THE EFFICIENCY OF RATIONS 309 



In feeding dairy cows, the ration should be as large as 

 possible without causing digestive derangements, if it is all 

 used for milk production. However, if part of the ration 

 is used for the storage of body fat (as indicated by a con- 

 siderable gain in weight, especially in the mature animal), 

 a smaller ration will prove more efficient. (See page 144.) 



The preparation of the ration often is assumed to have 

 considerable influence upon the efficiency of production. 

 We already have seen that in most cases grinding, crushing, 

 cooking, soaking, fermenting, and chaffing feed does not 

 materially increase its digestibility but, on the contrary, in 

 certain instances it decreases it. The preparation of the 

 feed has practically the same effect upon the efficiency of a 

 ration as it has upon its digestibility. 



Mumford, at the Illinois Station,^ concluded that for 

 fattening steers, whole corn when fed with clover hay was 

 more efficient than shelled corn and that, when hogs fol- 

 lowed the steers, shelled corn was as efficient as ground corn. 

 However, when feeding silage as a large part of the rough- 

 age of the ration, it is more efficient if the corn is shelled. 

 When cattle are not followed by hogs, it is usually more 

 efficient to grind the corn. Also it is usually economical 

 to grind the grain for heavy producing dairy cows and for 

 horses at very hard work. From the results of elaborate 

 experiments by Kennedy and Robbins at the Iowa Experi- 

 ment Station ^ upon the preparation of corn for hogs, it 

 was concluded that hogs weighing under 200 pounds made 

 the most economical gains when their corn was fed in the 

 form of dry ear corn, and that hogs weighing over 200 

 pounds made the most economical gains when their corn 



1 Bui. 103. 2 Bui. 106. 



