pounds of gluten feed 7S ])ounds. It is evident, therefore, that 

 the ffhiten feed is deeidedh more vahiable as a souree of nutrition 

 than the timothy hay.^ 



o. XiTTRiTiVE Katio of Cattlk Fp:ei)S. 



The immerical relation which the digestible protein hears to the 

 other digestible organic nutrients (tiber, extract matter and fat'-^) 

 is termed the nutritive ratio of the feed or ration. Timothy hay 

 has, for example, 3 parts of digestible protein to 47.0 i)arts of other 

 nutrients, or as 1 is to 15.8. This is termed a very wide nutritive 

 ratio. Gluten feed contains 22.3 parts of digestible protein to 58.fi 

 parts of other nutrients or as 1 is to 2.6. This may be termed 

 a very narrow nutritive ratio or })ro})orti()n. All feeds having a 

 luitritive ratio of 1 to 5 or less may be said to have narrow ratios, 

 those from 1 to 5 to 1 to 8 a medium ratio, and above 1 to 8 a 

 wide ratio. 



The cereals and non-leguminous coarse fodders have medium to 

 wide ratios, legumiiu)us coarse fodders medium ratios, and the 

 leguminous seeds and concentrated by-products narrow ratios. 



4. CoMHixixc; Coarse axd Concentkated Feeds (Balanced 



Rations). 



Desirable rations for dairy stock should possess («) palatability, 

 (/>) suthcient l)ulk, and (c) should contain 1 })art of protein to 5.5 

 to 7 parts of the other digestible organic nutrients. If the ratio is 

 much narrower than 1 to 5.5, the ration is likely to be too stimulat- 

 ing for continuous feeding, and the animal is likely to become thin 

 in tiesh. If the ratio is much wider than 1 to 7, the tendency will 

 be for the animal to put on fat rather than to give milk. In both 

 cases the ration may be said to be out of balance. 



For both economical and physiological reasons it is necessary that 

 a considerable portion of the daily ration of the dairy animal should 

 be composed of coarse fodder or roughage, because such materials 



1 On the basis of these figures one would assume that these two feed stuffs were valuable in the 

 proportion of 48 to 78, or 100 to 162. This is not strictly true, however, for the reason that the 

 more woody fiber a feed contains the more energy is required to digest it; further, the gluten feed 

 contains much more protein than the timothy, which, for the purposes of growth and milk pro- 

 duction, still further enhances its value. In fact, it has been shown that the relative production 

 values of timothy hay and gluten feed are as 100 to 236, or as 1 to 2.36. 



- The fat is converted into the energy equivalent of the starch or liljer by multiplying by 2.2; 

 thus, 3 per cent of fat would have an energy equivalent of 6.6 per cent or parts of starch. 



