876 EXPEEIMENT STATION RECOKD. 



BAIRY FARMING— DAIRYOrG. 



Record of the station dairy herd and the cost of milk production, J. B. 

 LiNDSEY and P. H. Smith {Massachusetts Sta. Bui. U5, pp. 3i).— "This bul- 

 letin contains a record of the amount and cost of the feed consumed and of the 

 milk produced by each cow in the station herd from 1896 through 1911. 



" The estimated cost of housing and caring for the cow and her product is 

 also stated, which, added to the feed cost, shows a total average yearly cost of 

 $145.24 per cow. The average yearly production was 6,036 lbs., and the esti- 

 mated cost of a quart of milk averaging 5 per cent of fat is shown to be 5.43 

 cts. Data from other sources are also cited." 



It is found that to produce 100 lbs. of milk, 117.9 lbs. of dry matter or 76.4 

 lbs. digestible matter are required; to produce 1 lb. of solids, 8.28 lbs. dry 

 matter or 5.34 lbs. digestible matter; and to produce 1 lb. of fat requires 23.3 

 lbs. of dry matter of 15.06 lbs. digestible matter. It is further shown that the 

 largest producers required the smallest amount of feed to make a definite 

 amount of product. Large cows produced milk rather more economically than 

 smaller ones. 



Dairying in Oklahoma, R. C Potts and C. I. Bray {Oklahoma Sta. Bui. 99, 

 pp. 55, figs. 7). — In experiments comparing the feeding value of alfalfa and 

 cowpea hay for dairy cows, no appreciable difference in yields was noted, 

 although some of the cows showed an indi%adual preference for one or the other 

 of the two hays. Prairie hay produced 9 per cent more milk and 5 per cent 

 more milk fat with a greater economy of production than did Bermuda hay. 

 Bermuda pasture, however, produced 13.6 per cent more milk and 13.8 per cent 

 more milk fat than did prairie pasture. This indicates that Bermuda gi-ass 

 is more valuable as a pasture than as a hay. The feeding value of one hour of 

 grazing on wheat pasture was apparently more than equivalent to 10 lbs. of 

 sugar beets. 



The principles of dairy cattle feeding are discussed, together with notes on 

 feeding stuffs. Experiments with cotton-seed meal and silage, previously re- 

 ported (E. S. R., 27, p. 280) are given. The general principles of the care 

 and management of dairy cattle are also considered, including data on dairy 

 barns and stables. 



[Dairy experiments at Hameln, 1912], P. Vieth {Ber. Milchw. Inst. 

 Hameln, 1912, pp. 28+6). — This contains brief reports of 70 different tests and 

 experiments, most of them on the composition and physical condition of cream, 

 milk, butter, cheese, and dried milk under various conditions and under dif- 

 ferent methods of tests. 



The correlation between the percentage of milk fat and the quantity of 

 milk produced by Ayrshire cows, H. D. Vigor {Jour. Bd. Agr. [London], 1913, 

 Sup. 11, pp. 2S). — With f^^e object of ascertaining the relationship between 

 the rate of milk production of cows and the percentage of milk fat in the milk 

 produced, the complete records of 586 Ayrshire cows were studied with refer- 

 ence to the duration of the lactation period and the age of the cows, with 

 results summarized as follows: 



Averages and standard deviations as to milk am4 milk production of 586 Ayr- 

 shire cows. 



Variable factor. 



Percentage of milk fat. 



Weekly yield 



Duration of lactation. . 

 Age of cow 



Average. 



3.6811 percent. 

 1 6. 82S7 gallons. 

 38.1104 weeks.. 

 5.6613 years 



Standard deviation. 



0.3229 per cent. 

 4.0704 gallons. 

 9.2552 weeks. 

 2.83S9 years. 



