19 



grass hay about 15 per cent less, and the others from 12 to 18 per 

 cent less than a ton of average English hay. It must not be for- 

 gotten that these are figures based on normal conditions, and that 

 time of cutting and weather conditions during curing are likely to 

 cause wide variations. 



E. Milk Production with Salt Hays. 

 General Plan. 



Coivs : Two lots of six cows each were employed in the experi- 

 ments. In several cases one or two cows were not in condition, and 

 hence the test was made with fewer animals. The animals were 

 mostly grade Jerseys, fresh in milk in the early autumn. Full data 

 concerning the animals will be found tabulated further on. 



Time of experiments : The experiments were begun early in Novem- 

 ber, 1896, and completed the first week in June, 1897. 



Cct7'e of ahimah : Six cows were kept in each wing of our exper- 

 iment barn. They were allowed tne run of a yard in pleasant 

 weather. During the winter the wings were heated to a temperature 

 of 50 to 60, plenty of fresh air being always admitted. The animals 

 were carded daily, and every effort made to keep them as comfort- 

 able as possible, thus avoiding the undue influence of any external 

 cause other than the effect of feed consumed. The milk of each 

 animal was weighed on a Chatillon balance immediately after being 

 drawn, and the weight recorded on especially prepared sheets. 



Fodder rations : It was of course not possible to feed salt hay as 

 an entire daily ration, neither was it thought advisable to make salt 

 hay the only roughage. We therefore fed a constant basal ration of 

 wheat bran, Chicago gluten meal, and corn ensilage. In addition 

 to this, 10 to 12 pounds of salt or English hay were fed, so that the 

 milk yield would increase or decrease because of the influence of 

 either one or the other of these hays. For the reason that the salt 

 hay contained from 6 to 8 per cent more water than did the English 

 hay, we fed one pound more of the former, endeavoring to compare 

 an equal quantity of dry material of the one, with a like amount of 

 dry material of the other. Thus if an animal was fed 12 pounds of 

 English hay in her daily ration, she would receive 13 pounds of salt 

 hay. 



Correction Jor milk shrinkage : In order to reduce the influence of 

 the natural milk shrinkage to a minimum, three of the cows during 

 the first half of the experiment were fed the English hay ration, at 



