FOOD FOR DAIRY COWS.

Bush Advocate, Volume XXI, Issue 303, 26 June 1909, Page 7

FOOD FOR DAIRY COWS.

At the Dairy Conference <»i Thursday Mr Gillauclors .inana^M' of Moumahaki State Farm, road a paper on the above subject. .Hcsaid in selecting food for dairy cows as his ..inject lie had tried to keep -in vie-v the growing value of certain crop- suitable rather than, the best food I;.!- ilio purpose. He wished them;.. ci;arly understand that he mifjlc m, pretence, of addressing them as an experienced dairyman. If they were to go Home and ask a dairyman in the vicinity of.. Glasgow what ■ho found the best food lie would reply by giving a daily ration as follows: Roots 301bs, hay 181bs, bean meal 31bs, bran 41bs, cotton cake 41bs. That ration would be too costly here, as the dairyman had to'rely almost entirely upon what he could produce on his own farm. He would confine himself therefore to that point of view. There, were two' recognised methods for estimating the value of a food, the one by estimating the gain in weight' of the animal fed, and in the case of the cow the flow of milk, and the other estimating tire value of the crop by chemical analysis. The analysis was the easier, but it involved long and costly experiments. In his paper, therefore, he would estimate the value of the foods referred to or the amount of dry matter they contained. Generally speaking, grain "or straw contained from 8 to 15 per cent, of -water, while several root crops and green fodders contained as much as 90 per cent. This percentage of water was of no more use to an animal than ordinary drinking water. The- main elements of feeding value were albuhinoids, fais, and carbohydrates. , The former svtpplied the flesh forming constituent, fat and oil, supply of heat; and force, and the carbohydrates, including starch, sugar, green fibre, etc., also supplied heat, and assisted the mechanical work of the body. In estimating the value ■, of foods, therefore, he would do so on, a dry basis, and on their nutritive ratio, and the analysis of crops groAvn at Moumahaki by Mr Aston, the Government chemist. The first foods he would mention were tares and vetches, which were hardly receiving any attention m the dominion they should. The seed could })e drilled in with the ordinary grain drill at the rate of two bushels to the acre. A mixture of oats or rye could be added with advantage. This crop could l)e used for green forage or converted into ensilage. On fairly good soil a suitable manure would be a dressing of superphosphates, say 2 cwt. .per acre. M.aize or Indian corn was not so nutritious' as ; several other green crops, but no other forage plant _.. would produce i>o much per acre. It would also remain m a fit state for feeding green for a longer, period than 'tares or green oats. It could be sown with tlie ordinary grain and manure drill, or in rows, 30 inches to three, feet apart. He preferred it to rows. The tilling of the soil between the rows conserved the moisture, in the- soil and enabled the plant, to withstand drought much longer, and kept down weeds. Mr Gillandcrs gave particulars of the kinds grown at Mbumaliaki, from which it appeared that the Yellow Dent had the best feeding value with Golden Beauty second,, and Early Learning 1 third. The mode of growing was much ilio same as for maize, but its yielding capacity was less. Neither tliis or maize would withstand frost and mo.st of it should be consumed I V>Y ilve fi'vst weok in April. Kaffir corns were the- best drought resisting plants that coiild be produced, I.) ut they were not eaten so readily as Sorghum owing to the sweet tasto pf the latter, though .it did, not contain much dry matter. In the preparation of the soil for those crops was a more important matter than many farmers supposed, for recent scientific investigation proved how much careful cultivation, with the aid oi artificial manures, increased the value of the crops. The manure for Sorghum or maize was phosphoric acid and potash with a little bone dust in the following proportions : Superphosphates 1? cwt., steamed hone dust- $ cwt., and murate of potash cwt. The varieties of Sorghum grown at Moumahaki were Evergreen and Cosmopolitan sugar corn.. The Kaffir corns, Jerusalem <-orn, Sorghum Imphco, and Saccharatum". Lucerne was a- good forage in time of drought, and was good for i'ecdiii<£ green or as ensilage. It would jiot .stand close feeding, Imt would grow in almost any dry soil. Lucerne would not withstand severe frosts, and to cultivate it successfully the. hind must be well prepared L i

and free from weeds. It should bo .sown in rows ior preference, and in small patches, only. Some of tlio sorts that showed good feeding value at Moumahaki were; English, Hunter llivor, Hungarian, and Turestan. When the lull value of the fertilisers placed in the soil took effect, up to 50 tons per acre was obtained. The roots went down fourteen feet. This fodder contained 011 an average of 28 per cent, of dry matter. Millet gave fairly good yields, but not so good as Maize or Sorghum. Level rich flats were best adapted for this plant. It could be drilled in with the ordinary seed drill, and 40 to 451b of seed to the acre. This fodder, however, would not keep green for a long time, ans had to be fed off early in the season. Cabbage was highly valued as a cow food in Britain, and had been proved to be a useful fodder in New Zealand. It was liable, however, to he attacked by the turnip flj- and required much lavor. This fodder nourished best in clay soil, and it required liberal manuring from the. farm yard. The best way -to : sow was by means of a drill, 30 inches j apart, and from 20 indies to 2 feet i in rows. A top-dressing of superphosphates/2 cwt., bone dust i ewt., sulphate ammonia, \ cwt., and \ cwt of muriate of potash. One of the best varieties .was drumheads.' Eclipse drumheads at Moumahaki had beeir grown 34 tons. to the acre, of Early Drumheads £8£ tons to the acre, Giant Drumheads 23? tons to the acre. The nutriment value of this fodder was 52001bs to the acre. Kale required much the** same treatment as cabbage, and was best grown on a heavy, rich loomy soil. At'fhe State Farm 25| tons to the acre "had been grown 1 of the Thousand Head, and 21 \ tons of the Jersey kale. The percentage of dry matter was higher than in. turnips. He advocated sowing 71bs of mangle seed to the acre, contending ,it was better to spend an extra amount ' in seed, than have weeds coming up. The best manure was from the farm yard. At Home the quantity advocated was 15 tons of dung to 5 to 10 of dry manure. At the State Farm they had grown from 2o to 50 tons per acre, on five tons of artificial manure alone. Mr Gri'llanders also mentioned ear-, rots as a good fodder, ajad then advocated the making of ensilage as a good manner of providing winter food, mentioning maize, millett,. peas and surplus clover grass as the best fodders for making it. With ihe exception of hay ensilage had the best feeding value. In reply to questions Mr Gillanders said in country where labor was dear lie would feed mangles whole, but they should first lie in the field three to five weeks to mature. Mangles newly pulled were not fit to feed to dairy cows. He had never soaked the seed, but would gitfe it a trial as suggested by one questioner. Mangles that had not deeply rooted could be ploughed out, and fed after a few weeks, but a better way was to take them out, cut .off

tlio tops, and then put thouf in a heap, covered with straw. In fclie growing of maize it was better to cultivate between tlio rows to prevent the growth of woods. On land fairly clear and free of weeds the seed could bo sown broadcast with a 13 colter drill. One of the questioners said he-lmd grown maiis© 11 feet high. Mr Gillanders said on the State .Farm he. had grown maize 9 feet high. His object had been to grow it with the best feeding value. Hehad grown mangle seed successfully, but not turnip seed. On the motion of the chairman a vote of thanks was carried to Mr Gillanders by acclamation.