HOW TO FIGURE OUT RATIONS. 225 



How to Figure Out Rations. 



We shall use the practical American feeding ration as a basis 

 for figuring out the food materials which should be supplied a 

 dairy cow weighing 1,000 pounds, in order to insure a maximum 

 and economical production of milk and butter-fat. We shall 

 suppose that a farmer has the following foods at his disposal: 

 Corn silage, mixed timothy and clover hay, and wheat bran; and 

 that he has to feed about forty pounds of silage per head daily, 

 in order to have it last through the winter and spring. We will 

 suppose that he gives his cows, in addition, five pounds of hay 

 and about six pounds of bran daily. If we now look up in the 

 tables given on pages 237 to 241, the amounts of digestible food 

 components contained in the quantities given of these feeds, we 

 shall have: 



Total Digestible Nutr. 



Dry Mtr. Pro. Garb. & Fat Ratio. 



40 Ibs. corn silage 10.5 Ibs. .48 Ibs. 7.1 Ibs. 



5 Ibs. mixed hay 4.2 .22 .. 2.2 



6 Ibs. wheat bran 5.3 .72 2.8 



20.0 1.42 12.1 1:8.5 



We notice that the ration as now given contains too little total 

 digestible matter, there being a deficit of both digestible protein, 

 carbohydrates and fat; it will evidently be necessary to supply 

 at least a couple of pounds more of some concentrated feed, and 

 preferably of a feed rich in protein, since the deficit of this 

 component is proportionately greater than that of the other 

 components. In selecting a certain food to be added and deciding 

 on the quantities to be fed, the cost of different available foods 

 must be considered. We will suppose that linseed meal can be 

 bought at a reasonable price in this case, and will add two pounds 

 thereof to the ration. We then have the following amounts of 

 digestible matter in the ration: 



