OPEN" SHED COMPARED WITH BARN FOR DAIRY COWS. 5 



though all records come within the five months mentioned. Only 

 comparable records have been included. By way of illustration: 

 Cow 201 calved October 26, 1914 ; while in the open shed. In 1915 

 she calved September 26, while in the closed barn. Therefore, in 

 order that there should be no difference in the records due to time 

 of freshening, records for December, 1914, and January, February, 

 and March, 1915, in the open shed, were compared with the records 

 for November and December, 1915, and January and February, 1916, 

 in the closed barn. In a similar way other production records 

 covering the same length of time in the two barns and taken the 

 same time after calving have been compared. 



The weight of each milking was recorded, and composite samples 

 for two days were taken in the middle of the month and tested for 

 butterfat. The butterfat test of the composite samples taken during 

 the two days was used to calculate the total butterfat production for 

 the month. 



FEED RECORDS. 



The grain mixture used throughout the experiment was the same 

 for both groups of cows, and usually consisted of 2 parts corn meal, 

 2 parts wheat bran, and 1 part cottonseed meal. In some instances 

 the mixture was varied slightly in the case of individual cows. The 

 roughage consisted of silage and of such hay as was available on the 

 farm — cowpea, crimson clover, and red clover. 



All grain fed was accurately weighed out for each animal, and 

 records were kept during the periods covered by the production 

 record. The hay, silage, and other roughage fed to the cows in the 

 open shed the first year were weighed out in quantities sufficient for 

 the entire lot, and it was assumed that equal quantities were con- 

 sumed by the various individuals. During the last two years of the 

 experiment the roughage was weighed out to each animal. The 

 quantity of grain fed was determined largely by the production of 

 the individual cow, but consideration was given also to her physical 

 condition. It was desired to keep all cows in good condition and to 

 maintain each individual at a uniform weight. They were fed all the 

 silage and hay they would consume without waste. 



The cows in the open shed were bedded of,ten enough to keep the 

 inclosure clean, which was almost every day. In the closed barn the 

 cows were bedded daily, and bedding enough was used to make them 

 comfortable and to absorb the liquid manure. For the five months 

 of the year during which data were taken wheat straw was used with 

 both groups. 



DISCUSSION OF RESULTS. 



The milk and butterfat production records made under both the 

 open-shed and closed-barn conditions are shown in Table 1 



