REPORT OF THE FIRST ASSISTANT. 



WILLIAM F. WHEELER. 



The work for 1896 has been a continuation of that for the pre- 

 ceding year. Experiments with poultry and swine have been 

 continued and the feeding of the dairy cattle planned and super- 

 intended. Work connected with the cattle feeding has occupied 

 the greater share of the time for the year. A portion of the Sta- 

 tion correspondence has been attended to and occasional draw- 

 ings have been made when necessary for illustration of reports 

 or bulletins. 



1. GENEKAL SYSTEM OF FEEDING THE DAIRY 



HERD. 



The coarse fodders used in feeding the dairy cows during the 

 year were clover hay, mixed hay, corn stover, oat-and-pea hay, 

 corn silage, alfalfa forage, corn forage, oat-and-pea forage and 

 sugar beets. The grain foods have been wheat bran, corn meal, 

 wheat middlings, ground oats, linseed meal and cottonseed meal. 



During January corn silage was fed morning and noon and 

 clover hay at night. With these there was fed a grain mixture 

 containing, by weight, six parts wheat bran, four parts cotton- 

 seed meal and one part ground oats. • 



For the first half of February the same grain mixture was fed 

 with corn silage in the morning and clover hay at night. Corn 

 stover was fed at noon. For the latter half of the month the 

 same coarse fodders Avere fed, and there was a change of the 

 grain mixture to one containing six parts wheat bran, four parts 

 old process linseed meal and one part ground oats. 



From March 1st to 15th corn silage was fed morning and noon 

 and clover hay at night. From the 16th to the 31st corn silage 

 was fed morning and night and corn stover at noon. The same 

 grain mixture was fed during the month as during the latter part 

 of February. 



