PERPETUAL MILKERS.

Clutha Leader, Volume XX, Issue 1035, 25 May 1894, Page 3

PERPETUAL MILKERS.

We notice in the Australasian a paper dy Professor J. L. Thomson, Hawkosbury Agricultural College, in which he makes i mention of a fact which we In-Hove is not generally known and which will be of interest to those wbo keep dairy cows. We quote : ' Of the advantages of spaying I may say a' cow spayed a short time after calving, and at the tim*-, when she gives the largest quantity of milk, continues to give the like quantity during hr j r lifptinip. Thp. milk of the spaypd animal will be improved ; it will b« more uniform in character, richer and more buttery, while the latter will always be of a golden color, finer taste, and flavor, Should the iiiilk dry off, the cow will rapidly fatten, producing beef superior to the ox, being more tender and juicy. The best time to spay a cow is when she has dropped her second or third calf, or when she is in full milk, the spring or autumn being the best periods of the year for the operation. The classes of animals which should be selected include chiefly heifers under one year old, which are not intended for milk cows and which are not wanted for breeding' purposes. Secondly, older cattle, either heifers or cows that have had one or more calves, and which it is desired to fatten for beef. Thirdly, cows in any dairy in full flow of milk and whose calves it is not profitable to raise. It is amongst the first two of these classes that the operation would he found more profitable j not only from the immediate profit to the owners but also from its tendency to diminish the number of scrubby animals, and favor the introduction of ' a better class of cattle. The spayed animal too, is more docile, and as a consequence lays on flesh quickly and the quality of the meat becomes much improved ; the lean and fat being more mixed. In England the quality of the beef is so highly appreciated that there is a difference of from Id to 2d per lb in value between the best and inferior qualities.