188().] PUBLIC DOCUMENT— No. 33. 11 



a small amount of the coarser feed, during milking, morn- 

 ing and evening, whilst the remainder of the coarser 

 feed was offered subsequently three times during the 

 day. The amount left over was weighed and deducted 

 from the previous record. The price which has been 

 adopted in our subsequent valuation of each article of 

 fodder used during the experiments is based on our 

 local condition of the market, and does not directly apply 

 to more favored localities. The cost of one quart of 

 milk, as stated below, may vary thus, in case of the same 

 kind and the same amount of feed and of a corresponding 

 yield of milk, from that in other localities. Whilst our 

 statements of cost of feed for the production of one quart 

 of milk can only claim a direct application for a limited 

 locality, it will be conceded that the statement of relative 

 cost of the milk, in case of different combinations of fodder 

 articles for its production, may fairly claim a more general 

 consideration. The following rates of prices have been 

 adopted in our subsequent valuation per ton of two thousand 

 pounds: Corn meal and wheat bran, $23.00; gluten meal, 

 $22.50 ; hay, $15.00 ; dry corn fodder, $5.00 ; corn ensilage, 

 $2.75. The price of the latter is based on the following cir- 

 cumstances : well-dried corn fodder contains 20 per cent, of 

 moisture and 80 per cent, of dry vegetable matter ; green 

 corn fodder, adapted to the production of ensilage, contains 

 from 18 to 22 per cent, of vegetable matter, and 78 to 82 

 per cent, of moisture. Four tons of such green fodder corn 

 will produce one ton of dry corn fodder, as described. 

 Counting one ton of green corn fodder worth $1.25, and the 

 cost of converting it into ensilage equal to $1.50, — a rather 

 liberal allowance, — one ton of corn ensilao-e would be worth 

 $2.75. As the relative nutritive value of a fodder article, 

 in case of the same kind and condition of the animal, 

 depends, aside from its general adaptation, on its actual per- 

 centage of dry vegetable matter, and on the particular rela- 

 tive proportion of its nitrogenous (protein) and non-nitrog- 

 enous constituents, the total amount of dry vegetable 

 matter contained in the entire daily diet during each feeding 

 period has been stated, alongside of the daily yield of milk. 

 The relative proportion of digestible nitrogenous and non- 



