ereiit quantities (1, 5. 10, 15, 20, 25, and 

 2.000 pounds) of a number of common feeding stutfs. thus furnishing 

 the means for easily calculating daily rations, (ierman feeding stand- 

 ards (Woltl's) are quoted, and the ways of calculating rations ex- 

 |:>lained. Some nineteen daily rations for milch cows. " such as may 

 be fe(l and often are fed l)y farmers." are given; the details showing 

 the number of pounds of hay. straw, corn meal, wheat bran, cotton- 

 seed meal, and other materials in each, and the calculated amounts of 

 digestible protein, fats, and carbo-hydrates; the mitritive ratio; the 

 cost and the estimated money value of fertilizing materials., nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid, and potash. Some are well balanced, '' according to 

 the (lerman standard or guides, while others are far from being Avell 

 ])roportioned mixtures for milch cows." 



An intere.sting feature of the bulletin is found in the descriptions 

 of rations for milch cows actualh' fed by New York farmers. In 

 December, 1888, a circular was .sent to some fifty leading farmers of 

 New York State, asking for information regarding rations fed by 

 them. Only a few replied, and in some of the replies the data were 

 not sufficiently complete to alloAv accurate calculations ; but, from the 

 rei)orts, the quantities of food and of nutritive ingredients per day of 

 ten of those rations are calculated and stated in the bulletin. Sev- 

 eral of these are recapitulated herewith. 



Kinds and conoiints of feeding stuffs in daily rations. 



