Circular No. 30. 



January 191 1. 



MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



DEPARTMENT OF PLANT AND ANIMAL CHEMISTRY. 



> BALANCED RATIONS FOR 

 DAIRY STOCK. 



By J. B. LINDSEY.' 



1. Composition of Cattle Feeds. 



All cuttlo tVeds, whether in the form of o-rains and their by- 

 products, or as hay, corn silage and straw, are composed of the 

 following groups of substances : — 



Water. — The several grains and their bj-products contain from 

 7 to 12 per cent of water ; hay and straw, 12 to l(i per cent ; field- 

 cured corn stover, o() to 40 ])er cent; and corn silage, 76 to 80 

 per cent. 



Ash represents the mineral ingi'edients, and constitutes the ashes 

 after the feed is burned. These ashes consist of lime, potash, soda, 

 magnesia, iron, phosphoric and sulfuric acids. 



Protein is a collective name for all of the nitrogenous matter ; it 

 corres})onds to the lean meat in the animal, and may be termed 

 " vegetable meat." It has the same elementary composition as 

 animal flesh, ^^"hen fed to animals as a component of the various 

 feed stuffs, it serves as the exclusive source of flesh as well as a 

 source of heat or energy and fat. 



Crude fiber or cellulose is the coarse or woody part of the plant. 

 It may l)e called the jilant's framework. It is a source of heat or 

 energ}' and fat. 



1 In co-operation with the State Board of Agriculture. 



