62 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. IQOO. 



The older animals furnished five pounds per hundred more of 

 water-free edible material than the younger animals. This is 

 equivalent to a difference of twelve pounds of fresh, edible meat. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH COWS. 



An experiment in feeding wide and narrow rations to cows 

 for milk production. Equal amounts of digestible matter were 

 fed in each ration. The nutritive ratio of one ration was i : 12.3, 

 the other 1 :6.J. Results: The general appearance of the cows 

 was best when fed the nitrogenous ration and the yield of milk 

 was 1-5 to 1-2 larger. The milk was some richer and the daily 

 yield of milk solids was thirty to forty per cent larger on the 

 nitrogenous rations than the milk ration. 



Average daily yield milk solids on nitrogenous ration. 3 .07 lbs. 

 Average daily yield milk solids on wide ration 2 . 28 lbs. 



Solids— % Fat— % 



Average composition of milk on nitrogenous 



ration 14. 11 4.83 



Average composition of milk on wide ration 1 3-54 4-34 



AN EXPERIMENT TO TEST BREEDS OF DAIRY COWS. 



The breeds tested were Holsteins, Ayrshires and Jerseys. 

 The experiment continued two years. The following points 

 were studied: (1.) Amount of food and nutrients. (2.) 

 Yield of milk, solids, fat, cream and butter, and relations in 

 quantity which these sustain; and (3.) The food cost of milk, 

 milk solids, fat, cream and butter and incidentally the com- 

 position of the whole milk, skimmed milk, and butter milk from 

 the different animals. 



Results: (1.) The average amount of water-free food 

 consumed daily for each animal was : Holstein, 27.4 pounds ; 

 Ayrshire, 24.7 pounds ; Jersey, 28.3 pounds. 



(2.) The annual yield of milk solids was: Holsteins, 1,014 

 pounds ; Ayrshire, 848 pounds ; Jersey, 827 pounds ; and of but- 

 ter fat, Holstein, 285 pounds ; Ayrshire, 233 pounds, and Jersey, 

 297 pounds. Milk required for a pound of milk solids, Holstein, 

 8.3 pounds ; Ayrshire, 7.8 pounds ; Jersey, 6.6 pounds ; for a 

 pound of butter fat, Holstein, 29.4; Ayrshire, 28.3 ; Jersey, 18.2. 



