DAIRY FARMING DAIRYING. 685 



The manure produced durinp; the 16 hours of each day which the cows passed in 

 tlie barn averaged 48.3 lbs., containing 16.6 lbs. of nitrogen per ton, when the cotton- 

 seed meal ration was fed, and 33.9 lbs., containing 10.7 lbs. of nitrogen per ton, when 

 the cotton-seed ration was fed. The percentages of phosphoric acid and potash in 

 the 2 manures were practically the same. When stabled for the entire 24 hours the 

 amount of manure secured was about double that obtained when the cows were 

 stabled 16 hours per day. 



In a test lasting 3 weeks green rye was substituted for the cotton-seed hulls and 

 sorghum used in the above rations, with the result of increasing the yield and 

 decreasing the fat content of the milk, the yield of butter remaining practically the 

 same. Soiling is therefore pointed out as an effective means of reducing the bill for 

 purchased feeds. 



A pasture consisting of cowpeas and of corn from which the ears had been har- 

 vested was compared with an ordinary pasture of Bermuda grass, carpet grass, Japan 

 clover, etc. When grazed on cowpeas the yield of milk was 15.8 percent and the 

 yield of butter 9.5 per cent greater than when the cows ran on the mixed pasture. 

 "The value of the product of butter and of the increase in live weight of the cows 

 averaged $4.47 i)er acre of corn and pea field grazed, after deducting the cost of the 

 cotton-seed meal fed at the same time." 



A contribution to the question of the profitability of dairy farming, C. 

 Steinbri-ck {Ber. Plujsiol. La}>. Landiv. Inst. Halle, 3 [1901), No. 15, pp. 104-168).— 

 The author made an extended study of several points bearing upon the feeding of 

 dairy cattle. The principal point investigated was the effect of increased amounts of 

 protein in the ration upon the yield and composition of the milk. The experiments 

 were carried on with 4 cows and covered a number of periods of 10 days each. 

 Besides the amount and the composition oi the food, the live weights of the animals 

 were noted and determinations made of the amount and composition of the milk and 

 the resulting manure. A large amount of tabulated data is given, and these are 

 discussed at length, many similar pieces of work being cited. From his experiments 

 and his review of the literature the author draws the following conclusions: 



The individual productiveness of cows is the controlling factor in milk production, 

 in comparison with which changes in the feed, within certain limits, are sometimes 

 very inferior. The inferiority of the latter factor naturally varies greatly and can 

 only be determined quantitatively by means of studies on a large number of 

 individuals. 



The food when given in amounts in excess of that necessary for the bodily func- 

 tions and to maintain live weight has but small influence over the milk yield. While 

 such feeding is reliected in the increased richness of the manure, the value of this 

 increase is disproportionate to the cost. 



As cows differ in their ability to respond to heavy feeding, this ability must be 

 determined for each individual animal. In this respect adherence to fixed standards 

 may lead to gross error. 



The dairy herd, G. H. True {Arizona Sta. Rpl. 1901, pp. 327-332, figs. 2).— A 

 monthly record of 6 cows for one year is given, with notes on the management of the 

 herd. Weather conditions interfered with a feeding experiment with sugar beets. 

 Exposure to storm greatly lessened the yield of butter fat, the decrease, however, 

 being much less in the case of cows fed sugar beets on pasture. 



Hygiene of cows during gestation, C]iRVT^KR{Jour. Agricole \^Faris], 12 (1901) , 

 No. 140, pp. 194, 19')). — The author discusses briefly the feeding and general man- 

 agement of cows during gestation. 



Composition of the milk of cows at different stages of the milking, P. 

 Hardy {Bui. Assoc. Beige Chim.,15 {1901), No. 6, pp. 228, 229; ahs.in Bui. Sue. Chim. 

 Paris, 3. ser., 25 {1901), No. 22, p. 992). — The fat increases from the beginning to the 

 end of the milking, but, as pointed out by other investigators, the composition of the 

 serum remains constant. 



