ECONOMY IN FEEDING LIVE STOCK 



109 



roughage should be fed with it to dairy cows. Of the dry rough- 

 ages, clover hay is the cheapest. Let us then follow the general rule 

 of feeding 1 lb. of dry roughage and 3 lbs. of silage per 100 lbs. live 

 weight. To this allowance of roughage, we will add enough corn to 

 bring the total digestible nutrients up to the amount advised in the 

 standard, for corn is the concentrate which furnishes total digestible 

 nutrients most cheaply. Tabulating the results we will have : 



First trial ration for corn-belt dairy cow 



This ration, which costs 21.5 cts., meets the standard in total digest- 

 ible nutrients and dry matter, but is decidedly deficient in protein. 

 "We could narrow the nutritive ratio by feeding less silage and more 

 clover hay, but corn silage is the cheapest feed available. Therefore 

 we should substitute protein-rich concentrates for a part of the corn. 



If 1.5 lbs. of cottonseed meal was substituted for the same weight 

 of corn, the ration would furnish about 2.3 lbs. of digestible crude 

 protein, the minimum amount recommended in the standard. Ground 

 corn and cottonseed meal are, however, both heavy feeds, weighing 

 about 1.5 lbs. per quart. (Appendix Table IX.) It is hence desir- 

 able to add some bulky concentrate which is also high in protein. 

 Dried distillers' grains are about as bulky as wheat bran and furnish 

 protein much more cheaply. Alfalfa meal is not so economical as dis- 

 tillers' grains, and gluten feed is a somewhat heavier feed. Let us 

 then substitute 0.5 lb. of cottonseed meal and 2.0 lbs. of dried dis- 

 tillers' grains for 2.5 lbs. of corn, and again tabulate the results: 



Second trial ration for corn-belt dairy cow 



