FARM STOCK : MILCH COWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1650, 7 July 1883, Page 6

FARM STOCK : MILCH COWS.

(Concluded.)

The reader must remember that even in th» same breed there may be both good and bad milch cows. Because we may be able to traced by means of a herd-book or otherwise, the connection of a certain animal with an undoubtedly good set of milkers, we are not therefore to conclude'that she must of necessity be a good milker. Her connection will of course be favourable, but we must look to the individual animal itself for the certain evidence of its milking capabilities. As a further inducement to spend a little trouble as well as money for a good cow, I will here mention the fact that animals generally consume food in proportion to their live weight and not alone in proportion to the amount of milk which they may yield. This can be easily explained. The first tax made upon the food eaten is to repair the waste of the body ; as a consequence, when the bodies are of the same size and the conditions of life similar, the destruction of the animal tissues are about equal. That which is left unappropriated for this purpose is used by the animals for the manufacture of milk. The one being a good milker uses the food most economically, and for the material used produces a large quantity of milk. The other being a bad milker employs the food most extravagantly : and so from the same amount of the same kind of food there is a much less quantity of milk. If the good milker should give double the quantity of milk to that given by the other from a profit and loss account it will be made clear that the good milker costs exactly onehalf what the bad milker costs. Therefore a bad milking cow, of whatever breed, ought never to occupy a place in the dairy. The loss sustained by a small yield of milk is not all occasioned by a bad selection of cows Some animals that should be placed in the profitable class, are made unprofitable by the treatment th«y receive at the hands of tho cowman. Irregularity of feeding, both as to quantity and time, harsh treatment, worrying, exposure to storms, and to the frequent changes of heat and cold, such as we are having this winter season, and irregularity in the times of milking, as well an careless in the manner of the operation, will abate the flow of milk and occasion much needless expense If a cow gives from eight to twelve quarts of milk per day, it is quite within the bounds of possibility when I say the quantity may be increased four quarts by kindness, and decreased to the same extent by severity There is an old saying, " A contented mind is a continual feast. ' I suppose the contentment is as good as food. With the cow it certainly is. Comfort and a satisfied quiet are very efficient m promoting the liberal flow of milk. Cows that are not fed but left to forage for themselves will give much less milk than those which have some food gathered for them, and cows that are supplied with some food but not enough will give less milk than those that always are fed to the full. To feed cowb by fitß and starts, and to give them sometimes more than at other times, is a most prolific ( cause of abatement in the returns. Very few farmers or dairymen give their cows as much as they ought tp have to eat, except for » short time in the year. At the present time many cows are calving. Perhaps at no season of the year is food less than at the present. For a little time before as well as after calving tho f ood should be good and sufficient in quantity, and obtained without much exertion. " In very "«UH»y instance* the reverse of this is the case, t ' *hat bscause the food ia scarce. In spring, early su^-S^ ftnd early "rtww there >s w

fields laid down to English grass, as a rule, plenty of fresh feed, but in the hot dry season, preceding autumn, and in the depth of winter, the ground is either dried up or «o reduced in temperature by cold and wet, that the grass stops growing. For these two periods of the year special provision should be made and care taken to give a sufficient quantity of nourishing food. Grass fails in quantity and quality at the same season of the year. As a 'consequence, to obtain the quantity of nourishment more grass should be eaten. But under the circumstances named, if th» animals are not artificially fed, they have to bestow more labour to get their food, they are frequently less able to do so, and as a consequence, lesa food is consumed and the yield of milk is greatly diminished. Weckerlin says, "A cow 7001b weight requires one-sixtieth of her weight in hay (or its equivalent) daily, to maintain her , weight ; and on this allowance she produces during lactation from four to 'five times her weight in milk, according to her breed age, ' &c." Villeroy found that cows of different breeds gave per 1001b of hay consumed, tha following quantities of milk in quarts :—: — Dutch cow .. 28 92 Hereford cow .. 16-97 Yorkshire cow.. 27 45 Jersey „ ..20-33 Devon „ .. 19-13 Lehmann found that tha shorthorn w&s a very superior milch cow, and an Ayrshire k dairy herd, composed exclusively of short- ■ horns, produced 625 gallons of milk annually ™ per head." Professor Wilson, University of Edinburgh, states that the largest recorded produce of milk (in his experience), was that yielded by a cow belonging to the keeper of Lewis gaol, and which amounted to 1210 gallons a year. The seven years' record of a large dairy (that of Mr Harrison, of Froceßter Court) and other statistics equally reliable, show that from 530 to 550 gallons per cow are the average quantities to be expected." Dr Voelker tells of a series of experiments made by Mr rttruckmann, in Germany, the object being "to determine what quantity of brewers' grains are necessary to replace lib of rape- cake and alsft^ the comparative practical effect of the same^ amount and quality of food upon good and bad-milking cows." From the following table it will be seen that most milk was produced by s£lb of rape cake, 361b of mangels, and 251b of oat straw. That lib of rape cake produced on an average ljlb of milk : that lib of brewers' grains produced about Jib of milk; that lib of rape cake is equal to 41b of brewers' grains in its milk-producing powers ; and that while the milk produced by the rape cake was richer in butter, the butter, the butter produced by the grains was more delicate in flavour.

The litre, being a little morethan an imperial quart (4£ litres=l imperial gallon), it will be seen that the difference between the good and bad cows, for the same quantity and quality of food, is from eight to sixteen quarts of milk. Surely it is worth while to keep good cows Under the words "Milk and Water" a writer m the English Agricultural Gazette says, There is as much difference between milk drawn from the udder of one cow and that drawn from another as one would expect, if we had amongst us a considerable number of milch cows whose g.g.g.d. was the original cow with the iron tail.' " In support of this fact Dr Voelcker, in his report of the dairy show, Islington, last year, said that one cow may give five per cent, and another 30 per cent, of solids in the milk. Taking this fact into consideration, the award of first place was given to a cow which gave ljlb less milk in the day than the cow to which they awarded the second prize. As the products of milk are likely to find a ready market through the frozen meat chamber, is it not time for some attention to be directed to the best milch cows for cheese, butter, or milk? In judging at Islington last year a proportionate number of points were given for quantity, 'quality^ and the time elapsed since parturition. One h^A was allowed for every pound of milk given at the morning and evening milking; two points for every one per cent, of solids contained therein ; and one point for the lapse of every ten days since parturition, the first twenty days after calving not bein^ counted. Could not our Farmers' Clubs and Associations be a little more specific- on these points, and at their annual shows obtain the assistance of such men as Professor Black, of Dunedin, Mr Ivy, of Lincoln College, and Professor Grey, of Ohristchurch ? The expense of bringing such men to any district would be more than met by the increased interest such judging would of necessity create, and the knowledge imparted would be of life-long service to those who received it. • ■ WIIiMAX JKNNEB.

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