roughage and meals or concentrates as it is found convenient or 

 possible to include. Feeding a meal mixture made up of oats, 

 barley, bran, oil-cake meal and corn is likely to give better results 

 than a meal mixture of similar feeding value from a chemical stand- 

 point including, say, only bran and barley and much better results 

 than feeding bran alone. The mixture of meals improves the flavour 

 thus rendering the meal more palatable and hence more digestible. 

 Palatability in a ration adds greatly to digestibility. Improved 

 digestibility means increased effectiveness. The value of variety in 

 the feed is thus apparent. 



These remarks miuist not be taken to mean, however, that a 

 mixture of roughages or a meal mixture once compounded, no other 

 may be fed. It is possible to have two or three quite different mix^ 

 tures on the go at the same time, provided always that the same 

 feed be fed at the same hour each day. That is, one might feed 

 ensilage, straw and meal in the morning, and roots, straw, hay and 

 bran in the evening or vice versa. It will not do, however, to feed 

 ensilage in the morning one day and in the evening of the next. 

 It or any other feed should always be fed at the same hour. 



SOME IMPORTANT MINOR AIDS TO PALATABILITY. 



The stage at which the various forage crops are harvested has 

 much to do with their flavour and aroma. Early-cut hay is not only 

 superior in composition to the late-cut article, but is much more 

 pleasant in aroma and more acceptable in flavour. The same may 

 be said of most forage crops, the early-cut, well-cured forage plant of 

 practically every description is much superior to the late-cut badly- 

 autred plant of the same species. 



Freshly-ground grain is always more palatable than long-ground 

 material and will give better results. 



Feed the best feeds, that is, the most palatable feeds, in the 

 morning. Give less acceptable feeds at night or outside in racks 

 or in some such way as will leave the eating of the same a matter 

 of amusement or a pastime, as it were, rather than a duty or a neces- 

 sity. The cow eats such things best when she really does not need 

 to eat them and, what is more, shows results for the extra feed con- 

 sumed even though it be inferior in quality. 



HOW OFTEN TO FEED. 



Some feeders claim it to be necessary to feed several times each 

 day. A common practice is to feed morning, noon, and night. A 



