The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-04-29
On Feeding Cows.

On FeeulnS COWS.
The recent article of Professor Cook
is of great value, and is full of sug-
gestive thought in clearing up this APP
parent disagreement between a bal
anced and standard ration. This is
we'll illustrated in the statements of
Professor Robertson of Ontario that he
has not found that it pays to feed win
ter milch COWS to exceed six or seven
pounds each of the albuminOus grains,
like bran, giving the bulk of the ration
of the cheaper starchy foods. In our
travels the past winter we have found
that owing to the shortened hay crop of
1895, and the gratifying corn crop that
did grow, there is an unusual feeding of
corn and fodder, and besides there has
been work of preparing the fodder,
such as cutting, shredding and the like,
never before INDUCED in, all of which
means, with the short money crop, the
feeding of wider ration, and yet the
statements have been made over and
over that the cows never MIXED better.
Is this confirmatory of what the profess
sor wants to convey, that what is a
standard ration in one place is not of
necessity either standard or balanced
in another, and that cow in one local
ity will utilize probably more carbohy-
drates than in another? Following this
reasoning on little farther, is it not a
fact, Professor, that mich COW will
stand more carbohydrates in the form of
good corn silage and utilize them TO bet
ter advantage than in any other form?
The pasture grass pretty nearly illus
trstes this, being standard ration in
succulent form, and one sided hay ra-
tion in another, and if the Professors
surmise is correct, that COW can to
some extent utilize starch fed to excess,
by working it over into some other form,
is it not reasonable to expect that she
can work over succulent ration to bet
ter advantage than dried one?
This matter becomes one of increas-
ing importance in view of the continual
sliding down of dairy prices and the i'm
possibility Of predicting when they are
to be higher. 1t is not always going to
do to tell this dairyman to retrench ex-
penses as the way out. There must be
the bringing in of the principles Of
economics. 1t is not the economy OF
doing with less, but the better utilizing
of what we have already, that must en-.
ter into the problem. This is well sug.
gested by the Professor where, by add.
ing CARLOS to the ration, and dropping
off from the buminoids, the ration
was cheapened five cen s, and the loss
in milk was only two, it was wisdom tC
feed the cheaper ration. But will there
be shrinkage of milk? One of the bes
producing diaries this winter in THU
section is one fed all the silage the,
will consume, three times in twenty
four hours, and straw and small ha,
feed between times. Certainly, in thi
there is little enough albuminoids; ye
the cows seem to outward appearance
to be we'll sustained, are in good flesh
and will get O balanced ration on grass
Will this course continue to be profit
able? With our own dairy the presen
winter, instead of adding to the grail
ration in mid-winter TO keep up tl'
milk flow, a half bushel of silage wa
added daily to the ration, and 80 far a
we could see, with desired results; ant
this is in exact harmony with the prac
tees of the late Henry Talcott, WIFI
practiced exclusive silage and Glove
hay feeding, and challenged compari
son of results in cheapness of ration
and amount of products in pounds o
butter fat.
If all this is so, is there not ray o
hope that this dairyman in bondag
may practically throw off the yoke o
tribute TO the western grain dealer ant
the freight companies, and raise smor
largely the needed albumen on his owl
farm, in oats, oats and peas, clover hay
sofa beans and the like? 1t would seen
as if in the dairy belt ration as wild
as l to 7, s, or even 8 can be fed, au
by calling it commercial o
'Futility" ration, make the COW be
lieve that it " exactly meets her needs"
that there is a way to cheaper the ra
ton and yet not diminish the supply
and still hold on little longer. We
many dairyman is in the position c
the boy who had the ugly goat by tn
horns, couldn't hold ON and dasen't le
go. AS suggested, there is no create
work before the experiment station
to-day than this one of utility ration
and how to best grow, preserve an
eed them, and under what conditions
estrictions and proportions to fee
hem.-John Gould, in Hoard's Dairy
man.