EFFECT OF FOOD ON MILK. 31 



Mr. Hubbard, of Brimficld. There were a few points 

 brought out in the course of the lecture to which we have 

 listened, in regard to which, the views of the speaker differed 

 from what I suppose to be the general opinion of the farming 

 community. One was, that the food a cow eats makes no 

 difl'erence in the quality of the milk. I call to mind an in- 

 stance which occurred in connection with the cheese-factory 

 with which I am connected. There was one dairy that 

 brought a quality of milk that was very poor. This milk 

 was tested, day after day, until it was decided that it was 

 adulterated. The course taken to ascertain whether the milk 

 was adulterated or not, was to go to the place at the time of 

 milking and get a can of the milk, which was brought to the 

 factory ; and then the next morning, when the milk came in, 

 the two were tested to see whether the quality was the same. 

 It was found to be the same, and the question came up, what 

 makes this milk so different in quality from the milk of other 

 dairies? The only conclusion they came to was that the 

 food of those cows was of a very poor quality. 



For a long term of years I sent milk to Boston. There 

 were certain dairies that were preferred over others, because 

 the quality of the milk was better ; and the difference in the 

 quality of the milk was attributed to the feed. Those people 

 who feed their cows to get the largest quantity of milk, usu- 

 ally feed wheat middlings or shorts, and that increases the 

 flow of the milk, but not the quality of the milk. Another 

 individual feeds corn-meal with oats ; and that improves the 

 quality of the milk, but does not increase the quantity. 



I believe the condition of the animal makes some differ- 

 ence as to the quality of the milk. If the animal is not in 

 good condition, the quality of the milk is not so good as it is 

 when the animal is in good condition. 



There is one other point to which I wish to allude, and that 

 is, that the cows should have but one pasture. Now we 

 may know some things just as well as anybody else, and still 

 not know very many things. I know individuals who keep 

 one pasture for their cows, and I know of others who keep 

 more than one. My own cows have had, for several years, 

 three pastures regularly, — having so many days for this one, 

 so many clays for that, and so many for the other ; somewhat 



