208 ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



reasons stated,, but the two-year-old heifer Reddy, that calved on the 19th 

 of December, 1894, and the cow Belle, that was added to the list, were 

 used in addition to tho^e listed in the experiment comparing corn (maize) 

 and barley with wheat. The ration was constant as regards the grain 

 mixture and the ration of grain to roughage. The grain was composed of 

 6 parts of spring wheat bran, 2 parts ground corn (maize), 5 parts ground 

 spring wheat and 1 part cotton s.ead meal. The coarse feed was corn 

 (maize) silage and timothy hay fed by weight in the following propor- 

 tions: 14 parts each of the grain mixture and silage and 18 parts hay. 

 The cows were fed to their full limit. Upon examination of the table it 

 will be seen that they consumed on an average 24.51 pounds of dry matter 

 containing of digestible nutrients 2 pounds, of protein (NX 6.25), 12.90 

 carbohydrates and .6 of ether extract. That they gave on an average 25.23 

 pounds of milk testing 4.07 per cent fat. Tables XI and XIII show a re- 

 markable uniformity in the flow of milk during the entire winter. It is 

 the more remarkable when it is considered that these two experiments 

 were preceded by one, confining the cows to a grain ration composed 

 wholly of ground wheat which provided less protein than did the rations 

 fed in the experiment under review. The yield of the herd was far above 

 the average and the fact that it could give its maximum yield with a daily 

 protein supply of only 2 pounds, indicates very clearly that cows of only 

 ordinary dairy capacity get ample supply of protein from the ordinary 

 feeds grown on the farm, and that concentrates are valuable chiefly be- 

 cause they have less bulk. 



The following table gives the average weights of the cows, the aver- 

 age daily protein supply, the calculated amount of protein needed for 

 body maintenance, taking the generally accepted factor of .7 of a pound 

 per: 1,000 pounds live weight, the amount of protein each cow had daily 

 * mailable for milk production, the yield of milk and per cent fat and the- 

 ; amount of available protein to 1 pound of milk. 



