238 



PRODUCTIVE FEEDING OF FARM ANIMALS 



most farmers do not feed their cows to the limit of economical 

 production, and do not try to ascertain whether their cows are 

 capable of making an increased production (Fig. 49). Until this 

 is done, dairy farming, which may be made one of the most profit- 

 able branches of animal husbandry, will not yield adequate returns 

 for the labor it requires. 



Fig. 48. — The Babcock test for determining the amount of butter fat in milk, cream. 



skim milk, etc. 



Amount of Feed Eaten Annually by Dairy Cows. — The table 

 given below shows the amount of different feeds eaten during the 

 year, by cows in the dairy herds of nine experiment stations, with 

 production of milk and butter fat as well as feed cost, according 

 to Henry. 13 The estimated feed units have been added by the 



Annual Feed Requirements of the Dairy Cow as Found by Nine Stations * 



* Connecticut Bulletin 29; New Jersey Reports, 1897-1904; Michigan Bulletin 166; 

 Wisconsin Reports, 1905-7; Minnesota Bulletin 35; Missouri Bulletin 26; Utah Bulletin 68: 

 Montana Report, 1905; Nebraska Bulletin 101. 



1S " Feeds and Feeding," 10th ed... p. 427. 



