1890.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. Ill 



has a nutritive ratio of 1 to 30, which would be called a 

 very wide ratio. 



On the other hand, under the same conditions the farmer 

 would not think of putting a cow on nothing but linseed 

 meal. The chemist says that linseed meal has a narrow 

 ratio, the heat-producing and flesh-producing parts being in 

 the ratio of 1 to 2. 



We see, then, that by making a combination of fodders 

 which have a wide ratio with those which are narrow, the 

 farmer can make any proportion he desires. 



For every animal and every condition there will be some 

 proportion that will be best ; and it will be that proportion 

 which just supplies all the needs of the case, with no waste. 

 This is of course self-evident, and so long as the conditions 

 remain the same, the proportion that is proper will remain 

 unchanged. No one will dispute this ; but he may not feel 

 so certain of the statement, which is nevertheless true, that 

 when you have found the correct proportion for a given 

 animal for a given kind of work (whether growing flesh, do- 

 ing work or producing milk), that proportion will be cor- 

 rect for all like animals and for all like work, without re- 

 gard to age, breed or time of year. To be more explicit, this 

 means that if a certain ratio between the heat and the flesh 

 producing parts of the food has been found to be best for a 

 certain milch cow, we can argue from this that it is also best 

 for all milch cows of all breeds, all ages, all times of the 

 year, and whether the product desired be milk or butter. 

 Let us make this last statement a little plainer. There are 

 many intelligent farmers who claim that the cow should be 

 fed differently to produce a large flow of milk than if the de- 

 sire is to get a large amount of butter. They say you 

 should feed bran, brewers' grains, buckwheat middlings or 

 something of that nature in connection with succulent foods 

 like roots, ensilage and soiling crops, to produce milk ; while 

 if butter is desired, corn meal, ground oats, linseed and other 

 so-called heavy feeds must form a large part of the cow's 

 food. Nevertheless, a close examination will show that the 

 most successful feeders for milk are using the same propor- 

 tions of heat and flesh producing materials as their brethren 

 who are striving to break the record of a seven-day test for 



