1910 . 
U'tifcO RURAL NEW-YORKER 
431 
FEEDING PROBLEMS. 
Under this heading we endeavor to give advice 
and suggestions about feeoing mixtures of grains 
and fodders. No definite rules are given, but the 
advice is based upon experience and average 
analyses of foods. By ‘ protein” is meant the 
elements in the food which go to make mnscle or 
lean meat. “Carbohydrates” comprise the starch, 
sugar, etc., which make fat and provide fuel for 
the body, wuile “fat” is the pure oil found in 
foods. Dry matter” means the weight of actual 
food left in fodder or grain when all the water is 
driven off. A “narrow ration” means one In which 
the proportion of protein to carbohydrates is close 
—a “wide" ration means one which shows a larger 
proportion of carbohydrates. 
RATION FOR MILCH COWS. 
Will you kindly give a ration for milch 
cows? I have (he following feeds: corn 
and cob meal, ground oats, wheat bran 
.$.'10 per ton, gluten meal .$34 per ton ; also 
have silage, mixed clover hay, cut corn 
fodder and oat straw. E. E. 
Chester Springs, Pa. 
In compounding a ration for milch 
cows from the feeding stuffs mentioned 
it is not an easy matter to make it bal¬ 
ance, as most of these feeding stuffs 
contain a relatively large proportion of 
carbohydrates, the only protein feeds 
being the gluten and bran. To make a 
practical ration requires not only that it 
shall be scientifically balanced, but also 
that the different ingredients must be 
mixed in th<* proper proportions, so that 
the health of the cows to which it is fed 
will not be impaired. This is just as 
important as the amount of protein 
and carbohydrates the ration contains. 
Experience has taught us that cows 
which have a good ration of well-eared 
silage do not require much corn or corn 
and cob meal, but they do require feeds 
which are rich in protein to balance the 
carbohydrate.? in the silage, cornstalks, 
hay and straw. Again we find by ex¬ 
perience that if we feed too much rich 
concentrated feeds like cotton-seed meal 
and gluten the cow’s health will be 
liable to be affected, and udder trouble 
usually result in the loss of a part of 
the udder, and sometimes ruins the cow 
completely. Only a few days ago a man 
asked my advice in regard to feeding. 
His former ration had been silage and 
hay with 10 pounds of a mixture of 
equal parts by weight of bran, cotton¬ 
seed meal and gluten feed. When asked 
if he had any udder trouble in his herd 
he replied: “Yes, I just sold four good 
cows for $90 because their udders were 
spoiled.” This is only one case, but it 
is a fair sample of the results which 
follow too heavy feeding of such feeds 
as cotton-seed meal and gluten feed. 
These feeds should therefore be used 
with caution. Usually the necessity for 
feeding these feeds in such large quan¬ 
tities arises from the fact that they are 
used in conjunction with bran and other 
wheat feeds which contain only half or 
two-thirds as much protein as is con¬ 
tained in Ajax flakes, dried brewers’ 
grains or malt sprouts. As the differ¬ 
ence in price between these feeds is very 
small, why not buy those which contain 
a high percentage of protein? In this 
way you can increase the production of 
milk and butter at less cost and keep 
your herd in better physical condition 
than is possible when you rely almost 
entirely on heavy concentrated feeds for 
the protein. However, if you are lim¬ 
ited to the feeding stuffs mentioned 
above I would recommend the follow¬ 
ing ration for large cows, regulating the 
quantity according to the requirements 
of each individual cow: 
Dry Carb. and 
Feeding 
stuff 
matter 
Protein 
fat 
40 
lbs. 
silage 
8.40 
.36 
5.10 
12 
lbs. 
mixed clover 
hay 10.44 
.744 
5.52 
4 
)hs. 
gluten feed 
3.00 
.928 
2.790 
4 
lbs. 
wheat bran 
3.52 
.488 
1.812 
1 
II). 
ground oats 
.89 
.092 
.508 
2 
lbs. 
corn and cob 
meal 1.7 
.OSS 
1.33 
28.55 
2.70 1 
7.180 
Nutritive ratio 1 :G.3. 
C. S. G. 
Best Roots for Stock Feed. 
What is the relative feeding value of 
the following roots for cows, to increase 
the flow of milk? Carrots, sugar beets 
and mangels. o. w. c. 
New Suffolk, N. Y. 
Mangels are generally considered best 
for cows. Sugar beets are richer in the 
carbohydrates (principally sugar) and 
are the same in protein as mangels; this 
gives them a nutritive ratio of 1:9, while 
the nutritive ratio of mangels is 1:5, 
which is about right for milch cows. 
Since protein is the most expensive food 
constituent which we have to buy, and 
since most of our farm crops are rela¬ 
tively deficient in this substance, it is 
generally good policy to grow crops 
which come as near as possible to the 
right nutritive ratio. Another consider¬ 
ation in favor of mangels is that more 
of them can be grown per acre. How¬ 
ever, sugar beets are very rich and 
palatable, and containing more dry mat¬ 
ter, need not be fed in such large quan¬ 
tities. Where one has plenty of good 
clover hay—which furnishes the cheap¬ 
est protein—it is a question if sugar 
beets might not give fully as good re¬ 
sults as mangels. Carrots are nearly 
always relished by horses, and seem to 
be better adapted to horses than to cat¬ 
tle. They are also relatively deficient 
in protein. c. s. m. 
Balanced Ration Suggested. 
Give a balanced ration for medium-sized 
cows. I am feeding 35 to 40 pounds si¬ 
lage, and five to eight pounds mixed bay. 
Bran, $24; gluten, $30; middlings, $28; 
barley, $30; oil meal, $39. a. a. s. 
Vermont. 
Here is a balanced ration compounded 
from the feeds you mention, omitting 
the barley, as that is not required: 
Nutritive 
ra tio, 1 
:5.4. 
Feeding 
i fry 
Pro- 
Carbo. 
Stll! 
ff. 
matter. 
toin. 
& Fat. 
40 
lbs. 
silage. 
, 8.40 
.36 
5.10 
S 
Ills. 
mixed 
hay. . 
0.968 
.3370 
3.7 
3 
lbs. 
wheat 
bran.. 
2.64 
.306 
1.359 
4 
lbs. 
Kluten 
feed. 
3.60 
.928 
2.796 
1 
lb. wheat midd’gs .88 
.128 
.007 
2 
lbs. 
oil me 
al... . 
, 1.82 
.586 
.97 
24.308 
2.7056 
14.592 
Nutritive ratio, 1 :54. 
We do not usually feed much oil meal 
with silage, as they both produce a laxa¬ 
tive effect, so when both are used care 
must be taken not to feed enough to 
make the animals too laxative. Always 
feed the silage after milking, night and 
morning. Feed the hay at noon, and the 
grain can be fed before or after milking, 
as best suits your convenience. In mak¬ 
ing any change of feed from that which 
you are already using, especially when a 
liberal ration is being fed, always make 
the change very gradual, and watch the 
effect of any slight change you may make 
before another change is made. It is 
often true that cows will stand a heavy 
ration and do well on it if they have 
been led up to it gradually during two 
or three weeks, when perhaps the same 
feed given to start on would have pro¬ 
duced several cases of sickness. 
c. s. G. 
Short of Butter Fat. 
I am having some trouble with my milk, 
am shy on butter fat and total amount of 
solids run about 11.70. Lactometer test, 
106. I am milking 40 cows, all grade 
Ilolstcins, and am making 580 quarts per 
day. I am feeding per day eight quarts 
Byles XXXX feed, 33 per cent protein; 
two quarts hominy, 40 pounds silage and 
good clover hay; one quart cotton-seed. 
What kind of feed would you suggest to 
increase the butter fat, or am I feeding 
too much silage? d. g. c. 
New York. 
I do not know how to improve upon 
this ration unless it would be to add 
another pound of cotton-seed meal and 
reduce the hominy a pound and a half. 
You are not feeding too much silage. 
Your large Holsteins can use 40 pounds 
to good advantage. The change sug¬ 
gested. however, would not remedy your 
difficulty in producing milk containing 
the desired percentage of butter fat 
The fact has been conclusively proven 
that it is practically impossible to feed 
butter fat into milk when the cows are 
already receiving a good full ration of 
proper feeding stuffs. The butter fat 
content of milk is largely an individual 
characteristic, varying, of course, with 
the season of the year and the length 
of time the cow has been milked. I 
would, therefore, advise you to procure 
a few cows known to produce milk rich 
enough in butter fat to bring .the aver¬ 
age test of your dairy up to the re¬ 
quired standard. c. s. G. 
TOMATOES, TURNIPS AND CRIMSON 
CLOVER. 
A good thing needs emphasizing. In 
looking over The R. N.-Y. last Summer 
I saw that Crimson clover would do 
well in tomatoes, and having an acre 
and a half I concluded to try it. The 
seed was sown the latter part of July. 
In November, before snow had come, 
the Crimson clover had taken the lead. 
It is a source of satisfaction to grow a 
good crop, but that satisfaction is more 
than doubled, to one who has worked 
hard to bring up his land, to know the 
land will be as good, if not a little bet¬ 
ter, notwithstanding it has given a large 
crop. This is the way I feel every time 
1 look at the Crimson clover growing in 
my tomato field, thanks to The R. N.-Y. 
From my acre and a half I picked 930 
bushels. The variety was mostly Bur¬ 
pee’s Dwarf Giant. This variety being 
dwarf and quite upright, the plants can 
be set closer and the clover seed sown 
much better than in the large kinds. 
At the Ohio Agricultural Experiment 
Station last year it yielded nearly as 
much per plant as did the vining kinds. 
Crimson clover has been a favorite of 
mine for a number of years. A. I. 
Root, who lives but a short distance 
from my place, proved that it would 
stand our cold Winter and clay soil. 
The old saying, “The twenty-fifth of 
July, sow your turnip wet or dry,” ap¬ 
plies as well to Crimson clover as it 
does to the common flat turnip. Last 
year I only put in an ounce of turnip 
seed with Crimson clover, and got 30 
bushels of turnips. One year I har¬ 
vested over 100 bushels of turnips from 
an acre of land sown with Crimson 
clover, and they were the finest turnips 
I ever saw, and the clover big enough 
to cut in October. I have never made a 
success with the clover in corn. Last 
year I tried hard to get a stand, but it 
was small and weak, not much like what 
it is in the tomatoes. My father used 
to tell me to plant turnip seed just after 
a rain, as then the soil would not crust 
and bake over the seed and hinder it in 
coming up. This is another thing I 
have found to apply well with Crimson 
clover. e. c. G. 
Ohio. 
R. N.-Y.—While seeding time for 
Crimson clover is still four months 
away, now is a good time to think about 
it. 
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THE LEADING DAIRYMAN. 
To he known as the leading dairyman in your town 
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To accomplish this your dairy must he of tiie l.est. 
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hut only a few will ever see your stable or cattle. 
The wagon illustrated above will earn this reputa¬ 
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Write for prices and terms. 
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Let it prove itself. Ask us for our proposition. 
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Milwaukee. 
Wis. 
r 
tBAM making a specialty of a 
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ingcorn 
seperators, churning and 
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ONLY *9155 
L . — • 
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511 Commercial St. 
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