ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



249 



In my institute work, I show the charts and say ''If you can fix 

 them in your mind, and mix these two feeds you will very mater- 

 ially improve what you are already doing. 



On the other hand there are only one or two feeds that are 

 so nearly balanced themselves in the way of chemical composi- 

 tion. 



DISCUSSION. 



Q : — About the feed values ? 



A : — That feeding subject is a large one. There is a sample 

 ration that I figured out that shows a representative balanced 

 ration. What is a balanced ration? It is simply one in which 

 the chemical elements are present in such proportions as to meet 

 the needs of the animal body. The chemist when he takes a feed 

 to analize it, puts it in the oven and dries it out. Then he 

 analizes the dry matter. All the different elements can be 

 grouped into two groups. Those which tend to make fat and 

 heat and those which make the lean meat and energy, the protein 

 and carbohydrates and fat. In a general way, for every pound 

 of protein we ought to have somewhere from five and a half to 

 six and a half or seven of carbohydrates and fat. That is in the 

 dairy cows ration. In corn, which you all know is the fattening 

 feed there is 11 pounds of the fat making material. For every 

 pound of protein we get four times as much carbohydrates and 

 fat. I said the dairy cow wants about one to five and a half, 

 some say six and a half. In order to balance up a ration you must 

 begin with a feed that is too wide, not one that is too narrow. 

 (Look at this chart.) There is a group of feeds that has too 

 much fattening and not enough milk making. And here is 

 another group which has too much lean making, casein, etc. 

 There is all your farm crops. There are the bought feeds plus a 

 few of the farm crops. I am not going far into balanced rations. 

 Clover hay is the only one in that whole list, and blue 

 grass is another one. Those two feeds are the only ones that are 

 real close. If you have lots of corn fodder, don't feed all clover 

 at one time and all the corn stover. Mix the two together. The 



