Feeding Dairy Cattle 151 
it is found that bran may be replaced ton for ton by carefully cured 
alfalfa hay, or by five tons of pea-vine silage when not too suc- 
culent. 
249. Dry forage. — The more common dry forage crops fed 
to dairy cattle are clover, alfalfa, or mixed hays and corn stalks. 
Occasionally pure timothy hay is fed, though this is not to be 
recommended, particularly if cut late. Straws of the various 
small grains are also used, but . 
they are even more worthless as 
a dairy cow feed than is timothy 
hay. Hay cut early is more valu- 
able ton for ton, though the yield 
obtained per acre will not be so 
great. The exact amount of dry 
forage that should be fed cannot be 
stated, as it will depend on the 
amount of grain and whether or 
not silage is being used. Let the rule be to feed all the hay the 
animal will eat with relish. 
250. Succulent feeds. — Some kind of succulent food should be 
fed the dairy cow during her entire lactation period. The common 
succulent foods used in feeding dairy cattle are silage, roots, or 
tubers. Silage is preferable, but if the herd is not large enough 
to warrant the construction of a silo, roots make a good substitute. 
The amount of succulence it is profitable to feed will depend much 
on the attendant conditions. Thirty to forty pounds serve most 
conditions. 
251. Silage. — Green food preserved in the silo is coming to 
be a very common succulence for the dairy cow. While there 
are many green plants, such as alfalfa, clover, cowpea vines, and 
the like, preserved in this way, corn is the most important silage 
crop. No other plant will furnish nearly so much silage per acre 
as corn. All silage contains a very high percentage of water, and 
for this reason is bulky. As a succulent food for milking cows, 
Fic. 63. — Jersey cow. 
