One point for every ounce of butter; one point for every completed ten days since calving, deducting the first forty days. Maximum allowance for period of lactation, 12 points.Fractions of ounces of butter, and incomplete periods of less than ten days, to be worked out in decimals and added to the total points.In the case of cows obtaining the same number of points, the prize to be awarded to the cow that has been the longest time in milk.No prize or certificate to be given in the case of:—(a) Cows under five years old failing to obtain 28 points.(b) Cows five years old and over failing to obtain 32 points.
One point for every ounce of butter; one point for every completed ten days since calving, deducting the first forty days. Maximum allowance for period of lactation, 12 points.
Fractions of ounces of butter, and incomplete periods of less than ten days, to be worked out in decimals and added to the total points.
In the case of cows obtaining the same number of points, the prize to be awarded to the cow that has been the longest time in milk.
No prize or certificate to be given in the case of:—
(a) Cows under five years old failing to obtain 28 points.(b) Cows five years old and over failing to obtain 32 points.
(a) Cows under five years old failing to obtain 28 points.
(b) Cows five years old and over failing to obtain 32 points.
Table II.—Prize Shorthorn and Jersey Cows in the Butter Tests, London Dairy Show, 1900.
The manner in which butter tests are decided will be rendered clear by a study of Table II. It is seen that whilst the much larger Shorthorn cows—having a bigger frame to maintain and consuming more food—gave both more milk and more butter in the day of twenty-four hours, the Jersey milk was much the richer in fat. In the case of the first-prize Jersey the “butter ratio,” as it is termed, was excellent, as only 13.83 ℔ of milk were required to yield 1 ℔ of butter; in the case of the second-prize Shorthorn, practically twice this quantity (or 27.11 lb) was needed. Moreover, if the days in milk are taken into account, the difference in favour of the Jersey is seen to be 123 days.
Table III.—Summary of the English Jersey Cattle Society’s Butter Tests, Fourteen Years, 1886-1899.
The butter-yielding capacity of the choicest class of butter cows, the Jerseys, is amply illustrated in the results of the butter tests conducted by the English Jersey Cattle Society over the period of fourteen years 1886 to 1899 inclusive. These tests were carried out year after year at half a dozen different shows, and the results are classified in Table III. according to the age of the animals. The average time in milk is measured by the number of days since calving, and the milk and butter yields are those for the day of twenty-four hours. The last column shows the “butter ratio.” This number is lower in the case of the Jerseys than in that of the general run of dairy cows. The average results from the total of 1023 cows of the various ages are:—One day’s milk, 32 ℔ 2¼ oz., equal to about 3 gallons or 12 quarts; one day’s butter, 1 ℔ 10¾ oz.; butter ratio, 19.13 or about 16 pints of milk to 1 ℔ of butter. Individual yields are sometimes extraordinarily high. Thus at the Tring show in 1899 the three leading Jersey cows gave the following results:—
The eight prize-winning Jerseys on this occasion, with an average weight of 916 ℔ and an average of 117 days in milk, yielded an average of 2 ℔ 9 oz. of butter per cow in the twenty-four hours, the butter ratio working out at 16.69. At the Tring show of 1900 a Shorthorn cow Cherry gave as much as 4 ℔ 4½ oz. of butter in twenty-four hours; she had been in milk 41 days, and her butter ratio worked out at 15.79, which is unusually good for a big cow.
In the six years 1895 to 1900 inclusive 285 cows of the Shorthorn, Jersey, Guernsey and Red Polled breeds were subjected to butter tests at the London dairy show, and the general results are summarized in Table IV.
Although cows in the showyard may perhaps be somewhat upset by their unusual surroundings, and thus not yield so well as at home, yet the average results of these butter-test trials over a number of years are borne out by the private trials that have taken place in various herds. The trials have, moreover, brought into prominence the peculiarities of different breeds, such as: (a) that the Shorthorns, Red Polls and Kerries, being cattle whose milk contains small fat globules, are better for milk than the Jerseys and Guernseys, whose milk is richer, containing larger-sized fat globules, and is therefore more profitable for converting into butter; (b) that the weights of the animals, and consequently the proportionate food, must be taken into account in estimating the cost of the dairy produce; (c) that the influence of the stage reached in the period of lactation is much more marked in some breeds than in others.
Table IV.—Average Butter Yields and Butter Ratios at the London Dairy Show, Six Years, 1895-1900.
An instructive example of the milk-yielding capacity of Jersey cows is afforded in the carefully kept records of Lord Rothschild’s herd at Tring Park, Herts. Overleaf are given the figures for four years, the gallons being calculated at the rate of 10 lb of milk to the gallon.
The average over the four years works out at about 630 gallons per cow per annum.
Cows of larger type will give more milk than the Jerseys, but it is less rich in fat. The milk record for the year 1900 of the herd of Red Polled cattle belonging to Mr Garrett Taylor, Whitlingham, Norfolk, affords a good example. The cows in the herd, which had before 1900 produced one or more calves, and in 1900 added another to the list, being in full profit the greater part of the year, numbered 82. Their total yield was 521,950 ℔ of milk, or an average of 6365 ℔—equivalent to about 636 gallons—per cow. In 1899 the average yield of 96 cows was 6283 ℔ or 628 gallons; in 1898 the average yield of 75 cows was 6473 ℔ or 647 gallons. Of cows which dropped a first calf in the autumn of 1899, one of them—Lemon—milked continuously for 462 days, yielding a total of 7166 ℔ of milk, being still in milk when the herd year closed on the 27th of December. Similar cases were those of Nora, which gave 9066 ℔ of milk in 455 days; Doris, 8138 ℔ in 462 days; Brisk, 9248 ℔ in 469 days; Della, 8806 ℔ in 434 days, drying 28 days before the year ended; and Lottie, 6327 ℔ in 394 days, also drying 28 days before the year ended; these were all cows with their first calf. Eight cows in the herd gave milk on every day of the 52 weeks, and 30 others had their milk recorded on 300 days or more. Three heifers which produced a first calf before the 11th of April 1900, averaged in the year 4569 ℔ of milk, or about 456 gallons. In 1900 three cows, Eyke Jessie, Kathleen and Doss, each gave over 10,000 ℔, or 1000 gallons of milk; four cows gave from 9000 ℔ to 10,000 ℔, two from 8000 ℔ to 9000 ℔, 17 from 7000 ℔ to 8000 ℔, 19 from 6000 ℔ to 7000 ℔, 30 from 5000 ℔ to 6000 ℔, and 16 from 4000 ℔ to 5000 ℔. The practice, long followed at Whitlingham, of developing the milk-yielding habit by milking a young cow so long as she gives even a small quantity of milk daily, is well supported by the figures denoting the results.
Though milking trials and butter tests are not usually available to the ordinary dairy farmer in the management of his herd, it is, on the other hand, a simple matter for him to keep what is known as a milk register. By a milk register is meant a record of the quantity of milk yielded by a cow. In other words, it is a quantitative estimation of the milk the cow gives. It affords no information as to the quality of the milk or as to its butter-yielding or cheese-yielding capacity. Nevertheless, by its aid the milk-producing capacity of a cow can be ascertained exactly, and her character in this respect can be expressed by means of figures about which there need be no equivocation. A greater or less degree of exactness can be secured, according to the greater or less frequency with which the register is taken. Even a weekly register would give a fair idea as to the milk yields of a cow, and would be extremely valuable as compared with no register at all.
The practice of taking the milk register, as followed in a well-known dairy, may be briefly described. The cows are always milked in the stalls, and during summer they are brought in twice a day for this purpose. After each cow is milked, the pail containing the whole of her milk is hung on a spring balance suspended in a convenient position, and from the gross weight indicated there is deducted the already known weight of the pail.2The difference, which represents the weight of milk, is recorded in a book suitably ruled. This book when open presents a view of one week’s records. In the left-hand column are the names of the cows; on the right of this are fourteen columns, two of which receive the morning and evening record of each cow. In a final column on the right appears the week’s total yield for each cow; and space is also allowed for any remarks. Fractions of a pound are not entered, but 18 ℔ 12 oz. would be recorded as 19 ℔, whereas 21 ℔ 5 oz. would appear as 21 ℔, so that a fraction of over half a pound is considered as a whole pound, and a fraction of under half a pound is ignored. By dividing the pounds by 10 the yield in gallons is readily ascertained.
Every dairy farmer has some idea, as to each of his cows, whether she is a good, a bad or an indifferent milker, but such knowledge is at best only vague. By the simple means indicated the character of each cow as a milk-producer is slowly but surely recorded in a manner which is at once exact and definite. Such a record is particularly valuable to the farmer, in that it shows to him the relative milk-yielding capacities of his cows, and thus enables him gradually to weed out the naturally poor milkers and replace them by better ones. It also guides him in regulating the supply of food according to the yield of milk. The register will, in fact, indicate unerringly which are the best milk-yielding cows in the dairy, and which therefore are, with the milking capacity in view, the best to breed from.
The simplicity and inexpensiveness of the milk register must not be overlooked. These are features which should commend it especially to the notice of small dairy farmers, for with a moderate number of cows it is particularly easy to introduce the register. But even with a large dairy it will be found that, as soon as the system has got fairly established, the additional time and trouble involved will sink into insignificance when compared with the benefits which accrue.
The importance of ascertaining not only the quantity, but also the quality of milk is aptly illustrated in the case of two cows at the Tring show, 1900. The one cow gave in 24 hours 4½ gallons of milk, which at 7d. per gallon would work out at about 2s. 7d.; she made 2 ℔ 12 oz. of butter, which at 1s. 4d. per ℔ would bring in 3s. 8d.; consequently by selling the milk the owner lost about 1s. 1d. per day. The second cow gave 51⁄3gallons of milk, which would work out at 3s. 1d.; she made 1 ℔ 12 oz. of butter, which would only be worth 2s. 4d., so that by converting the milk into butter the owner lost 9d. per day.
The colour of milk is to some extent an indication of its quality—the deeper the colour the better the quality. The colour depends upon the size of the fat globules, a deep yellowish colour indicating large globules of fat. When the globules are of large size the milk will churn more readily, and the butter is better both in quality and in colour.
The following fifty dairy rules relating to the milking and general management of cows, and to the care of milk and dairy utensils, were drawn up on behalf of, and published by, the United States department of agriculture at Washington. They are given here with a few merely verbal alterations:—
The Owner and his Helpers1. Read current dairy literature and keep posted on new ideas.2. Observe and enforce the utmost cleanliness about the cattle, their attendants, the cow-house, the dairy and all utensils.3. A person suffering from any disease, or who has been exposed to a contagious disease, must remain away from the cows and the milk.The Cow-House4. Keep dairy cattle in a shed or building by themselves. It is preferable to have no cellar below and no storage loft above.5. Cow-houses should be well ventilated, lighted and drained; should have tight floors and walls, and be plainly constructed.6. Never use musty or dirty litter.7. Allow no strong-smelling material in the cow-house for any length of time. Store the manure under cover outside the cow-house, and remove it to a distance as often as practicable.8. Whitewash the cow-house once or twice a year; use gypsum in the manure gutters daily.9. Use no dry, dusty feed just previous to milking; if fodder is dusty, sprinkle it before it is fed.10. Clean and thoroughly air the cow-house before milking; in hot weather sprinkle the floor.11. Keep the cow-house and dairy room in good condition, and then insist that the dairy, factory or place where the milk goes be kept equally well.The Cows12. Have the herd examined at least twice a year by a skilled veterinarian.13. Promptly remove from the herd any animal suspected of being in bad health, and reject her milk. Never add an animal to the herd until it is ascertained to be free from disease, especially tuberculosis.14. Do not move cows faster than a comfortable walk while on the way to the place of milking or feeding.15. Never allow the cows to be excited by hard driving, abuse, loud talking or unnecessary disturbance; do not expose them to cold or storms.16. Do not change the feed suddenly.17. Feed liberally, and use only fresh, palatable feed-stuffs; in no case should decomposed or mouldy material be used.18. Provide water in abundance, easy of access, and always pure; fresh, but not too cold.19. Salt should always be accessible to the cows.20. Do not allow any strong-flavoured food, like garlic, cabbages and turnips, to be eaten, except immediately after milking.21. Clean the entire skin of the cow daily. If hair in the region of the udder is not easily kept clean, it should be clipped.22. Do not use the milk within twenty days before calving, nor for three to five days afterwards.Milking23. The milker should be clean in all respects; he should not use tobacco while milking; he should wash and dry his hands just before milking.24. The milker should wear a clean outer garment, used only when milking and kept in a clean place at other times.25. Brush the udder and surrounding parts just before milking and wipe them with a clean damp cloth or sponge.26. Milk quietly, quickly, cleanly and thoroughly. Cows do not like unnecessary noise or delay. Commence milking at exactly the same hour every morning and evening, and milk the cows in the same order.27. Throw away (but not on the floor—better in the gutter) the first two or three streams from each teat; this milk is very watery and of little value, but it may injure the rest.28. If in any milking a part of the milk is bloody or stringy or unnatural in appearance, the whole should be rejected.29. Milk with dry hands; never let the hands come in contact with the milk.30. Do not allow dogs, cats or loafers to be around at milking time.31. If any accident occurs by which a pail, full or partly full, of milk becomes dirty, do not try to remedy this by straining, but reject all this milk and rinse the pail.32. Weigh and record the milk given by each cow, and take a sample morning and night, at least once a week, for testing by the fat test.Care of Milk33. Remove the milk of every cow at once from the cow-house to a clean dry room, where the air is pure and sweet. Do not allow cans to remain in the cow-house while they are being filled with milk.34. Strain the milk through a metal gauze and a flannel cloth or layer of cotton as soon as it is drawn.35. Cool the milk as soon as strained—to 45° F. if the milk is for shipment, or to 60° if for home use or delivery to a factory.36. Never close a can containing warm milk.37. If the cover is left off the can, a piece of cloth or mosquito netting should be used to keep out insects.38. If milk is stored, it should be kept in tanks of fresh cold water (renewed as often as the temperature increases to any material extent), in a clean, dry, cold room. Unless it is desired to remove cream, it should be stirred with a tin stirrer often enough to prevent the forming of a thick cream layer.39. Keep the night milk under shelter so that rain cannot get into the cans. In warm weather keep it in a tank of fresh cold water.40. Never mix fresh warm milk with that which has been cooled.41. Do not allow the milk to freeze.42. In no circumstances should anything be added to milk to prevent its souring. Cleanliness and cold are the only preventives needed.43. All milk should be in good condition when delivered at a creamery or a cheesery. This may make it necessary to deliver twice a day during the hottest weather.44. When cans are hauled far they should be full, and carried in a spring waggon.45. In hot weather cover the cans, when moved in a waggon, with a clean wet blanket or canvas.The Utensils46. Milk utensils for farm use should be made of metal and have all joints smoothly soldered. Never allow them to become rusty or rough inside.47. Do not haul waste products back to the farm in the cans used for delivering milk. When this is unavoidable, insist that the skim milk or whey tank be kept clean.48. Cans used for the return of skim milk or whey should be emptied, scalded and cleaned as soon as they arrive at the farm.49. Clean all dairy utensils by first thoroughly rinsing them in warm water; next clean inside and out with a brush and hot water in which a cleaning material is dissolved; then rinse and, lastly, sterilize by boiling water or steam. Use pure water only.50. After cleaning, keep utensils inverted in pure air, and sun if possible, until wanted for use.
The Owner and his Helpers
1. Read current dairy literature and keep posted on new ideas.2. Observe and enforce the utmost cleanliness about the cattle, their attendants, the cow-house, the dairy and all utensils.3. A person suffering from any disease, or who has been exposed to a contagious disease, must remain away from the cows and the milk.
1. Read current dairy literature and keep posted on new ideas.
2. Observe and enforce the utmost cleanliness about the cattle, their attendants, the cow-house, the dairy and all utensils.
3. A person suffering from any disease, or who has been exposed to a contagious disease, must remain away from the cows and the milk.
The Cow-House
4. Keep dairy cattle in a shed or building by themselves. It is preferable to have no cellar below and no storage loft above.5. Cow-houses should be well ventilated, lighted and drained; should have tight floors and walls, and be plainly constructed.6. Never use musty or dirty litter.7. Allow no strong-smelling material in the cow-house for any length of time. Store the manure under cover outside the cow-house, and remove it to a distance as often as practicable.8. Whitewash the cow-house once or twice a year; use gypsum in the manure gutters daily.9. Use no dry, dusty feed just previous to milking; if fodder is dusty, sprinkle it before it is fed.10. Clean and thoroughly air the cow-house before milking; in hot weather sprinkle the floor.11. Keep the cow-house and dairy room in good condition, and then insist that the dairy, factory or place where the milk goes be kept equally well.
4. Keep dairy cattle in a shed or building by themselves. It is preferable to have no cellar below and no storage loft above.
5. Cow-houses should be well ventilated, lighted and drained; should have tight floors and walls, and be plainly constructed.
6. Never use musty or dirty litter.
7. Allow no strong-smelling material in the cow-house for any length of time. Store the manure under cover outside the cow-house, and remove it to a distance as often as practicable.
8. Whitewash the cow-house once or twice a year; use gypsum in the manure gutters daily.
9. Use no dry, dusty feed just previous to milking; if fodder is dusty, sprinkle it before it is fed.
10. Clean and thoroughly air the cow-house before milking; in hot weather sprinkle the floor.
11. Keep the cow-house and dairy room in good condition, and then insist that the dairy, factory or place where the milk goes be kept equally well.
The Cows
12. Have the herd examined at least twice a year by a skilled veterinarian.13. Promptly remove from the herd any animal suspected of being in bad health, and reject her milk. Never add an animal to the herd until it is ascertained to be free from disease, especially tuberculosis.14. Do not move cows faster than a comfortable walk while on the way to the place of milking or feeding.15. Never allow the cows to be excited by hard driving, abuse, loud talking or unnecessary disturbance; do not expose them to cold or storms.16. Do not change the feed suddenly.17. Feed liberally, and use only fresh, palatable feed-stuffs; in no case should decomposed or mouldy material be used.18. Provide water in abundance, easy of access, and always pure; fresh, but not too cold.19. Salt should always be accessible to the cows.20. Do not allow any strong-flavoured food, like garlic, cabbages and turnips, to be eaten, except immediately after milking.21. Clean the entire skin of the cow daily. If hair in the region of the udder is not easily kept clean, it should be clipped.22. Do not use the milk within twenty days before calving, nor for three to five days afterwards.
12. Have the herd examined at least twice a year by a skilled veterinarian.
13. Promptly remove from the herd any animal suspected of being in bad health, and reject her milk. Never add an animal to the herd until it is ascertained to be free from disease, especially tuberculosis.
14. Do not move cows faster than a comfortable walk while on the way to the place of milking or feeding.
15. Never allow the cows to be excited by hard driving, abuse, loud talking or unnecessary disturbance; do not expose them to cold or storms.
16. Do not change the feed suddenly.
17. Feed liberally, and use only fresh, palatable feed-stuffs; in no case should decomposed or mouldy material be used.
18. Provide water in abundance, easy of access, and always pure; fresh, but not too cold.
19. Salt should always be accessible to the cows.
20. Do not allow any strong-flavoured food, like garlic, cabbages and turnips, to be eaten, except immediately after milking.
21. Clean the entire skin of the cow daily. If hair in the region of the udder is not easily kept clean, it should be clipped.
22. Do not use the milk within twenty days before calving, nor for three to five days afterwards.
Milking
23. The milker should be clean in all respects; he should not use tobacco while milking; he should wash and dry his hands just before milking.24. The milker should wear a clean outer garment, used only when milking and kept in a clean place at other times.25. Brush the udder and surrounding parts just before milking and wipe them with a clean damp cloth or sponge.26. Milk quietly, quickly, cleanly and thoroughly. Cows do not like unnecessary noise or delay. Commence milking at exactly the same hour every morning and evening, and milk the cows in the same order.27. Throw away (but not on the floor—better in the gutter) the first two or three streams from each teat; this milk is very watery and of little value, but it may injure the rest.28. If in any milking a part of the milk is bloody or stringy or unnatural in appearance, the whole should be rejected.29. Milk with dry hands; never let the hands come in contact with the milk.30. Do not allow dogs, cats or loafers to be around at milking time.31. If any accident occurs by which a pail, full or partly full, of milk becomes dirty, do not try to remedy this by straining, but reject all this milk and rinse the pail.32. Weigh and record the milk given by each cow, and take a sample morning and night, at least once a week, for testing by the fat test.
23. The milker should be clean in all respects; he should not use tobacco while milking; he should wash and dry his hands just before milking.
24. The milker should wear a clean outer garment, used only when milking and kept in a clean place at other times.
25. Brush the udder and surrounding parts just before milking and wipe them with a clean damp cloth or sponge.
26. Milk quietly, quickly, cleanly and thoroughly. Cows do not like unnecessary noise or delay. Commence milking at exactly the same hour every morning and evening, and milk the cows in the same order.
27. Throw away (but not on the floor—better in the gutter) the first two or three streams from each teat; this milk is very watery and of little value, but it may injure the rest.
28. If in any milking a part of the milk is bloody or stringy or unnatural in appearance, the whole should be rejected.
29. Milk with dry hands; never let the hands come in contact with the milk.
30. Do not allow dogs, cats or loafers to be around at milking time.
31. If any accident occurs by which a pail, full or partly full, of milk becomes dirty, do not try to remedy this by straining, but reject all this milk and rinse the pail.
32. Weigh and record the milk given by each cow, and take a sample morning and night, at least once a week, for testing by the fat test.
Care of Milk
33. Remove the milk of every cow at once from the cow-house to a clean dry room, where the air is pure and sweet. Do not allow cans to remain in the cow-house while they are being filled with milk.34. Strain the milk through a metal gauze and a flannel cloth or layer of cotton as soon as it is drawn.35. Cool the milk as soon as strained—to 45° F. if the milk is for shipment, or to 60° if for home use or delivery to a factory.36. Never close a can containing warm milk.37. If the cover is left off the can, a piece of cloth or mosquito netting should be used to keep out insects.38. If milk is stored, it should be kept in tanks of fresh cold water (renewed as often as the temperature increases to any material extent), in a clean, dry, cold room. Unless it is desired to remove cream, it should be stirred with a tin stirrer often enough to prevent the forming of a thick cream layer.39. Keep the night milk under shelter so that rain cannot get into the cans. In warm weather keep it in a tank of fresh cold water.40. Never mix fresh warm milk with that which has been cooled.41. Do not allow the milk to freeze.42. In no circumstances should anything be added to milk to prevent its souring. Cleanliness and cold are the only preventives needed.43. All milk should be in good condition when delivered at a creamery or a cheesery. This may make it necessary to deliver twice a day during the hottest weather.44. When cans are hauled far they should be full, and carried in a spring waggon.45. In hot weather cover the cans, when moved in a waggon, with a clean wet blanket or canvas.
33. Remove the milk of every cow at once from the cow-house to a clean dry room, where the air is pure and sweet. Do not allow cans to remain in the cow-house while they are being filled with milk.
34. Strain the milk through a metal gauze and a flannel cloth or layer of cotton as soon as it is drawn.
35. Cool the milk as soon as strained—to 45° F. if the milk is for shipment, or to 60° if for home use or delivery to a factory.
36. Never close a can containing warm milk.
37. If the cover is left off the can, a piece of cloth or mosquito netting should be used to keep out insects.
38. If milk is stored, it should be kept in tanks of fresh cold water (renewed as often as the temperature increases to any material extent), in a clean, dry, cold room. Unless it is desired to remove cream, it should be stirred with a tin stirrer often enough to prevent the forming of a thick cream layer.
39. Keep the night milk under shelter so that rain cannot get into the cans. In warm weather keep it in a tank of fresh cold water.
40. Never mix fresh warm milk with that which has been cooled.
41. Do not allow the milk to freeze.
42. In no circumstances should anything be added to milk to prevent its souring. Cleanliness and cold are the only preventives needed.
43. All milk should be in good condition when delivered at a creamery or a cheesery. This may make it necessary to deliver twice a day during the hottest weather.
44. When cans are hauled far they should be full, and carried in a spring waggon.
45. In hot weather cover the cans, when moved in a waggon, with a clean wet blanket or canvas.
The Utensils
46. Milk utensils for farm use should be made of metal and have all joints smoothly soldered. Never allow them to become rusty or rough inside.47. Do not haul waste products back to the farm in the cans used for delivering milk. When this is unavoidable, insist that the skim milk or whey tank be kept clean.48. Cans used for the return of skim milk or whey should be emptied, scalded and cleaned as soon as they arrive at the farm.49. Clean all dairy utensils by first thoroughly rinsing them in warm water; next clean inside and out with a brush and hot water in which a cleaning material is dissolved; then rinse and, lastly, sterilize by boiling water or steam. Use pure water only.50. After cleaning, keep utensils inverted in pure air, and sun if possible, until wanted for use.
46. Milk utensils for farm use should be made of metal and have all joints smoothly soldered. Never allow them to become rusty or rough inside.
47. Do not haul waste products back to the farm in the cans used for delivering milk. When this is unavoidable, insist that the skim milk or whey tank be kept clean.
48. Cans used for the return of skim milk or whey should be emptied, scalded and cleaned as soon as they arrive at the farm.
49. Clean all dairy utensils by first thoroughly rinsing them in warm water; next clean inside and out with a brush and hot water in which a cleaning material is dissolved; then rinse and, lastly, sterilize by boiling water or steam. Use pure water only.
50. After cleaning, keep utensils inverted in pure air, and sun if possible, until wanted for use.
Food and Milk Production
In their comprehensive paper relating to the feeding of animals published in 1895, Lawes and Gilbert discussed amongst other questions that of milk production, and directed attention to the great difference in the demands made on the food—on the one hand for the production of meat (that is, of animal increase), and on the other for the production of milk. Not only, however, do cows of different breeds yield different quantities of milk, and milk of characteristically different composition, but individual animals of the same breed have very different milk-yielding capacity; and whatever the capacity of a cow may be, she has a maximum yield at one period of her lactation, which is followed by a gradual decline. Hence, in comparing the amounts of constituents stored up in the fattening increase of an ox with the amounts of the same constituents removed in the milk of a cow, it is necessary to assume a wide range of difference in the yield of milk. Accordingly, Table V. shows the amounts of nitrogenous substance, of fat, of non-nitrogenous substance not fat, of mineral matter, and of total solid matter, carried off in the weekly yield of milk of a cow, on the alternative assumptions of a production of 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 or 20 quarts per head per day. For comparison, there are given at the foot of the table the amounts of nitrogenous substance, of fat, of mineral matter, and of total solid matter, in the weekly increase in live-weight of a fattening ox of an average weight of 1000 ℔—on the assumption of a weekly increase, first, of 10 ℔, and, secondly, of 15 ℔. The estimates of the amounts of constituents in the milk are based on the assumption that it will contain 12.5% of total solids—consisting of 3.65 albuminoids, 3.50 butter-fat, 4.60 sugar and 0.75 of mineral matter. The estimates of the constituents in the fattening increase of oxen are founded on determinations made at Rothamsted.
Table V.—Comparison of the Constituents of Food carried off in Milk, and in the Fattening Increase of Oxen.
With regard to the very wide range of yield of milk per head per day which the figures in the following table assume, it may be remarked that it is by no means impossible that the same animal might yield the largest amount, namely, 20 quarts, or 5 gallons, per day near the beginning, and only 4 quarts, or1 gallon, or even less, towards the end of her period of lactation. At the same time, an entire herd of, for example, Shorthorns or Ayrshires, of fairly average quality, well fed, and including animals at various periods of lactation, should not yield an average of less than 8 quarts, or 2 gallons, and would seldom exceed 10 quarts, or 2½ gallons, per head per day the year round.
For the sake of illustration, an average yield of milk of 10 quarts, equal 2½ gallons, or between 25 and 26 ℔ per head per day, may be assumed, and the amount of constituents in the weekly yield at this rate may be compared with that in the weekly increase of the fattening ox at the higher rate assumed in the table, namely, 15 ℔ per 1000 ℔ live-weight, or 1.5% per week. It is seen that whilst of the nitrogenous substance of the food the amount stored up in the fattening increase of an ox would be only 1.13 ℔, the amount carried off as such in the milk would be 6.6 ℔, or nearly six times as much. Of mineral matter, again, whilst the fattening increase would only require about 0.22 ℔, the milk would Carry off 1.35 ℔, or again about six times as much. Of fat, however, whilst the fattening increase would contain 9.53 ℔, the milk would contain only 6.33 ℔, or only about two-thirds as much. On the other hand, whilst the fattening increase contains no other non-nitrogenous substance than fat, the milk would carry off 8.32 ℔ in the form of milk-sugar. This amount of milk-sugar, reckoned as fat, would correspond approximately to the difference between the fat in the milk and that in the fattening increase.
It is evident, then, that the drain upon the food is very much greater for the production of milk than for that of meat. This is especially the case in the important item of nitrogenous substance; and if, as is frequently assumed, the butter-fat of the milk is at any rate largely derived from the nitrogenous substance of the food, so far as it is so at least about two parts of such substance would be required to produce one of fat. On such an assumption, therefore, the drain upon the nitrogenous substance of the food would be very much greater than that indicated in the table as existing as nitrogenous substance in the milk. To this point further reference will be made presently.
Table VI.—Constituents consumed per 1000℔ Live-Weight per Day, for Sustenance and for Milk-Production. The Rothamsted Herd of 30 Cows, Spring 1884.
Attention may next be directed to the amounts of food, and of certain of its constituents, consumed for the production of a given amount of milk. This point is illustrated in Table VI., which shows the constituents consumed per 1000 ℔ live-weight per day in the case of the Rothamsted herd of 30 cows in the spring of 1884. On the left hand are shown the actual amounts of the different foods consumed per 1000 ℔ live-weight per day; and in the respective columns are recorded—first the amounts of total dry substance which the foods contained, and then the amounts of digestible nitrogenous, digestible non-nitrogenous (reckoned as starch), and digestible total organic substance which the different foods would supply; these being calculated according to Lawes and Gilbert’s own estimates of the percentage composition of the foods, and to Wolff’s estimates of the proportion of the several constituents which would be digestible.
The first column shows that the amount of total dry substance of food actually consumed by the herd, per 1000 ℔ live-weight per day, was scarcely 20 ℔ whilst Wolff’s3estimated requirement, as stated at the foot of the table, is 24 ℔. But his ration would doubtless consist to a greater extent of hay and straw-chaff, containing a larger proportion of indigestible and effete woody fibre. The figures show, indeed that the Rothamsted ration supplied, though nearly the same, even a somewhat less amount of total digestible constituents than Wolff’s.
Of digestible nitrogen substance the food supplied 2.64 ℔ per day, whilst the amount estimated to be required for sustenance merely is 0.57 ℔; leaving, therefore, 2.07 ℔ available for milk production. The 23.3 ℔ of milk yielded per 1000 ℔ live-weight per day would, however, contain only 0.85 ℔; and there would thus remain an apparent excess of 1.22 ℔ of digestible nitrogenous substance in the food supplied. But against the amount of 2.64 ℔ actually consumed, Wolff’s estimate of the amount required for sustenance and for milk-production is 2.5 ℔, or but little less than the amount actually consumed at Rothamsted. On the assumption that the expenditure of nitrogenous substance in the production of milk is only in the formation of the nitrogenous substances of the milk, there would appear to have been a considerable excess given in the food. But Wolff’s estimate assumes no excess of supply, and that the whole is utilized; the fact being that he supposes the butter-fat of the milk to have been derived largely, if not wholly, from the albuminoids of the food.
It has been shown that although it is possible that some of the fat of a fattening animal may be produced from the albuminoids of the food, certainly the greater part of it, if not the whole, is derived from the carbohydrates. But the physiological conditions of the production of milk are so different from those for the production of fattening increase, that it is not admissible to judge of the sources of the fat of the one from what may be established in regard to the other. It has been assumed, however, by those who maintain that the fat of the fattening animal is formed from albuminoids, that the fat of milk must be formed in the same way. Disallowing the legitimacy of such a deduction, there do, nevertheless, seem to be reasons for supposing that the fat of milk may, at any rate in large proportion, be derived from albuminoids.
Thus, as compared with fattening increase, which may in a sense be said to be little more than an accumulation of reserve material from excess of food, milk is a special product, of a special gland, for a special normal exigency of the animal. Further, whilst common experience shows that the herbivorous animal becomes the more fat the more, within certain limits, its food is rich in carbohydrates, it points to the conclusion that both the yield of milk and its richness in butter are more connected with a liberal supply of the nitrogenous constituents in the food. Obviously, so far as this is the case, it may be only that thereby more active change in the system, and therefore greater activity of the special function, is maintained. The evidence at command is, at any rate, not inconsistent with the supposition that a good deal of the fat of milk may have its source in the breaking up of albuminoids, but direct evidence on the point is still wanting; and supposing such breaking up to take place in the gland, the question arises—What becomes of the by-products? Assuming, however, that such change does take place, the amount of nitrogenous substance supplied to the Rothamsted cows would be lessin excess of the direct requirement for milk-production than the figures in the table would indicate, if, indeed, in excess at all.
The figures in the column of Table VI. relating to the estimated amount of digestible non-nitrogenous substance reckoned as starch show that the quantity actually consumed was 11.71 ℔, whilst the amount estimated by Wolff to be required was 12.5 ℔, besides 0.4 ℔ of fat. The figures further show that, deducting 7.4 ℔ for sustenance from the quantity actually consumed, there would remain 4.31 ℔ available for milk-production, whilst only about 3.02 ℔ would be required supposing that both the fat of the milk and the sugar had been derived from the carbohydrates of the food; and, according to this calculation, there would still be an excess in the daily food of 1.29 ℔. It is to be borne in mind, however, that estimates of the requirement for mere sustenance are mainly founded on the results of experiments in which the animals are allowed only such a limited amount of food as will maintain them without either loss or gain when at rest. But physiological considerations point to the conclusion that the expenditure, independently of loss or gain, will be the greater the more liberal the ration, and hence it is probable that the real excess, if any, over that required for sustenance and milk-production would be less than that indicated in the table, which is calculated on the assumption of a fixed requirement for sustenance for a given live-weight of the animal. Supposing that there really was any material excess of either the nitrogenous or the non-nitrogenous constituents supplied over the requirement for sustenance and milk-production, the question arises—Whether, or to what extent, it conduced to increase in live-weight of the animals, or whether it was in part, or wholly, voided, and so wasted.
Table VII.—Percentage Composition of Milk each Month of the Year; also Average Yield of Milk, and of Constituents, per Head per Day each Month, according to Rothamsted Dairy Records.
As regards the influence of the period of the year, with its characteristic changes of food, on the quantity and composition of the milk, the first column of the second division of Table VII. shows the average yield of milk per head per day of the Rothamsted herd, averaging about 42 cows, almost exclusively Shorthorns, in each month of the year, over six years, 1884 to 1889 inclusive; and the succeeding columns show that amounts of butter-fat, of solids not fat, and of total solids in the average yield per head per day in each month of the year, calculated, not according to direct analytical determinations made at Rothamsted, but according to the results of more than 14,000 analyses made, under the superintendence of Dr Vieth, in the laboratory of the Aylesbury Dairy Company in 1884;4the samples analysed representing the milk from a great many different farms in each month.
It should be stated that the Rothamsted cows had cake throughout the year; at first 4 ℔ per head per day, but afterwards graduated according to the yield of milk, on the basis of 4 ℔ for a yield of 28 ℔ of milk, the result being that then the amount given averaged more per head per day during the grazing period, but less earlier and later in the year. Bran, hay and straw-chaff, and roots (generally mangel), were also given when the animals were not turned out to grass. The general plan was, therefore, to give cake alone in addition when the cows were turned out to grass, but some other dry food, and roots, when entirely in the shed during the winter and early spring months.
Referring to the column showing the average yield of milk per head per day each month over the six years, it will be seen that during the six months January, February, September, October, November and December the average yield was sometimes below 20 ℔ and on the average only about 21 ℔ of milk per head per day; whilst over the other six months it averaged 27.63 ℔, and over May and June more than 31 ℔ per head per day. That is to say, the quantity of milk yielded was considerably greater during the grazing period than when the animals had more dry food, and roots instead of grass.
Next, referring to the particulars of composition, according to Dr Vieth’s results, which may well be considered as typical for the different periods of the year, it is seen that the specific gravity of the milk was only average, or lower than average, during the grazing period, but rather higher in the earlier and later months of the year. The percentage of total solids was rather lower than the average at the beginning of the year, lowest during the chief grazing months, but considerably higher in the later months of the year, when the animals were kept in the shed and received more dry food. The percentage of butter-fat follows very closely that of the total solids, being the lowest during the best grazing months, but considerably higher than the average during the last four or five months of the year, when more dry food was given. The percentage of solids not fat was considerably the lowest during the later months of the grazing period, but average, or higher than average, during the earlier and later months of the year. It may be observed that, according to the average percentages given in the table, a gallon of milk will contain more of both total solids and of butter-fat in the later months of the year; that is, when there is less grass and more dry food given.
Turning to the last three columns of the table, it is seen that although, as has been shown, the percentage of the several constituents in the milk is lower during the grazing months, the actual amounts contained in the quantity of milk yielded per head are distinctly greater during those months. Thus, the amount of butter-fat yieldedper head per dayis above the average of the year from April to September inclusive; the amounts of solids not fat are over average from April to August inclusive; and the amounts of total solids yielded are average, or over average, from April to August inclusive.
From the foregoing results it is evident that the quantity of milk yielded per head is very much the greater during the grazing months of the year, but that the percentage composition of the milk is lower during that period of higher yield, and considerably higher during the months of more exclusively dry-food feeding. Nevertheless, owing to the much greater quantity of milk yielded during the grazing months, the actual quantity of constituents yielded per Cow is greater during those months than during the months of higher percentage composition but lower yield of milk per head. It may be added that a careful consideration of the number ofnewly-calved cows brought into the herd each month shows that the results as above stated were perfectly distinct, independently of any influence of the period of lactation of the different individuals of the herd.
The few results which have been brought forward in relation tomilk-productionare admittedly quite insufficient adequately to illustrate the influence of variation in the quantity and composition of the food on the quantity and composition of the milk yielded. Indeed, owing to the intrinsic difficulties of experimenting on such a subject, involving so many elements of variation, any results obtained have to be interpreted with much care and reservation. Nevertheless, it may be taken as clearly indicated that, within certain limits, high feeding, and especially high nitrogenous feeding, does increase both the yield and the richness of the milk.5But it is evident that when high feeding is pushed beyond a comparatively limited range, the tendency is to increase the weight of the animal—that is, to favour the development of the individual, rather than to enhance the activity of the functions connected with the reproductive system. This is, of course, a disadvantage when the object is to maintain the milk-yielding condition of the animal; but when a cow is to be fattened off it will be otherwise.
It has been stated that, early in the period of six years in which the Rothamsted results that have been quoted were obtained, the amount of oil-cake given was graduated according to the yield of milk of each individual cow; as it seemed unreasonable that an animal yielding, say, only 4 quarts per day, should receive, beside the home foods, as much cake as one yielding several times the quantity. The obvious inference is, that any excess of food beyond that required for sustenance and milk-production would tend to increase the weight of the animal, which, according to the circumstances, may or may not be desirable.
It may be observed that direct experiments at Rothamsted confirm the view, arrived at by common experience, that roots, and especially mangel, have a favourable effect on the flow of milk. Further, the Rothamsted experiments have shown that a higher percentage of butter-fat, of other solids, and of total solids, was obtained with mangel than with silage as the succulent food. The yield of milk was, however, in a much greater degree increased by grazing than by any other change in the food; and at Rothamsted the influence of roots comes next in order to that of grass, though far behind it, in this respect. But with grazing, as has been shown, the percentage composition of the milk is considerably reduced; though, owing to the greatly increased quantity yielded, the amount of soil-constituents removed in the milk when cows are grazing may nevertheless be greater per head per day than under any other conditions. Lastly, it has been clearly illustrated how very much greater is the demand upon the food, especially for nitrogenous and for mineral constituents, in the production of milk than in that of fattening increase.
Manurial Value of Food consumed in the Production of Milk
In any attempt to estimate the average value of the manure derived from the consumption of food for the production of milk, the difficulty arising from the very wide variation in the amount of milk yielded by different cows, or by the same cow at different periods of her lactation, is increased by the inadequate character of information concerning the difference in the amount of the food actually consumed by the animal coincidently with the production of such different amounts of milk. But although information is lacking for correlating, with numerical accuracy, the great difference in milk-yield of individual cows with the coincident differences in consumption to produce it, it may be considered as satisfactorily established that more food is consumed by a herd of cows to produce a fair yield of milk, of say 10 or 12 quarts per head per day, than by an equal live-weight of oxen fed to produce fattening increase. In the cases supposed it may, for practical purposes, be assumed that the cows would consume about one-fourth more food than the oxen. Accordingly, in the Rothamsted estimates of the value of the manure obtained on the consumption of food for the production of milk, it is assumed that one-fourth more will be consumed by 1000 ℔ live-weight of cows than by the same weight of oxen; but the estimates of the amounts of the constituents of the food removed in the milk, or remaining for manure, are nevertheless reckoned per ton of each kind of food consumed, as in the case of those relating to feeding for the production of fattening increase. It may be added that the calculations of the amounts of the constituents in the milk are based on the same average composition of milk as is adopted in the construction of Table V. Thus the nitrogen is taken at 0.579 (= 3.65 nitrogenous substance)%, the phosphoric acid at 0.2175%, and the potash at 0.1875% in the milk.
Table VIII. shows in detail the estimate of the amount of nitrogen in one ton of each food, and in the milk produced from its consumption, on the assumption of an average yield of 10 quarts per head per day; also the amount remaining for manure, the amount of ammonia corresponding to the nitrogen, and the value of the ammonia at 4d. per ℔. Similar particulars are also given in relation to the phosphoric acid and the potash consumed in the food, removed in the milk, and remaining for manure, &c. This table will serve as a sufficient illustration of the mode of estimating thetotal or originalvalue of the manure, derived from the consumption of the different foods for the production of milk in the case supposed; that is, assuming an average yield of a herd of 10 quarts per head per day.
In Table IX. are given the results of similar detailed calculations of thetotal or originalmanure-value (as in Table VIII. for 10 quarts), on the alternative assumptions of a yield of 6, 8, 12 or 14 quarts per head per day. For comparison there is also given, in the first column, the estimate of thetotal or originalmanure-value when the foods are consumed for the production of fattening increase.
So much for the plan and results of the estimations oftotal or originalmanure-value of the different foods, that is, deducting only the constituents removed in the milk, and reckoning the remainder at the prices at which they can be purchased in artificial manures. With a view to direct application to practice, however, it is necessary to estimate theunexhausted manure-valueof the different foods, or what may be called theircompensation-value, after they have been used for a series of years by the outgoing tenant and he has realized a certain portion of the manure-value in his increased crops. In the calculations for this purpose the rule is to deduct one-half of theoriginal manure-valueof the food used the last year, and one-third of the remainder each year to the eighth, in the case of all the more concentrated foods and of the roots—in fact, of all the foods in the list excepting the hays and the straws. For these, which contain larger amounts of indigestible matter, and the constituents of which will be more slowly available to crops, two-thirds of theoriginal manure-valueis deducted for the last year, and onlyone-fifth from year to year to the eighth year back. The results of the estimates ofcompensation-valueso made are given for the five yields of 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 quarts of milk per head per day respectively in Lawes and Gilbert’s paper6on the valuation of the manures obtained by the consumption of foods for the production of milk, which may be consulted for fuller details. It must, however, be borne in mind that when cows are fed in sheds or yards the manure is generally liable to greater losses than is the case with fattening oxen. The manure of the cow contains much more water in proportion to solid matter than that of the ox. Water will, besides, frequently be used for washing, and it may be that a good deal of the manure is washed into drains and lost. In the event, therefore, of a claim for compensation, the management and disposal of the manure requires the attention of the valuer. Indeed, the varying circumstances that will arise in practice must be carefully considered. Bearing these in mind, the estimates may be accepted as at any rate the best approximation to the truth that existing knowledge provides; and they should be found sufficient for the requirements of practical use. Obviously they will be more directly applicable in the case of cows feeding entirely on the foods enumerated in the list, and not depending largely on grass; but, even when the animals are partially grass-fed, the value of the manure derived from the additional dry food or roots may be estimated according to the scale given.
Table VIII.—Estimates of the Total or Original Manure-Value of Cattle Foods after Consumption by Cows for the Production of Milk. Valuation on the assumption of an average production by a herd of 10 quarts of milk per head per day.