54 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



great danger of damaging your cows with heavy feeding of pro- 

 tein. 



Passing on to the starches of carbohydrates we find them 

 the chief source of energy and of fuel supply to the cows, or any 

 type of stock. One thing about the starches, while you may over- 

 feed, the cow will store the surplus in her body, if it makes fat 

 on the cow's back when she is dry it will come back to you in part 

 or all when she is fresh. 



In that connection, just one thing more. It has been estab- 

 lished by your University, that of Missouri, Minnesota and a 

 number of others, that a i,ooo pound cow giving thirty pounds 

 of average milk, requires about 2.26 pounds of digestible protein 

 and she requires about 15 pounds of carbohydrate equivalent. I 

 want to give you that proportion : about one to 6.8 — one protein 

 to 6^ of carbohydrates in the ration. We have got to supply 

 her those things in that proportion. 



There are other factors when we come to make up a ration 

 for a cow. It has to be bulky; it has to be succulent; succulent 

 feeds consist largely of water. I would hate to make milk with- 

 out ensilage, if I had ten or more cows. The next best thing is a 

 root crop. Ensilage is the thing. The ration must be palatable ; 

 we lose sight of that often, we think there is a nice bunch of feed 

 and push it up to the cow and wonder why she does not eat it — 

 she does not like it, it does not appeal to her. On the other hand 

 when fed palatable food you will find cows will eat more, and 

 will digest it better. A;nd you want a cow tO' eat and to eat much. 

 Eating is a habit ,it is so .with men and it is so with cows 

 If cows do not get palatable food they will not eat so much and 

 will not digest so much. Besides being palatable it has to be 

 varied. The cow is like men and women ; we like to have a dif- 

 ferent breakfast tomorrow than we had this morning — we want 

 each meal different from the last. The dairy cow is just as par- 

 'cular as w.e are, but she wants it in a different way. She wants 

 d number of different things mixed up to make her ration. Feed 

 that mixture three times a day and seldom change so long as she 

 does well on it, and when you make a change, do it gradually. 



Grow alfalfa and clover. We grow alfalfa in New Eng- 



