AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN NEW HAMPSHIRE 17 



used, tabulated on the basis of month calving, were found in January and 

 February \v ith Ayrshires, January and March with Jerseys, and March 

 and May with Holsteins. No significant relation was evident in the case 

 of Guernseys and Milking Shorthorns. 



Dry periods longer than 90 days did not result in increased milk 

 yields for the subsequent lactation. 



Grain feeding during the dry period varied greatly between breeds. 

 With Jerseys, 50.4 per cent of the cows were fed an average of only 25 

 pounds of grain during the dry period in contrast to 23.9 per cent for 

 Ayrshires, 28.2 for Guernseys, and 13.2 for Holsteins. 



Correlations between the amount of grain fed during the lactation 

 period and 4 per cent F. C. M. produced were as follows: Ayrshire .688 

 ± .02; Guernsev .476 ± .029; Holstein .787 ± .00875; Jersey .689 ± 

 .0249; Milking Shorthorn .816 ± .0259. 



K. S. Morrow, H. A. Keener 



Dry Rations for Raising Dairy Calves and Heifers 



Nineteen calves have been fed three different dry calf rations during 

 the past year. Fluid milk consumption was held to a minimum in each 

 instance. A ration containing fish meal and dried whey as the sources of 

 animal protein gave as good results as the university dairy herd calf ra- 

 tion, to which 25 per cent of powdered skim milk had been added. The 

 dried whey seemed to have a beneficial effect on bowel disturbances. 

 When 14 pound of dried whey was added daily to the milk of calves with 

 diarrhea, beneficial results were obtained. 



During the past year, determinations of sugar, phosphorus, and cal- 

 cium were run on calves' blood at intervals of approximately every two 

 weeks by the department of Agricultural and Biological Chemistry. The 

 Klett-Summerson photoelectric colorimeter was used in the sugar (Fohn 

 and Wu) and phosphorus (Fiske and Subbarow) methods using oxalated 

 blood filtrates, while the calciums were run on serum by the Clark-Collip 

 modification of the Kramer-Tisdall method. Analyses of the calves' 

 blood for calcium, inorganic phosphorus, and glucose did not show a sig- 

 nificant relation to the kind of ration fed. The lack of difference for cal- 

 cium and inorganic phosphorus was particularly interesting due to the 

 fact that while the ration containing skim milk contained one per cent 

 steamed bone meal, the fish meal-dried whey ration contained no mineral 

 supplement. The high mineral content of the fish meal, along with its 

 vitamin D content, and the fairly high mineral content of the dried whey, 

 apparently eliminate the need for the addition of a mineral supplement 

 in rations similar to the one used in this experiment. 



Present work on this project involves the testing of a dry calf ration 

 which contains no animal protein. This change was made because of 

 the increasing scarcity of animal and marine proteins. This ration is be- 

 ing fed in conjunction with a limited amount of milk. Milk feeding was 

 reduced, with the total amount spread over a longer period of time. Al- 

 though no calves of this group have finished the five months' feeding peri- 

 od as yet, the results so far are very promising. This phase of the work 

 is being continued with a more extended investigation of the effects of 

 the ration on the vitamin and mineral content of the blood. It is also 



