386 Feeds and Feeding. 



feeding the cotton-seed meal. At the Utah Station^ 'Linfield found 

 that cows getting some concentrates while on pasture, at first showed 

 no great advantage therefrom ; later the effects of such feed became 

 apparent, the difference being very marked by the following winter. 

 Roberts of the Cornell Station- found that cows fed concentrates 

 while on luxuriant pasture gave less milk and no more fat than 

 those on grass alone. With luxuriant pasture except for a short 

 period, both lots did equally well. Grain-fed cows that were fed 

 grass for soilage gave just enough more milk than others fed no 

 grain to pay for the concentrates fed. The study was transferred 

 to a nearby dairy farm. A herd of 16 cows lightly fed the previous 

 winter was divided into 2 lots of 8 cows each, all grazing on the 

 same pasture. Each cow in Lot I was given 4 quarts daily of rich 

 concentrates, while those in Lot II received none. When the grass 

 began to fail in August soilage was fed. The returns for 22 weeks 

 are as follows : 



Lot I Lot II 



Pasture with Pasture without 

 concentrates concentrates 



Concentrates fed, pounds 5,200 



Milk yield, pounds 22,(529 17,698 



Excess of milk in favor of Lot I, pounds 4,931 



Gain in weight per cow, pounds 166 113 



Average per cent fat in milk 4.67 4.70 



Average per cent total solids 14.08 14.19 



In this trial the pastured cows getting concentrates gave 28 per ct. 

 more milk than those getting no concentrates, and each pound of 

 concentrates fed returned about 1 lb. of milk. 



The following year no concentrates were fed to either lot while 

 on pasture. The 6-months yield from 6 cows that remained in each 

 lot was as follows : 



Lot I Lot II 



Fed concentrates Fed no concentrates 

 previous year previous year 



Average vield per cow, 6 months, lbs. 3,440 • 2,960 

 In favor of Lot I, lbs 480 



Tho getting no concentrates, Lot I returned 480 lbs., or 16 per ct., 

 more milk than Lot II. Roberts holds that this was due to feeding 

 concentrates the preceding year. The benefits were especially marked 

 in the case of the heifers, the 2- and 3-yr.-olds fed concentrates the 

 year before developing into better animals than their mates which 

 had been fed no concentrates the previous year while on pasture. 



We may conclude that there are no immediate advantages in feed- 

 ing concentrates when tlie pastures are ample, w^hile if they are poor 



» Bui. 68. = Bills. 13, 22, 36, 49. 



