THE DAIRY.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 878, 7 February 1879, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE DAIRY.

WHAT CONSTITUTES GOOD MILK t A variety of conditions affect materially the quantity and quality r>f milk. Thus the season of the year and the amount and ; kind of food given to> cows influence the yield an<l quality of their mitfc ; again, - the: face or breed and size of the animal fo< a great extent affect the yield and quality of milk. Cfeneratty speaking, small races, or smalt individuals of the larger races, give the richest milk front the same kind of foodWhere good quality is the tnain object, Atderneys or Guernseys unquestionably are the cows that ought to be kept, for they give a richer cream than any other kind in common use in this conn try ; bat of coarse' Alderneys arc not the most profitable stock f>r cow-keepers in towns, with whom the Yorkshire cow, essentially a Shorthorn, is the favorite breed, as it surpasses alt others for the quantity of mitfc it yields. The milk, however, compared with that of the Atderney or Ayrshire cow, is more watery and less rich in batter, and therefore not welt suited for dairies in which butter and cheese are made-.

In the spring of the year, and the earlypart of summer milk is more abundant, and the butter made from it of a finer flavor. As the season advances the supply diminishes, bat becomes richer in bitcter. The influence of food on the quality of milk is very striking. A half-starved cow not only yields but little milk, but what it yields is miserably poor. On thu ocher hand the liberal supply »>f food rich in nitrogenous and phosphatic elements of nutrition, tell* directly upon the milk. Nothing, therefore, can be more injudicious than to stint dairy cows in food.

The finest flavored milk and butter, I need hardly say, are produced by c-*ws fed in summer entirety on the grass of rich permanent pastures, and in winter on nothing etse but hay mad* of fine short sweet grass. Eleven or twelve lb. of grass product? about lib. of milk or a ton of good hay produces as nearly as possible !*X> gallons of milk. Few persons, however, fiavintr the opportunity of keeping Cows for th«ir own use, can afford to keep them in winter entirely on hay. Turnips. mangold, meal, brewers' grain, bran, or oilcake, with moreir less cut straw, in a great measure have to take the ptaeo of hay as a winter food.

Turnip* give a disagreeable taste to the milk, and moreover produce very watery milk.

Mangotds are tea* objectionable, but

should not be given to milch cow* without art allowance of 3 to "> lbs. of meal- Of all kinds of meal none is equal in milkproducing qualities to bean-me.»t—a fact which finds a pretty ready explanation in the circumstance tfia ß bean-meat contains as much as- 28 per cent, of flesh-forming matters, or the same class of compounds fa* which the curd and albumen of milk belong, and that is also rich in phosphates or bone earth. Pea-meal, or Egyptian lentils closely resemble bean-meat in composition, and may be used with equal advantage as an auxiliary and excellent food for milch cows. It is not a little remarkable that in leguminous seeds, which are always rich in flesh-forming matters, as well as in other articles of food, a large percentage of n-ite»gen«tt» or Mesh-forming compound* usually is associated with a targe percentage of phosphates or bone earth 1 . There exists thus, naturally an admirable provision tm food, specialty adapted for milch, twits, or young and growing stock, to- supply the animal n«t only with the material of which the? curd of mitfe, or the flesh of young stock consist,, but ttfcewise tosnppty bone materials, for which there is a great demand wh*n growing st«ck ha* tt>be maintained in a thriving state, or cows have to> be kept, in in which they may be expected to- yield much and good nvitfe. Oilcake produces much and rich milk, but seriously injures its quality by giving it a bad flavor..

Bran. »o the other hand, is a good food for milfc. Indeed nothing can be- hette-ras an auxiliary winter food for milch c*»w» than <ltb. of bran made tntw a thin mash, to- which should be added 4tb.. of Wanmeat., Along with this tJytb. of mangolds and about 13tb. of hay, and 15tk of straw chaff, should be given per day to each cow..

Cows fed npotv such* daily aito-wanee of bran, beanmeat, mangolds, hay, and straw-chaff, during the winter yivhi much more milk of a superior flavor than sows, fed upon turnips and most other kinds of auxiliary food. Whets brewers"grains can be obtained at a reasonable price they will be fonnd one of tile cheapest and best foods that can be given to milch ct>ws. Brewers* grains, I find, are much more nutritions; than their appearance seems to warrant.