The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-04-15
The Balanced Ration Problem.

There are few subjects more difficult
for the farmer to clearly comprehend
than that of balanced rations. The
subject, however, is one which must
be mastered by the dairyman who
would achieve success, and any clear
reinstatement of the matter i, always to
be welcomed. We are therefore glad
to be able to lay before our readers the
following article, from Hoard's Dairy
man, by Professor W. w. Cooke, now
of Fort Collins, Col. Professor Cooke
is almost the only writer who recog-
nizes the truth that farmer may be 80
situated as to make it best for him to
feed an unbalanced ration. But he
does not state what is of great import
ance, that the farmer who lives back
from the railroad can grow clover in
place of grass, and narrow down his
ration by feeding clover hay. And
early cut grass of almost any kind gives
better results than late cut. 1t makes
as much difference whether grass is cut
in the liter part of June or in August
as it does whether one feeds all hay or
hay and grain. 1t takes lots of grain
with August cut hay to make it as good
as June cut hay without grain.
The Wisconsin Experiment Station
did piece of first-class work when it
gathered and compiled and condensed
the figures on which it's so-caled
American Standard " for mich COWS
is based. All the statements made by
the station itself in its publication are
correct; but by the time this informa-
ton has gotten to the dairymen through
the medium of the press and pub
lie speakers, much Misunderstanding
exists. 1t seems to be common i'm
preston that this "Standard " super
sedes the "German Standard " or
VOLTS Standard" as it is often
called, and that the figures presented by
the Wisconsin station show the foreign
standard to be incorrect. Nothing
could be farther from the truth. The
trouble arises from using the word
standard" with two very different
meanings.
A standard ration is one that pur-
ports to represent the amount of d.
gestible albuminoids, carbohydrates and
fat that mich COW needs to supply
her wants for each day. 1t is of course
true that there are changes going on in
the cows system that demand food to
repair the waste. She needs albumi-
noids to repair the waste of her tissues
and muscles, and to make the cas- Elm
and albumen of the milk. She needs
carbohydrates and fat to furnish heat
and force to the body and furnish part
of the constituents of the milk. IL the
COW was furnished with exactly the
amount of each of these compounds
that she needed, with no surplus, her
food would then be !" standard ration"
for that COW under her present condi-
tions. By feeding the COW different
kinds and amounts OF food and taking
careful account of the results of each
ration, a close approximation can be
obtained of the ration that is best suited
to the needs of the co,o. This last para
graph is put in italics because that ia
the point on which much misunder-
standing exists. The German standard
purports to be such standard, based
on the needs of the cow herself and
without any reference to the market
prices of folders. The German ration
translated means that if dairyman
has at his disposal full assortment of
cattle foods and wants to give his cows
just what their systems demand, he will
feed them approximately in the proper
tiops of two and half pounds of al
buminoids, twelve and half pounds of
carbohydrates and four-tenths of a
pound of fat. He would be then feed
ing the German standard.
1t is known that the system Of the
cow is quite elastic. If there is a lack
lsEE FOURTH COLUMN