
A STUDY OF RATIONS FED TO MILCH COWS. atic’. 
and the amounts and composition of the feeds used and of the 
milk produced were determined. It was found that generally 
a uniform grain ration was fed to all the cows in a herd, 
although in some cases it was varied in amount somewhat 
according to the yields of milk. 
In the second test the ration was proposed by the Station, 
and was determined for each herd by the production of butter 
fat by the cows in the herd. The cows were arranged in 
groups according. to the average daily amount of butter fat 
produced by each cow during the first test, and all the cows in 
a group were fed uniformly. The ration consisted of two parts: 
a basal ration and an additional grain ration. The basal ration 
was made up of coarse fodders and grain feeds in various pro- 
portions, the whole intended to furnish 2.0 pounds of digestible 
protein. ‘The additional grain feed was made up of different 
concentrated feeding stuffs mixed together in various propor- 
tions depending on composition. ‘This for convenience is called 
a ‘‘ protein mixture,’’ and was planned to furnish .3 pound of 
digestible protein for every pound of mixture. All the cows 
in the test were given the same basal ration, but the amount of 
protein mixture added to it depended upon the amount of but- 
ter fat the cows had produced. 
The arrangement of the cows in groups, and the ration for 
each group, during the second test were as follows: 
Group A. Cows producing .50 to .65 pound of butter fat 
(.58 to.76 lb. butter) per day were given the basal ration alone, 
intended to furnish 2.00 pounds of digestible protein. 
Group B. Cows producing .66 to .80 pound of butter fat 
(.77 to .93 lb. butter) per day were given the basal ration and 
1 pound of protein mixture, the whole intended to furnish 2.30 
pounds of digestible protein. 
Group C. Cows producing .81 to .g5 pound of butter fat 
(.94 to 1.11 lbs. butter) per day were given the basal ration 
and 2 pounds of protein mixture, the whole intended to furnish 
2.60 pounds of digestible protein. 
Group D. Cows producing .96 to 1.10 pounds of butter fat 
per day (1.12: to 1.28 Ibs. butter) were given the basal ration 
and 3 pounds of protein mixture, the whole intended to furnish 
2.90 pounds of digestible protein. 
