VERMONT DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 79 



INDIVIDUALITY. 



While the differences in breed are frequently concerned 

 in the test variations as between one patron and another, 

 the individuality of the animal is often quite as important. 

 There are families within breeds. The cows of some families 

 of Jerseys give relatively good milk, and others in other fam- 

 ilies relatively poor milk. Mr. Vail refers elsewhere in 

 this report to experiments at the Vermont station which 

 indicates that heifers resemble the dams rather than the sires 

 as to the quality of the milk. He qualified his remarks 

 however, by saying there had been but little observation on 

 this point. I am inclined to believe that the quality of the 

 milk of the several heifers in the tests cited resembled the 

 milk of their dams rather than that of the females of the sire's 

 line because of the inferiority of the sire. The bull's pedi- 

 gree was of the best, but individually he did not have that 

 strong power, that prepotency which some bulls possess to fix 

 upon the offspring the character of his kind. I attribute the 

 likeness of these heifers to their dams to this ineffiicency on 

 the part of the bull and do not wish to go on record as believ- 

 ing that the use of a good bull from butter lines is not sound 

 practice. 



FOOD. 



He who looks to food to grade up the quality of milk 

 looks in vain. Food variations may increase the quantity 

 of milk, but seldom if ever bring about permanent changes 

 in quality. If a cow is fed a very scant ration she may 

 alter more or less the quality of milk given ; but when a 

 cow is changed from a good, palatable, plenteous ration to 

 another of similar grade, but differently made up, no materi- 

 al change in the quality of the milk is likely to follow, pro- 

 viding the rations are normal. We have been trying for 

 years at Burlington to persuade cows to change the quality of 

 their milk, but at no time and in no way have we brought 

 about a permanent change. When we have poured melted fat 

 (vegetable oils, like corn, cottonseed, linseed oils, etc.,) into 

 the cow we have temporarily changed the quality of milk. I 

 expect that feeding with sugar, which we are trying this year, 

 may change the milk somewhat in its character, possibly per- 

 manently; but with no normal, rational food can one persuade a 

 Holstein to give Jersey milk, unless it be by semi-starvation. 

 If a cow is starved she is apt to make richer milk. 



NERVOUS EXCITEMENT. 



Such conditions as may be provocative of nervousness 

 have more influence upon the quality of milk than most 



