EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 511 



with skim milk to swiue. The higli protein and ash content of skim juilk 

 makes it especially valuable for the young animal for the development of 

 bone and muscular tissue and on account of the rapidity and ease with 

 which skim milk is digested it is particularly adapted to the very 

 young animal whose digestive system is not capable of handling the 

 itnajority of feeds. The fact that the dry matter of skim milk is practically 

 100% digestible accounts largely for its remarkable feeding value when 

 compared with grain feeds. While the latter contain a much higher per 

 cent dry matter, more energy must be expended by the animal in digesting 

 it and a considerable proportion is undigestible and wasted. 



CONDITION OF MILK. 



The best results are secured when care is taken to have the milk of 

 uniform quality when fed. With young calves it is of utmost importance 

 to have the milk fed at about body temperature as cold milk will surely 

 derange the digestive functions and result in scours. Whenever possible 

 it is best to use the milk direct from the separator and while still warm. 

 If the milk is to be fed sour, it should not be too old as various bacterial 

 organisms are present and may cause trouble. Whether sweet or sour a 

 uniform quality will be most satisfactory. Experiments at this station 

 in feeding sweet and sour skim milk to pigs, resulted in a favorable 

 showing for the sweet milk, 100 pounds gain in live weight requiring 98 

 pounds less milk and 15 pounds less grain, than when sour skim milk was 

 fed. In these trials both lots were fed a grain mixture of equal parts 

 corn meal and ground wheat in proportion of 7.5 pounds milk to one pound 

 grain, the only difference being in the milk which was fed sweet to one lot 

 and sour to the other. In other feeding trials there has been very little, 

 if any, difference resiilting from feeding swoot or sour skim milk and this 

 point is generally considered a matter of minor imp(»rtance. 



SKIM MILK FED ALONE. 



Very little data is available on this question but trials at this station 

 would indicate that skim milk may be fed to pigs as the entire ration with 

 satisfactory results. 15 pigs in two lots were fed for four weeks on sweet 

 skim milk alone. One lot averaged 103 pounds each and the other lot 32 

 pounds each at the beginning of the test. In these trials 2150 pounds 

 skim milk produced 100 pounds gain, a very favorable showing for skim 

 milk. 



SKIM MILK AS A SUPPLEMENT TO CEREAL GRAINS. 



For pig feeding, notliing combines with corn to give more satisfactory 

 results than skim milk. This combination makes a most palatable ration 

 for the pig, resulting as a rule in a heavier consumption of feed and 

 more rapid gains than from any other ration. All of the cereal grains, 

 such as wheat, rye, barley and particularly corn, are comparatively low 

 in protein and will give better results when fed in combination with some 

 nitrogenous feed, such as skim milk, than when fed alone or in conjunction 

 with other rich carboliydrate feeds. A^'ith a view toward determining the 

 value of skim milk as a supplement to corn and other cereal grains when 

 fed to pigs, a large number of feeding trials from Experiment Stations 

 throughout the country have been snmmnrizcd as follows: 415 pigs, fed 



