Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1908-02-25
Effect of Feed on Quality of MIX.

Effect Of Feed on Quality OF MIX.
The per cent of butter fat which a
cow puts into her milk or, in other
words, the proportion of butter fat to
the casein, the milk, sugar and the other
solids, and also the milk fluid, is born in
the COW, and is affected very little by
the feed which she consumes. Any one
can readily understand this because II
the feed very materially affected the per
cent of butter fat in the milk, one could
feed a Holstein cow certain foods and
have her give rich milk like Jersey.
On the other hand he could feed a Jer-
sey COW certain foods aud have her give
thin milk like the Holsteins. Again,
two cows of the same breed standing
side by side in the same. stable, give
quite different milk, as far as richness is
concerned, and yet these cows are fed
exactly the same kinds Of food. Now,
if feeds affected the per cent of butter
fat in milk, why wouldn't both cows
give the same quality of milk? Careful
tests have been made by experiment sta
tions along this line, and the conclusion
is that the food has little to do with the
quality of the milk; but feed has a great
deal to do, practically all to do, with
the quantity of the milk. BY proper
feeding you can increase the quantity OF
milk, but you can't change the nature
of the milk by the feed.
Because you get more cream in winter
for the same amount of milk is not ab-
solute proof that il is richer milk than
summer milk, because cream differs in
knf 60
tains much more milk than other cream.
In other words, there is no standard for
cream when it is produced by the grav-
ity process. OF course the per cent of
butter fat varies in the COW with the
period of lactation. When she is COM
paratively fresh and gives full flow OF
milk, that milk isn't quite 80 rich as it
is later on in the period of lactation and
when she is nearly dry or only strip
per, she gives richer milk than at first.
This is so with any COW. You cannot
take the COW when fresh and, by chang
ing the feed, change the nature of the
milk; neither can you when she is near
ly dry, by changing the feed, change the
nature of milk.
Again, if COW has not been properly
fed, not fully developed, by giving her
proper care and proper food, you may
increase the per cent of butter fat in the
milk up to her normal limit; but this is
only because the COW was not properly
fed in the first place. l purchased a
cow once which l tested carefully soon
after got her, and she produced 4 per
cent milk. The cow had not been half
fed. l kept her year, gave her good
care and good liberal rations. At the
end of the year she gave 8 per cent milk
and always gave 5 per cent milk after
that. Now, the reason for this is that
the cow had not been developed to her
normal limit; per cent milk seemed
to be her normal limit, and when got
her up to that it was just on the same
theory that perhaps horse has trotted
in 2:3O. Afterwards he has been proper
" trained and fed for it and trots in
2:20, but you cannot get him beyond
that. Now 2:20 is the limit of his speed,
the normal limit. That's the best he can
do. So it is with the dairy COW. If she
is not fully developed by proper care
and feed you may develop her up to her
normal limit, but you can't go beyond
that.-Colon c. Lille in Michigan
Farmer