RATIONS FOR MILCH COWS. 39 



very proportion of which their ration consists has not been 

 determined by them as they imagine, but in reality approaches 

 in some form or another a standard that was the outcome of 

 theoretical consideration. Let the fodder be changed, and the 

 practical man will then be only too glad to consult with an 

 agronomist to know just how much coarse by-fodder is to be 

 fed to meet the requirements of his special case. It is not alone 

 sufficient to get together fodders that w ? ill give satisfactory yields 

 of milk and butter, but these results must be accomplished in 

 the most economical way. It may often be cheaper to purchase 

 certain fodders than to use in excess what happens to be on 

 hand at the period of feeding, the cost of which rations may 

 vary from 10 cents to 35 cents per diem. It may be more 

 profitable to spend 25 cents upon a cow's ration, than it is to 

 save 15 cents by using fodders not suited to the special case 

 under consideration. While in most calculations very little 

 account is taken of the manurial value of the droppings, these 

 in reality, if properly collected, will represent nearly one-half of 

 the original cost of the ration, which in dollars and cents 

 means, that if this manure had been purchased, it would 

 be worth in itself one-half, and frequently one-third, of the 

 original cost of the feeding stuffs used. For many districts 

 this value of manure has but a secondary importance, at least 

 for the present, and it is unnecessary to take it into consider- 

 ation. 



While the principal authorities, such as Ku'hn and Wolff, 

 differ as to standard rations, there is not so much variance in 

 their theories as would at first appear. They each admit that 

 a certain number of pounds of organic matter, protein, etc., 

 must be fed. The Wolff rules are not so elastic as those of 

 Ku'hn; but practical experiments have shown that they both 

 have advantages and disadvantages, and neither of them takes 

 into consideration the individual characteristics of the animal 

 being fed. While the Wolff tables have been more generally 

 adopted than those of Kiihn, practical experiments of the dairy- 

 ing associations of the United States show that the standard 

 rations used and determined from long experience, are in reality 

 nearer those of Kiihn than Wolff. 



