The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1904-05-01
THE DAIRY
Protein and Balanced Rations.


the civil war my father kept about
80 COWS back in Pennsylvania, and
many a ton of butter | have taken to
the railroad, which was sold in Balti-
more as high as 60 cents per pound
in winter, and as low as 40 cents in
summer. In those days we never heard
of portein All we knew about feed
was, we fed it; the COWS seemed to
do well on it, and we made some
money at the business.
For twenty-five years, | scarcely
have given the dairy business
thought, and | now find myself in
care of 25 COWS, and am trying to
get at the bottom of the business.
When l ask my fellow dairymen what
is it that we must have in order to
have a balanced ration, the answer
is: Don't know, but such and such
a feed does very well for me-. Now
will you please tell me just what it
takes to make such feed, regardless
of what it comes from.
"a friend saw me feeding COWS some
days ago, and said: What does bran
cost your l replied, $20.60 per ton,
He answered: then you throw away
$3.50, as a ton of bran only contains
$1,000 worth of digestible matter.
Will you please tell me through your
paper if that statement was true"
The editor of Hoard's Dairyman
gave the following information in re-
ply-information that should be care
fully read by every dairyman. The
question of protein and carbohydrates
in the dairy cows ration is OF more
Importance than many of our dairy
men think. The Dairyman editor says:
One did not need to know much about
protein in particular or feeds in gen
eral to make "sOme money" when
butter was selling at 40 to 60 cents
per pound. But when butter sells
at half, or less than half, those prices,
the question of feeds and feeding be-
comes insistent
Milk contains three main elements,
viz: fat, casein and sugar. The fat
and the sugar are carbohydrates, but
the casein, which, when cOagulated, is
known as curd, is heterogeneous pro-
duct, and one form of protein, and
even the subtle alchemy of the COW
cannot put casein in her milk, unless
she has protein in her feed from which
to make it, Neither can she make
milk that does not contain the regu-
lar proportion of casein, which her
peculiar individuality calls for. In
other words milk is balanced pro-
duct, that, contains protein and car
bohydrates in due proportion, but bal
anced in different proportions by diff
ferent COWS, and to enable the COW
to produce milk with greatest economy
and the most profit, she must have
the raw material from which that
milk is made, in approximately the
same proportions as to carbohydrates
and protein as the milk itself.
But we do not need to be too finical
about balanced ratiOns for our COWS,
any more than in regard to our own
diet. The main point is to make sure
that the COW receives enough pro-
tein to enable her to do her best
work in milk production, and is other
wise well nourished. The amount may
vary from 10 lbs. digestible protein
for 10 lbs. of 3 per cent milk, to
lbs for 60 lbs. of such milk, or 40
lbs. of per cent milk.
No man can say that a ton of bran
contains $1,000 worth of digestible
matter, and neither more nor less
Values are always relative. In some
places, and under some conditions,
bran might be very cheap at $50 per
ton, while under other conditions, II
might be very dear at $3.50. In
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