FEEDS FOR THE DAIRY COW 369 



593. Dried brewers' grains. Before the advent of national prohibition 

 dried brewers ' grains were widely used for feeding dairy cows, and some 

 are still produced as a by-product in the manufacture of near-beer, etc. 

 Dried brewers' grains supply over 70 per ct. more digestible crude pro- 

 tein than wheat bran and are nearly as bulky a feed. However, they do 

 not have the same beneficial laxative and cooling effect on the system as 

 bran. In a trial by Lindsey at the Massachusetts Station 25 dried brewers' 

 grains proved somewhat superior to wheat bran when fed with gluten 

 feed, corn silage, and bluegrass hay. Hills of the Vermont Station 26 

 found a mixture of dried brewers' grains and wheat bran equal to a mix- 

 ture of linseed meal, cottonseed meal, and wheat bran. (228) 



594. Malt sprouts. Tho rather unpalatable, malt sprouts may be suc- 

 cessfully fed to cows when used in limited amounts and mixed with other 

 feeds. They were often a cheap source of protein before the enactment 

 of national prohibition decreased the supply. When over 2 Ibs. daily is 

 fed, they should be soaked before feeding in order to avoid digestive 

 disturbances, as they swell greatly on absorbing water. Malt sprouts are 

 low in lime. In a trial by Lindsey at the Massachusetts Station 27 2 Ibs. of 

 malt sprouts was about equal to 1.5 Ibs. of gluten feed. Feeding over 3.5 

 Ibs. per head daily may impart a bitter, aromatic taste to the milk. 

 When making up half to two-thirds the concentrate allowance, Hills of 

 the Vermont Station 28 found malt sprouts of lower value than oats. (230) 



595. Buckwheat middlings. Hills of the Vermont Station 29 reports 

 that cows fed buckwheat middlings produced 8 to 11 per ct. more milk 

 than on an equal weight of a mixture of equal parts corn and wheat bran. 

 When fed as the sole concentrate, the cows did not usually relish buck- 

 wheat middlings, and the quality of the butter was somewhat impaired. 

 Hayward and Weld of the Pennsylvania Station 30 found buckwheat 

 middlings and dried brewers' grains equally valuable for dairy cows, 

 when judiciously fed as part of a balanced ration. When thus fed, 

 neither of these feeds had a detrimental effect upon the flavor or quality 

 of the milk or butter. (244) 



596. Cottonseed meal. Experience has shown that cottonseed meal may 

 be fed to dairy cows in properly balanced rations for years with no 

 ill effects. This is most fortunate, for this highly nitrogenous feed is 

 usually the cheapest source of protein in the South and often likewise 

 in the North. Since cottonseed meal is constipating, it should be fed 

 with laxative concentrates, such as linseed meal or wheat bran, or with 

 succulent feed, such as silage or roots. The milk of cows heavily fed 

 on cotton seed or cottonseed meal yields a hard, tallowy butter, light in 

 color and poor in flavor. If a moderate allowance is fed in a properly 

 balanced ration, the quality is not impaired and may even be improved 

 if the other feeds tend to produce a soft butter. (561) This feed is used 



^Mass. Bui. 94. '"Vt. Rpt. 1902. 



^Vt. Rpt. 1903. "Vt. Rpts. 1900, 1907. 



"Mass. Bui. 94. "Perm. Bui. 41. 



