INFLUENCE OF FEEDING ON MILK PRODUCTION.

Northern Advocate, 10 March 1888, Page 4

INFLUENCE OF FEEDING ON MILK PRODUCTION.

Pbofessob Fleischmaxn's conclusions as to the effect of different kinds of food on the quality of milk are important. He finds pea haulm unfavourable to the production of milk, and barley straw, if taken in too large quantity, imparts a bitter taste to butter. In the case of potatoes, these when mixed with other forage, snit best, if cooked, fattening cattle, and raw for milch cows. If more than 301 bof tubers be given as a daily ration in proportion to a live weight of 10 cwt., or even if the roots are not mixed with half their weight of cut straw, the butter will always turn out hard and insipid. "When mangolds, in the proportion of 22 to 26 lb. per 10 cwt. of live weight, are given daily, and mixed with the eight or tenth of their weight of cut straw, the cows yield a milk giving a rich and good tasting butter. Carrots do not augment the secretion of milk, but the butter will be excellent in quality ; turnips promote the yield of milk, but flavour the butter proportionately to the quantity given. Frozen roots, either alone or mixed, give a strong flavourd also to the millr ; roots thus affected should be silced, and when acidified consumed. Crushed peas and tares produce a butter hard in consistency ; oats soft, and wheat between both. Strange that while peas favour the secretion of milk, tares do the contrary; beans exercise no marked favourable action ; bran makes the butter soft ; so does rape Cake, while linseed cake produces a hard butter. Not more than 2£ lb. of either cake per 10 cwt. of live weight ought to be given daily to milch cows. Respecting distillery residue, if given in more than 551 b, daily the milk resulting will be thin and clear, butter soft, not keeping well, and having a tendency to become bitter.