62 
THE) RURAL* NEW-YORKER 
January 11, 
FEEDING PROBLEMS. 
Cow Rations. 
Will you give me a good feeding ration 
for cows of varying capacity? I liave well 
cured corn fodder as roughage and can ob¬ 
tain grain feed at the following prices: 
Cotton-seed meal. $1.65; brewers’ grains, 
$1.45; bran. $1.40; gluten feed, $1.45; oil 
meal, $1.85, and dried beet pulp at $1.45. I 
have a lot of corn which I can sell at about 
50 cents a bushel. J. K. 
Pennsylvania. 
As your cows are not all in the same 
condition, it will be necessary for you to 
feed them quite differently, according to the 
milk they are giving, the time of partur¬ 
ition and the condition they are in with 
regard to flesh. They should be fed a well- 
balanced ration, except the one referred to 
as thin, which should have an extra supply 
of about two pounds of cormneal each day 
to aid her in recovering her lost flesh, while 
one near calving should be fed rather spar¬ 
ingly to prevent her from laying on too 
much fat. One due in a month should be 
dried off as soon as possible and when dry 
should be fed enough light feed, such as 
bran and dried brewers’ grains, to keep her 
in a thriving condition until after parturi¬ 
tion. and then increase gradually after the 
second week. Your corn fodder should be 
cut or shredded and fed liberally. A good 
grain mixture can be made as follows : 20 
pounds dried brewers’ grains; 10 pounds 
wheat bran; 30 pounds cotton-seed meal; 
20 pounds dried beet pulp (soaked) ; 20 
pounds cormneal. Of this mixture feed 
each cow according to the amount of milk 
she is giving, except in special cases of 
cows within two weeks before or after par¬ 
turition. A good rule is one pound of 
grain for every 2% or three pounds of milk. 
c. s. G. 
A Dairy Ration. 
I want to feed a balanced ration, and 
the only feed I have is Timothy hay and 
cornstalks. I can get any kind of grain 
here that would be necessary to make up a 
ration at a very reasonable price. I have 
a small milk route and keep five cows, 
weighing about 900 pounds apiece. How 
much would I have to feed a day per 
COW? C. W. E. 
Pennsylvania. 
The Timothy hay and cornstalks which 
you have for roughage being deficient in 
protein, it is necessary for you to supply 
this important (lenient in the grain ra¬ 
tion. It is also necessary to supply some 
form of succulent material to aid digestion 
and in the production of milk. If you have 
good strong healthy cows which are able to 
stand heavy feeding, I would recommend 
the following mixture: 300 pounds dried 
distillers’ grains (corn) ; 200 pounds cot¬ 
ton-seed meal; 200 pounds gluten feed ; 400 
pounds dried beet pulp; 150 pounds corn- 
meal. All of these ingredients should be 
mixed together dry, except the dried beet 
pulp, which should be soaked with all the 
water it will absorb several hours before 
feeding, and mixed with the dry grain mix¬ 
ture just before feeding time, adding 
enough water to make the whole mixture 
moist and crumbly. As. this feed is com¬ 
paratively heavy, you should feed about 
one pound of the mixture (dry weight) to 
three pounds of milk produced, unless you 
have heavy milking Ilolsteins, which should 
give nearly 3% pounds of milk. In start¬ 
ing to use this ration be very careful not 
to over-feed. Begin with very little and 
increase gradually until you are feeding as 
much as your cows will eat and digest 
properly. C. s. G. 
Buckwheat as Cow Feed. 
Would you tell me what buckwheat is 
worth to feed to milch cows to make but¬ 
ter? I mean, compared with cotton-seed 
meal at $37 a ton? r. w. 
We would not advise the use of whole 
or ground buckwheat as a dairy feed if it 
is possible for you to exchange the whole 
grain for buckwheat middlings. The latter 
contain the portions of the bjuckwbeat 
which are most valuable in the production 
of- milk, and are, consequently, more eco¬ 
nomical as a dairy feed. Since protein is 
the element of most value in the production 
of milk, it is customary to compare differ¬ 
ent feeds on the basis of their protein con¬ 
tent. and, at the price you mention for 
cotton-seed meal. buckwheat middlings 
would be worth $21.80 per ton. This is not 
quite the whole story, however, as buck¬ 
wheat middlings have the advantage of 
being a more bulky feed, and a safer one 
to use at, or near, calving time. Cotton¬ 
seed meal should not be fed in excess of 
three pounds daily to a cow in full flow 
of milk, and, as it is a highly concentrated 
ration, it should be (veil diluted with other 
feeds, and. if possible, fed in connection 
with something of a succulent nature like 
silage or roots. m. b. d. 
Another Cow Ration. 
Will you balance a ration for me from 
the following for cows milking eight to 
10 quarts per day? Malt sprouts, $27 per 
ton; bran, $1.45 per 100; beet pulp, $1.35 
per 100: oil meal, $2.20. I have on hand 
plenty of good mangels and corn fodder and 
salt hay for roughage. k. g. 
New -Jersey. 
It is a rather difficult task to make an 
economical and practical ration for milch 
cows from the feeding stuffs you mention. 
You have two succulent feeds—dried beet 
pulp and mangels, also oil meal, which has 
the same effect upon the animals’ digestion. 
Under ordinary conditions it would not pay 
to use expensive feeds like oil meal and 
dried beet pulp when you have mangels on 
hand which will take their place very 
nicely. Another point is this: While the 
chemical analysis of malt sprouts shows 
that they contain considerable food value, 
it has been my experience as well as that 
of many others, that in practice this is 
not an economical feed to use, when the 
actual cost of milk production is taken into 
consideration. If. however, it is necessary 
for you to use this feed you should also 
have some gluten or cotton-seed meal and 
a little ground oats or eornmeal to make a 
suitable variety to produce good results in 
the production of milk and butter. The 
proportions of each feed to use will depend 
largely upon the condition of your cows. 
A mixture of two pounds malt sprouts, 
three pounds wheat bran, two pounds 
ground oats or eornmeal and three pounds 
of cotton-seed meal ought to pro¬ 
duce a fairly good flow of milk when prop¬ 
erly fed to good cows. Your corn fodder 
should be cut into short lengths or shred¬ 
ded and fed twice a day, with a liberal al¬ 
lowance of hay at noon. c. s. g. 
Ration With Corn Fodder. 
I have as roughage a fair quality of hay 
and an extra quality of corn fodder, well 
cured, which 1 am feeding. I also have 
plenty of good hard yellow and older corn 
which I will have ground into cobmeal. 1 
wish to know how to mix a balanced ration, 
using cobmeal, cotton-seed meal, bran and 
ground oats. In what proportion should I 
mix them and how many pounds per day 
for milch cows? Would you suggest any 
other grain, or would you use the oats? 
The corn fodder is prime and they relish it, 
and I would like to feed it twice a day. I 
cut it up; would it be advisable to put the 
grain on it and wet it, or feed grain dry? 
I have some young stock which I also in¬ 
tend to feed grain to. About how many 
pounds per day for yearlings? I also have 
some beets, turnips and carrots which I in¬ 
tend to feed to my milch cows three times 
a week as a relish. I would fed rgularly, 
but my supply is limited. a. b. w. 
Vermont. 
You can make a very satisfactory ration 
from the feeding stuffs mentioned except 
that it would be advisable for best results 
to add some kind of succulent feed like 
dried beet pulp, or if you cannot get this 
you could add a pound of old process oil 
meal to the ration for each cow after you 
have finished feeding your beets, turnips 
and carrots, which you have on hand, and 
which you should feed at least once a day 
instead of three times a week as stated. I 
would suggest that you mix your grain ra¬ 
tion in the following proportions: 3% 
pounds corn and cob meal, two pounds 
wheat bran, two pounds ground oats, and 
2% pounds cotton-seed meal. You do not 
state what kind of hay you have, so it is 
impossible to balance the ration exactly, 
but this mixture will produce good results, 
and if your hay is part clover or Alfalfa 
you will not require quite as much cotton¬ 
seed meal as is stated. As long as your 
cut corn fodder is eaten with a relish it Is 
not advisable to mix your grain with it. 
Personally I prefer feeding the grain ration 
moistened with water so it is crumbly, but 
not wet or sloppy. The amount of feed for 
each cow should be determined by the con¬ 
dition your cows are in and the amount of 
milk they are giving. We usually feed 
yearlings from 2% to four pounds of grain 
each per day, and you could give them the 
same mixture that you feed your cows, ex¬ 
cept that you should omit the cotton-seed 
meal. c. s. g. 
A Runty Pig. 
I am fattening five hogs on ear corn and 
water, with a little green stuff, also salt 
and charcoal. One pig has always been a 
runt. All same age, but he only weighs 
half as much as any of the others, and I 
cannot get any flesh on him. He follows 
chickens around and eats their droppings. 
He seems always to want something else; 
eats corn about 20 minutes and then begins 
to walk around. Lively enough ; stomach 
never distends like others, from which I 
believe he is deformed inside. How can I 
make him take on flesh ? I give them lime 
water, as you often advise for malnutrition. 
I pour boiling water on quicklime, and 
when it settles, give them this water. Is 
this the proper way to prepare it? g. p. 
Ohio. 
Killing the runt may be the most satis¬ 
factory treatment. The treatment and feed 
seems to be all right, and the proper prep¬ 
aration of lime water is being followed. 
Perhaps some of the following suggestions 
may be helpful, though runty pigs are sel¬ 
dom profitable, even when not counting the 
extra work and care they require. Without 
knowing what caused this pig to be a runt 
we are not sure just what is best for it. 
Put the pig in a lot separate from the 
others and start him on a slop made up of 
one pound of tankage or oil meal to eight 
pounds of eornmeal; add a little salt to this 
slop. Feeding cooked feeds slightly warm 
will help. Provide charcoal and ashes be¬ 
sides the limewater and salt, also water, if 
needed. Malnutrition seems to be the pres¬ 
ent trouble of this pig, and unless this can 
be remedied soon you had better sell or 
give it away and give the extra feed and 
care to the other pigs. w. e. d. 
Feeding Value of Roots. 
Will you inform us of the value of pota¬ 
toes as a feed for cattle? That is, their 
relative value as compared with wheat, 
bran, etc. g. f. w. 
New York. 
We give below the food values of various 
roots and tubers of average composition: 
POUNDS IN ONE TON. 
Carbo- 
Protein. hydrates. Fat. 
Mangels . 
28 
' 110 
4 
Carrots . 
22 
150 
8 
Yellow turnips.... 
24 
150 
4 
Sugar beets. 
38 
200 
2 
Potatoes . 
42 
350 
2 
Corn . 
. . 201 
1400 
no 
Wheat bran. 
. . 320 
1100 
80 
Thus it will be seen that the potatoes 
and other roots can hardly be compared 
with the grains or bran, since they con¬ 
tain so little actual food. The potato con¬ 
tains about 80 per cent, of water, and as 
we see, there would be required 100 pounds 
of potatoes to supply the protein which 
would be found in 20 pounds of corn, or 
about 12 pounds of bran, while the other 
roots contain even less actual food value; 
potatoes, however, are useful in giving bulk 
to a ration. It is much better to cook 
them before feeding, as in this way the 
starch is made more digestible and in better 
condition to serve ns food. Potatoes may 
often be fed to advantage in connection 
with the more concentrated grain foods, like 
gluten, cotton seed, or liusecd. When these 
foods are mixed with the boiled or steamed 
potatoes they will make a very good ration. 
For hog feeding, also, cooking is most de¬ 
sirable, and a good ration can be made by 
mixing the cooked potatoes with animal 
tankage or meat meal. In some cases it is 
possible to obtain bones, or parts of the 
carcass of an animal. These may be boiled 
with the potatoes into a thick soup. _ It 
makes a very good feed for hogs and is a 
good way to utilize such materials. The 
great value of roots lies in their “succu¬ 
lence,” or the quality which makes them a 
substitute for pasture or green fodder. 
Protection for Meal Buyers. 
It seems that Connecticut farmers pay 
each year about $200,000 for cotton-seed 
meal. Most of this is used as a fertilizer; 
largely by tobacco growers. Ur. Jenkins of 
the Experiment Station says that the meal 
sold last year in Connecticut averaged 
about 0% per cent of nitrogen, a little 
over three of phosphoric acid and about 
two of potash. While this is not the cheap¬ 
est form of fertility, the tobacco growers 
think that the meal gives them their best 
form of organic nitrogen, that is, the form 
which gives them the desired strength and 
quality of leaf. This meal is sold to the 
farmers by dealers. They obtain it from 
commission houses, and these buy it from 
the mills operated in the cotton States. The 
plan is for the mill to put tags on the 
sacks, which tags are supplied by the com¬ 
mission houses. The parties who sell this 
meal to the Connecticut trade never see 
the meal at all. and never have it in their 
possession. All they know about the qual¬ 
ity is what they learn from the mills with 
which they trade. Thus a guarantee of 
quality is often not as good as a fair 
guess, and the Connecticut Experiment 
Station has devised a plan for protecting 
buyers. The dealers who sell the meal are 
required to draw a sample from at least 
20 different bags in each car lot. This 
sample is divided, part of it goes to the 
station, with the number of the car, and 
is analyzed. This analysis is reported to 
the dealer, and also to each customer who 
is named as buying meal out of that car. 
In case the composition of nitrogen found 
by the station falls below what is guaran¬ 
teed on the tag by more than one or two- 
tenths of one per cent, the Connecticut 
dealer sends his bill to the shipper for a 
rebate upon terms wnieh have been agreed 
upon beforehand. Efforts are made to 
obtain a fair sample, and a fair analysis, 
and in this way buyers of the meal are 
protected, whereas if they were not given 
this kind of a deal, they would frequently 
be greatly imposed upon in buying the 
material. This is one of the ways in 
which Connecticut is attempting to help 
the farmers, and the station work has been 
well developed and well carried out. 
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