PROPER FEEDING OF CATTLE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1715, 11 January 1905, Page 67

PROPER FEEDING OF CATTLE.

For some time the Belgian Government in response to its request, has been receiving 'information from agriculturists as to various experiments which they have made in regard to the feeding of milch cows, the object of the Belgian Government being to prove to farmers that, by improving the rations according to scientific principles, their cows would yield them better products, and at the same time more profit. The results arrived at by the bulk of the experiments have shown that proteic matter has been wanting in the foodstuffs. According to our contemporary, the "Industrie Laitiere Beige," the opinion was held by several farmers that a mealy food and certain other products produced on the farm could not be surpassed, and were astonished to find that, by substituting some oil cake for a portion of the former, highly satisfactory results were obtained. It is, says our contemporary, often disadvantageous to dispose of farm products in order to procure cheaper foodstuffs. A very general observation was that there was not sufficient dry matter in most of the rations; much importance was attached to the amount of the ration; but potatoes especially contain a good amount of water and but little dry matter. It has, however, been shown by experiment that by the introduction ilito the rations of more proteic matter, in the form of oil-cakefl (cottonseed, araclies, linseed,

etc.), and more dry matter (hay, straw, etc.), the condition of the milch cow will quickly improve.

Our contemporary says that if the proper feeding of milch cows were to be observed in B-elguim, a profit would result to Belgian agriculture from this item alone of over millions sterling on the 850,000 cows possessed by that country. So startling are these figures that the Belgian Government's action in seeking to give instruction to agriculturists is to be highly commended, and it is to be hoped that some practical result may follow in this respect; for, given judicious feeding and selection, Belgian cows should rank amongst the finest. It will suffice l to show the degree of interest which the Belgian authorities are taking in the matter to mention that the Government have had several booklets printed as to the proper method of feeding cattle, which are distributed to all these who apply for them.