1890. 1 PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 49 



consisted of corn meal, 3^ pounds ; wheat In-an, 31 pounds ; 

 gluten meal, 3| pounds ; English hay, 5 pounds ; and as 

 much vetch and oats or cow-pea as the animal would 

 consume, which amounted, in the case of green vetch and 

 oats, to from 54 to 68 pounds ; and in that of green 

 Southern cow-pea, from 70 to 80 pounds. One-fourth (five 

 pounds) of the ordinar}^ daily hay ration was retained in our 

 green fodder diet, for the purpose of preventing disorders in 

 the digestion of a liberal quantity of green fodder. 



The nutritive ratio of the green fodder diet was a closer 

 one than on former occasions, varying from 1 : 4.5 to 1 : 5.5. 

 The nutritive effect was very satisfactory, for the animals, 

 without exception, maintained their original weight ; the 

 jdeld of milk was in every instance somewhat raised, and 

 the quality of the milk was equal to the best, as far as one 

 and the same animal was concerned. The net cost of the 

 feed for the production of one quart of milk was in most 

 instances lower than in case of a whole English hay ration. 



The cost of green fodder is based on that of hay, $15 

 per ton : allowing two tons of hay, with fifteen per cent-, of 

 moisture, as the average produce of English hay per acre. 

 This mode of valuation has been adopted, as on previous 

 occasions, on account of the entire absence of market prices, 

 as far as green vetch, cow-pea and serradella are concerned. 

 These crops, as a rule, rank higher in the scale of an agri- 

 cultural valuation than the meadow o;rass. 



1889. — Six cows at a time served in the trial ; the obser- 

 vation began in June and closed in October, 1889. The 

 course adopted during the preceding year was adhered to 

 in every essential point. The daily diet consisted of 3^ 

 pounds each of corn meal, wheat bran and gluten meal, with 

 5 pounds of hay, and all the green vetch and oats, green 

 cow-pea or green serradella called for by each individual 



