156 FARM ANIMALS 



obtained from leguminous and cereal hays, corn 

 fodder etc. A suitable mixture of these which can 

 be applied almost universally with local substitu- 

 tions is about eight pounds of grain, thirty-five to 

 forty pounds of silage, and ten pounds of hay. 

 For the silage, roots may be substituted if con- 

 venient, or a comparatively large ration of alfalfa 

 hay, for example twenty pounds. It is, of course, 

 not strictly necessary that the ration should contain 

 succulent material, but better results in digestion 

 and in the production of milk are always secured 

 when some form of green or succulent material 

 is contained in the ration. 



In the list of the grains fed to the cows wheat 

 bran is always an important one. Wheat may be 

 fed in various forms such as bran, ground wheat, 

 or even whole wheat, but as a rule wheat alone is 

 not equal to mixed grains. Bran may be fed in 

 combination with silage, soiling crops, or on pasture 

 but in some instances is not quite so effective in a 

 large silage or root ration for the reason that all of 

 these feeds are slightly laxative. Where grain is 

 fed to the extent of three to four pounds per day 

 in the form of cotton seed meal and gluten meal in 

 rations of two pounds each, bran should be fed at 

 the rate of three pounds per day. The amount of 

 bran which can be fed economically will, of course, 

 depend on the relative cost of this material. In 

 the southern states bran is considerably more 

 expensive than cotton seed meal and for this reason 

 should be fed in smaller quantities than in the 

 North. When wheat bran is compared with cotton 

 seed meal directly the usual finding is that cotton 

 seed meal produces butter at from two to three 

 cents per pound less cost than the bran. Coarsely 

 ground wheat, however, may be used wherever 



