8 



to determine just how much of these constituents are needed by animals, and 

 most valuable results have been obtained. Most of this work has been done 

 in Europe, but a great deal of it is now being done at American experiment 

 stations, especially in the case of milk cows. Feeding standards are simply 

 the rations recommended by investigators in this line. It should not be sup- 

 posed that the standards given below are absolutely perfect for all times and 

 places. Future investigations will undoubtedly modify them more or less. 

 When considering the compounding of standard, or balanced, rations, we 

 shall see how, under certain circumstances, we may be justified in departing 

 from these standards. 



" Since there has been more investigation regarding standard rations for 

 milk cows than for any other class of animals, we will give this subject more 

 particular attention. Dr. Emil Wolff, the eminent German investigator, 

 after many years of study and experiment, has concluded that a cow weigh- 

 ing 1,000 pounds and giving a full flow of milk, will do her best work when 

 her daily feed furnishes digestible nutrients as follows : — 



" Protein, 2.5 lt)s. ; carbohydrates, 12.5 lbs. ; fat, .4 lbs. 



" American investigators pretty generally agree that the amount of fat in 

 this ration is not quite as much as it should be. Woods and Phelps, of 

 Connecticut, recommend the following: 



" Protein, 2.5 lbs. ; carbohydrates, 12.5 lbs. ; fat, .65 lbs. 



" Perhaps the most valuable investigations on this subject in this country 

 are those of Prof. F. W. Woll, of the Wisconsin experiment station. By 

 corresponding with more than one hundred of the most successful dairy 

 farmers of the United States, he learned that the average amount of protein, 

 carbohydrates and fat fed by these men is about as follows : 



"Protein, 2.2 lt>s. ; carbohydrates, 13.3 lbs. ; fat, .7 lbs. 



" This may be said to represent the average of successful practice in this 

 country. We cannot deny that these same men might be still more success- 

 ful if they had fed more protein and less carbohydrates and fat, but of this 

 we are not certain. In compounding rations, I usually feel satisfied with a 

 ration that contains from 2.2 to 2.5 Tbs. protein, 12.5 to 13.3 lbs. carbo- 

 hydrates, and .4 to .7 lbs. fat. 



" For a dry cow weighing 1,000 pounds, when it is desired to keep her iti 

 about her present condition. Dr. Wolff recommends the following ration: — 



" Protein, .7 lbs. ; carbohydrates, 8.0 lbs. ; fat, .15 lbs. 



" This is called a maintenance ration. 



" Collecting these standards together for the sake of comparison, and com- 

 bining the carbohydrates and fat, we have : — 



Feeding Standard fob Daisy Cows. 



