FIFTY-SECOND ANNUAL CONVENTION 61 



MINERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR COWS 



Professor F. B. Morrison, Madison, Wis, 



Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen: I have had 

 many kinds of introductions: I never had just this kind 

 (laughter). But we all know and like Mr. O'Hair. 



This afternoon I am going to take up a little more in 

 detail some of the facts with reference to the mineral re- 

 quirements of dairy cows in Wisconsin, and I know also 

 in Illinois at the present time, and in the other states of 

 the corn belt there has been carried on very extensive pro- 

 paganda by manufacturers of commercial mineral mixtures. 



Doubtless many of you have wondered as to how 

 much truth there was in the statements made by these men 

 and how much bunk. In talking about the mineral re- 

 quirements of livestock it has always been my policy to 

 call a spade a spade, instead of calling it a long-handled 

 agricultural implement, and I shall follow that same plan 

 this afternoon. 



As I pointed out this morning, there is no question 

 but that minerals are essential for our livestock. Scien- 

 tists tell us that animals will starve sooner and be killed if 

 they are given feed containing plenty of proteins, carbo- 

 hydrates and fat, but a feed containing no mineral mat- 

 ter, than they will if they are given absolutely no feed at 

 all; they will die from mineral starvation more rapidly 

 than they would from starvation where they get nothing. 



I just mention that to show the dependence upon min- 

 eral matter formation. We do not know just exactly what 

 all the functions of the mineral constituents of feed are in 

 a body, but we know that mineral nutrients control the life 

 processes to a great extent, perhaps by carrying electrical 

 charges, like some sort of a telegraph system throughout 

 the body. Whatever method this is brought about by, 

 mineral compounds are absolutely essential for life, in 



