Feeding Dairy Cattle 



records by quoting the statements with reference to the feed- 

 ing of Bella Pontiac. This statement of her feeding 

 appeared first in the World for June 25, 192 1, when it was 

 written up by ^Nlr. M. S. Prescott. For the sake of making 

 the book complete it is worth while to reprint a part of it 

 here. 



"Completing her 4-year-old record on ]\Iarch 24, she 

 freshened again June 19. having been dry about six weeks. 

 She started out very easily on a light feed of wheat bran 

 and oil meal with green alfalfa for roughage. About the 

 first of July green mangels with the tops on were given her 

 fresh from the field to the extent of about a bushel and a 

 half a dav and she has shown great fondness for these roots 

 throughout the test. As soon as she settled down to work 

 she was put on to a ration consisting of: 2 pounds bran, 6 

 pounds oil cake, i pound gluten, 2 pounds crushed oats with 

 a maximum of 12 pounds cottonseed meal. Of this ration 

 she ate from thirty to thirty-three pounds a daj- up to as high 

 as 37 pounds a day at the highest. With this grain ration 

 she took from 60 to 70 pounds of roots, 2-^ pounds silage 

 and all of the alfalfa hay she wanted. About the fifth of 

 April the supply of silage was exhausted and quite a radical 

 change was made in the whole ration. The roots were 

 increased to about 150 pounds a day, the cottonseed meal was 

 cut out entirely as she appeared to be getting tired of it and 

 and the oil cake reduced to half so that the ration she fin- 

 ished her year on is just a mixture of 2 pounds bran, 2 

 pounds crushed oats, i pound oil cake, i pound cream of 

 wheat. Each feeding is weighed out separately with one- 

 quarter of a pound of salt and a handful of charcoal in each 

 feeding. The grain is given before milking and after that 

 is cleaned up the roots are fed and the alfalfa hav is placed 

 in the manger and two pounds more crushed oats is given 

 on the roots making a total of eight pounds of grain per 

 feeding, or 32 pounds a day. A tub of drinking water stands 

 in one corner of the stall where it is accessible at all times. 

 This is washed out and fresh water put in everv day. She is 

 having no green feed whatever this spring or summer and 

 the changes in her ration have been made in an effort to give 

 her what she particularly likes the best. Throughout the 

 year she has occupied a light roomy box stall and has been 

 out only to be led occasionally for exercise. This has not 

 been given regularly as Mr. Barron in addition to looking 

 after this cow and the rest of the herd has had all the work 

 of a seventy-acre farm to attend to himself. Practically all 



Page Seventy-six 



