lo Jan., igii.] Feeding Cows for Milk Prodiictio7i. 47 



A liberal supply of fine sharp grit is necessary from the first. Clean 

 water to drink should also be given. After two weeks have elapsed a 

 swim will do them good, but on no account drive them into the water. 

 Let them take to it of their own accord. 



Very little shelter is required. A rough thatched shed free from 

 extreme draughts is all that is wanted. It should be well littered with 

 dry grass, pine needles, o^ straw. The sheds should be cleaned once a 

 week. 



FEEDlXa COWS FOR MILK PRODUCTION. 



R. T . ArcJier, Dairy Expert. 



Cows may be looked upon as machines to convert fodder into milk. 

 The body is composed of a mass of cells which are continually being 

 worn out and have to be renewed from certain ingredients of the food. 

 Milk is manufactured by first building up the cell system of the udder 

 and from the flesh- forming ingredients of the food ; and then converting 

 these into milk. 



A mixture of grasses and clovers is the best food for milk production. 

 A cow, when in full milk, requires about one-tenth the weight of her own 

 body per day, i.e., a cow 1,000 lbs. live weight requires 100 lbs. of 

 grass and clover, or its equivalent in other food, per day. When the 

 clovers are in bloom and before the grass seeds ripen, it is practically a 

 balanced ration, i.e., it consists of about 75 per cent, water and 25 per 

 cent, dry matter. 



The dry matter consists of 10 lbs. indigestible and 15 lbs. digestible 

 or soluble, the latter being dissolved by the digestive juices secreted by 

 the glands and cells of the stomach, absorbed into the blood stream, and 

 conveyed to the different parts of the body to be used by the various cells 

 for their nourishment and reproduction. The soluble matter consists of 

 12 lbs. carbo-hydrates, 2| lbs. protein and \ lb. fat. This represents 

 a balanced ration, i.e., the different ingredients are in the proportions 

 that can be made use of by the cow. 



Carbo-hydrates, so called because they consist of carbon and water, 

 and represented in the food by sugar, starch and gum, are heat and 

 energy producing foods. Fat or oil is used for the same purpose, but 

 a given weight is worth two-and-a-half times that of carbo-hydrates. 

 Fibre gives bulk to the food and by pressure in the stomach causes the 

 muscular activity which mixes the digestive juices Mith the food. Protein 

 is the most imjiortant part of the food, and, in addition to carbon and 

 water, contains nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, lime, &c., from which the 

 cell system of the body is replenished and so the milk is produced. The 

 .secret of the production of milk is to provide food containing sufficient 

 protein. 



Balancing the ration means mixing the foods .so a> to provide the dif- 

 ferent ingredients in the correct proportions. For instance. 100 lbs. 

 green lucerne contain i} lbs. more jirotein than a cow ran make use of. 

 but it would take 164 lbs. to contain 12 lbs. rarbo-hvdrates, and this 

 would increase the loss of protein to t,\ lbs. Again, with maize con- 

 taining I per cent, protein, a cow would have to eat 250 lbs. to get the 

 ri'ijuired amount of protein, but 100 lbs. green mai?e contain the right 



