168 DOMESTIC ANIMALS, DAIRYING, ETC. 



Succulent feeds in winter have two advantages ; they are appetiz- 

 ing, which makes the cow enjoy her feed, and they keep the system 

 in a healthy condition and the bowels loose. The nearer we can feed 

 our cow in winter to secure the natural loose condition of the drop- 

 pings as they are from June pasture, the more she can eat and the 

 more she will be able to give in return for each pound of beef eaten. 

 When a cow is constipated there is a feverish condition of the body, 

 a smaller per cent of the feed is digested and converted into milk 

 and the yield is lowered. 



If the dairyman has neither ensilage nor roots, he should com- 

 bine his feeds to secure as nearly as possible the right condition of the 

 bowels. This is hard to do without succulent feeds. In the list of 

 feeds following, the general effect which each has in this respect is 

 given : 



LOOSENING FEEDS. CONSTIPATING FEEDS. 



Alfalfa. Corn fodder. 



Sorghum hay. Corn stalks. 



Ensilage. Kaffir corn fodder. 



Roots. Prairie hay. 



Bran. Timothy hay. 



Soy bean meal. Kaffir corn grain. 



Linseed meal. Corn (in light feeds). 



Gluten meal. Cottonseed meal. 



Rations can be made from these constipating feeds alone which 

 will contain digestible protein and energy values in the right propor- 

 tions, and such rations are frequently used with results of low milk 

 yields, although the cows have apparently an abundance of nutri- 

 tious feed. This factor in profitable milk production should always 

 be considered. 



Variety. Cows, like human beings, crave variety in their food, 

 and do best when they have it. A ration containing the proper food 

 elements can sometimes be given by using one rough feed and one 

 grain feed only, and fair results be obtained, but best results are se- 

 cured when a variety is given, and it is well to have a variety both 

 in roughness and in grain. A mixture of two grains will produce a 

 higher yield than the same amount of food given in one grain, and 

 four or five, or even more, kinds of grain mixed together will usually 

 give better returns than two, although the bulk of the mixture is 

 made of one grain. Small additions of a number of feeds flavor 

 the mixture and make it more appetizing, and for this reason the 

 cow will eat more and yield more in proportion to what she eats. 

 Ground oats usually cost too much to form any large portion of the 

 dairy cow's ration, but cows like this feed and it is frequently profit- 

 able to add a handful of ground oats to the grain ration of each meal, 

 as it makes the whole feed taste better, and when cows relish their 

 feed it adds to the yield. The feeders of the cows that have made the 

 high records have thoroughly understood" this fact, and a part of 

 their success is due to feeding a mixture of a number of nutritious, 

 palatable foods, thereby inducing their cows to eat large quantities. 



