DAIRY FARMING DAIRYING. 673 



experimental period, while the palm-nut cake fed lot yielded 8,743.25 lbs. In every 

 case whore there was a change to palm-nut cake a drop in yield occurred, 

 whereas in cases of changes to cotton cake there were two increases and two 

 decreases. The change in feed did not materially affect the composition of the 

 milk, and the palm-nut cake, though fed in fairly large quantities, had no unde- 

 sirable effects on the butter produced. 



It is stated that palm-nut cake is a perfectly safe feed for milch cows, and 

 might give better results if fed as a part of the cake portion of the ration (2 to 

 3 lbs.) than were obtained in this experiment where one cake only was intro- 

 duced. 



Murne Cowan, new world's champion [cow], II. G. Mukphy (Hoanrs Dairy- 

 man, .',!) (1915), No. 7. p. 2.',7, figs. J).— An account of the 10-year-old Guernsey 

 cow. IMurne Cowan, which has recently completed her year's record of 24,008 

 lbs. of milk containing 1,098.18 lbs. of fat. Her largest milk yield in 24 hours 

 was 82.3 lbs. In seven days she produced 565.8 lbs. of milk containing 24.44 lbs. 

 of fat and in one month she produced 2,361.5 lbs. of milk and 102.02 lbs. of fat. 

 It is said that ]\Iurne Cowan weighs 1,320 lbs., 100 lbs. more than when the test 

 was begun, and that to all appearances the. making of this record has not in- 

 jured her in the least. 



Experiments with the Sharpies mechanical milker, J. J. Hooper and J. W. 

 Nutter {KrniHckji Sta. Bui. 1S6 (WlJf), pp. Jf7o-510, figs. 12).— In tests with 

 milking machines at the Kentucky Station it was demonstrated that there was 

 no appreciable or permanent decrease in the milk production during a 30-day 

 period when the cows were becoming accustomed to the mechanical milker. 



At the Elmendorf farm, Lexington, Ky., it was found that 25 cows milked 

 with the machine decreased 10.5 per cent in their milk yield in INIay as com- 

 pared with their production in February, while 25 other cows during the same 

 period milked by hand decreased 18.5 per cent. The machine-milked cows pro- 

 duced less milk during Mai'ch than during April. After the machine at the 

 station had been in use for seven months, it was discontinued for two weeks 

 and the cows during that period were milked by hand. The cows did not as a 

 rule respond with a larger milk yield when hand milked. The cows were 

 stripped by hand after being machine-milked, the average strippings amounting 

 to less than one pint. 



The average percentage of decrease in milk yield for each period of 30 days 

 was found to vary from 3.4 per cent in the second month to 21.5 per cent in the 

 twelfth month. This decrease is somewhat larger and was not so uniform as 

 was found in 323 animals at the Wisconsin Station (E. S. R., 28, p. 272). 



An average of 71 milkings showed that the time consumed by a unit in milking 

 a cow was 3.99 minutes, the time to strip 0.83 minute, the weight of strippings 

 0.92 lb., and the milk produced with strippings added 11.67 lbs. 



It was found that two men operating four units can milk 28 cows, strip and 

 feed them, and carry the milk to the dairy room in 43.4 minutes. With hand 

 milking this same operation performed by two men required 1 hour and 20 

 minutes. The total time consumed in washing the parts of the machine each 

 day was 75 minutes. 



Salt brine and sal soda solutions were found unsatisfactory in cleaning the 

 parts of the milking machine. A solution consisting of unslaked lime and 

 water 1 : 9 is now used and found to kill practically all bacteria. 



Bacteriological tests made of the various solutions showed that whereas those 

 using brine and sal soda contained a large number of bacteria, limowater con- 

 tained from to 130 bacteria i>er cubic centimeter. Bacteriological tests 

 made of milk produced with the machine showed an average of 3.657.6 bacteria 



