This presents a large band, Fig. 30, straight, as in Fig. 43, and bounded on the sides by two parallel lines, as seen in the same figures, or by curved lines, as in Fig. 34. It sometimes rises scarcely a fourth part up the perineum, as in Fig. 38; at others, it reaches or passes beyond that part, forming a straight band, as in Figs. 35 and 43, or is folded into squares, as in Figs. 31 and 36, or truncated, Fig. 38, or terminated by one or several points, Figs. 32, 33, 41, 50. In some cows this band extends as far as the base of the vulva, Figs. 40 and 48; in others, it embraces more or less of the lower part of the vulva, Figs. 29, 30, 39, and 47.

Milk-mirrors are sometimes symmetrical, as in Figs. 29, 30, 34, 35, 37, and 38; sometimes without symmetry, as in Figs. 42, 45, and 50. When there is a great difference in the extent of the two halves, it almost always happens that the teats on the side where the mirror is best developed give, as we shall see, more milk than those of the opposite side. We will remark here that the left half of the mirror is almost always the largest; and so, when the perinean part is folded into a square, it is on this side of the body that it unfolds, as in Figs. 31, 36, and 42. Of three thousand cows in Denmark, M. Andersen found only a single one whose escutcheon varied even a little from this rule. We have observed the contrary only in a single case, and that was on a bull. The perinean part of the mirror formed a band of an inch to an inch and a half in breadth, irregular, but situated, in great measure, on the right side of the body. Stretching towards the upper part of the perineum, it formed a kind of square, with a small projecting point on the right, Fig. 51.

The mirrors having a value in proportion to the space they occupy, it is of great importance to attend to all the rows of down-growing hairs, which diminish its extent of surface, whether these tufts are in the midst of the mirror, Figs. 45, 46, and 47, or form indentations on its edges, as in Figs. 42, 44, 45, 46, and 48.

These indentations, concealed in part by the folds of the skin, are sometimes seen with difficulty; but it is important to take them into account, since in a great many cows they materially lessen the size of the mirror. We often find cows whose milk-mirror at first sight appears very large, but which are only medium milkers; and it will usually be found that lateral indentations greatly diminish the surface of up-growing hair. Many errors are committed in estimating the value of such cows, from a want of attention to the real extent of the milk-mirror.

All the interruptions in the surface of the mirror indicate a diminution of the quantity of milk, with the exception, however, of small oval or elliptical plates which are found in the mirror, on the back part of the udders of the best cows, as in Figs. 29, 30, 32, 34, 35, 36, and 40. These ovals have a peculiar tint, which is occasioned by the downward direction of the hair which forms them. In the best cows these ovals exist with the lower mirrors very well developed, as in Figs. 29, 30, and 32.

In fine, we should state that in order to determine the extent and significance of a mirror it is necessary to consider the state of the perineum as to fat, and of the fulness of the udder. In a fat cow, with an inflated udder, the mirror would appear larger than it really is; whilst in a lean cow, with a loose and wrinkled udder, it appears smaller. Fat will cover faults, a fact to be kept in mind in selecting a cow.

In bulls, Fig. 51, the mirrors present the same peculiarities as in cows; but they are less varied in their form, and especially much less in size. This will easily be understood from the explanation of mirrors given on a preceding page.

In calves the mirrors show the shapes they are afterwards to have, only they are more contracted, because the parts which they cover are but slightly developed. They are easily seen after birth; but the hair which then covers them is long, coarse, and stiff; and when this hair falls off, the calf’s mirror will resemble that of the cow, but be of less size.

With calves, however, it should be stated, in addition to what has already been said, that the milk-mirrors are more distinctly recognized on those from cows that are well kept, and that they will generally be fully developed at two years old. Some changes take place in the course of years, but the outlines of the mirror appear prominent at the time of advanced pregnancy, or, in the case of cows giving milk, at the times when the udder is more distended with milk than at others.

The classification adopted by Magne appears still further to simplify the whole method, and to bring it within the easy reach and comprehension of every one who will examine the figures and the explanations connected with them. He divides cows, according to the quantity they give, into four classes: First, the very good; second, the good; third, the medium; and fourth, the bad.

In the first class he places cows both parts of whose milk-mirror, the mammary and the perinean, are large, continuous, uniform, covering at least a great part of the perineum, the udder, the inner surface of the thighs, and extending more or less out upon the legs, as in Figs. 29 to 33, with no interruptions, or, if any, small ones, oval in form, and situated on the posterior face of the udder, Figs. 29, 30, and 32.

Such mirrors are found on most very good cows, but may also be found on cows which can scarcely be called good, and which should be ranked in the next class. But cows, whether having very well-developed mirrors or not, may be reckoned as very good, and as giving as much milk as is to be expected from their size, feed, and the hygienic circumstances in which they are kept, if they present the following characteristics:

Veins of the perineum large, as if swollen, and visible on the exterior, as in Figs. 29-32, or which can be easily made to appear by pressing upon the base of the perineum; veins of the udder large and knotted, milk-veins large, often double, equal on both sides, and forming zig-zags under the belly.

To the signs furnished by the veins and by the mirror may be added also the following marks: A uniform, very large and yielding udder, shrinking much in milking, and covered with soft skin and fine hair; good constitution, full chest, regular appetite, and great propensity to drink. Cows rather inclining to be poor than fat. Soft, yielding skin, short, fine hair, small head, fine horns, bright, sparkling eye, mild expression, feminine look, with a fine neck.

Cows of this first class are very rare. They give, even when small in size, from ten to fourteen quarts of milk a day, and the largest sized from eighteen to twenty-six quarts a day, and even more. Just after calving, if arrived at maturity and fed with good, wholesome, moist food in sufficient quantity and quality, adapted to promote the secretion of milk, they can give about a pint of milk for every ten ounces of hay, or its equivalent, which they eat.

They continue in milk for a long period. The best never go dry, and may be milked even up to the time of calving, giving from eight to twelve quarts of milk a day. The Dutch cow, Fig. 54, was giving daily twenty-two quarts of milk, a year after calving. But even the best cows often fall short of the quantity of milk they are able to give, from being fed on food that is too dry, or not sufficiently varied, or not rich enough in nutritive qualities, or deficient in quantity.

The second class is that of good cows; and to this belong the best commonly found in the market and among the cow-feeders of cities.

They have the mammary part of the milk-mirror well developed, but the perinean part contracted or wholly wanting, as in Figs. 34 and 37; or both parts of the mirror are moderately developed, or slightly indented, as Figs. 35 and 36. Figs. 38, 39, 40, and 41, belong also to this class, in the lower part; but they denote cows which, as the upper mirrors, S S S, indicate, dry up sooner when again in calf.

These marks, though often seen on many good cows, should be considered as certain only when the veins of the perineum form, under the skin, a kind of network, which, without being very apparent, may be felt by a pressure on them; when the milk-veins on the belly are well developed, though less knotted and less prominent than in cows of the first class; in fine, when the udder is well developed, and presents veins which are sufficiently numerous, though not very large.

It is necessary, then, as in the preceding class, to have a mistrust of cows in which the mirror is not accompanied by large veins. This remark applies especially to cows which have had several calves, and are in full milk. They are medium or bad, let the milk-mirror be what it may, if the veins of the belly are not large, and those of the udder apparent.

The general characteristics which depend on form and constitution combine less than in cows of the preceding class the marks of good health and excellent constitution with those of a gentle and feminine look.

Small cows of this class give from seven to ten or eleven quarts of milk a day, and the largest from thirteen to seventeen quarts. They can be made to give three fourths of a pint of milk, just after calving, for every ten ounces of hay consumed, if well cared for, and fed in a manner favorable to the secretion of milk.

They hold out long in milk when they have no upper mirrors or tufts. At seven or eight months in calf, they may give from five to eight quarts a day.

The third class consists of middling cows. When the milk-mirror really presents only the lower or mammary part slightly developed or indented, and the perinean part contracted, narrow, and irregular, as in Figs. 42 to 47, the cows are middling. The udder is slightly developed or hard, and shrinks very little after milking. The veins of the perineum are not apparent, and those which run along the lower sides of the abdomen are small, straight, and sometimes unequal. In this case the mirror is not symmetrical, and the cow gives more milk on the side where the vein is largest.

These cows often have large heads, and a thick and hard skin. Being ordinarily in good condition, and even fat, they are beautiful to look at, and seem to be well formed. Many of them are nervous and restive, and not easily approached.

Cows of this class give, according to size, from three or four to ten quarts of milk. They very rarely give, even in the most favorable circumstances, half a pint for every ten ounces of hay which they consume.

The milk diminishes rapidly, and dries up wholly the fourth or fifth month in calf.

The fourth class is composed of bad cows. As they are ordinarily in good condition, these cows are often the most beautiful of the herd and in the markets. They have fleshy thighs, thick and hard skin, a large and coarse neck and head, and horns large at the base.

The udder is hard, small, and fleshy, with a skin covered with long, rough hair. No veins are to be seen either on the perineum or the udder, while those of the belly are very slightly developed, and the mirrors are ordinarily small, as in Figs. 48, 49, and 50.

With these characteristics, cows give only a few quarts of milk a day, and dry up a short time after calving. Some such can scarcely nourish their calves, even when they are well cared for and well fed.

Sickly habits, chronic affections of the digestive organs, the chest, the womb, and the lacteal system, sometimes greatly affect the milk secretions, and cause cows troubled with them to fall from the first or second to the third, and sometimes to the fourth class.

The above classification is very similar to that of Pabst, a German farmer of large experience and observation of stock, who, with a view to simplify the method of Guénon, and render it of greater practical value to the farmer, made five divisions or classes, consisting of, 1st, Very good or extraordinary; 2d, Good or good middling; 3d, Middling and little below middling; 4th, Small; and, 5th, Very bad milkers.

These classifications, adopted by Magne, Pabst, and other good breeders and judges of cows, appear to me to be far more simple and satisfactory than the more extended and complicated classification of Guénon himself. Without pretending to be able to judge with any accuracy of the quantity, the quality, or the duration, which any particular size or form of the mirror will indicate, they give to Guénon the full credit of his important discovery of the escutcheon, or milk-mirror, as a new and very valuable element in forming our judgment of the milking qualities of a cow; and simply assert, with respect to the duration or continuance of the flow of milk, that the mirror that indicates the greatest quantity will also indicate the longest duration. The mirror forms, in other words, an important additional mark or point for distinguishing good milkers; and it is safe to lay it down as a rule that, in the selection of milch cows, as well as in the choice of young animals as breeders, we should, by all means, examine and consider the milk-mirror, but not limit or confine ourselves exclusively to it, and that other and long-known marks should be equally regarded.

But there are cases where a knowledge and careful examination of the form and size of the mirror becomes of the greatest importance. It is well known that certain signs or marks of great milkers are developed only as the capacities of the animal herself are fully and completely developed by age. The milk-veins, for instance, are never so large and prominent in heifers and young cows as in old ones, and the same may be said of the udder, and the veins of the udder and perineum; all of which it is of great importance to observe in the selection of milch cows. Those signs, then, which in cows arrived at maturity are almost sufficient in themselves to warrant a conclusion as to their merits as milkers, are, to a great extent, wanting in younger animals, and altogether in calves, of which there is often doubt whether they shall be raised; and here a knowledge of the form of the mirror is of immense advantage, since it gives, at the outset, and before any expense is incurred, a somewhat reliable means of judging of the future milking capacities of the animal or, if a male, of the probability of his transmitting milking qualities to his offspring.

It will be seen, from an examination of the points of a good milch cow, that, though the same marks which indicate the greatest milking qualities may not indicate any great aptitude to fatten, yet that the signs which indicate good fattening qualities are included among the signs favorable to the production of milk, such as soundness of constitution, indicated by good organs of digestion and respiration, fineness and mellowness of the skin and hair, quietness of disposition, which inclines the animal to rest and lie down in chewing the cud, and other marks which are relied on by graziers in selecting animals to fatten.

In buying dairy stock the farmer generally finds it for his interest to select young heifers. They give the promise of longer usefulness. But it is often the case that older cows are selected with the design of using them for the dairy for a limited period, and then feeding them for the butcher. In either case, it is advisable, as a rule, to choose animals in low or medium condition. The farmer cannot ordinarily afford to buy fat; it is more properly his business to make it, and to have it to sell. Good and well-marked cows in poor condition will rapidly gain in flesh and products when removed to better pastures and higher keeping, and they cost less in the original purchase.

It is unnecessary to say that regard should be had to the quality of the pasturage and keeping which a cow has previously had, as compared with that to which she is to be subjected. The size of the animal should also be considered with reference to the fertility of the pastures into which she is to be put. Small or medium-sized animals accommodate themselves to ordinary pastures far better than large ones. Where a very large cow will do well, two small ones will usually do better, while the large animal might fail entirely where two small ones would do well. It is better to have the whole herd, so far as may be, uniform in size; for, if they vary greatly, some may get more than they need, and others will not have enough. This however, cannot always be brought about.

CHAPTER IV.
FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY COWS.

No branch of dairy farming can compare in importance with the management of cows. The highest success will depend very much upon it, whatever breed be selected, and whatever amount of care and attention be given to the points of the animals; for experience will show that very little milk comes out of the bag that is not first put into the throat. It is poor economy, therefore, to attempt to keep too many cows for the amount of feed we have; for it will generally be found that one good cow well bred and well fed will yield as much as two ordinary cows kept in the ordinary way, while a saving is effected both in labor and room required, and in the risks on the capital invested. If the larger number on poorer feed is urged for the sake of the manure, which is the only ground on which it can be put, it is sufficient to remark that it is a very expensive way of making manure. It is not too much to say that a proper regard to profit and economy would require many an American farmer to sell off nearly half his cows, and to feed the whole of his hay and roots hitherto used into the remainder.

A certain German farmer was visited, one day, by some Swiss from over the border, who desired to buy of him all the milk of his cows for the purpose of making cheese. Not being able to agree upon the terms, he finally proposed to let them take the entire charge of his cows, and agreed to furnish food amply sufficient, the Swiss assuming the whole care of feeding it out, and paying a fixed price by measure for all the milk. “I found myself, at once,” says he, “under the necessity of selling almost half my cows, because the Swiss required nearly double the quantity of fodder which the cows had previously had, and I was well satisfied that all the produce I could raise on my farm would be far from sufficient to feed in that way the number of cows I had kept. I was in despair at finding them using such a quantity of the best quality of feed, though it was according to the strict letter of the contract, especially as I knew that I had given my cows rather more than the quantity of food recommended by men in whom I had perfect confidence. Thus, while Thaër names twenty-three pounds of hay, or its equivalent, as food sufficient for a good-sized cow, I gave mine full twenty-seven pounds. But, if the change effected in the management of my cows was great, the result was still more striking. The quantity of milk kept increasing, and it reached the highest point when the cows attained the condition of the fat kine of Pharaoh’s dream. The quantity of milk became double, triple, and even quadruple, what it had been before; so that, if I should compare the product with that previously obtained, a hundred pounds of hay produced three times more milk than it had produced with my old mode of feeding. Such results, of course, attracted my attention to this branch of my farming. It became a matter of pleasure; and my observations were followed up with great care, and during several years I devoted a large part of my time to it. I even went so far as to procure scales for weighing the food and the animals, in order to establish exact data on the most positive basis.”

The conclusions to which he arrived were, that an animal, to be fully fed and satisfied, requires a quantity of food in proportion to its live weight; that no feed could be complete that did not contain a sufficient amount of nutritive elements; hay, for example, being more nutritive than straw, and grains than roots. He found, too, that the food must possess a bulk sufficient to fill up to a certain degree the organs of digestion or the stomach; and that, to receive the full benefit of its food, the animal must be wholly satisfied, as, if the stomach is not sufficiently distended, the food cannot be properly digested, and of course many of the nutritive principles it contains would not be perfectly assimilated. An animal regularly fed eats till it is satisfied, and no more than is requisite. A part of the nutritive elements in hay and other forage plants is needed to keep an animal on its feet,—that is, to keep up its condition,—and if the nutrition of its food is not sufficient for this the weight decreases, and if it is more than sufficient the weight increases, or else this excess is consumed in the production of milk or in labor. About one sixtieth of their live weight in hay, or its equivalent, will keep horned cattle on their feet; but, in order to be completely nourished, they require about one thirtieth in dry substances, and four thirtieths in water, or other liquid contained in their food. The excess of nutritive food over and above what is required to sustain life will go in milch cows generally to the production of milk, or to the growth of the fœtus, but not in all cows to an equal extent; the tendency to the secretion of milk being far more developed in some than in others.

With regard to the consumption of food in proportion to the live weight of the animal, however far it may apply as a general principle, it should, I think, be taken with some qualifications. The proportion is probably not uniform as applied to all breeds indiscriminately, though it may be more so as applied to animals of the same breed. Bakewell’s idea was that the quantity of food required depended much on the shape of the barrel; and it is well known that an animal of a close, compact, well-rounded barrel will consume less than one of an opposite make.

The variations in the yield of milch cows are caused more by the variations in the nutritive elements of their food than by a change of the form in which it is given. “A cow, kept through the winter on mere straw,” says a practical writer on this subject, “will cease to give milk; and, when fed in spring on green forage, will give a fair quantity of milk. But she owes the cessation and restoration of the secretion to respectively the diminution and the increase of her nourishment, and not at all to the change of form, or of outward substance, in which the nourishment is administered. Let cows receive through winter nearly as large a proportion of nutritive matter as is contained in the clover, lucerne, and fresh grasses, which they eat in summer, and, no matter in what precise substance or mixture that matter may be contained, they will yield a winter’s produce of milk quite as rich in caseine and butyraceous ingredients as the summer’s produce, and far more ample in quantity than almost any dairyman with old-fashioned notions would imagine to be possible. The great practical error on this subject consists not in giving wrong kinds of food, but in not so proportioning and preparing it as to render an average ration of it equally rich in the elements of nutrition, and especially in nitrogenous elements, as an average ration of the green and succulent food of summer.”

We keep too much stock for the quantity of good and nutritious food which we have for it; and the consequence is cows are, in nine cases out of ten, poorly wintered, and come out in the spring weakened, if not, indeed, positively diseased, and a long time is required to bring them into a condition to yield a generous quantity of milk.

It is a hard struggle for a cow reduced in flesh and in blood to fill up the wasted system with the food which would otherwise have gone to the secretion of milk; but, if she is well fed, well housed, well littered, and well supplied with pure, fresh water, and with roots, or other moist food, and properly treated to the luxury of a frequent carding, and constant kindness, she comes out ready to commence the manufacture of milk under favorable circumstances.

Keep the cows constantly in good condition, ought, therefore, to be the motto of every dairy farmer, posted up over the barn-door, and over the stalls, and over the milk-room, and repeated to the boys whenever there is danger of forgetting it. It is the great secret of success, and the difference between success and failure turns upon it. Cows in milk require more food in proportion to their size and weight than either oxen or young cattle.

In order to keep cows in milk well and economically, regularity is next in importance to a full supply of wholesome and nutritious food. The healthy animal stomach is a very nice chronometer, and it is of the utmost importance to observe regular hours in feeding, cleaning, and milking. This is a point, also, in which very many farmers are at fault—feeding whenever it happens to be convenient. The cattle are thus kept in a restless condition, constantly expecting food when the keeper enters the barn, while, if regular hours are strictly adhered to, they know exactly when they are to be fed, and they rest quietly till the time arrives. Go into a well-regulated dairy establishment an hour before the time of feeding, and scarcely an animal will rise to its feet; while, if it happens to be the hour of feeding, the whole herd will be likely to rise and seize their food with an avidity and relish not to be mistaken.

With respect to the exact routine to be pursued, no rule could be prescribed which would apply to all cases; and each individual must be governed much by circumstances, both in respect to the particular kinds of feed at different seasons of the year, and the system of feeding. I have found in my own practice, and in the practice of the most successful dairymen, that, in order to encourage the largest secretion of milk in stalled cows, one of the best courses is, to feed in the morning, either at the time of milking—which I prefer—or immediately after, with cut feed, consisting of hay, oats, millet, or corn-stalks, mixed with shorts, and Indian, linseed, or cotton-seed meal, thoroughly moistened with water. If in winter, hot or warm water is far better than cold. If given at milking-time, the cows will generally give down the milk more readily. The stalls and mangers ought always to be well cleaned out first.

Roots and long hay may be given during the day; and at the evening milking, or directly after, another generous meal of cut feed, well moistened and mixed, as in the morning. No very concentrated food, like grains alone or oil-cakes, should, it seems to me, be fed early in the morning on an empty stomach, though it is sanctioned by the practice in the London milk-dairies. The processes of digestion go on best when the stomach is sufficiently distended; and for this purpose the bulk of food is almost as important as the nutritive qualities. The flavor of some roots, as cabbages and turnips, is more apt to be imparted to the flesh and milk when fed on an empty stomach than otherwise. After the cows have been milked, and have finished their cut feed, they are carded and curried down, in well-managed dairies, and then either watered in the stall, which in very cold or stormy weather is far preferable, or turned out to water in the yard. When they are out, if they are let out at all, the stables are put in order; and, after tying them up, they are fed with long hay, and left to themselves till the time of next feeding. This may consist of roots, such as cabbages, beets, carrots, or turnips, sliced, or of potatoes, a peck, or, if the cows are very large, a half-bushel each, and cut feed again at the evening milking, as in the morning, after which water in the stall, if possible.

The less cows are exposed to the cold of winter, the better. They eat less, thrive better, and give more milk, when kept housed all the time, than when exposed to the cold. Caird mentions a case where a herd of cows, which had been usually supplied from troughs and pipes in the stalls, were, on account of an obstruction in the pipes, obliged to be turned out twice a day to be watered in the yard. The quantity of milk instantly decreased, and in three days the falling off became very considerable. After the pipes were mended, and the cows again watered as before, in their stalls, the flow of milk returned. This, however, will be governed much by the weather; for in very mild, warm days it may be judicious not only to let them out, but to allow them to remain out for a short time, to exercise.

Any one can arrange the hour for the several processes named above, to suit himself; but, when once fixed, let it be rigidly and regularly followed. If the regular and full feeding be neglected for even a day, the yield of milk will immediately decline, and it will be very difficult to restore it. It may safely be asserted, as the result of many trials and long practice, that a larger flow of milk follows a complete system of regularity in this respect than from a higher feeding where this system is not adhered to.

One prime object which the dairyman should keep constantly in view is, to maintain the animal in a sound and healthy condition. Without this, no profit can be expected from a milch cow for any considerable length of time; and, with a view to this, there should be an occasional change of food. But, in making changes, great care is required to supply an equal amount of nourishment, or the cow falls off in flesh, and eventually in milk. We should therefore bear in mind that the food consumed goes not alone to the secretion of milk, but also to the growth and maintenance of the bony structure, the flesh, the blood, the fat, the skin, and the hair, and in exhalations from the body. These parts of the body consist of different organic constituents. Some are rich in nitrogen, as the fibrin of the blood, albumen, &c.; others destitute of it, as fat; some abound in inorganic salts, phosphate of lime, salts of potash, &c. To explain how the constant waste of these substances may be supplied, Dr. Voelcker observes that the albumen, gluten, caseine, and other nitrogenized principles of food, supply the animal with materials required for the formation of muscle and cartilage; they are, therefore, called flesh-forming principles.

“Fats, or oily matters of the food,” says he, “are used to lay on fat, or for the purpose of sustaining respiration.

“Starch, sugar, gum, and a few other non-nitrogenized substances, consisting of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, supply the carbon given off in respiration, or they are used for the production of fat.

“Phosphates of lime and magnesia in food principally furnish the animal with the materials of which the bony skeleton of its body consists.

“Saline substances—chlorides of sodium and potassium, sulphate and phosphate of potash and soda, and some other mineral matters occurring in food—supply the blood, juice of flesh, and various animal juices, with the necessary mineral constituents.

“The healthy state of an animal can thus only be preserved by a mixed food; that is, food which contains all the proximate principles just noticed. Starch or sugar alone cannot sustain the animal body, because neither of them furnishes the materials to build up the fleshy parts of the animal. When fed on substances in which an insufficient quantity of phosphates occurs, the animal will become weak, because it does not find any bone-producing principles in its food. Due attention, therefore, ought to be paid by the feeder to the selection of food which contains all the kinds of matter required, nitrogenized as well as non-nitrogenized, and mineral substances; and these should be mixed together in the proportion which experience points out as best for the different kinds of animals, or the particular purpose for which they are kept.”

“On the nutrition of cows for dairy purposes,” Dr. Voelcker still further observes that “milk may be regarded as a material for the manufacture of butter or of cheese; and, according to the purpose for which the milk is intended to be employed, whether for the manufacture of butter or the production of cheese, the cow should be differently fed.

“Butter contains carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and no nitrogen. Cheese, on the contrary, is rich in nitrogen. Food which contains much fatty matter, or substances which in the animal system are readily converted into fat, will tend to increase the proportion of cream in milk. On the other hand, the proportion of caseine or cheesy matter in milk is increased by the use of highly nitrogenized food. Those, therefore, who desire much cream, or who produce milk for the manufacture of butter, select food likely to increase the proportion of butter in the milk. On the contrary, where the principal object is the production of milk rich in curd,—that is, where cheese is the object of the farmer,—clover, peas, and bean-meal, and other plants which abound in legumine,—a nitrogenized organic compound, almost identical in properties and composition with caseine, or the substance which forms the curd of milk,—will be selected.” And so the quality, as well as the quantity, of butter in the milk, depends on the kind of food consumed, and on the general health of the animal. Cows fed on turnips in the stall always produce butter inferior to that of cows living upon the fresh and aromatic grasses of the pastures.

Succulent food in which water abounds—the green grass of irrigated meadows, green clover, brewers’ refuse, distillers’ refuse, etc.—increases the quantity, rather than the quality, of the milk; and by feeding these substances the milk-dairyman studies his own interest, and makes thin milk, without diluting it with water, though, in the opinion of some, this may be no more legitimate than watering the milk.

But, though the yield of milk may be increased by succulent or watery food, it should be given so as not to interfere with the health of the cow.

Food rich in starch, gum, or sugar, which are the respiratory elements, an excess of which goes to the production of fatty matters, increases the butter in milk. Quietness promotes the secretion of fat in animals and increases the butter. Cheese will be increased by food rich in albumen, such as the leguminous plants.

The most natural, and of course the healthiest food for milch cows in summer, is the green grass of the pastures; and when those fail from drought, or over-stocking, the complement of nourishment may be made up with green clover, green oats, barley, millet, or corn-fodder, and cabbage-leaves, or other succulent vegetables; and if these are wanting, their place may be partly supplied with shorts, Indian-meal, linseed or cotton-seed meal. Green grass is more nutritious than hay, which always loses more or less of its nutritive qualities in curing; the amount of the loss depending chiefly on the mode of curing, and the length of exposure to sun and rain. But, apart from this, grass is more easily and completely digested than hay, though the digestion of hay may be greatly aided by cutting and moistening, or steaming; and by this means it is rendered more readily available, and hence far better adapted to promote a large secretion of milk—a fact too often overlooked by many even intelligent farmers.

That green grass is better adapted than most other kinds of food to promote a large flow of milk, may be seen from the following table, from which it will appear that greater attention should be given to the proper constituents of food for milch cows. Two cows were taken in the experiment.

Here grass produced the largest flow of milk, but of a quality less rich than bean-meal and hay, which produced the richest quality; one hundred and eight pounds making more butter than one hundred and fourteen pounds of grass-made milk.

In autumn, the best feed will be the grasses of the pastures, so far as they are available, green-corn fodder, cabbage, carrot and turnip leaves, and an addition of meal or shorts. Towards the middle of autumn, the cows fed in the pastures will require to be housed regularly nights, especially in the more northern latitudes, and put, in part at least, upon hay. But every farmer knows that it is not judicious to feed out the best part of his hay when his cattle are first put into the barn, and that he should not feed so well in the early part of winter that he cannot feed better as it advances.

At the same time, it should always be borne in mind that the change from grass to a poor quality of hay or straw, for cows in milk, should not be too sudden. A poor quality of dry hay is far less palatable in the early part of winter, after the cows are taken from grass, than at a later period; and, if it is resorted to with milch cows, will inevitably lead to a falling off in the milk, which no good feed can afterwards wholly restore.

It is desirable, therefore, to know what can be used instead of his best English or upland meadow hay, and yet not suffer any greater loss in the flow of milk, or condition, than is absolutely necessary. In some sections of New England, the best quality of swale hay will be used; and the composition of that is as variable as possible, depending on the varieties of grasses of which it was made, and the manner of curing. But, in other sections, many will find it necessary to use straw, and other substitutes; and it may be desirable to know how much is required to form an equivalent in nutrition to good meadow or English hay. The following brief table of nutritive equivalents will be convenient for reference:

The following is the composition of these several substances, in which their relative value will more distinctly appear:

From these tables it will be seen that, taking good English or meadow hay as the standard of comparison, and calling that one, 4.79 times the weight of rye-straw, or 3.83 times the weight of oat-straw, contains the same amount or nutritive matter; that is, it would take 4.79 times as much rye-straw to produce the same result as good meadow hay.

The more elaborate nutritive equivalents of Boussingault will be found to be very valuable and suggestive, and the following table is given in this connection for the sake of convenient reference.

NUTRITIVE EQUIVALENTS. (Practical and Theoretical.)