THIRTY-FIFTH ANNUAL CONVENTION. 193 



production. However, the animal would not cease producing 

 milk at once. This is a point of great importance in feeding 

 cows, and a lack of such knowledge leads to serious errors in 

 feeding. The milk producing function is so strong that the cow 

 will continue to produce milk for some time, even when the feed 

 is insufficient utilizing the reserve material which has been accu- 

 mulated in the body in the past. This always happens in the case 

 of a heavy milking cow during the first few weeks after the birth 

 of the calf. At this time, it is not generally possible and not 

 desirable on account of the condition of the animal to feed her 

 a sufficient quantity of feed to supply the nutrients necessary to 

 produce the milk, and even if the feed was offered, the appetite 

 is not usually strong enough to cause the necessary amount of 

 feed to be taken to prevent this loss in weight. As a rule, all 

 heavy milking cows decline in weight for the first two or three 

 weeks, and occasionally for ten weeks, after calving, which means 

 that milk production has been in excess of the feed supplied for 

 that purpose. The same thing happens in the case of the cow 

 that is not fed a sufficient ration for the amount of milk she is 

 producing. She may continue to produce considerable milk for 

 a while by drawing on the reserve material of the body, but as 

 soon as this is exhausted, the production of milk must come down 

 to the amount available for this purpose above the ration of 

 maintenance. "When the feed is in excess, the cow begins to store 

 reserve material on her body. If the amount of milk produced 

 by a cow varied directly with the feed, and she did not store up 

 nutrients at one time and draw on reserve material at another, 

 it would simplify the problem of feeding very much and result in 

 more economical feeding at all times. 



How to Avoid Over-Feeding. — While the statement and 

 illustration given apply to one class of dairy cows, there is another 

 class to which it does not apply and with which it would lead to 

 a serious mistake in feeding from an economical standpoint. This 

 group includes those of lower productive capacity which are lia- 

 ble to be over-fed, especially when they are in the herds of dairy 

 men, who realize the necessity of liberal feeding. The proper 



