Norwich bulletin., 1914-11-26


 Middiings ......-.......-..3 parts Ground oats .....-........ parts 6ran '....--... ..,.s"''.'''-. parts Cottonseed meal ss........ E parts Ltnseed oil meal ......... E parts
 Often the question is asked, how to make up a ration In figuring out these rations several factors are taken into consideration:
 1. The amount of dry matter. By this factor we are able to regulate the relative amounts of roughage and con- centrates. By roughage we mean hay corn fodder, silage and so forth and by concentrates we signify the grains Ordinarily, in rations for cattle and sheep, if two-thirds of the dry matter is from foods classed as roughage and one third from concentrates, the ra- ton will be bulky enough to distend the digestive organs so as to give the | best results.
 2. Digestibility of the ration. A greater portion should be digestible. | A little over two-thirds of, the dry l matter in the ration should be di- gestible; that is the amount of total | nutrient should be at least two-thirds as much as the dry matter. This ratio will change according to the use | the ration is used for.
 8. Nutritive ratio By this is meant the ratio that the protein has to the | carbohydrates and fats in a food. These are the three important ele- ments in every ration. The tissue while the carbohydrates furnishes the fats that go into flesh and body | heat
 l 4 Variety of the ration. Very few l of us would want to eat corn meal | muSh and molasses, day after day but how many of our farmers give their l dairy cows any more of variety than this would amount to. Variety stimulates the animals appetite. This explains why we use so many grains | in our ration
 s. Suitability to the animals The foods in the ration should be suited to the animal and to the purpose for which the animal is fed. For example, wheat bran is not suitable for feed ing hogs because 1t is too bulky; wheat middlings are much better.
 Palatability. The ration should be palatable if the best results are to be obtained in production. With dairy cows palatability is easily secured by providing suculent food in the ration. The condition of the food has much to do with this factor. No musty nor damaged food should be fed.
 S. Cost of the ration. Without a doubt this is the most important fac tor to the farmer. However, the other factors must not be sacrificed for cost in every case. Rations are made up of grains furnishing the cheapest pro tein, carbohydrates and total digestible nutrients.
 
 coh meal furnish the cheapest carbo- hydrates, cottonseed meal the cheapest
 protein and middlings the cheapest total digestible nutrients. Because of
 the fact that ground oats at the pres ent time are so reasonable we made up
 nart of the corn ration with them as they are nearly of the same value as far as carbohydrates is concerned and carry a much greater proportion of protein. Bran is good for evry ration re@ardless of the cost on account of the beneficial effect it has of the di
 gestive organs of the cow It will be noticed that every COW that is giving her maximum amount of milk is al- ways rather loose anda to bring about
 this laxative effect we add a small portion of linseed oil meat.
 This ration should be mixed togeSh- } CT and then fed at the rate of one pound of grain to three pounds of milk in the case of Jersey or GueTn- sey COWS and one pound for every four pounds in the case of Aryehires or l Holsteins. Much money would be saved the average farmer if he would feed acording to milk production as . many of our cows are getting more grain than they deserve and others ' are not getting as much as they would
 pay for in increased production Several farmers of the county have saved anywhere from two to five dol- lars per ton feeding the about ration and you dairymen can do the same. Pruning Fruit Trees.
 It isn't much too early to begin to think about pruning and trimming our , fruit trees. The apple exchange that , the agent has done some work with in
 the last few weeks shows an astonish- , ing lack of good fruit The farmer ' that produces quality along any line
 never lacks market And don't think
 that just because you spray once or
 trim out a few dead limbs that the product will be the best. The problem of triming and pruning, spraying three
 or four times, cultivation, fertilization
 and handling the crop and dozen oth- . CT things come into this process. Many , will say that it does not pay but if : they could hear the prices that some z of our most prominent fruit growers of ] the county are getting for their apples,
 they would all want to go into the bus iness. That brings up another point. Don't ever be afraid of over pro- duction. This condition of affairs won't , come for long time in New England
 if it ever does. And if you are fruit : grower, don't be afraid to encour-
 age and get your neighbor started in . the fruit business. He will not hurt
 your market and by the cooperation
 that you can give each other in buy
 ing, selling. etc, you both will be bet ter of. The cooperation of the west
 has made them what they are