40 THE CREAMERY PATRON'S HANDBOOK. 



Cows do not respond, however, to the heavy feeding of linseed meal, and its 

 high price often limits its general use. The dairyman can usually profitably 

 feed a pound or two per cow daily, which small allowance will have a beneficial 

 effect on the digestive tract, showing that fact in the smooth, glossy coat of 

 hair and the general thrift of the animal. 



Cotton-seed meal is richer than linseed meal in protein, but it does not have 

 the general beneficial effect found in linseed meal. Throughout the South 

 cotton seed and cotton-seed meal should be extensively fed. In the north- 

 ern dairy districts cotton-seed meal will often be extensively used because 

 it is a cheap source of protein, and manure resulting from its use is extremely 

 rich in fertility. The dairyman can often advantageously feed two or three 

 pounds of cotton-seed meal daily per cow. . As with linseed meal, such an 

 allowance will help bring the protein up to the required standard. 



In regard to the roughage, we must place first reliance on the Indian corn 

 plant since it supplies us with the cheapest possible carbohydrates. Every 

 American dairyman should be an extensive corn raiser not only because 

 of the grain furnished but for the roughage it supplies. Dry fodder corn can 

 be used with all forms of dairy stock from calves to milk cows, with success 

 and economy. Planted thickly, there is a fair yield of grain and a large pro- 

 duction of coarse corn-hay or fodder. Planted less thickly, there is a large 

 yield of grain, and the corn stover or straw is still valuable much more so 

 than wheat or oat straw. Many dairymen are not satisfied with good corn 

 fodder or corn stover for their cows, but push their progress further and 

 utilize the silo as a means of storing fresh succulent corn forage. 



Experiments at the Wisconsin, Vermont and New Jersey Experiment 

 Stations show that an acre of corn in the silo is somewhat superior in feeding 

 value to an acre of dried shock corn. There is another effect of silage not 

 measured in short experiments. This succulent feeding material tends to 

 keep the animal in a healthy, thrifty condition, something which is not at- 

 tained during our long winters by using dry feeds only. All talk about silage 

 destroying the teeth of cows, eating up the digestive tract or inducing 

 or favoring tuberculosis, is idle talk and should not be listened to by intel- 

 ligent dairymen. Silage has proved its usefulness and helpfulness over and 

 over again on the American dairy farm. 



Oat straw is the best kind of straw for dairy cows, a few pounds a day 

 being helpful in making up a ration. Next comes barley straw, then wheat 

 straw, and finally rye straw, which last two had better be used for bedding 

 purposes rather than placed in the feed manger. 



Of the hays, timothy is the least valuable, being comparatively rich 

 in carbohydrates but quite poor in protein, and always more expensive for 

 the nutriment furnished than is corn forage. The dairy farmer cannot 

 afford to raise timothy hay for his cows so long as he can grow a corn crop. 

 Clover hay is comparatively rich in protein, and when well cured is one of 

 the most useful of all feeds in the dairy barn. First of all the dairyman 

 should be a corn grower and next a clover grower. By using clover, the 



