FEEDING ANIMALS 113 



European countries, being cut fine and fed wet mixed with concen- 

 trates or sliced roots. Since the correspondent is feeding alfalfa 

 hay it will be advisable to feed the cut straw with either rolled barley 

 or molasses. All these feeds are high in carbohydrates (starchy com- 

 ponents) and, therefore, supplement nicely alfalfa which is high in 

 protein (flesh-forming substances). A good method of feeding will 

 be to wet the cut straw with molasses diluted with three to four times 

 its weight of water and mix rolled barley with it. The latter may 

 also be fed alone. F. W. W. 



Feeding Value of Sweet Potatoes. 



What is the feeding value of sweet potatoes for milch cows, when 

 fed in conjunction with alfalfa? Price is no object as I have plenty of both. 



Three pounds of sweet potatoes contain almost as much dry 

 matter and starchy feed components as one pound of Indian corn or 

 barley. Under the conditions stated, they will make a valuable feed 

 for dairy cows and are preferably fed sliced in quantities of twenty to 

 thirty pounds per head daily. Sweet potatoes are rich in sugar 

 and starch and are low in flesh-forming substances (protein); for 

 this reason they are especially good supplementary feeds to be given 

 with a high-protein feed like alfalfa. 



Cotton Seed Meal as Stock Food. 



What is the feeding value of cotton seed meal to milch cows? 

 Is it as good as bran at the same price or not, and what would be 

 the best way to feed it? 



Cotton seed meal can be fed safely to dairy cows in large quan- 

 tities, if desired. Ordinarily, however, only a couple of pounds per 

 head daily are fed, in mixtures with other concentrates. It is not 

 particularly palatable to cows when fed alone and is, as a rule, 

 expensive in comparison with other grain feeds. It has, furthermore, 

 an undesirable effect on the quality of the butter when fed excessively, 

 making it hard and tallowy, which is important in case the milk is 

 used for making butter. At the same price as wheat bran, it is a 

 cheap feed, however, and especially if fed with grain hay or wild hay 

 a mixture of wheat bran and cotton seed meal, equal parts by weight, 

 will make a good combination. In case the roughage fed is alfalfa 

 hay, it would hardly be advisable to feed more than about a pound of 

 cotton seed meal per head, if it be fed at all. The best grain feeds in 

 this case would be barley and wheat bran mixed in the proportion of 

 three or two of the former to one pound of bran, according to the 

 market prices of the two feeds. Alfalfa hay, cotton seed meal, and 

 wheat bran are all protein feeds and rations made up of these feeds 

 will contain too much of this compound for best results, both as re- 

 gards production and the health of the animals. Cereal grains, dried 

 beet pulp, etc., with low-protein feeds, like mill feeds, therefore, had 

 better be included in the ration when alfalfa is fed. F. W. W. 



