THIRTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL CONVENTION 281 



which consisted of good clover hay, corn silage, bran, corn meal, 

 and Buffalo gluten feed. The cows were producing well on this 

 ration, and were all in good flesh and good physical condition. 

 The treatment for several months previous had been the same 

 for all the cows. 



The feeds in the rations were .maintained in the following 

 proportions, each cow being given all she could eat up clean : 





Lot 



1 



Lot 2 





Corn silage 





30 pounds 



Corn silage 



30 pounds 



Clover hay 





8 pounds 



Timothy hay 



5 pounds 



Gluten feed 





4 2-3 pounds 



Clover hay 



3 pounds 



Ground corn 





3 1-3 pounds 



Ground corn 



8 pounds 



The silage was made from well-eared, well-matured corn, 

 and was of fine quality. The clover hay, timothy hay, and 

 grains were of good quality, and the grains were finely ground. 

 The ration fed to Lot I contained I pound of digestible pro- 

 tein to 6 pounds of digestible carbohydrates and fat, which is a 

 well-balanced ration for cows giving 40 pounds of milk daily. 

 The ration fed to Lot 2 contained 1 pound of digestible protein 

 to 11 pounds of digestible carbohydrates and fats, which is far 

 too low a proportion of protein for even a dry cow ; yet such 

 rations are frequently fed to dairy herds. 



Results. 



When the change was made from the preliminary ration 

 to the test rations, the cows in both lots decreased in milk flow, 

 but Lot 2, receiving the unbalanced ration, decreased much more 

 rapidly. This decrease continued in Lot 2 until that lot was 

 producing but little more than two-thirds as much as Lot 1. 

 At the end of the 131 days the cows in Lot 1 were in practically 

 as good condition as when the test started, but those in Lot 2 ran 

 down so rapidly in both flesh and condition that after 90 days 

 the changing of their ration and the terminating of the experi- 

 ment were seriously considered. This great difference was due 

 to the lack of protein in the ration fed to Lot 2 and the lack of 

 palatability in the timothy hay, of which the cows could not be 

 induced to eat large amounts. Though the timothy was cut and 



