FIFTY-FIRST ANNUAL CONVENTION 119 



grown for grain and planted slightly thicker than for the 

 largest grain yields, but the corn was heavily eared. It was 

 always fairly well matured when cut. The alfalfa hay 

 was usually cured under caps, which caused it to retain 

 its green color and made it more palatable. Experts in 

 animal nutrition say that cows fed on hay cured in this 

 manner are able to assimilate more lime than cows fed the 

 same ration of alfalfa cured in the swath or windrow ex- 

 posed to the sun. Some corn stover was available four years 

 of the six, and the cows consumed the best parts of it, not 

 over 15 per cent, the remainder being pushed back under 

 the cows for bedding. 



The cows on this Milk Per Acre demonstration pro- 

 duced an average of twenty and one-half pounds of milk 

 per day during the whole six years, including the time dry. 

 They consumed, in addition to silage and alfalfa hay, a 

 small amount of soiling crops, rye pasture, and a little grain 

 when they were fresh. 



Cows Need Grain When Producing Heavily. 



When cows are capable of producing more than 20 

 pounds of milk per day, some grain should be added to the 

 ration, so that more nutrients shall be contained in a given 

 bulk. When fresh, however, several of these cows con- 

 sumed as much as 40 pounds of silage, and 15 pounds of 

 hay per day for several weeks. 



PASTURE PAYS 



**The amount of milk was increased and the cows greatly bene- 

 fited by going out to rye pasture," says Fraser. "The benefit seemed 

 to last over for some time after the cows were taken off pasture. 

 They seemed to do better and were more contented. It is strongly 

 recommended that cows should be on some kind of pasture for at 

 least two months during the year, and they certainly do better with- 

 out silage or with only a small feed of silage for that time. The 

 cows in this Milk Per Acre demonstration felt somewhat the lack of 

 pasture. Sweet clover pasture may be grown on most farms if 

 properly treated and it will yield three times as much feed as blue 

 grass." 



