ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 30 



A. Yes sir. 



Q. Do they get fat under such feeding? 



A. No sir; I am ashemed they are so thin. 



Q. What kind of hay? 



A. I prefer clover, but for the last two or three years my clover has 

 been a failure. I cut timothy as soon as it starts to turn. 



Mr. Newman: We do»iiot want our record to stand as it does on the 

 value of this ration. Mr. Mason says he is feeding 20 pounds of oats and 

 bran to the cow. We can't afford to feed a balanced ration unless we 

 take in oil meal or gluten meal. Is the gluten meal with the corn meal 

 and bran more expensive than the corn meal alone? 



A. A given weight of the corn, bran, and gluten meal costs more 

 than the same weight of corn and bran; but the former ration is the 

 cheaper milk food. How much do you pay for bran? 



Q. Fourteen dollars. 



A. The gluten meal costs $26.00. As a milk food a pound of gluten 

 meal is equal to two and a half to three pounds of bran. I am surprised 

 that the condensing factory objects to the use of gluten meal. 



Q. We are too. 



A. It seems to me a ruinous practice to feed cows 20 pounds of a 

 mixture of bran and corn meal. It is extravagant feeding and is injurious 

 to cows. Ten pounds would be ample. I am not feeding a single cow 

 ten pounds of meal a day, and I believe I am producing milk as cheaply 

 as any of you, considering quality. 



We are not working with exactly the same end in view. It is my aim 

 to so feed that I get the largest yield during the maximum lifetime of a 

 cow. You seem to pay little heed to the length of time the cow remains 

 useful in the dairy. You stuff her with grain, and when she gets fat she 

 goes to the butcher. My cows work in the dairy from 12 to 15 yeajs. 

 Your system may be the most profitable under your conditions; yet I 

 have some doubts on that point. It may not be best for you to rear 

 the heifer calves, but I believe it would be fully as profitable to buy heifers 

 2 to 3 years old and by careful feeding keep them in the dairy eight or 



