Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1876-07-05

Fourth Milk IN which the process of sour
ing has progressed beyond lorrering. is in
jured just in proportion to the degree Of
acidity developed and when manifestly in
the stage Of active fermentation. is utterly
unfit for calves.
rim No kind Of meal or porridge should
be added TO the sour milk until Immediately
before feeding
Sirk The danger Of advocating the use
of "sour milk for calves, lies in conveying
the impression TO inexperienced or careless
persons that any degree of " sourucss,' even
to the point Of fermentation and the deyel-
opment Of offensive gasses in the milk, is all
lowable. The sooner after skimming milk
is conveyed TO the calls stomach, the better;
and, as all good dairymen know, milk never
should stand unskimmed after it has thiok
eued so that no more cream can rise
Serenh-Intelligent writers have expressed
the belief shat milk when it first begins to
be loppered, or before whey appears, is
really better fitted for digestion in the calls
stomach than when actually sweet. There
is a plausible reason for this, conveyed by
one Of these writers as follows
II there be- any superiority in either, 10 is be-
cause it Is more easily dgestod and consequently
CAUSES less exhaustion for the first effect of food
when taken into the stomach is tocshau-t instead
Of nonrishiug the animal, md this exhaustion
CONTINUES until the food has been prepared 10y The
q i. D.
noursh the body. The principal agent by which
this is accomplished is clear, watcry fluid called
the gastric juice, which comes in contact with and
dissolyes the food In the stomach, and he most
Important ingredient in this dgfnf is hictio rcii
lsee Daiton's Physiology page ii7l ii is this lac
tic acid which causes the casene II SOUR milk To
coagulate thus producing thick or loppored milk
when sweet milk is taken into the stomach, in
undergoing the process Of digestion II is first CO.
agulated by the gastric juice lSoc Dalton, page
$40, where he says " Mil, Is coagulaied, further
more, by the gastric juice in the natural process
Of Digestion Immediately after being taken into
the stomach % Now as this change fcoagulationl
has already taken place, not only without loss Of
nuttiment, but on the contrary, with an actual
Development at the most important ingredient en-
ployed in digesing food iu milk which becomes
sour OF loppered before being fed it Is evident
that IL will he more easily digcsted and cause less
exhaustion, than the same quantity fed sweet.
and rs the waste caused by this exhaustion must
he rapid before growth begins, therefore less OF
the nutriment contained Ia the sour milk is 70
quired for the purpose of repamtion, leaving a
larger proportion for Increasing the size Of the
animal. Hence, calves md pigs fed upon sour
SKINNED milk grow faster, and make larger ami
mails, than those consuming an equal quantity Of
milk skinned and fed sweet
The argument in the above extract can be
admitted only as subject to the test of prac-
teal experiment ON a sufficiently extended
scale, and in the hands Of careful, scientific
experimenters. Such test could only be
made on a farm where many calves were
fed, and where those in charge were pre-
pared TO weigh and measure record and tab
ulate, aud finally TO figure up the results
without prejudice This is one of the things
an experimental dairy station is needed for,
In the meantime, every man will have to
reach conclusions ia the same rough way
that we have summarized the information
we have gathered, above and of course diff
ferent conclusions will be come TO by differ
ent observers. Thus the whole matter will
remain unsettled, and the practice will cor
respond. Shall we ever have an expert
mental dairy station