STANDARDIZATION OF RATIONS FOR COWS 201 



of the ethereal oils was observed on addition of small quantities of fennel 

 to rainsoaked or weathered hay. The effects, however, were not notice- 

 able when good meadow hay was used as the basal feed. The addition 

 of fennel in the latter instance resulted in an increase of hardly 2 per 

 cent in the total milk yield, 0.5 per cent of the dry matter, 3 per cent of 

 the fat, 2 per cent of the sugar and IJ^ per cent of the ash. The conclu- 

 sion evident from this experiment, as well as that of many similar trials, 

 is that sound, normal feeding stuffs when fed to healthy animals are not 

 materially improved by the addition of condiments. However, in the 

 feeding of leached, insipid, or slightly spoiled feeding stuffs, their mod- 

 erate use is indicated. 



2. Standardization of Rations for Cows 



Rations for dairy cattle, as already emphasized, should be adjusted to 

 the milk yield, i. e., individual feeding should be practiced as much as 

 possible. In general the quantity of feed should be so regulated that the 

 animals are kept in good condition and neither starve nor get too fat. 

 The only exceptions to this rule are animals going dry and intended for 

 future slaughter. Kellner gives the following feeding standards : 



Daily milk yield per 1000 kg.io Per day per 1000 kg. live weight. 



Dry matter, 20-30 kg. ; roughage, 12-20 kg., per 1,000 kg. live weight. 

 The albumen ratio is 1 :6-10. More proteids (or a narrower ration, 1 :4) 

 are not economical unless an unusual price is obtained for the milk. 



The more important classes of feeding stuffs for dairy cattle are as 

 follows : 



Green feed (pasture and soiling crops, which are most conducive to 

 health and milk yield) : Grass, clover, leaves of beets, etc.; green com 

 and other grains in their green state, like oats and rye; buckwheat, white 

 mustard, rape, turnips, spurry, etc. 



Tubers and root crops: Beets; potatoes in limited quantity; indus- 

 trial by-products like beet pulp, slops, bran, oil cake, molasses; grains 

 (chiefly and preferably coarsely ground) ; roughage, hay, straw, chaff, 

 etc. 



lOFor the sake of accuracy the kilogram weights given in the German table have not been con- 

 verted into pounds, as this would involve the use of complicated fractions. For practical purposes 

 pints may be substituted for liters and pounds for kilograms, as has been done by the translator 

 in most of the text, whenever sucb changes did not afifect proportions. — Translator. 



