144 
British Dairy Farming. 
siderably more than this in a milk ration. The nitrogen alone 
is sufficient upon the basis of the analysis of the plant in its 
best condition for the production of a thousand gallons of milk 
per acre, when a very large crop is obtained. Upon this point 
the experience of Mr. Hunt, of Ramsay Tyrrell, who conducts 
his admirably-managed dairy farm almost entirely upon a 
system of forage cropping, is extremely valuable. An inspec- 
tion of his farm in the spring of 1886 enabled me to fully 
understand what could be done upon the heavy soil of Essex, 
and in fact what he is doing. In answer to some questions 
put to him, he subsequently wrote to me as follows : — 
" I have never gone very accurately into the question as to how many cows 
an acre of lucerne will feed, but I think you will find the following pretty 
correct. From the first cut of lucerne I obtain about 16 loads per acre ; from 
the second about 12 loads, and from the third about 8 loads. This makes a 
total of 36 loads (say 25 tons) per acre. The cartloads referred to are as 
much as can bo piled on an ordinary agricultural cart without ladders and 
without being tied. I have twelve cows tied up night and day in a shed, and 
beyond cake they receive nothing but this cut green stuff. Taking one day 
with another I find they consume about 1? load per diem. An acre producing 
36 loads would therefore keep these twelve cows for 29 days. This, you will 
observe, bears out very closely the statement j-ou made in the 'Field' some 
time ago, that ' an acre of trifolium and rye-grass would furnish 100 lbs. of 
fresh cut food daily to 10 cows for 33 days.' From 4? acres of trifolium which 
I cut and put into the silo I obtained 85 loads, or about 17 loads i^er acre." 
Mr. Hunt's herd in all exceeds 150 head of milking cattle, 
including Shorthorns, Ayrshires, Jerseys and Guernseys, and 
he not only cultivates lucerne and trifolium, but rye-grass, 
sorghum, and grass and clover mixed, which remain down for 
some years. Of these he grows the heavy crops with the 
assistance of liquid-manure, which is carefully saved and freely 
used. During the season, when lucerne is consumed, the cows 
are at their best, but putting their daily yield of milk at the 
ordinary return, the lucerne would enable them without their 
cake to produce at the rate of 870 gallons per head per annum. 
Allowing for the imperfect ratio of albuminoids to carbo- 
hydrates in their food, and to other evident imperfections where 
an experiment of the kind has not been conducted with scientific 
accuracy, the result is sufficient to show the great capacity which 
is attached to the lucerne-plant as a food for dairy cattle. If an 
acre kept twelve cows for 29 days, it is evident from this 
instance that it would keep one cow for 348 days if she could 
be fed upon it all the year round ; but in practice lucerne should 
only be used in conjunction with another food, so that the cows' 
ration might be properly balanced. Mr. Hunt's cows consume 
from 120 to 130 lbs. per day. 
The French autumn ration for large dairy cattle, of which 
