MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 89 



It is a matter of course that these records were not made without generous 

 feeding. During the winter the cows had silage made from several varieties of 

 dent corn, mixed, fairly glazed when cut and perfectly preserved in the silo; 

 a grain mixture composed of 100 parts corn meal, 75 parts oat meal and 25 parts 

 bran; old process oil meal, mangels and hay. In summer there was pasture, 

 green fodder and grain. For the week ending March 27, Rosa Bonheur 5th ate 

 an average daily ration of 59.22 pounds dry matter, which contained 6.30 pounds 

 digestible protein, 31.34 pounds digestible carbohydrates and 2.34 pounds digest- 

 ible fat. For the sixty-three days ending April 24, Rosa consumed: 



5,181 pounds silage at $2.00 per ton, $5.18 



755.5 u corn meal at $19.00 per ton 7.18 



566.63 " oat meal at $16.00 per ton, 4.53 



188.87 " wheat bran at $14.00 per ton, 1.32 



398 " oil meal at $22.75 per ton, 4.53 



1,867 " mangels at $2.50 per ton, 2.33 



63 " hay at $6.00 per ton, 19 



Total, $25.26 



During this period her milk contained 167.75 pounds of butter fat, thus 

 making its average food cost 15.07 cents per pound, equivalent to 12.92 cents 

 per pound for butter. Prof. Smith gives her credit for 4,497 pounds skim milk 

 (85 per cent of total yield), at 20 cents per hundred pounds and says it was 

 worth more than this to feed to pigs. Deducting the credit for skim milk, the 

 food cost of the butter fat was 9.16 cents per pound, equivalent to 7.85 cents 

 per pound for butter. 



When at pasture Rosa had 21 pounds daily of the grain mixture before 

 referred to. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



IN PUBLIC COMPETITION BREEDERS' GAZETTE CUP. 



Those early victories which called public attention to the wonderful 

 abilities of the Holstein-Friesian cows are very pleasant memories to veteran 

 breeders. The first was the winning of the Breeders' Gazette Challenge Cup 

 by a Holstein-Friesian in 1883. This was the special prize offered by the 

 Breeders' Gazette, for the greatest butter yield for any thirty consecutive days 

 between July 1, 1882, and July 1, 1883. This contest it will be remembered was 

 a close one between the Holstein-Friesian cow Mercedes and the Jersey cow 

 Mary Ann of St. Lamberts, the yield of the former showing 99 Ibs. 6. 1-2 oz. of 

 unsalted butter for thirty days, and the latter's yield being 97 Ibs. 8 1-2 oz.for the 

 same period. The evidence submitted in each case was referred to a committee 

 consisting of Hon. John Landrigan, president ; Hon. John P. Reynolds, ex- 

 president, and Hon. D. P. Gilham, also ex-president of the Illinois State Board 

 of Agriculture, all of the above named gentlemen being members of the state 

 board, and men of unquestioned integrity. The substance of the report is as 

 follows : The undersigned, to whom was refered the matter of awarding the 

 silver cup offered by the Breeders' Gazette, "to the owner of the cow that shall 

 produce the largest yield of butter for thirty consecutive days, between the 

 1st of July, 1882, and the first day of July, 1883," beg leave to 'report that the 

 following entries have been made for the premium : The Jersey cow Mary Ann 

 of St. Lamberts, 9770, and the Holstein-Friesian cow Mercedes, 723. 



The affidavits show the yield of unsalted butter made from the milk of the 

 competing animals during the test of thirty days, to be as follows : Mercedes, 

 99 Ibs. 6 1-2 oz. ; Mary Ann of St. Lamberts, 97 Ibs. 8 1-2 oz. ; in favor of Mercedes, 

 1 Ib. 14 oz. The silver cup is awarded the owner of the Holstein-Friesian cow 

 Mercedes, her record being 1 Ib. and 14 oz. better than that of Mary Ann of St. 

 Lamberts. 



At the Fat Stock and Dairy Show in 1885, the Minnesota State Fair in 1886, 

 the Iowa State Fair of the same year, the Western Michigan Agricultural and 

 Industrial Society's Fair in 1887, and again at the Chicago Fat Stock and Dairy 

 Show in 1887 were memorable triumphs where Holstein-Friesian butter was 

 awarded first prize in strong competition with Jersey butter. 



Especially notable competitions where the Holsteins were awarded first 

 7 



