DAIRY FARMING DAIRYING. 79 



The author has drawn largely from his own experience and from numerous 

 experiments conducted at the state stations. Although all phases of dairy hus- 

 bandry are treated, the larger portion of the book is devoted to the following 

 topics: The characteristics of the principal dairy breeds, judging dairy stock, 

 management of dairy cattle, and feeding for milk production. 



Beport of milk tests and records, 1908-1910, T. Milburn and R. Eichaed- 

 soN {County Council Lancaster, Ed. Com., Agr. Dept., Farmers' Bui. 21, pp. 

 35). — Records of individual herds are given in detail. Some of the conclu- 

 sions are as follows: 



" The heifers recorded in the different herds gave milk richer in fat and in 

 solids-not-fat than the older animals, but the total amount of solids was larger 

 from the latter. Too much reliance should not be placed on percentages alone, 

 the total yield of solids must also be considered. Generally speaking, the cows 

 recorded improved in milk yield up to the fourth calf. Taking the yearly 

 yields, the best animals gave almost double the quantity of milk yielded by the 

 worst animals of corresponding age. The milk of cows with a small yield is 

 not necessarily richer in fat or total solids than that of cows with a large yield, 

 in fact the opposite may be the case. There has been an improvement in the 

 milk yield of the herds tested for 3 3'ears (with one exception), the average in- 

 crease being 47 gal. per herd. Concurrent with the increase in quantity there 

 was an improvement in quality, both fat and solids-not-fat being higher than at 

 the commencement of the tests. . . . On several occasions the mixed morning's 

 milk of 2 herds was below the government standard of 3 per cent fat." 



Cow-testing' associations, W. M. Singleton (Jour. New Zeal. Dept. Agr., 3 

 (1911), No. 3, pp. 201-211, figs. 6). — ^This is the annual summary of results of 

 testing 4,158 cows by the cooperative societies. 



Studies in milk secretion: The effect of protein upon the production and 

 composition of milk, J. B. Lindsey (Massachusetts Sta. Rpt. 1910, pt. 1, pp. 

 86-121). — This report of a study of the effect of protein on the production and 

 composition of milk is a continuation of earlier work (E. S. R., 14, p. 183). 



In one test a high protein ration containing 3 lbs. of wheat bran, 5.5 lbs. of 

 gluten feed, 10.9 lbs. of hay, and 25.7 lbs. of corn silage was fed. The other 

 ration was practically identical, except that 4 lbs. of corn meal was substituted 

 for a like amount of gluten feed. The high protein ration was 48.6 per cent 

 in excess of the protein minimum, and in 63 days produced 5.9 per cent more 

 milk than did the low protein ration, which was only 21.4 per cent in excess 

 of the minimum. 



In another test under similar conditions the average digestible protein fed 

 daily to each cow in the high protein ration was 2.41 lbs., and the excess over 

 that required for milk production and maintenance was 65.3 per cent. In the 

 low protein ration the amount of protein was 1.96 lbs. daily, being an average 

 excess of 39 per cent above the requirements. The group receiving the high 

 protein feed produced 7.4 per cent more milk than that on the low protein ration 

 in an experiment covering 26 days. 



In a test covering 11 weeks with 12 cows by the group method, an excess of 

 0.54 lb. of protein or 31.3 per cent over the protein minimum produced an ap- 

 parent increase of 10 per cent in milk yield. In later tests covering periods 

 from 24 to 30 weeks with 10 cows, by the group method, those receiving the 

 protein minimum did not shrink any more than those receiving 0.44 lb. each, 

 or 28 per cent, protein above the minimum. 



Other conclusions drawn from these tests, and those previously reported, are 

 the following : " The group method of experimentation is best suited for con- 

 ducting experiments where a relatively large number of animals — ^20 or more — 



