560 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [Aug. 2, 1920. 



and answers in connection with tho above discussion give a good idea of the 

 practices which obtain and the estimate placed upon the prickly pear of the 

 region as a succulence for milk production. Answers to the questions proposed 

 were furnished by several dairymen. The following are considered typical, 

 and are reproduced here practically in full: — 



1. Do you feed prickly pear to your dairy herd.^ How many j-ears has this 

 practice been followed':' 



Answers. — (o) During the winter months only, (h) I do in winter; five years, 

 (c) Yes; for fourteen years, (d) Yes; have fed off and on for a number of 

 years, (c) Yes; during the winter time; for about twelve years. (/) I have 

 fed prickly pear to my dairy cows for nine years. 



2. How long did you feed during the past winter? 



Answers. — (a) About fourteen weeks, {b) All winter, (c) All winter, (d) 

 Did not feed pear last winter because other feeds were very cheap, (e) jSone 

 at all. (/) Did not feed during the past winter, on account of having moved 

 to a place where it was inconvenient to get it. 



3. How do you prepare prickly pear for feeding? 



Atisirers. — (a) Make brush fire and burn thorns ofF. (b) I use a pear burner. 

 ((■) Singe the thorns off and cut it up. (d) I run the pear through a pear 

 cutter and mix with cotton-seed meal and hulls, (e) Burn the thorns oft ; then 

 chop in suiall pieces. (/) I first burn off the thorns with a dry brush fire, and 

 then cut into small pieces with a large carving knife. 



4. How much pear do you feed a cow each day? If you do not know the 

 exact number of pounds, estimate it as closely as possible. How many loads 

 per day do you feed to how many cows? 



Answ(_'t\j:. — ((/) I feed about two-thirds of*a common water bucket full to each 

 cow in the moining. {b) I give the cows as much as they can eat once a day. 

 (c) About 10 or lo lb. per cow. (d) I feed 1^ bushels to a cow each day. (e) 

 One load of about 3,000 lb. la.sts sixteen cows about three days. (/) I give each 

 cow about 6 gallons of pear cut up into pieces about 2^ inches square. • 



o. What other feeds do you give the cows with pear? How much of each 

 kind of feed per cow? 



A7}sii-ers. — (a) I feed cotton-seed meal and bran. (/)) Bran and cotton-seed 

 meal, (c) One quart of cotton-seed meal, 1 peck of cotton-seed hulls, and all 

 the cane they want. ((/) One quart of cotton seed, 1 quart of cotton-seed meal, 

 and 20 lb. of hulls per day. (e) One and one-half quarts of cotton-seed meal, 

 8 quarts of wheat bran, 20 lb. of cotton-seed hulls. (/) I give my cows 10 lb. 

 per day of a mixture of cotton seed and wheat bran, in addition to the 

 6 gallons of prickly pear. 



6. Do your cows have the run of any pasture while you feed pear? 

 Answers. — (a) Yes. (b) Yes. (c) Yes. (rf) No. (e) Very little. (/) Yes. 



7. Do you consider that pear influences the flavour, odour, or quality of 

 the milk in any way? 



Ansivers.-r-{a) It does if fed more than two-thirds of a common water bucket 

 full to each cow in the morning, or in any other way. Feeding at night 

 affects the odour of the milk slightly and gives butter a pale colour, {b) It 

 increases the quantity of milk 40 per cent, (r) It does not affect the flavour 

 or colour, but it may reduce the weight or richness of it. It increases the 

 quantity. ((/) No; I do not think it influences the flavour, odour, or quality 

 of the milk at all Avhen fed as I have mentioned. ('') When too much pear is 

 fed. and not enough solid feed, the Tiiilk has a peculiar odour, is very poor in 

 quality, and blue in colour. (/) Prickly pear does not injuro the flavour of the 

 milk. It increases the flow. Cattle are vei-j' fond of it. 



8. Do you have pear in your pastures, or do you buy it? If you buy, how 

 much do you pay per load ? 



Ansvers. — (a) I have it my pastures, (b) I have pear in my pastures, (c) 

 Yes. {d) I buy it at 25 cents per load and haul it myself, (e) I buy my pear; 

 it costs me 25 cents per load of 3,000 lb. I haul it myself. (/) I have pear in 

 my pastures. 



9. What is your estimate of the value of pear for milk production? 

 Answers. — (a) I consider pear very valuable as a feed, and it is a good milk 



producer. It is very healtiiful to be fed with cotton-seed meal, &c. (b) (No 



