

STANDARD RATIONS FOR DAIRY COWS. aay 
to the fact that the ration needs to be fitted to the amount 
of milk given by the cows. He has calculated a series of ra- 
tions for cows with different milk yields, and has increased the 
protein more than the fuel ingredients, thus making the ra- 
tions narrower in proportion as the milk yield is larger. ‘These 
rations are based upon the principle, now pretty clearly estab- 
lished, that a cow needs a liberal amount of protein to produce 
a large amount of milk. 
formulas for profit.—The practical farmer feeds for profit, 
and the ration which will produce the largest amount of growth 
or the largest amount of milk and butter-fat, or will enable the 
animal to perform the greatest amount of work, may not be 
the most profitable. In other words, the physiological stand- 
ard may not be the most profitable ration for feeding. ‘The 
physiological action of the nutrients is the chief factor in their 
profitable use, but other conditions, such as the cost of the 
feed and the value of the products, must be taken into account. 
It may be more profitable to use a wide ration when a narrower 
ration would give a larger amount of product. ‘I'o find the 
most profitable formula for feeding, inquiry in two lines is 
especially needed. These are: (1) Accurate observations of 
the actual feeding practice of farmers and of the resulting 
product; and (2) more accurate experimenting by the stations 
for the purpose of comparing the relative values of widely 
varying rations when the cost of the feeding stuffs and the 
value of the resulting products are taken into account. 
In the somewhat extended study of the feeding practice of 
Connecticut dairymen, reported in the previous article, it was 
pointed out that the largest yields and the best financial results 
were generally obtained where liberal quantities of protein were 
fed. Where the results with eleven wide rations were com- 
pared with those obtained from eleven narrower ones fed to 
the same herds, the average cost of producing 100 pounds of 
milk was $1.03 when the wide rations were fed, and 97 cents 
when the narrower rations were fed, while the cost of produc- 
ing one pound of butter in the two cases was 19 cents for the 
wide and 17 cents for the narrower rations. 
In'the above compilation (pp. 102, 103) of experiments on 
the effect of wide and narrow rations, as studied at different 
