THE FEEDING OF DAIRY COWS. 3 



without gaining in weight. There are times, however, when it is 

 desirable to make exceptions to this rule ; for example, practically all 

 highly specialized milk producers in the early part of the lactation 

 period lose in weight; that is, they produce milk at the expense of 

 their own body flesh. When such cows approach the end of their 

 milking period they normally regain the flesh they have lost in the 

 early part of this period. The feeder can, therefore, well afford to 

 feed such cows liberally, being assured that the feed will be returned 

 to him in the form of milk when the cows again freshen. 



SUMMER FEEDING. 



The problems involved in winter and summer feeding are so differ- 

 ent as to make a natural division between the two. Summer feeding 

 ordinarily consists in the use of pastures or soiling crops. These 

 may be supplemented when necessary by silage or other roughage or 

 by grain. When dry feeds alone are fed in the summer, the problems 

 are not materially different from winter feeding. 



PASTURE. 



Pasture is the natural feed for dairy cows, and in many respects 

 the best. With abundance of good grasses in fresh, succulent condi- 

 tion, we have one of the rations most conducive to heavy production. 

 Even with the very best of pasture, however, a cow can not be forced 

 to maximum production on it alone. This is owing to the fact that 

 for the greatest production she must be induced to take a large 

 amount of nutrients. The bulky nature of pasture grass places a 

 positive limit upon the capacity of the cow to take feed. In other 

 words, the cow's stomach can not contain grass enough to supply the 

 required nutrients for maximum milk production; therefore, a part 

 of the ration should be of a more concentrated nature. Good pasture 

 contains an abundant supply of succulent, palatable, and nutritious 

 grasses. On such pasture it should be possible for a cow to satisfy 

 her appetite with a few hours' grazing. Pasture of this kind will 

 supply all the food material needed for medium production and a 

 large part of that necessary for large production. For average con- 

 ditions, with ample pasture of good . grasses or legumes in good, 

 succulent condition, good production can be secured. The economy 

 of the use of pasture depends chiefly upon several factors, such as 

 the price of land, the price of labor, and the lay of the land. 



PRICE OF LAND. 



The price of land has a direct bearing upon the cost of pasture and 

 is an important factor where land values are high. If pasture is to 

 be depended upon entirely for from four to six months in the year, 



