DAIRY CATTLE 



441 



proved more nutritious than this mix- 

 ture and increased the fat content of 

 the milk. Chicago maize feed also 

 proved superior and corn germ feed 

 about equal to the mixture. 



Atlantic gluten flour when fed in 

 large quantities has little effect on the 

 quantity or quality of the milk. Sugar 

 meal will produce about 8 per cent more 

 milk and 27 per cent more butter than 

 corn and cob meal. As already indicated 

 it has been found in Maine, Michigan, 

 New Hampshire, and elsewhere, that all 

 gluten feeds which contain a large per- 

 centage of oil have a tendency to soften 

 the butter. 



Hominy feed has been thoroughly 

 tested by Hills in Vermont. It appears 

 that when 2 to 3 pounds of this feed are 

 substituted for an equal weight of bran 

 in an 8-pound ration, the amount of milk 

 is increased 4 per cent, and the amount 

 of butter 1 per cent. As compared with 

 cottonseed meal, hominy feed produced 

 more milk, but of a poorer quality. In 

 fact, the quality of the milk was so badbj 

 affected as to cause an unusual drop in 

 the fat content. 



Cottonseed meal — This is an excellent 

 dairy feed' and may be fed everywhere 

 with fine results, if proper precautions 

 are exercised. Otis and others have 



Fig. 288 — A PRIZE-WINNING KERRY COW 



In Kentucky, May found that gluten 

 meal gave better results with corn and 

 cob meal than with ground corn. The 

 amount of milk obtained was somewhat 

 greater when gluten meal was substi- 

 tuted for bran with a ration containing 

 liberal quantities of corn and cob meal. 

 Germ meal frequently shows a fatten- 

 ing tendency. When mixed with bran, 

 germ meal has proved somewhat su- 

 perior to a ration of gluten meal and 

 corn meal. In New York, wet acid corn 

 slump, dry slump and dry slump acidi- 

 fied with acetic acid have been fed to 

 cows without any harm to their health 

 or to the quality of the milk. The dis- 

 tillery products of corn, however, must 

 be fed with some caution. 



called attention to the desirability of be- 

 ginning gradually, perhaps with not 

 more than *4 to % pound daily; the 

 ration may be increased until a maxi- 

 mum of 3 to 5 pounds is reached. In 

 the southern states, where the cottonseed 

 meal is fed most extensively, this ma- 

 terial may be mixed with soy bean meal, 

 in proportions so as to regulate the firm- 

 ness of the butter, at will. Cottonseed 

 meal always hardens the butter, as well 

 as other animal fats, while soy bean 

 meal has a softening tendency. It is 

 a simple matter, therefore, to mix these 

 materials so as to obtain butter of the 

 requisite firmness. 



Compared with bran — In a recent 

 test in Kentucky, cottonseed meal fed 



