62 Report of the Chemist op the 



sand dollars, or about five dollars a cow. Can we prevent tbis 

 loss or any part of it in an economical way? The obvious con- 

 clusion is that farmers must provide against dry spells by raising 

 some satisfactory crop to feed during the summer. 



9. Provision Against Effects of Drouth. 



From observations covering a period of several years, it ap- 

 pears that drouth, more or less severe, at some time during the 

 summer season is the rule and not the exception. Even in fairly 

 favorable seasons the abundance of pasture grass is liable to 

 decrease after July and its nutritious quality also deteriorates. 

 The most practicable method of keeping good the food supply 

 during dry times is to plan regularly to supplement the pasture 

 with some nutritious, succulent food. This additional supply 

 may be obtained by holding corn silage or by growing crops to 

 be fed green. Often a small grain ration may be added to ad- 

 vantage. Succulent food, however, must be liberally supplied in 

 order to keep up the flow of milk. There is a variety of crops 

 which may be grown for the purpose of supplementing pastures. 

 In actual practice, we have depended chiefly upon two crops for 

 green food in summer, alfalfa and oats mixed with peas. 



Corn silage has the advantage of being at hand in case the dry 

 time comes early in the season, when it might be diflScult to get 

 spring crops growing early enough. With this food one is quite 

 independent of the conditions of season. One can easily secure ten 

 tons of green food from one acre, while yields often run as high 

 as eighteen and twenty tons. For a full discussion of the value 

 of silage as a food for dairy cows and for information in regard 

 to making ensilage and building silos, see Bulletins 97 and 102. 



Alfalfa has the advantage of producing three or four cuttings 

 in one season, yielding per acre seventeen tons or more of green 

 fodder, containing four tons or more of dry matter. The first 

 crop is generally cut in May, the second in June or July; and the 

 number and time of subsequent cuttings depend upon the char- 

 acter of the season. If the first crop is not fed green, it can be 

 made into hay. We feed from 30 to 40 pounds a day to each 

 animal. We reproduce here some remarks concerning the culti- 



