6 



"PalataMlity. We must also have due regard to the palatability of food. 

 If a cow, for instance, be fed only one or two things, and this same ration is 

 fed for a long time with no variation, she is very liable to grow so tired of it 

 that she will not eat enough. It is not wise to feed any ration continuously 

 for many months, no matter how nearly balanced it may seem to be. We 

 should, to a certain extent, allow stock to select their feed, by noticing what 

 they eat most readily. In that way a cow may be able to tell you that her 

 ration is not quite satisfactory, though the books say it ought to be. 



"We may also, by properly combining feeding stuffs, be able to feed a 

 considerable amount of dry, unpalatable straw and the like, to advantage. 

 The unpalatability of the straw is largely due to the small amount of nutri- 

 ment it contains, but when fed with some hay, like alfalfa, that is compara- 

 tively rich, the evils of the one tend to correct those of the other, and the 

 mixture becomes more palatable than either, alone. 



" We may often increase the palatability of* dry feeds by having silage or 

 roots to feed with them. We may, perhaps, make the general assertion that 

 when two feeds are faulty in opposite directions, one having too much protein, 

 for instance, and the other having too much carbohydrates, they will be eaten 

 more readily when fed together, or on the same day, than when each is fed 

 alone for several days. 



" Changing Feed. A very important matter is the changing from one 

 ration to another. An incident that occurred in our college herd well illus- 

 trates this. The regular herdsman was called away for some unavoidable 

 reason, and his place was taken temporarily by another who was not familiar 

 with the feeds at his command. It happened that the introduction of silage 

 into the feed of the milk cows had just begun when the change of herdsmen 

 took place. Directions had been given to give each cow five pounds of silage 

 a day at first, and to increase this not more than five pounds per day at any 

 one time till the cattle had become used to it. In a few days the cattle had 

 become so fond of the silage that the new herdsman, tnrough a sense of 

 kindness, increased the feed from 10 to 25 pounds in one day. Two days 

 later our most valuable cow died from peritonitis, which the State Veterin- 

 arian, Dr. S. B. Nelson, said was due to the sudden increase in the amount 

 of silage fed. 



" Enough has been said to impress the importance of going slow In making 

 any radical change in the feed of any animal. Calves may gradually be 

 changed from fresh whole milk to sour skim milk, provided it is done by an 

 experienced hand, but a reckless hand would probably kill the calf, or sadly 

 Impair its usefulness, in making this change. 



" Cooking. It has been demonstrated in numerous careful experiments 

 that cooking grain of any kind for hogs, is not only a waste of time and 

 labour, but that it actually causes a decrease In the amount of pork produced 

 from a given amount of grain. Whether It would pay to cook grain for 

 cattle and horses the writer does not know ; but as far as hogs are concerned 

 It is a positive detriment. The protein especially of the grain seems to be 

 rendered to a certain extent less digestible by the process of cooking. 



