THE PRACTICAL COUNTRY GENTLEMAN 



miliar with chemical laws, were it not that our 

 agricultural colleges supply us with bulletins 

 containing " convenience tables," which may be 

 had for the asking, and which give the pounds 

 of dry matter and digestible ingredients in vary- 

 ing weights of fodders and feeds. Armed with 

 this information and the Wolf standard of daily 

 nutrients required for milch cows weighing looo 

 pounds (also obtainable through the State agri- 

 cultural colleges), it is a simple matter to figure 

 the proper ration from crops grown on the farm. 

 To illustrate the use of these " convenience 

 tables " : Suppose a farm produces corn, oats, 

 and grasses, and the owner wishes to make a 

 balanced feed from them for his cows, with the 

 addition of a small quantity of concentrated 

 milk feed. Part of the corn crop he would 

 cut green and turn into silage, the balance would 

 be allowed to ripen and be ground into corn 

 meal and cracked corn. The oats, for the cows, 

 would be ground also. But the first steps to- 

 ward making up a ration are more or less guess- 

 work, and it is impossible to tell without trying 

 different food combinations, just whether or not 



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