FARM ANIMALS 171 



the cow uses to maintain herself in weight and con- 

 dition and how much is transformed into milk. 

 j The proportion of the food used for maintenance 

 '' has been estimated at from thirty to sixty per cent. 

 It is not a matter of great importance for the average 

 dairyman since for the greater part of the year the 

 cow is giving milk and the dairyman is not con- 

 cerned in the exact classification of the food accord- 

 ing to its use by the cow. He knows by experience 

 that certain rations are required to keep the cow 

 in a good condition and sustain a profitable milk 

 flow. Dry cows in winter may be kept in fairly 

 good condition on wheat straw or other straw with 

 the addition of wheat, corn or Kafir corn or other 

 suitable grain. Where red clover or alfalfa hay 

 is available this may constitute the maintenance 

 ration without the addition of grain food. 



Rations. Suitable rations for dairy cows have 

 been carefully worked out, based on the experience 

 of actual dairymen and the tests of dairy experts, 

 for every state in the Union. In order to give a 

 specific instance of the range of these rations a 

 few examples may be reproduced in this connection, 

 but without recommending them for any particular 

 state. Each ration which has been recommended 

 by various dairymen for dairy cows will obviously 

 be most applicable to that locality where the foods 

 in question are most easily obtained. Thus an 

 excellent milk flow may be maintained on any one 

 of the following rations. 



Alfalfa hay, twenty pounds; oat straw, five 

 pounds; wheat bran, two and one-half pounds; 

 shorts, two and one-half pounds; oats, five pounds; 

 cotton seed meal, one and one-half pounds. 



Corn silage, thirty pounds; clover hay, five 

 pounds; corn fodder, three pounds; oat straw, 



