The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-03-11

Cultivator.
1t is not difficult to explain how the fat
stored on the body of an animal can be
accumulated through the agency of the
food, as it is a fact well known, but ex-
| periments made at the New York Agricul-
tural Experiment Station have exploded
popular belief regarding the fat in milk,
which will lead to further investigation
1t has heretofore been, a mystery how the
COWS having high butter records produced
more butter than could be gotten from the
food consumed and digested, or, rather,
how could the cow produce something
from nothing. The station report discuss
es the subject from several standpoints
and adds valuable information thereon.
Some have held that the body and milk
fats are formed by simple chemical trans
formation of the various food fats; 9TH
ers that the carbohydrates, which con-
tain no chemical elements not found in
the fats, are chiefly concerned in their for
nation; and others that the heterogeneous
compounds of the food, the proteids, are
broken up to form the fats, the nitrogen.
which the proteids contain (and fat does
not, being eXcreted in the urine, which
means that the proteids were chemically
changed into forms which would permit
of the creation OF fat, but that the nitro
gen was lost by the process. No facts
have been derived to verify the theories
until the experiment made demonstrated
that the cow can add the fat to the milk
from foods that were not wholly carbon
aceous.
The test for fat extended over a period
of about three months. and the food was
carefully selected, weghen and many pre-
cautions used to guard against mistakes.
Even the COW was weighed. so as to notice
whether she gained or lost in flesh while
being used in the experiment. During %
days 62.9 pounds of milk fat was produced.
while the food contained only 81 pounds
OF digestible fat, so that So pounds of
the milk fat could not have come from
the food fats nor could it have been de-
rived from the fat stored in the cows
body. On the contrary, the COW was lean
at the start and gained in weight during
the experiment, being a pounds heavier
at the end. During 80 days 3SS pounds
of fat was found in the milk. To form this
fat the matabolism of 20 pounds of nitro
urine, however, there was found only nj
trogen enough to account for the decom-
position of SS.3 pounds of protein, or the
formation of III pounds of fat, leaving q. 7
pounds OF fat unacounted for. The fat
in the milk. according TO such results,
could not have been formed from the IA.
in the foods. fat in the body or from the
protein in the food. sinsly or united. hence
portion must have been formed from the
carbohydrates.
It is well understood that the carbohy-
drates (starchy foods are carbonaceous.
and that by feeding such foods literally
the cows can be made to keep up a fun
TOW or rich milk, but the best results
have been obtained when the ration was
balanced by protein. The experiment dem
-onsJrates. however. that protein takes no
necessary part in providing material for
forming milk fat. but il is probaIe that
its effect is stimulative. exciting and as
sisting changes in other materials rather
than entering into them. II all the vary
ing changes OF the ratious fed during the
experiment the composition OF the milk
remained very uniform. and continued
about the same whether the ration was
well supplied with protein CT contained
none a. all. whether poor in carbon ydrates
or rich. and even when the supply OF all
n ingredients was below the animals real
needs the milk did rot suited IN quality
though Il diminished in quantity. Such
slight changes SIS did occur were varfz-
lions in fat. the caseln. sugar salts. etc.
remaining remarkably Uniform The re-
suit shows that in feeding COWS it IS best
TO give variety and that Il the animal
Is well FED her product viii be Up 10 her
average OF milk fat, and that while Il Is
better 10 feed = balanced ration the fam
ure 20 DO SO may not necessarily change
the proportion % tat