CHAPTER IX 



FEED OF THE DAIRY COW 



THE properly bred and reared dairy cow cannot 

 help but produce milk and butter if her owner does 

 his part. She cannot, however, "make bricks without 

 straw/' In a series of tests conducted by the differ- 

 ent experiment stations in the United States as to 

 feed for cows, it was ascertained that the nearer cer- 

 tain proportions in food elements were reached the 

 more satisfactory were the results in economical pro- 

 duction of milk and butter fat. Those elements are 

 protein (which forms bone, nerve, muscle, and tissue) 

 and carbohydrates (which produce fat and heat). 

 These, with moisture extracted, form what was 

 known as dry matter. More will be said of this here- 

 after. The proper proportion was found to be twenty- 

 five pounds dry matter, of which 2.25 pounds were 

 protein and 16 pounds carbohydrates daily. While 

 there is a difference in the amount needed for indi- 

 vidual cows, proportioned to their production and 

 size, the ration of these elements should be preserved, 

 For example : If the cow were fed twenty pounds of 

 carbohydrates, or heat food, and only one and one- 

 half pounds of protein, she fell off in production, and 

 there was a waste and consequent loss in carbo- 

 hydrates. The same follows in any other disturbing 

 of the ratio or balancing of food. The food pre- 

 pared in this way has been known as a balanced 

 ration. 



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