364 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



As soon as Lot II was changed from the excellent ration they had 

 previously been fed to the unbalanced ration shown in the table, which 

 had a nutritive ratio of 1 :11, they fell off sharply in production. While 

 the cows in Lot I were seldom off feed, this occurred frequently in Lot 

 II. During the trial the cows in Lot I produced 47 per ct. more milk and 

 39 per ct. more fat than those in Lot II. 



At the Maryland Station 2 Patterson fed cows on corn meal with dried 

 corn fodder and soilage corn as the chief roughages during the entire 

 lactation period. Others were given a well-balanced ration of gluten 

 feed, wheat bran, and corn meal, with the same roughages. The next 

 year the rations were reversed so that each cow was on both sides of the 

 trial. On the unbalanced ration containing corn meal as the sole con- 

 centrate, the average annual yield of the cows was only 3,150 Ibs. of milk 

 or 152 Ibs. of butter. When the protein-rich concentrate mixture was 

 fed, the yield of milk was increased 33 per ct. and that of butter over 45 

 per ct. These trials show the folly of expecting profitable production 

 from such unbalanced rations, even tho they may be palatable. 



576. Feeding corn in various forms. Corn is commonly ground for the 

 dairy cow, but sometimes ear corn, shock corn, or corn-and-cob meal is 

 fed. To determine whether it was most economical to feed corn meal, 

 corn-and-cob meal, or ear corn, McCandlish fed 5 cows by the reversal 

 method for 5 periods of 30 days each at the Iowa Station. 3 Equal 

 amounts of dry corn grain were fed in the various forms with a basal 

 ration of corn silage, clover hay, and a mixture of 4 parts of wheat bran, 

 4 of linseed meal, 2 of cottonseed meal, and 1 of ground oats. In this 

 trial 100 Ibs. of corn grain fed in the form of corn meal was worth 16 

 per ct. more than the same weight of grain (not including the cobs) 

 fed in the form of ear corn. There was no advantage in feeding corn- 

 and-cob meal in place of corn meal in this ration, which contained suf- 

 ficient wheat bran to make the concentrate mixture quite bulky, without 

 the addition of the ground corn cobs. In other words, 100 Ibs. of corn 

 grain in the form of corn-and-cob meal was worth no more than 100 Ibs. 

 of corn in the form of corn meal. 



On the other hand, Cook of the New Jersey Station* found corn-and- 

 cob meal slightly more economical than corn meal when fed with cotton- 

 seed meal, a heavy feed, as the only other concentrate. Lane of the 

 same station 5 secured 9.3 per ct. more milk when feeding corn-and-cob 

 meal as half the concentrates than when an equal weight, including cob, 

 of broken ear corn was fed. These trials show that it usually pays to 

 grind corn for dairy cows, rather than to feed ear corn or shelled corn. 

 When other bulky concentrates are not included in the ration, it may 

 be advisable to feed corn-and-cob meal. (423, 656) 



577. Hominy feed. This carbohydrate-rich by-product is quite similar 

 to corn in composition and compares favorably with it in feeding value. 



2 Md. Bui. 84. 4 N. J. Rpt. 25, pp. 159-167. 



"Iowa Bui. 195. B N. J. Rpt. 1898, pp. 211-215. 



