Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1893-10-09
STATE Az T-TJEAL
EXifRiAENT STATION,
BURLINGTON, VT, 1898.


ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR
PART II.
Variations In Quantity and Quality of MILK
A full record has been kept at h sta
ton of the milk of each COW year @f,e,
year, and many thousand analyses made.
The voluminous records now On file fur
nish abundant data for determining the
changes that take place in the quantity
and quality of the milk OF u COW and
the influence that various circumstances
have on the quantity and quality.
A study of these records leads to the
following conclusions:
First-AI cows shrink in quantity of milk a.
they get further from calving. If they are far
row, this shrinkage in quantity is accompa
MED by almost no change in quality, even uI-
til they go dry, provided they are still farrovI
II they are in calf, the milk increases in quail
ity as it decreases in quantity. This increase
Is slight-but o~ne-twentieth during the first
six months after c~alving-but becomes quite
pronounced just before the COW goes dry.
Second-CowS that calve in the spring aver.
age giving more milk during the first three
months after calving than those that calve in
the fall. For the seventh, eight and ninth
months this is reversed. Fall cows show
smaller variations in the quality of the milk
than COWS that calve in the spring.
Third-The milk of a COW for the first few
days or weeks after calving is very variable in
quality. On the average 1t is thinncSt just
after calving, becomes slightly richer during
the next two weeks and then holds almost
uniform in quality for the next four or five
months.
Fourth-Cows vary in the quality of Their
milk from one milking to the next and from
day to day, the quality rising and falling with.
cut apparent cause. Such changes are usually
within l per cent of fat. though one COW was
known to change 26S per cent in two days
Tho lp0S+ chnnya of n nf the 0nuUC in tho Cto
ton herd during an entire period of ~lactation
is 0.32 per cent fat, the average change is 1.34
per cent, and the greatest change 2.78 per cent
The largest variation in yield of butter is from
milk that required 20 pounds to make a pound
of butter to a. quality of milk which would re.
quirc but III pounds. 1t is probably possible
that cases may occur of a doubling of the rich
ness of the milk during different times in the
same period Of lactation.
Fifth-Just after calving the milk is poorer
IL fat and in solids not fat than just before the
cow went dry. The average drop in fat is LIS
per cent, the greatest change being 2.35 pei
cent and the least 90 per cent. The average
change in solids not fat is a fall of 0.47 pei
cent, with variations from @ decrease of 1.9i
to en- increase OF 0:42 per cent.
ySixth-Most COWS give about the same quail
ity Ct milk year after year, beginning with this
qualjty at the first calving. There is no gen.
eTa1 tendency for the milk to become either
richer or poorer as the COW grows older.
S~eventh-From one c~alving to the next cows
may be expected to vary the general quality OF
their milk not much more than q sixth of 1 pei
cent fat, and scarcely ever will show a varia.
ton OF more than q quarter of 1 per cent.
Eighth-The milk of a heifer tends to agree
very closely in quality to that of her dam. The
average variation is a third of 1 per cent of fat
and the greatest difference is l per cent-in the
case Of an Ayrshire COW crossed with a Jersey
hun.
Ni2ih-The present cheap, rapid and easy
methods OF testing cows leave no excuse fol
my dairyman's not knowing the quality of the
milk of each one of his COWS. II two tests are
made, each of a mixed sample of four days
milk, one being taken six weeks after the COW
calves and the ether six months after calving
the average Of these two tests will agree almost
exactly with tie average quality OF the mill
given during the entire milking period. There
will seldom be a difference of as much as 6
quarter of l per cent of fat.
Tenth-If it is desired to know from tests
nearer together what quality of milk a COW
gives, very accurate results will be obtained by
making two tests Is days apart, four months
after the COW calves, each test being on 6
mixed sample of four days milk. The average
of these two tests with one-eighth OF / per cen,
of fat added is surprisingly near the truth fol
the average quality of the years nli1lx.
Eieventh-In the long run, just SCOUT the
same results are obtained whether COWS are
tested once a month or twice & month.
Twelfth-Cows that have been properly fed
at the barn do not shrink in quality of milk
when turned to pasture. They usually increase
both IN quality and quantity.
tThirteenth-Ful feeding with grain at the
barn and while the COWS are ON pasture pro-
3gces IL much larger flow of milk during April
and May and causes the flow to keep up con.
siderably later in the fall. No attempt was
made to ascertain whether this increase wa;
sSGicieat to pay for the extra grain.
Eou-teentn-The milk produced by the cows
of Vermont during the entire year contains CT
the average Al per cent of fat, ard would il
rightly handled make a pound of butter from
each e pounds CT milk.
Fiftcenth-The station herd was troubled
with abortion, and the trouble ceased after
thorough disinfecting with sulphur and a plen-
tiful use of laUdanum. There is nothing tt
prove conclusivelv that the treatment was the
cause of the cessation of the disease.
Sixteenth-The NEST noticeable effect OF
abortion on the quality of the milk il to make
It richer than it would have been had the COW
gone full time. This quality, however, fall:
during the first few months after abortion
until By the third or fourth month it is o.
about the same quality as would have beer
given il the COW had calved naturally.
Seventeenth-The worst effect of abortion Il:
the decreased quantity of milk given, which
with the COWS Of the station amounts to about
a third OF the full yield.
Record OF the Station Herd For 1882.
Careful and very complete records Of
the station herd were kept during the
year 1892 and showed that the IL regular
members of the herd averaged 7,19f
pounds Of milk, of such quality as to
make 351 pounds of butter each. The
records also showed that the herd con.
tanned on the average 81 COWS, and thai
these produced 1923 pounds of mill
apiece and 384 pounds of butter.
The best Ayrshire gave 6,055 pounds
Of milk and $40 pounds of butter; the
best three Holsteins, $50 pounds Of
milk and 38S pounds of butter; the best
three Jerseys, 7,130 pounds of milk and
122 pounds of butter. The best record
of any COW in the herd within the veal
-vo ID 00A Doupdcof mill opd 50R po11nde