72 



UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN STUDIES 



days at least is apparent when it is considered that she sud- 

 denly was required to gather by her own activity about 

 seventy pounds of pasture grass to supply the eight therms of 

 energy which she required. Even this figure may be too low, 

 for it is based on the energy value of green alfalfa, which 

 is in all probability higher than that of the fresh blue grass 

 pasture to which the animal was turned and for which no 

 data are available. The underfeeding results, which were 

 temporary, are seen in the marked drop in the sapoiiincation 

 and Reichert-Meissl values of the milk fat, and in the great 

 increase in the iodin value. The fact that underfeeding 

 accompanied a change to pasture in the case of this cow 

 with a low milk production emphasizes the danger as well as 

 the probability of a similar but more pronounced result 

 accompanying the turning to pasture of cows with much 

 greater milk production. 



TABLE VII 



CHANGING THE RATION FROM DRY FEED TO FRESH PASTURE, SHOWING 

 THE EFFECT OF UNDERFEEDING * 



* Fed on May 18-19, 4.5 pounds of grain, 4.5 pounds of alfalfa hay, and 18 

 pounds of silage. The other data are based on pasture only. 



Equally striking results were obtained in several other 

 experiments when the ration was grain and dry roughage. 

 In all these cases the striking change in the properties of the 

 fat might have been attributed to the change in ration while 

 the real cause was an insufficient amount of nutrients. 



