146 DAIRY CHEMISTRY 



In the combination of foods to form balanced 

 rations there are a numbep of factors that should 

 receive consideration. The foods should be in the 

 best mechanical condition. In the case of some 

 grains, coarse grinding should be practiced. Seeds 

 with hard seed coats, as wheat and barley, should 

 be coarsely ground, particularly if the animals are 

 giving large amounts of milk. If the animals are 

 giving a smaller quantity of milk, grinding is not 

 so necessary, as more energy can then be profitably 

 expended in the mastication of the food. In order 

 to meet with success in feeding, practical experience 

 in the handling of stock is necessary. Too frequently 

 the foods are portioned out by volume rather than by 

 weight, and the feeder has but little knowledge as to 

 the weight of the food he is feeding. Since the weight 

 per bushel of grains varies so widely, volume or meas- 

 ure is a very unsafe basis for portioning out food. 

 For example, a quart of corn will weigh much more 

 than a quart of oats, although a pound of oats will 

 contain more digestible protein than a pound of corn. 

 It makes a great difference in the amount of digest- 

 ible nutrients which the animals receive when the 

 foods are portioned out by volume instead of by 

 weight. 



In the feeding of dairy stock, the sanitary con- 

 ditions discussed in Chapter VIII must be taken into 

 consideration, because the best returns cannot be se- 

 cured from foods when the animals are not cared for 

 under the most sanitary conditions. 



