THE FEEDING OF DAIKY COWS. 9 



duced on the farm. Often the freight rates and the middleman's 

 charges, if saved, will constitute a good profit for the feeder. This 

 is especially true of roughage. Such feeds are buljky and in most 

 cases must be baled at a considerable cost ; the freight rates also are 

 much greater in proportion to the nutrients contained than on the 

 grains. 



When land is high in price and the markets for dairy products 

 are good, it is often impracticable to grow all the feeds on the farm. 

 In such cases arrangements first should be made to grow the rough- 

 age, on account of the high cost of transporting these feeds. In 

 most cases the prime object of the farm under such conditions will be 

 to supply the greatest possible quantity of roughage. 



It is a difficult problem to provide a system of winter feeding of 

 roughage which will make the best use of home-grown roughage and 

 at the same time insure full production. Only a general discussion 

 of the problem can be attempted. 



SILAGE. 



In addition to containing the proper nutrients in the right propor- 

 tion, part of the ration should be of a succulent nature^ It is ex- 

 tremely difficult, if not impossible, to keep cows in full production 

 throughout the winter without some succulent feed. There are two 

 chief sources of succulent feed for winter feeding silage and roots. 

 Of these, silage is in almost universal use by commercial, dairymen. 

 While almost any green crop may be used for silage, the heavy yields 

 of corn, as compared with other crops, and its comparative ease of 

 handling, together with its keeping qualities, make it the leading 

 silage crop. W T here the cost of land and the prices of dairy products 

 are high, and the system of farming of necessity is intensive, it is 

 questionable whether the dairyman should consider any other silage 

 crop. 



ROOTS. 



The chief function of roots in cattle feeding is to supply a succulent 

 feed. Under general farm conditions the quantity of nutrients grown 

 per acre in root crops is small in comparison to the cost of produc- 

 tion. These root crops, however, can be preserved during the winter 

 equally well whether large or small quantities are fed each day, and 

 therefore have special application when only a few cows are to be 

 fed. Of the different root crops, mangel-wurzels furnish the greatest 

 yield per acre. Other kinds of beets and turnips and carrots may be 

 used. Turnips, however, should be fed after milking rather than 

 before, as they cause a bad flavor in the products if fed immediately 

 before milking. Carrots impart a desirable color to the milk. 

 41190 Bull. 743 1G 2 



