30 MAINE STATE COLLEGE 



shown in Table XIY. It is very noticeable that the rations fed in 

 Period I and LTI were more efficient than that fed in Period II. 

 While there was a Tery gradual and uniform shrinkage in milk solids 

 through all the periods, due to the advance in time of lactation, the 

 fact that the cows all lost weight in Period II and gained again, with 

 the exception of Xo. 4, in Period III, furnishes good grounds for the 

 above statement. 



EXPERIMENT II. 



ENSILAGE COMPOSED OF MATURE FLINT CORN, SUNFLOWER HEADS AND 



Peas as food for milch cows. 



When this experiment was planned it was the intention to use 

 the so called Robertson Mixture of corn, sunflower heads and horse 

 beans, but as no horse beans could be procured in time for planting, 

 Blackeyed peas were substituted. The peas were sown quite late that 

 they might not mature too early for the corn and sunflowers. The 

 materials were all harvested and put in the silo at the proper stage 

 of maturity, the latter part of September. The last of February the 

 silo was opened and the silage found to be in most excellent condi- 

 tion, being perfectly preserved and when fed was much relished by 

 the stock. 



The object of making the mixture was to secure a more nearly 

 balanced ration than is furnished by corn alone. The peas were 

 added to increase the protein and the sunflower heads the protein and 

 fat, the seeds being very rich in oil. 



Every farmer is well aware of the great efficiency of a pasture grass 

 ration,and if we can therefore produce a succulent food for winter use 

 that will approach approximately the composition and digestibiltiy of 

 pasture grass.we shall be able in part to substitute it for the grain now 

 fed and thereby save something of the enormous outlay expended by 

 farmers for that purpose. 



It is perhaps true that just at the present time protein can be 

 more cheaply purchased in cotton seed meal than it can be produced 

 on an Eastern farm, but the time is not far distant when we may ex- 

 pect to see that most excellent food very materially advance in price. 

 The Southern and Western farmers are beginning already to appre- 

 ciate its value and are feeding large quantities to stock, and we have 

 every reason to believe that this practice will increase with the con- 

 stantly growing dairy interests of those regions. 



The details of the experiment are given in the following tables. 



It will be noticed that the grain ration fed the first Period was 

 light but was thought to be sufficient with the amount of ensilage 

 used and just the reason why in the first period some of the cows 

 should lose in weight and maintain their milk flow and then gain in 

 weight and lose in milk flow during the second period, is not appar- 

 ent unless the changes were due to variation in the stomach and in- 

 testinal contents at the times of weighing rather than any actual 

 gain or loss in flesh. 



