St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1900-10-13
FARMER AND PLANTER
The BALANCED RATION.
Farmers Would Consult Their Own
Interest by Paying More AZ.
tcntiOn to FeedlnSs

1t is so difficult to induce farmeft
to consult their pwn interests by do
ing 50 simple q. thing Is feeding ra-
ticns that will at least approximate
balanced rations, that it often seems
like . discouraging undertaking.
Men feed corn to all classes OF animals
until they are burned up and burned
out. There is not an animal on the
farm that should be fed exclusively on
corn at any period of its existence.
In the fattening nrpcessfit need not
be fed steadily upon the mlscle-form-
ing feeds, but it would be benefited,
as we have sometimes before said, il
such feed is occasionally fed. Corn
does not make muscle to any large
extent. 1t is fat-former and heat
producer. But there are horses that
never get any grain, except corn,
even in summer; and those who feed
in that way are kindling q big fire
when the thermometer may be among
the nineties. 1t would be just as sensi-
BILE to start roaring fire in the fur
mace in August. The horse does not
obtain the strength from corn that 1t
needs, it's blood il heated and its peril
cd Of usefulness shortened. The least
we can do il to turn the animal on
grass at night, but that is not all we
should do. If we have oats, 1T least
half the ration should be composed
OF them. If we have not, it is profita-
BILE to buy some muscle-making feed,
and constitute some portion of ration
of such feed. If the team il good
one, it will certainly pay to take the
best possible care Of it and to keep it
in the best Of health. Ii it is q cheap
team, and it matters little how long
it lasts, there is still an economical
side to the proper feeding of it, be
cause if the horses feel right they will
do more work and thus enable the
farmer to save on man labor.
In feeding cows the loss from feed
ing a one-sided food is so great that
the aggregate for the whole country
can not be estimated. At the lest cal
culation one-third of the cows are not
profitable. Ope-half would be more
accurate estimate. Yet there are
comparatively few cows that could
not be made to return something of a
profit. The cause of the loss is not
SO much in the cows themselves AZ |!
is in the care and feeding. II our
farmers could be induced to feed their
herds balanced rations, they would be
surprised at the results. 1t can not
be expected, however, that all oar
farmers will ever do this. But why
not approximate to = balanced ration
1t is not difficult to make ration OF
equal parts Of corn meal, oats and
bran, and such ration will produce
rs per cent. more milk than corn will.
Ii it produced much less gain than
that, it would pay to feed it, would it
not? Then the forage question is an
important one. If it is intended TO
make the dairy, in any degree profit
able, a silo should be built and filled.
Silage is cheap feed and good feed
But if silage is not provided, clover
hay, or hay from some of the other
legumes, should be. Timothy hay i
an inferior roughage for dairy cows
nowhere near as good as the legumes
The COW pea is coming more and more
into use as fodder, and is worthy Of
much wider adoption. 1t furnishes an
abundance Ct good fodder. The farm
er can not more easily increase his
income than to give close study to the
question of proper rations for ami.
malS.-EDitOmiSt.