42 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



After two or three weks, the cows showed abnormal 

 appetites for salt, but their health was not usually affected 

 for a much longer period. Finally, a complete breakdown 

 occurred, marked by the loss of appetite, rough coats, and 

 rapid decline in both liveweight and yield of milk. How- 

 ever, recovery followed quickly when common salt was 

 supplied. These experiments showed the definite need of 

 common salt in quite liberal amounts for dairy cows. 



In feeding dairy cows, a common plan is to include 

 from one-half pound to one pound of common salt in each 

 one hundred pounds of the concentrate mixture, or grain 

 mixture, fed the cows, and then give them in addition access 

 to salt where they can readily take what they wish. 



Calcium and Phosphorus May be Lacking 



Since over 90 per cent of the mineral matter of the 

 skeleton consists of calcium (lime) and phosphorus, these 

 mineral compounds may fall short in some rations, es- 

 pecially in those for dairy cows, which are using a large 

 amount of calcium and phosphorus in making milk, and also 

 for young, growing animals, which need an abundance for 

 developing their skeletons. 



The disastrous results which follow when stock are 

 fed rations containing insufficient mineral matter are strik- 

 ingly shown in a series of experiments which have been 

 carried on continuously since 1908 by Professor Hart and 

 colleagues at the Wisconsin Experiment Station with grow- 

 ing heifers and dairy cows. 



In these trials it has been found that when cows are 

 fed straw for rouhage along with grain and grain by-prod- 

 ucts, they usually produce dead or weak calves. Young 

 heifers raised on such rations even fail to grow normally, 

 and in some cases suffer from nervous breakdowns. 



For a few years the nutritional experts were at a com- 

 plete loss to understand the reason for these astonishing re- 

 sults. However, it has been found that the disasters are due 

 to a lack of lime or calcium in the ration and a lack of one 

 of the vitamins, which will be discussed later, which animals 



