Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1898-08-09
INFLUENCE OF FOOD ON MILK.
A BRITISH DAIRYMAN's CONCLUSIONS
NONE TOO MUCH BurTER NADE.-CON-
pENsEp MILK FACTORIES REDUCE SUR
PLUS.

Prof. r. J. Lloyd, consulting chemist
Of the British dairy farmers association,
recently read paper before that organi-
zstiou on the influence Of cows feed on
her milk In which he said: In every
milking COW two tendencies are at work.
The one Is to convert the nourishment
supplied by the food into milk; the
second to store up that nourishment In
the body. In every milking animal there
Is constant struggle between the two
tendencies. Sometimes q comparatively
slight or simple cause may upset the
balance. An exceptionally cold night
will cause m irked decline In the milk
yield of large herd. The materials
have been utilized for maintenance, the
demand for animal heat for the time
being having exercised a more powerful
influence than that OF milk production.
The character Of the food supplied TO
sn animal may affect either tendency.
A COW fed with an excess Of st,rchy
food, having used ali that it requires for
milk production, will still be left with
surplus OF nutriment In the blood. This
will be utilized by the tendency OF the
COW TO fatten. In similar manner an
excess Of heterogeneous food-whicb, how
ever, is far more rare-will produce
tendency 10 make flesh.
The ultimate result of food excess
lively rich In nutriment Is not to Increase
the milk yield, but to diminish IL.
The tendency to produce milk, fol-
lowing out the Law Of nature, whereby
the maintenance Of offspring Is more
powerful influence than self-preserva-
ton, Is, as rule, stronger than the tend
ency to preserve the food stored up In
the body. Hence, the effect on the milk
of deficiency Of nutriment in the food
is for some time very slight, but ii will
tell on the body Of the animal and there
will be n gradual loss of weight.
The present state Of our knowledge as
regards the effect OF food on milk pro-
duction. may be briefly summarized as
follows:
when properly fed dairy COW will
neither gain nor lose In live weight, and
under such conditions will produce the
maximum quantity OF milk which her
physical conformation permits, and that
milk will have It's maximum quality;
|. 2, there will be a maximum epithelial
growth.
The food which produces such re-
suits IL sn ideal milk ration, and the
nearest approach 10 it which man pos
sesses is good pasture. The moment
artificial feeding commences the condi-
tions are altered. II an excess OF nutri-
ment be given, the tendency to fatten
will gradually outstrip the tendency for
milk production. II deficiency Of
nutriment be given, the body suffers first,
subsequently, the quality OF the milk,
and lastly the quantity. These results
will be most marked when there Is
simultaneously an abundant supply OF
water. II now the food be changed,
there will be q corresponding change In
the quantity and quality Of the milk.
but IL will not be immediate. Expert
ments have been made for me under the
latter conditions. The result Was that
the animals first utilized the food to re.
plenish their emaciated bodies. The
milk remained practically unaffected for
from four to six weeks. Then the food
told. This fact emphasizes one source
Of error In feeding experiments-they
are not conducted for q sufficiently long
period"