The Food of Cows.

Opunake Times, Volume V, Issue 201, 7 August 1896, Page 3

The Food of Cows.

A very intelligent dairyman, Mr John Speir, (Victoria) has made known some valuable experiments recently carried out c in the feeding of cows on different kinds of food, with

a view to testing their several effects upon the quantity and quality of the milk. The average dairyman believes that the more food of any particular kind he gives to his cows the richer will be the milk. Mr Speir’s conclusions point to the effect that at least two foods, viz., young fresh grass and brewer’s grains, have the power of lowering the percentage of fat ip the milk, and that vetches and decorticated cotton seed cake have a tendency to increase it. The effect of grains and young grass, upon the quality of milk is well-known to all dairymen. Both of these foods have a tendency to increase the yield of milk, but Mr Speir maintains that an increased flow is the cause of a lower quality. He asserts also that most changes of food seem to be followed by an increase of fat in the milk, but that there is a strong tendency for the milk to return to what may be called natural condition. The maximum or minimum of fat seems to be reached in about ten days, and within other thirty the probability is that the milk will be returned to near its normal condition. The solids other than fat in the milk seem to rise or fall in much the same manner as the fats, although to a less degree. An increase of oil in the food does not seem to give any increase of fat in the milk. The effect of food was more marked in the quality of the butter produced than the quantity. Like the 'fat in the milk, the yield of butter seems to attain its maximum about the middle of the second week, after which it decreases, attaining the normal about the end of the fifth week. Also some foods seem to produce milk from which a greater percentage of •he fat can be recovered by churning than others. However, the greatest difference in the effects of the foods was seen in the quality of the butter. In fact, most foods seem to have some effect in the flavor, melting point, or keeping qualities of the butter produced by their use. The butter from the use of linseed cake had a

rancid smell by the third or fourth day, while that from the consumption of oats, beans, or decorticated cottonseed cake did not reach the same stage

when kept in a warm part of the house till about 10 days later. It appears - some foods produce butter which re(tains much more water than others, and butters which have a large percentage of water in them seem usually to be of second or third-class quality. Only a few of the butters were tested for pure fat, and it is to be regretted that all were not, for it is evident that the percentage of water all butter contains not only determines the quality,

but is also a necessary factor in accurately estimating ■ the churnability of the fat in milk. Like the fat in the milk, the fat in the butter seems to have a strong tendency to revert to normal conditions.