NINETEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART V 345 



their bodies and not for milk production. Body tissue is sacrificed in 

 order that the cow may secrete milk. Many of the cows on the Iowa 

 farms today are doing this same thing. 'They produce milk in fair quan- 

 tities for a few months after calving, not because of the ration made up 

 solely of ear corn, timothy hay and corn stalks, but in spite of it. How- 

 ever, after they have drawn upon their own bodies as long as they can 

 they rapidly decline in milk flow after five or six months. In many 

 cases this lack of persistency is due to inherited characteristic as well 

 as to failure to feed, especially for milk production. 



The proper effect of feeds upon the digestive system can be secured 

 by a study of the characteristics and influenze of different feeds. It is 

 important to consider whether the feed or combination of feeds will have 

 a cooling, laxative effect upon the digestive tract, or whether it will be 

 heating and constipating. 



The ration must be economical. In selecting feed-stuffs, thought must 

 be given to the relative values of different feed-stuffs as well as to their 

 price per pound. Home-grown feeds should be used so far as practicable. 

 However, it is more profitable at times to sell most of the grain and 

 purchase by-product feeds to be used in conjunction with the corn silage 

 and clover or alfalfa hay. This point should receive the careful attention 

 and best thought of the owner of live stock. Wliere the dairy farm pro- 

 duces clover, alfalfa and oat and pea hays, a large amount of the only 

 nutrient the Iowa farmer needs to buy, protein, may be secured cheaply. 

 No dairy farm is complete in its equipment without at least one silo for 

 winter feeding and one with a smaller diameter for summer feeding. 

 The two most common succulent feeds for winter are corn silage and 

 roots. Experimental work has proved that silage, as compared with 

 roots, yields more heavily per acre, costs much less and gives equal re- 

 sults from similar weights of dry matter. Silage is also very desirable 

 for the herd during the latter part of July and most of August, when 

 pastures are usually very short, due to hot weather and lack of I'ainfall. 

 The value of silage or soiling crops at this season does not lie solely in 

 the temporary increase of milk flow, but also in maintaining it, for after 

 a cow once decreases in her milk flow it is practically impossible to 

 bring her back to normal for the remainder of her lactation period. Con- 

 trary to the opinion formerly held, milk from silage-fed cows is not in- 

 ferior in flavor or odor to milk from cows fed dry feed. Great care 

 should be taken, however, to prevent the odor of silage from contaminat- 

 ing the freshly-drawn milk, which takes up odors very quickly. It is 

 best to feed the silage after milking, and just what will be eaten up clean 

 at that feed. The silo should be shut off from the barn proper. 



Preparing the Cow for Her Tear's Work. 



The proper time to begin feeding a cow for milk production is six to 

 eight weeks prior to freshening. She should have at least this length of 

 time to rest and prepare for the next lactation period. The feeds given 

 at this time should meet the following requirements: Rest and cool out 

 the digestive tract, supply nourishment for the growth of the fetus or 

 unborn calf, and build up the flesh and strength of the cow herself. 



