No. 4.] MAKING MILK FOE PRIVATE TRADE. 195 



a few shorts daily, until at the end of eighteen days she can 

 have the regular grain mixture, but not her full ration by 

 any means. 



I make up my grain ration as follows : 125 pounds Buffalo 

 gluten, 200 pounds winter bran, 80 pounds old-process oil 

 meal. Of this mixture I give a cow from 8 to 14 pounds 

 daily in two feeds, according to her power of assimilation. 

 The average weight of my cows is about 1,250 pounds, and 

 the above ration is too rich in carbohydrates and fat, accord- 

 ing to the standard grain rations that are made up ; but, 

 not being a chemist, I can only say, come and look at the 

 cows and also the milk record, which is kept on weekly 

 sheets and copied into a large book, so I can tell at a glance 

 what each cow is doing by the week, month and year. 



In the barn of 42 head the average daily grain ration is 11 

 pounds per cow. The gluten costs, per ton, $13.50; the 

 shorts cost, per ton, $12.50; the oil meal costs, per ton, 

 $17. My daily grain ration costs only 7 cents per cow. 



In addition to grain, they have 35 pounds of ensilage 

 daily, divided in two feeds, also two feeds of hay of 3 

 pounds each, or oat straw. My ensilage I sell to the cows 

 at $2 per ton and hay at $16 per ton. 



The cost of feed per day for one cow is : Grain, 7 

 cents ; ensilage, 3 cents ; hay, 8 cents ; total, 18 cents. 

 Add to cost of feeding the care of cows, grooming, milking, 

 care of milk, washing cans and taking milk to depot, etc., 

 which is 8 cents per day per cow, or total of 26 cents per 

 day per cow. 



I tind l)y feeding the above ration that the cows will give 

 me a larger yield of milk and at the same time put on flesh, 

 so that they can ])e turned for beef at any time, and bring 

 nearly enough to buy a new one. 



I have one cow that has been through the mill for three 

 years now, and for the last two years she has paid me gross 

 over $200 yearly in milk alone, and this year she has started 

 in to beat all previous records. 



At present the barn of 42 head averages 27 pounds daily, 

 mixed milk tests 4.3, and they are made up as follows : 14 

 calved within two months, 23 calved six months ago, 5 have 

 been milking from one year to a year and a half. If at any 



