48G EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



The effects of food on milk and butter, J. Speir {Trans. High- 

 land and Agr. Soc. Scotland, 5. ser., 9 (1897), pp. 296-338). — This work, 

 carried on at Newton Farm, Glasgow, was in continuation of experi- 

 ments 1 made in 1895-0(5, "which seemed to indicate that two foods, 

 viz, decorticated cotton-seed cake and vetches, had some tendency to 

 increase the fat in the milk, while fresh young- grass and grains had a 

 tendency to decrease it. These experiments also plainly indicated that 

 while many foods appeared to have a tendency to enrich or impoverish 

 the milk, still neither effect seemed permanent, the inclination after a 

 time being for the milk to return to more normal conditions." 



The present studies were made with 8 cows and covered 12 periods, 

 usually of about 5 weeks each. A large number of feeding stuffs of 

 different kinds were tested in various combinations. The milk was 

 weighed and tested for fat, and was also skimmed with a hand separa- 

 tor and the cream churned and made into butter to observe the effects 

 of the different foods on the production of butter. The general qual- 

 ity of the butter, its melting point, flavor, and keeping quality were 

 also determined. The results are tabulated for each period, together 

 with the results of the previous experiments. 



"Rations having an extrem'ely high albuminoid ratio seem to have a depressing 

 effect on the milk yield, well-mixed foods giving the best results in this respect. 

 Every food, when first given, seems to have more or less effect in increasing or 

 decreasing the percentage of fat iu the milk. This effect is, however, transitory, 

 and the milk returns to its normal composition about the end of the fifth week. 

 [Brewers'] grains iu the wet state and in excessive quantity maybe an exception to 

 this general statement. 



"Provided extremes are avoided, the dry matter in the food seems to be the prin- 

 cipal controlling factor in the production of milk or increase of live weight, and is 

 of greater importance than the albuminoid ratio. 



" The fat in the buttermilk is considerably influenced by the food used ; but where 

 the cream was churned at the proper temperature, the churnability of the milk 

 appeared to be less affected by food than the experiments of 1895 seemed to indicate. 

 All other things being equal, each food or combination of foods seems to produce 

 a milk which necessitates the cream from it to be churned at a temperature peculiar 

 to itself if the best results are to be obtained. 



"Soft butters usually contain a proportion of water greater than the average, and 

 if the softness is caused by the foods used the excess of water can not be reduced by 

 the ordinary methods of manipulation. Food exerts a very great influence on the 

 melting point (firmness) of butter. . . . 



" If first-class butter is the object, linseed cake, grains (wet or dry), Paisley meal, 

 and foods containing a large proportion of sugar, should be discarded or reduced to 

 the lowest limits possible. 



"The principal concentrated foods experimented with having a beneficial effect 

 on the butter are oats, decorticated cotton cake, beans, and peas." 



Feeding fat in the form of an emulsion to milch cows, S. Khodin 

 (K. Landt. Almd. Hand!., 37 {1898), JSfo. 1, pp. 25-33).— Three experi- 

 ments with 2 cows were made for the purpose of ascertaining the 

 effect of feeding fat to milch cows in the form of an emulsion. Linseed 



1 Trans. Highland and Agr. Soc. Scotland, 5. ser , 8 (1896), pp. 269-315). 



