BULLETIN 128. 



bined with 8 or 10 pounds of dry fodder or hay makes a good 

 combination of roughage for a dairy cow. 



FEEDING GRAIN. It should be remembered that silage con- 

 tains a large amount of water, and where this feed constitutes 

 the main part of the roughage of the ration, a considerable 

 amount of grain must be feed to supply the required nutrients 

 of a heavy milk producer. The amount of concentrates to be 

 fed is, of course, largely dependent upon the amount of milk 

 and butterfat produced by the cow. 



WAXER. An abundance of pure water is a prime necessity 

 with a dairy cow. This is to be expected from the fact that 

 milk is largely composed of water. Where cows have no access 

 to flowing water, they should be watered regularly morning and 

 night; and during hot weather a third watering at noon is 

 desirable. The fact that milk is composed so largely of water 

 should emphasize the importance of supplying only pure water. 

 We may reasonably expect the same bad effect on the health of 

 the cow and the flavor of the milk from stale, impure water 

 which is noticeable from the feeding of stale, odoriferous feeds. 



SALT. Cows should have daily access to all the salt they care 

 to lick. Either common granular salt or rock salt will answer 

 the purpose satisfactorily. 



FEEDING ACCORDING TO FLOW. In the economical produc- 

 tion of milk, it is absolutely essential to feed cows according to 

 their productive capacity. Just what this productive capacity 

 is can be determined only by keeping a careful account of the 

 feed consumed and the milk and butterfat yielded by each cow 

 individually. Such a record will soon show to what extent 

 cows will profitably respond to the feed given them. 



IMPORTANCE OF FEEDING A FULL RATION. According to the 

 German feeding standard, a cow weighing 1,000 pounds re- 

 quires for body maintenance 0.7 pounds of digestible protein, 8 

 pounds of digestible carbohydrates and 0.1 pound of digestible 

 ether extract. This shows that about half the nutrients called 

 for in a ration for an average milker are used to sustain the 

 body, so that it will neither gain nor lose in weight ; the other 

 half being used to form milk. Returns for feed can, therefore, 



