Food as a Factor 47 



Where the keeping of records of production is 

 likely to prove burdensome on individual small owners, 

 it has been found that this work may be done to great 

 advantage cooperatively, and the success of cow-testing 

 associations in many localities attests this fact. 



Food as a factor in milk production. It is self- 

 evident that feed must be an important factor in the 

 production of milk, since the solids in milk are pro- 

 duced directly from the food. It matters little what 

 the conformation or the hereditary powers of the 

 animal may be, she cannot produce milk in large 

 amounts for long periods of time unless she is 

 abundantly supplied with the material from which 

 the milk is made, and, in general, that cow is the 

 best and most economical that can transform the 

 largest amount of food into a corresponding amount 

 of milk. The subject of feeding of domestic animals, 

 and particularly the dairy cow, has received a great 

 deal of study and investigation in this country and 

 Europe in the last fifty years, and very notable ad- 

 vances have been made with respect to the science 

 and art of feeding animals, and a large literature has 

 sprung up in regard to this question. This work is 

 not intended to be a manual of cattle feeding in any 

 sense, so only the most general principles in respect 

 to feeding dairy cattle will be touched upon. The 

 ideal ration for the dairy cow must be abundant; it 

 must be nutritious; it must be palatable; it must be 

 succulent; it must provide a sufficient balance be- 

 tween the proteid and non-proteid nutrients, and it 

 must be cheap. 



