FEEDING FOR MILK PRODUCTION 255 



dry feed to grass, it is best to go somewhat slowly, especially 

 with heavy-milking cows. The young, immature grass, such 

 as we have in early spring, contains a large amount of water 

 and a small amount of dry matter, and it is almost impossible 

 for a heavy-milking cow to eat enough of such feed to supply 

 the necessary amount of nutrients. Wheat and rye pastures 

 are of the same nature. Another reason for putting cattle on 

 pasture gradually rather than suddenly is the effect on the 

 taste of milk. When a cow is changed at once from a grain 

 ration to grass, a very marked taste is developed in the milk, 

 while if this change in feed is made gradually and not sud- 

 denly, the change in the taste of the milk is scarcely noticed. 



Grain Feeding while on Pasture. There is some differ- 

 ence of opinion on this question from the standpoint of econ- 

 omy. There is no question but that a cow will produce 

 more milk if fed grain while on pasture, and if a large yield is of 

 more importance than economy of production, grain should 

 certainly be fed. The cow that gives a small average quan- 

 tity of milk will produce but little more, if fed grain while on 

 pasture. However, with the heavy-producing cow the case 

 is quite different, and it is necessary that she be fed grain, or 

 she will not continue on the high level of production long. 

 The necessity of feeding grain to the high-producing cow 

 arises from the fact that she cannot secure a sufficient amount 

 of nutrients from the grass alone, and must have some 

 concentrated feed in the form of grain in order to continue to 

 produce large quantities of milk. 



Experiments made by the Cornell Experiment Station, 

 covering four years, showed that, while an increase in milk 

 yield was secured from grain feeding, it was not economical 

 to produce it in this way. In their tests only about an addi- 



