ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEiN'S ASSOCIATION. 97 



Prpf. Haecker: I would prefer the bran for two reasons. 

 It is a farm product, in the first place; and in the second place 

 it makes a more desirable texture of butter ; in the third place, 

 it is a very healthy food for a cow. We have nothing better. 



Mr. Johnson called to the Chair. 



Mr. Judd: Do you men to say that cotton seed meal is 

 not healthy? 



Prof. Haecker: No; but bran is particularly healthy; it 

 keeps the bowels in good condition. I don't know so much 

 about cotton seed. 



The Chairman: Feeders, who use cotton seed meal ex- 

 tensively, say they are unable to do so any great length of 

 time, because it affects the health of a cow. 



Prof. Haecker: I should suppose that would be the re- 

 sult. Linseed meal is worth a little more than double the 

 cost of bran, about |22. It is generally considered a very 

 concentrated food, but it has a very beneficial effect upon the 

 digestive tract. I frequently feed a couple of pounds a day 

 to a dairy cow before she comes in, to keep the bowels loose 

 and keep her in good health. We find the same differences 

 exist in roughage, one of the most astonishings things is the 

 difference in feeding value between timothy hay and clover, 

 using the digestible protein as the standard, timothy hay 

 valued at |10 makes clover hay worth |22.35. 



A Member: Timothy hay is worth in the Sycamore 

 market |7.50 and clover hay |5. When you spoke of the corn 

 ration, did you mean corn meal, or corn and cobs ground? 



Prof. Haecker. I said that when bran was worth |10, 

 corn meal was worth 21 cents a bushel, and corn and cob meal 

 is pretty nearly as valuable, 18 cents. The value of clover hay 

 becomes especially apparent in the corn belt where you need 

 roughage containing a high percentage of protein to balance 

 the ration, and if there is any place in this country where 

 clover hay is as valuable as stated in this table, it is in this 

 vicinity. 



Mr. Soverhill: I think we need somebody to teach us 

 how to handle our clover hay. I do not think the people of 



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