DIGESTION AND WINTER FEEDING. 61 



them together, and feeds them to his cows in the summer. 

 It is generally considered that turnip-tops are a great deal 

 more likely to taint milk than turnips ; but he feeds this 

 green food to his cows, being careful to feed immediately 

 after milking, and does not hear the slightest complaint. 



Another of our townsmen, who has the confidence of the 

 whole community, Mr. Mclntire of Chicopee, has told me 

 that a man could feed a cow all the round turnips she would 

 eat, after milking, and he would guarantee there would be 

 no taint in the milk. He sells milk, but has, when his milk 

 has been very plenty, made butter ; and I questioned him 

 about that, because I make butter. He said he had never 

 had the slightest complaint about his butter. I do not vouch 

 for these facts : I only state them as I find them. The 

 theory we adopted was, that the material was ruminated 

 before a great secretion of the milk. Tiie doctor's ideas were 

 different. 



Dr. Wakefield. It seems to me there is one thing to be 

 noted about this turnip business. If you gather the turnip- 

 tops from the ground before they have time to wilt, and feed 

 them immediately, they will not aifect the milk nearly so 

 much as they will when wilted. When I was a boy, I used 

 to go barefoot ; and when I was pulling turnips in the field, 

 we would cut the tops off, and leave them in piles ; and, if I 

 wanted to warm my feet, I would go and stand on one of those 

 piles. I believe there is something in that. I know if you 

 feed turnip-tops that have become heated you cannot get out 

 of the barn before you will taste the odor in the milk, or 

 smell it. In the case to which the last speaker referred, the 

 turnip-tops were cut with the oats, and carried immediately 

 into the barn, and consumed ; whereas, if you gather your 

 turnips, and cut off the tops, and let them lie in piles and 

 heat, then you get the taste, and you get the smell. I believe 

 there is something in that. I have not experimented in that 

 direction, so that I know certain, as I do about some other 

 tilings ; but it looks reasonable to me that there should be 

 a difference. 



Recess until two o'clock. 



