FEEDING DAIRY CATTLE 215 



lated by the size of the animal and by the quantity as well as the 

 quality of her milk. We may say, in general, that a good dairy 

 cow in full flow should receive approximately two and one-half 

 pounds of dry-matter for each hundred pounds of weight. Of 

 this, at least one-half to two-thirds should be digestible matter. 

 Cows giving very large yields may be fed considerably larger 

 quantities to advantage, while the low-producers should receive 

 less. The reader may recur to the general discussion of food 

 requirements as detailed on pages 203 to 210. 



Feeding dairy cattle naturally divides itself into two parts : 

 the summer period when the cows are at pasture, and the winter 

 period when they are stabled and fed their entire ration. 



Summer feeding of dairy cattle. — Pasture is one of the essen- 

 tials of successful dairy farming. The favorable influence of 

 early spring pasture on the secretion of milk is well known. The 

 flow is materially increased, as is the total yield of fat, though 

 the percentage of fat is perhaps not materially altered. True, 

 some years the percentage of fat seems to increase, but other 

 years it decreases in the same animal ; and the food is prob- 

 ably not the cause. 



As a rule, in the early part of the pasture season, the cows will 

 obtain sufficient food from the pastures alone, but later in the 

 season it will often be necessary to supplement the pasture. 

 This may be done by soiling, — cutting the forage and feeding it 

 to the cattle green, • — with silage, or with grain. 



Experiments ^eem to indicate that the feeding of grain to cows 

 on pasture is profitable only when there is scarcity of pasturage. 

 In fact, they will consume but little while the pasture is abun- 

 dant and nutritious. It would seem wise, however, in case the 

 animals eat it, to provide a few pounds of wheat bran or bran 

 and oats mixed particularly in the case of heavy milkers, as 

 this will insure maximum production. 



Protecting cows from flies. — The marked falling off in the milk 

 flow of the dairy cow in the late summer and fall is looked upon 



