THE QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF BUTTER AND CHEESE. 45 



quantity and quality of milk, such as the bad state of the atmos- 

 phere of the byre, and the irritating tendency of flies or insects 

 in the field. Those who are in the habit of keeping their cows 

 filthy and indifferently fed will soon find out that it is a most 

 wasteful and extravagant plan. In all dairy establishments 

 ventilation and cleanliness are indispensable ; and if butter is 

 made, the dairy ought to be as near the cow-house as jjossible, 

 as the milk suffers more or less considerably from being agitated, 

 or too much cooled before it is set for the cream to rise. 



Again, it is not the mere kind of food, but the condition in 

 which it is given, that exercises an influence, as well as the soil 

 on which the crops are grown, as it appears evident that the 

 feeding qualities of grass or turnips grown on good land will be 

 superior to those grown on inferior soil, each crop possessing its 

 own distinctive feeding qualities, as well as its own cultural 

 characteristics. 



From observations taken by various persons, the amount of 

 solid food consumed by cows is little or not at all affected by the 

 fact that the animal is giving milk, but that the quantity of 

 milk produced is in exact proportion to the quantity of liquid con- 

 sumed or water drunk by them. A cow which, before calving, 

 will be satisfied with from two to four gallons of water, when 

 milking will require from six to ten. A change from succulent 

 herbage to dry forage will immediately reduce the quantity of 

 milk to three-fourths or even two-thirds. The necessity for a 

 supply of water is different in different circumstances, such as, a 

 lean animal will have a more violent desire to drink than a fat 

 one, lience it would appear the milk-producing power of any 

 substance depends, as might be expected, on the quantity of 

 water it contains. If mere quantity depends on the liquid drunk 

 by the animal, the amount of solid matter contained in the milk, 

 that is, its real value, must necessarily depend on the quantity 

 and quality of the solid matter consumed by the animals. In 

 many systems of feeding the object aimed at is simply to aid 

 tlie increase of the milk, without attending to the maintenance 

 of the condition of the animal ; but highly nutritious feeding 

 will soon repay the expense, by greatly increased quantity and 

 quality of milk, and also in the improved condition of the 

 animal. 



As I liave previously stated, the mode in which food is given 

 to cows exercises considerable inlluence upon its milk-producing 

 value. Some advocate the use of raw, some the use of boiled 

 food, and some of a mixture of various foods. Each system, no 

 doubt, may have its own good (pialities in th;' lucalitii's, and 

 under circumstances for wliicli it is intended. 



Besides those that I have already described, there are otlier 

 circunistanc(!s which have been found to influence materially 



