1891.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 297 



different conditions and circumstances. Hay made from 

 grass grown upon impoverished land has not, in a given 

 weight, the same amount of milk-making elements as that 

 grown upon land rich with the elements of plant food. The 

 deficiency which exists must be made up by a greater amount 

 of more concentrated feed, if like yields of milk are to be 

 secured. Naturally, then, the dairy or milk farmer seeks 

 to secure the greatest possible amount from a given area, 

 and of the highest possible feeding quality. The two go 

 together. A ton of hay gathered from a third of an acre 

 has more of the elements of animal growth than has a ton 

 raised upon an entire acre, — provided, of course, both are 

 of the same variety, and harvested under like conditions. 

 The very fact that one acre has been able to produce only 

 one ton to the other's three, is evidence in itself that it is 

 lacking in the elements of plant and animal growth. In 

 practice, the feeding should be done as near stated intervals 

 as possible, and each cow's individual wants and capacity 

 should be supplied as far as practicable. 



In grass, grown on land supplied with every requisite for 

 its development, we have a perfect food for cows ; so I 

 believe that in the winter season we should come as near to 

 this as we can. Grass is succulent and juicy, so in the 

 winter season we should aim to furnish them with a food as 

 nearly like it as possible. I know of nothing so convenient 

 and so satisfactory in every particular as well-grown and 

 well-kept ensilage, and this verdict I give after an experience 

 of ten years in its feeding. I was one of the first in the 

 State to build a silo and feed ensilage, and I have never for 

 an instant regretted my doing so, or had occasion, after my 

 first season's experience, to doubt its efficiency as a desirable 

 feed for milch cows. I raise Stowell's Evergreen sweet corn 

 exclusively, and harvest it when the ears are in the best 

 condition for table use, cutting up ears and stalks -for the 

 silo. I feed ensilage twice a day, morning and night, and 

 each time immediately after milking. I give on an aver- 

 age to each cow fifteen pounds at a feed, which measures 

 one-half bushel. Of hay I feed twice a day, giving to 

 each cow what she will readily eat up clean. Of concentrated 

 foods my general practice is to give linseed meal and bran, 



