Feeding Dairy Cattle 



variety. Cottonseed meal may contain as high as 50 per 

 cent, protein. 



When one sees that a good cottonseed meal containing 

 36 per cent, protein may contain as high as 27 per cent, hulls 

 one easily realizes what a cottonseed feed is made of which 

 is usually guaranteed to contain 20 per cent, protein. Such 

 cottonseed feeds may contain as high as 80 per cent, hulls. 

 The ground hulls have so much the appearance of the meal 

 that it is impossible for one who is not expert to recognize 

 the difference between a good cottonseed meal and a cotton- 

 seed feed containing only 20 per cent, protein. I do not 

 believe that cottonseed feed is ordinarily sold as cottonseed 

 meal, but I do believe that the higher grade meals are the 

 less expensive meals to buy. 



In order to get a comparison of feeding values it may be 

 said that an average sample of choice cottonseed meal will 

 have in it about 1564 pounds of total digestible nutrients, 

 prime cottonseed meal 1510 pounds of total digestible nutri- 

 ents and good cottonseed meal 1496 pounds of total digesti- 

 ble nutrients to the ton. Therefore, the 36 per cent, meal is 

 only about seven-eighths the value of the choice cottonseed 

 meal. Cottonseed feed containing 20 per cent, protein has 

 in it only 11 54 pounds of total digestible nutrients to the ton 

 which makes it little better than good hay for feeding. 



THE MANURIAL VALUE OF COTTONSEED MEAL 



To illustrate the value of the high protein feeds as sources 

 of fertilizing materials to our farms, we will call attention to 

 the value of choice cottonseed meal. If a farmer should 

 buy a ton of choice cottonseed meal and spread it on his land 

 he would be putting on his land the equivalent of 17 1.4 

 pounds of ammonia, 53.4 pounds of phosphoric acid and 36.2 

 pounds potash. At the current values of fertilizing ingredi- 

 ents one ton of cottonseed meal used as a fertilizer would 

 have a value comparable to commercial fertilizers of similar 

 nature. 



Suppose that instead of spreading this cottonseed meal 

 directly on the land we feed it to cows. According to E. O. 

 Pippin's estimates, Cornell University bulletin 127, entitled 

 "Farm Manure", it is estimated that the cow would return in 

 her manure 30 per cent, of the ammonia, 50 per cent, of the 

 phosphoric acid and 40 per cent, of the potash. Therefore, 

 after it has served its usefulness as a feed the resulting ma- 

 nure would have a fertilizing value equivalent to 51.4 pounds 

 of ammonia, 26.7 pounds of phosphoric acid and 14.5 pounds 



Page One Hundred Thirty-eight 



