8 



BULLETIN 49, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



making the total cost of the milk 47 per cent of the feed item for the 

 first year. The grain mixture is of next importance to milk, amount- 

 ing to 28.2 per cent of the total cost of feed. The variation in cost 

 of each feed for the different months is in direct proportion to the 

 quantity fed, except for the grain mixture, which is affected also by 

 slight fluctuations in the prices of bran, oats, and oil meal. The 

 cheapest period of the year is during the summer months, when 

 pasture makes up a part or the whole of the feed cost. The drop in 



the totals of feed for 

 the month of Febru- 

 ary is due to the 

 shorter month. 



The prices of feeds 

 are best discussed in 

 connection with Table 

 XIV (p. 21). 



HOURS OF LABOR AND 

 THEIR ' COST FOR THE 

 FIRST YEAR. 



The total number of 

 hours of labor for the 

 first year and its cost 

 are given by months 

 in Table IV. All the 

 time required for the 

 direct care of the 

 calves is included and 

 also the time taken- to 

 mix and haul feeds to 

 the calf barn. The 

 greater part of the 

 man labor is spent in 

 feeding and bedding. 

 The calves are fed 

 twice daily with the 

 exception of the first 

 few days, when it is necessary to feed the new calves at noon also. 

 The feeding is done quite regularly, usually between 7 and 8 o'clock 

 in the morning and again between 4.30 and o'clock in the evening. 

 The steam heater for warming the skim milk is located at some 

 little distance from both the dairy house and the calf barn, and thus 

 extra steps are required to carry the milk at feeding time. The calves 

 arc fastened in stanchions at meal time, and each pail of milk is set 

 in the feed trough, which keeps it from being upset (fig. 2). After 



Fig. '2. — The interior of the calf harn, showing the 

 stanchions and feeding trough. The calves are fas- 

 tened in the stanchions at meal time and the pails of 

 milk set in the trough in front of them. 



