EFFECTS OF FEED ON BUTTER FAT.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 7874, 8 January 1904, Page 4

EFFECTS OF FEED ON BUTTER FAT.

Experiments were made recently at the j field trials of the English Univi.sity Agricultural Department, Reading, to determine, if possible, the relative influence of mangels on the yield and quality of milk. Four pairs of cows were selected -and fed with a daily ration of 71b of dairy meal, about 161b of oat straw chaff, and 801b of the mangels. This large amount of roots was selected after a^tria) to determine how much the cows would consume completely without wast*. The dairy meal was composed of oil, 5 to b per cent. ; albuminoids, 22 to 24 per cent. . carbo hydrates, 36 to 40 per cent. Before the experiments began the cows were going out to grass, and had at the same timij aboflt 51b dairy meal, 14ib oa* straw chaff, and about 1001b of mangels per day. The results are of considerable value as a record of the yield and butter fat content of milk from cows fed under carefully controlled conditions at uneven in- 1 tervals, such as obtain in many district I where fresh miik must ba supplied f ..- morning distribution and again in the afternoon. The percentage of fat in mil's, however, is subject to large variations, which are not at all dependent on variations in the nature and composition ut the food supplied. When the night interval between the milking period is much longer than the day interval the mornine milk is considerably larger in yield but poorer in fafc, and with many ord'na<y cows fat content often falls below t»M>. legal standard under such conditions The night interval should not be greater than 14 or 15 hours, and ..vh.«re- ' ever an approximation to equal intervals of twelve hours between the milkings is desirable. Since the milt lest, drawn from the udder is exceptionally rich m fat, the importance of thorough ly stripping" the cow is obvious, an.l should be strongly emphasised. Che re duction v of roots and watery food i< a.i visable where the milk is poor. It is very necessary to systematically evamine from tune to tune the capabilities :t <he cows of the herd in regard to thj yield and quality of. th-air milk. 3 . The difference in cows in this tt-pect • is much larger than most farmers vould ■ suspect. ,A comparison of two caws in i the experiment is of interest. Both weie • approximately of the same age, had pro- ' duced the same number ot calves and ' calved on the same day, yet when iej in the same manger the one gave -k-'intr six weeks 13631b of milk, with a total butter fat content of 451b, while 'he 9ufl S T e t fnlf nIy T761T 7611 L b of milk ' containing 25ilb of fat. In the majority of these cows, when milked at uneven intervals, the total amount of butter fat is greater !"^ c .coming milk after the lon| night , interval than m the evening milk