The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1910-03-10
Feeding Fat Into Milk.

Dairymen have been divided In
their opinion as to whether or not it
is possible to increase the fat content
of milk by different methods of feed
ing, and particularly by the feeding
of an increased amount of fat in the
food. The experiment stations long
since proved that it was not possible
to feed fat into milk, but some dairy
men have been slow to accept the
facts in the case.
Professor Jordan, of the Geneva
New York; Experiment Station, has
completed a test that is conclusive.
He sent 1000 pounds chopped hay and
1900 pounds of cornmeal and ground
oats to linseed oil company, and
had this company extract all
the fat from the feed. This
company makes linseed meal by ex-
tracing the oil or fat from the fax
seed, and they are therefore prepared
to extract all the fat, or at least their
process leaves only a trace of fat in
the material treated.
A Jersey cow, young and vigorous,
thin in flesh and four months after
calving. At first this COW was given
normal ration, consisting of un-
treated timothy hay, cornmeal,
ground oats and wheat gluten. Her
milk yield and butter fat content of
milk for this period are carefully re-
corded.
Then her food was changed, and
she was fed the prepared feeds, free
from fat. II the COW must derive her
milk fat from the fat in the feed,
something unusual must happen, be-
cause there is not sufficient fat in the
feed to account for the large amount
of fat in the milk. The COW gave the
normal amount of milk and fat, and
gained in weight on the fat free feed.
Professor Jordan found that the COW
produced sixty-three pounds of fat,
and her feed only contained twelve
pounds of fat, of which she digested
only six pounds. The COW gained in
flesh and grew somewhat fatter dur
ing the trial.
We naturally ask them from
whence comes the fat. Professor Jor-
dan determined the amount of pro-
tein in the feeds, and the amount that
was digested, and the amount that
appeared in the casein and albumen
of the milk. and after deducting all
these amounts of protein, he found
that only very small part of the fat
in the milk could have been derived
from the protein part of the feed, and
he believes that practically none Of
the fat is derived from this source.
The protein part of the ration is
needed, however. to furnish the pro-
tein part of the milk, and to build up
the protein parts of the body, and
protein acts as a stimulant and re-
juvenator to the system.
By elimination we are driven to the
conclusion that practically all of the
fat in the milk is derived from other
parts of the feeds than the fat and
protein, These other constituents of
feeds are starches, sugars and woody
fi5re. all three of which constituents
we call carbohydrates, and these
same constituents build UP the sugars
In the milk. and give heat and energy
to the animal. This COW ate several
hundred pounds of carbohydrates.
The COW, then. derives a very large
part of the fat, IL not all OF It, from
the carbohydrates. The fats are made
up OF the three chemical elements,
carbon. hydrogen and oxygen. and the
carbohydrates contain the same iden-
tical elements, or component parts,
except that they are arranged little
differently in the mixture. The COW
las the ability TO take one form OF
the mixture and change the relation
of the parts somewhat and thus pro.
duco fat.
Professor Jordan Is a. patient
painstaking Investigator. and we owe
him a debt of gratitude for proving
so conyinclnPly that the source of the
fat IN tho milk IL the carbohydrate
part OF the feed Inland Farmer.