8,S4 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



'•It is again shown that the Ayrshire cow is more successful as a milk maker than 

 as a butter producer. As a general rule the cows making the most butter were the 

 most economical producers. The larger cows, which ranked well in gross amounts 

 of butter made, graded lower in most cases in economy of production, while the 

 smaller cows, which stood near the head in amount of butter made, did not lose rank 

 in the matter of cheap manufacture. In other words, the well-known fact that the 

 smaller cow usually makes the cheapest butter is again demonstrated." 



The effect of food upon the quality of butter, J. L. Hills ( Ver- 

 mont Sta. Bpt. 1896-'97, pp. 175-181). — In connection with some of 

 the experiments described above, studies were made of the effect of 

 the rations upon the quality of the butter aud upon churnability. Tlie 

 scoring and the chemical analysis of the butter are given and the data 

 for churning. The results are briefly summarized as follows: 



"Effects upon iutter. — Butter made from a ration containing large amounts of pota- 

 toes was of poor quality, tended to he salvy and did not keep well. Itshowed, upon 

 chemical analysis, a medium amount of volatile acids, lint a very low iodin number. 



" Butters made from 3 hay and silage rations, containing respectively large amounts 

 of corn and bran, of Atlas gluten meal, and of cotton-seed and linseed meals, were 

 scored by experts essentially alike. The butter made upon the rations containing 

 relatively large amounts of Atlas gluten meal was judged by the station dairyman 

 to be on the whole a shade inferior to the others, particularly in grain. The only 

 marked difference developed on chemical analysis concerned the iodin number, 

 which in the Atlas butter was uniformly high, indicating probably an increased 

 percentage of olein. 



"Effects upon churning. — The creams from the milks made on the Atlas ration inva- 

 riably churned less exhaustively than those made upon either the corn and bran or 

 the cotton -seed-linseed rations, all other conditions being equalized. No plausible 

 reason other than that of food effect presents itself, yet the writer feels unwilling 

 as yet to assert that the Atlas ration was at fault in the matter."' 



Report of the dairy investigator, F. 13. Linfield ( Utah Sta. Bpt. 



1897, pp. 51-60). — Remarks on the work of the division, an experiment 

 with pasturage for cows, variations in the fat content of milk, and the 

 value of byproducts of the dairy for feeding pigs (see p. 871). Trials 

 for 2 summers with 2 cows showed the advantages of properly seeded 

 pastures for dairy cows as compared with the ordinary range. "It 

 would take a yield of from 48 to G2 bu. of wheat per acre, at aver- 

 age prices for the past 3 years, to return as much as could be made by 

 pasturing cows/' The variations in the fat content of the first milk 

 and strippings, the morning's and night's milk, and that from day to 

 day, and in the herd milk, with advancing lactation, are illustrated. 

 The failure to recognize these normal variations is believed to be a fre- 

 quent cause of dissatisfaction with the method of paying for milk by 

 test. 



Preliminary investigations concerning the number and nature 

 of bacteria in freshly drawn milk, V. A. Moore ( U. 8. Dept. A</r., 

 Bureau of Animal Industry Bpts. 1895 and 1896, )>}>. 2Gl-f>G<;).— Bacte- 

 riological examinations were made of the milk of 9 cows. The teats 

 and udders of the cows and the hands and arms of the milkers were 



