BREEDS OF DAIRY CATTLE 155 



daily should be given some grain. It has been recommended that 

 cows feeding on pasture be fed as follows : 



Jersey cow producing 20 Ibs. milk daily, 3 Ibs. grain; 25 Ibs. 

 milk daily, 4 Ibs. grain ; 30 Ibs. milk daily, 6 Ibs. grain ; 35 Ibs. milk 

 daily, 8 Ibs. grain ; 40 Ibs. milk daily, 10 Ibs. grain. Hostein, Short- 

 horn, or Ayrshire producing 25 Ibs. milk daily, 3 Ibs. grain ; 30 Ibs. 

 milk daily, 5 Ibs. grain ; 35 Ibs. milk daily, 7 Ibs. grain ; 40 Ibs. milk 

 daily, 9 Ibs. grain; 50 Ibs. milk daily, 10 Ibs. grain. (Mo. Circ. 44.) 



SOILING CROPS FOR DAIRY COWS. 



During the dry, hot weather average summer pastures stop 

 growing and the grass becomes dry and woody, proving unpalatable 

 and innutritions to animals. A large part of the energy derived from 

 the feed of the cows is expended under these conditions in wander- 

 ing about the fields endeavoring to get shelter from the scorching 

 rays of the sun, protection from the swarms of flies that torment 

 them, and sufficient palatable feed to supply the needs of the system 

 for milk production. With these conditions it is easy to understand 

 why shipments of dairy products show a marked shrinkage during 

 the late summer months. 



The practice of partial soiling offers the opportunity of keeping 

 cows in a cool, dark barn, and giving them that rest and quiet which 

 they require for greatest milk production. When kept in the stable 

 for at least a part of each day they may be fed regularly a uniform 

 quantity, and none of the feed need be wasted. Since pasturage is a 

 cheap and easy method of feeding, however, the most practical sys- 

 tem for the majority of farmers and dairymen in this state is obvi- 

 ously one which will secure for them the benefits of pasturage with- 

 out its disadvantages. A system of partial soiling and partial pas- 

 turage, in which the cows are turned to pasture at night and fed in 

 the barn during at least a part of each day, seems to supply all the 

 conditions necessary for most profitable production of dairy cows. 



With this system the acreage of pasture required is greatly les- 

 soned. It has been found that each cow in the dairy herd requires 

 about two acres of pasture when no soiling is practiced. This acreage 

 may be reduced at least one-half when the cows are fed soiling crops 

 as above suggested. The chief objection to the system lies in the fact 

 that it requires more labor, but even this should not be a serious ob- 

 jection, providing the increased returns derived from the cows, and 

 the lessened acreage required for pasture, taken together, are greater 

 than the increased cost of labor. 



Some improvement is greatly needed in the feeding and care of 

 the dairy cows during the summer months. 



A Succession of Crops Necessary. In order that it may not be 

 necessary to cut the soiling crops when immature, because of the 

 lack of mature feed, or to continue feeding any one crop after it has 

 become over-ripe and woody, for the reason that another crop is not 

 ready, a close succession must be provided for. The order in which 

 the seed for the various crops should be sown, and the time of sowing, 

 is dependent upon the time of year at which each variety will make 

 its best growth, upon the length of time between seeding and cutting, 



