i4 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
“THE BALANCED RATION.” 
THE SCIKNCK OF FEEDING STOCK. 
Part XI. 
After one or two more illustrations of 
the way different stock foods may be 
“ balanced,” we think that we may now 
drop this subject for a time. If a man 
will keep in mind what has been said 
about the three classes of foods, the need 
of bulk in the ration, the value of 
“ succulence,” the danger of feeding too 
much of the strong by-products, and the 
need of mixing these foods with the 
proper ratio, it seems to us that almost 
any feeder can, by weighing what he 
feeds and figuring it out by the table of 
analyses, give his cows a dinner that will 
be both cheaper and better for them. 
We have had quite a number of different 
combinations—here is a problem dif¬ 
ferent from any other : 
I was of the opinion that most plants, at their 
best, fed entire, composed a pretty well balanced 
ration. But The R. N.-Y.’s table of analyses 
knocks that theory into a cocked hat. The 
weight of ears is about equal to the weight of 
stalks on a given area of corn. Suppose, then, 
that 20 pounds of each aye fed, and we havesome- 
thing similar to.this (not just this for undoubtedly 
the corn meal given in the table contains no cob, 
and the cob would make the ratio still wider) : 
Muscle- 
Fat- 
Pure 
makers. 
formers. 
Fat. 
20 pounds corn 
12.7 
0.66 
20 pounds corn 
stalks. .5 
6.9 
0.09 
A ratio of 1:11. 
I can get wheat to use in place of 
corn and believe that it will pay me to sell my 
corn and buy wheat. I can also get linseed meal. 
My roughage must consist of corn fodder. The 
nearest I can come to a balanced ration with 
these, is to use 12*4 pounds of wheat, 4 pounds of 
oil meal, and 10 pounds of corn stalks. This does 
not contain so much organic matter as I think it 
should, and is pretty expensive—oil meal is $30 
per ton. Will it pay me to use this? How can I 
better it? I can make a little better i. e., stronger 
than a balanced ration of eight pounds of wheat, 
four of corn meal, four of oil meal and no fodder. 
I have thought of trying this as a grain ration 
and giving all the corn stalks and rye straw that 
they will eat. How’s that? Is four pounds of oil 
meal (said to be old process) too much for a cow’s 
daily feed ? Will corn, corn stalks and oil meal 
make me an economical ration 9 g. 
New Jersey. 
We think four pounds of linseed meal 
per day is too much for a fair-sized cow, 
though it might answer where all the 
roughage is dry stalks. This is an un¬ 
fortunate combination—no succulent 
food and almost all the muscle-makers 
to be supplied by strong grains. Here is 
a case in which we would advise cutting 
and steaming the stalks if possible. This 
can be done by pouring hot water over 
them. This would render them more 
digestible, and to a certain extent, take 
the place of “succulence.” Jnless that 
be done, we doubt if a satisfactory and 
economical ration can be made from 
these foods. We believe a cheaper grain 
ration will be secured by using one 
pound cotton-seed and two pounds lin¬ 
seed meals, with four pounds of wheat 
and two pounds of corn meal. If the 
stalks can be steamed and enough fed to 
satisfy the cows, we think they will do 
fairly well. This is not a good combina¬ 
tion, however, since the oil meal is the 
only food that is laxative in its effect, 
and unless the cows are very well cared 
for, they will be liable to suffer from 
constipation with dry stalks for the bulk 
of the ration. Of course, it is right that 
a man should try to make the most of 
what he grows on the farm, but we can 
see how, in this case, home-grown clover 
hay would help things out. A few weeks 
ago, we had a Canadian ration in which 
there was a great excess of muscle- 
makers, because malt sprouts and other 
similar foods were cheap—as was clover. 
In this case, we have just the reverse, 
and muscle-makers are costly, while the 
home-grown foods are fat. This is an¬ 
other argument why clover should be 
grown on the farm to supply cheaper 
muscle-makers. And now, right in this 
■connection, let us consider this state¬ 
ment, which deals with another very 
important thing : 
I give prices of grain copied from our bill. 
Cracked corn, per 100 pounds.$1 32 
Meal, per 100 pounds. 1 32 
Oil meal, per 100 pounds. 1 65 
Bran, per 100 pounds. 1 20 
Oats, per bushel. 50 
Wheat, per 100 pounds. 1 35 
This grain is bought in mixed car-loads. It is 
sold delivered, but the firm claims to sell very 
close, and will make very little concession for 
hauling our own from the car. We take one-half 
to one ton at once. It seems to me that oil meal 
is high and bran very high. What does The R. 
N.-Y. say? K. l. s. 
Cape Cod. 
Now let’s see what we get for a dollar 
in each of these foods : 
POUNDS OBTAINED FOR ONE DOLLAR. 
Muscle- Fat- Pure 
makers, formers, fat. 
75 pounds corn and meal.. 5.45 47.55 2.46 
60 pounds oil meal........ 21.51 15.91 4.24 
83 pounds bran. 9.62 37.06 2.14 
64 pounds oats. 5.41 29.51 2.52 
74 pounds wheat. 6.89 49.22 1.32 
Now that tells an interesting story to 
any feeder. For example, take corn meal 
or cracked corn. The meal is ground 
finer than the “cracked,” but it contains 
a little more moisture, so the values are 
really about equal. At $1.32 for 100 
pounds, this corn costs 1.32 cents a pound, 
or 75 pounds for a dollar in round num¬ 
bers. In 75 pounds of average corn, there 
are 5.45 pounds of muscle-makers 47.55 
pounds of fat-formers, and 2.46 of pure 
fat. In other words, the muscle-makers 
in corn cost something over 18>4 cents a 
pound, the fat-formers something over 
2 1-10 cents a pound, and so on. In like 
manner, you can figure out the cost of a 
pound of muscle-makers, etc., in each of 
these foods. From the showing here 
made, corn and oats are the most expen¬ 
sive feeds, and linseed and bran the 
cheapest. Unless we were making fine 
butter, or had driving horses, we would 
cut corn and oats out of that bill in fu¬ 
ture. The wheat is a cheaper and better 
poultry food, and the oats are too expen¬ 
sive to feed work horses. You will no¬ 
tice that the linseed gives by far the 
cheapest muscle-makers in this list. 
We advise you to make out just such a 
list as this—taking the prices you have 
to pay for grain. First find how many 
pounds of the various grains you can buy 
for a dollar. Then from the table of 
analyses, see how many pounds each of 
muscle-makers, fat-formers and fat, the 
dollar represents in these different foods. 
Then see how much a pound of muscle- 
makers will cost in each of these foods. 
Then you are ready to buy to far better 
advantage than before. Take what you 
have in the barn in the way of hay and 
grain, and use that for the basis of the 
ration. You will need to buy muscle- 
makers or fat to go with your home¬ 
grown crops. Suppose this man who 
sends these prices has hay and stalks, 
and wants to buy principally muscle- 
makers to go with them. lie wouldn't 
pay 18 cents a pound for these substances 
m corn when the price in linseed and 
bran is very much less. Of course we 
all know that there are things to be 
considered aside from mere chemical an¬ 
alyses ; but with the understanding that 
some corn meal is needed to make fine 
butter, and that we should not feed over 
two pounds of cotton-seed meal per day 
(and not at all unless some succulent food 
or old process linseed went with it), or 
over three pounds of gluten or linseed, 
you can see that using such a table as a 
basis for buying will be of great service 
to any business man. 
Another thing brought out by this 
table is the truth of the statement we 
have so often made, that clover hay is 
the basis of successful dairy farming. 
Clover or oats and peas supply the home¬ 
grown muscle-makers in the cheapest 
form. Look at that table and you will 
quickly see that the muscle-makers are 
the most expensive needed ingredient. 
Most dairy rations are altogether too fat 
—where the feeders depend chiefly on 
home-grown products. This excess of 
fat is wasted by being passed as manure, 
and many of the grains bought to 
balance it add too much fat again, and 
so it goes on. With 15 pounds of first- 
class clover hay every day, or a good 
feed of oats and peas, the ration would 
not only need less grain, but the buyer 
could purchase to better adva ntage, since 
he could buy those feeds containing least 
fat-formers, and thus obtain muscle- 
makers at a lower price. 
Here is one more case before we leave 
this subject: 
In my opinion, the Primer Science is worth the 
price of the paper. It has opened my eyes to a 
considerable extent. I came from the city of 
Boston on to this farm, two years ago, and com¬ 
menced to feed- as intelligently as I knew how. 
Of course I knew in a general way what made 
fat, lean, etc., but never having seen any of the 
scientific feeding tables, I knew nothing about a 
balanced ration. I did not weigh the hay, and 
fed equal quantities of corn meal, ground oats, 
bran, gluten meal and middlings. I also fed roots 
(mangels and carrots) as long as they lasted. 
The first winter, my cows did very well, but the 
next winter, on the same grain ration, with the 
addition of ensilage, they began to shrink when I 
first opened my silo, and with all the care I could 
give them, they never came back to what they 
gave before feeding it. Did the ensilage furnish 
them too much fat-formers ? I take it, this 
balanced ration, when fed in the proportions 
given, is a perfect food for milch cows, and is 
supposed to keep them in a good, thrifty condi¬ 
tion, giving a good flow of milk. 
Now, if as you say, a combination of Timothy, 
corn meal and ensilage, fed in sufficient quanti¬ 
ties to furnish the needed amount of protein, will 
give quite a waste of fat, how are we to feed for a 
flow of milk beyond the normal ? It seems to me 
that we must feed a surplus of fat-formers to pro¬ 
duce the desired result. All my cows hold up a 
large proportion of their milk. Some days I get 
more than I do at others. I feed, water, and milk 
them at regular hours, and give them good care. 
Is it probable that by holding it back, they take 
into their system some property of the milk that 
they do not get a sufficiency of in their feed ? 
Rockingham County, N. H. e. a. h. 
This was written in November, and 
many of those questions have been an¬ 
swered since then. We seldom hear of 
good ensilage injuring the flow of milk. 
We think it likely the milkers had as 
much to do with it as anything. With¬ 
out knowing how much grain was fed, 
we would consider that ration too fat. 
The ensilage gave more fat than the 
roots. Equal quantities of bran and corn 
meal will give a small proportion of 
muscle-makers. Feed by weight always. 
Very likely these cows laid up fat on 
their bones instead of in the pail. Such 
cows are dairy robbers. There should 
be a shot-gun used as a part of their 
balanced ration. 
Next week we hope to say something 
about a balanced ration for human 
beings. Then we shall leave this sub¬ 
ject for a time (except to comment briefly 
on some rations that have been sent in) 
and take up another phase of Primer 
Science, viz., plants and plant food. 
Live Stock Matters. 
FORKFULS OF FACTS. 
Foods for Coloring. —I have recently 
purchased a common cow and feed her 
on cotton-seed meal, ground wheat, Tim¬ 
othy hay and oat straw. Can I improve 
the color of the butter by some different 
feed? There are 100 hens kept in a 
house 40x12 feet. What shall I do to 
make them lay ? c. L. m. 
Ellsworth, Me. 
R. N.-Y.—The best foods for coloring 
butter are corn, clover hay, carrots and 
pasture. While these foods will color 
the butter, much depends on the cow. 
The Guernsey and Jersey breeds have a 
peculiar ability for coloring their prod¬ 
uct. As to the hens, you can see how 
impossible it is to answer such a ques¬ 
tion. “ Make the hens think it’s sum¬ 
mer” is the best answer we can give— 
that is, supply the warmth, food and 
conditions that hens enjoy when doing 
their best. 4 
Amber Cane for Stock.— In reply to 
W. D. J., page 771, I would say that 
Early Amber cane, if planted thickly on 
good soil, and well cultivated, w ill give 
three times as much feed and of as good 
quality as anything that 1 can get. It 
should not be fed until the seed is 
matured, and should be cut and shocked 
in small shocks when ripe. I run it 
through a feed cutter, and all kinds of 
stock are very fond of it and do well on 
it. The seed makes one of the best and 
cheapest chicken feeds. Hogs do as well 
on the seed as on corn. I had 1% acre 
this year, and commenced to feed it in 
August. I have six cows, two yearlings 
and one horse, and I have cane enough 
to last until January. I give with the 
cut cane one quart of bran and one quart 
of cotton-seed meal, twice a day. 
Sweetwater, Tenn. R. N. R. 
Horse Abuse. —As an evidence of how 
horses are sometimes abused by so-called 
doctors, Dr. R. S. Howard, of Ohio, tells 
this story : 
I went once to see a horse that the local author¬ 
ity declared was “stifled,” which means that the 
stifle bone was displaced. The horse had been 
cast, and four strong men had pulled at the leg 
as hard as they could while he attempted to re¬ 
place the bone. I found only a nail in the foot. 
That is about the way it goes. 
Second-grade Flour for Feeding.— 
What is the value of second-grade flour 
as compared with corn meal for feeding 
cows for butter ? This flour is made by 
roller mills which produce about 10 bar¬ 
rels of this grade, to 100 of the best 
grade. e. g. s. 
R. N.-Y.—Of course we can only give 
an estimate as to its value without an 
actual analysis. It will probably run 
about this way : 
Muscle- Fat- Pure 
makers, formers, fat. 
Corn meal. 7.27 63.40 3.29 
Flour. 7.62 67.80 1.00 
One trouble with using this flour, is that 
it makes a sticky, pasty mass when wet 
and sticks to the teeth and gums of the 
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fiRFAT REMEDY 
gJHiiaWMDM 
CU RES\ 
PAINS of 
MAN & 
BEAST 
