THIRTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL CONVENTION. 311 



This shows in a striking manner the inefficiency of System 

 No. i, because of the comparatively large acreage devoted to 

 crops yielding a small amount of nutrients per acre. In striking 

 contrast to this is the great amount of nutrients produced by 

 System No. 4, devoted to corn and alfalfa, the protein being 

 three times, and the total nutrients 2y 2 times that produced by 

 System No. 1. Systems No. 2 and No. 3 are intermediate be- 

 tween these and show how a dairyman may by a mere change 

 of cropping gradually work his way from the first to the fourth 

 system if a sudden change is thought too radical. System No. 

 4 requires more labor, but where this can be obtained and used 

 to advantage this system will be increasingly profitable as land 

 becomes higher priced. 



The figures here shown do not tell the full story; for the 

 poorer rotation will gradually run down the land so that it will 

 produce smaller yields, while with the better rotations the land 

 will tend to increase in producing power, growing larger crops 

 than are here estimated and thereby increasing the pounds of 

 milk and profit per acre year after year. 



Poor Feed Lowers Production; Just Basis. 



As the main object is to show approximately the amount 

 of milk which can be produced per acre under each of the dif- 

 ferent systems, it is essential that a definite basis of production 

 per cow be used, and for this purpose in all cases there are taken 

 good grade cows, weighing 11 00 pounds, that will produce an 

 average of 6000 pounds of 4-percent milk a year when well fed 

 on a balanced ration such as can be produced by Systems No. 

 3 and No. 4. Under System No. 1 cows of this efficiency would 

 produce only approximately 5000 pounds of milk in a year 

 when fed on the unpalatable and unbalanced ration inevitably 

 furnished by this system. This is not only because the cows 

 would be in poorer physical condition, but because they would 

 consume less of these feeds. Cows of this efficiency would 

 produce approximately 5500 pounds of milk in a year when fed 

 on a ration made of feeds raised under System No. 2. It must 



