20 FEEDING WITH SUGAR BEETS, SUGAR, ETC. 



the excellent effects will be of benefit to the cow later on. If the 

 fat-forming nutriments are pushed to an excess, the subsequent 

 milk forming characteristics will be considerably diminished. 

 Rations and Upon general principles it must be understood that the ration 

 feeds. should be made up under admitted rules, and if it contains too 

 much coarse fodder there will follow a decrease in the milk flow, 

 just as there would if the feed had been too sparingly or exces- 

 sively given. As regards narrow and wide rations, the bulk of 

 argument for economical milk production appears to be in favor 

 of narrow rations. We must argue from the standpoint of the 

 various localities and be governed by the price of feeds upon the 

 market. In one part of the United States protein may be cheap 

 and carbohydrates expensive, then in other sections the reverse 

 may be the case, so it is best to have some standard and adhere 

 to it as nearly as possible. The feeds to be combined with fresh, 

 siloed or dried residuum cossettes depend upon the local condi- 

 tions, under which certain forages are more desirable than others. 

 Experience shows that com and col) meal give more milk than 

 whole ear corn, so the farmer, when possible, should give pref- 

 erence to the former. There is an evident money saving in using 

 cob meal and com in preference to whole-ear corn, and the 

 assimilation is greater during its passage through the alimentary 

 canal. The advantages of certain cotton-seed meals as com- 

 pared with gluten, wheat or corn meal, is a question to examine 

 which in detail would lead us beyond the scope of this present 

 writing, and as the hay added must depend upon the local sup- 

 ply, the farmer cannot be benefited by having an extended 

 amount of information as to the advantages of clover hay over 

 meadow hay, for example. 



While a large portion of the fodders is produced on the farm, 

 certain feeds have to be purchased, and their utilization is not 

 always profitable from a money standpoint. If a farm could be 

 self-supporting, the ideal in cattle feeding would be reached, 

 and hence sugar-beet residuum offers a practical solution of this 

 rural problem. 



Influence of feeds There can be no doubt that fodders have an important influ- 



upon butter ence upon the taste of butter. Just what the cause is has never 



and milk. k een satisfactorily settled. The winter butter is generally con- 



