Dairy Management. 155 



pasture by day and housed by night ; evening and morning they 

 were supplied with mown grass, and two feeds of steamed, 

 mixture. Towards the close of September green rape was sub- 

 stituted for the mown grass, with the same allowance of steamed 

 mixture ; from the 8th of October, when they were wholly 

 housed, they were supplied with steamed food ad libitum three 

 times per day. After each meal 10 to 12 lbs. of green rape-plant 

 were given, and 9 lbs. hay per day till November ; from that 

 time steamed food with cabbages or kohl rabi till the early part 

 of February, when mangel wurzel was substituted. It will be 

 observed that I give hay and roots in limited quantities, and the 

 steamed food ad libitum ; I prefer this to apportioning the cake 

 and other concentrated food in equal quantities to each ; as this 

 steamed mixture contains more of the elements essential to milk, 

 and each cow is thus at liberty to satisfy her requirements with it, 

 Nos. 2 and 4, which have given the greatest quantity of milk, have 

 eaten more than their share ; whilst No. 1, which has given the 

 least milk, has scarcely eaten more than half the quantity of 

 steamed mixture consumed by 2 or 4. The yield of milk and 

 the live weights on the 4th of February and the 4th of March 

 scarcely vary. During February 34 lbs. of mangel were substi- 

 tuted for kohl rabi : with this change the cows became more 

 relaxed. My experience in weighing, extending over several years, 

 has shown me that when animals, from change of food, become 

 more relaxed or more costive, their weighings in the former state 

 denote less, whilst in the latter they denote more than their actual 

 gain in condition. I have knoAvn instances in which a month's 

 weighing, accompanied by some relaxation, has shown no gain, 

 whilst in the following month, Avith restored consistency, the 

 gain has doubled. 



The results 1 have described are wholly over periods com- 

 mencing from the time of calving, and during the first stages of 

 milk, the longest extending over thirty-one weeks, when the 

 production of milk is at the largest. 



No. 4 suffered from pleuro in September, from Avhich time her 

 yield of milk fell off to less than two quarts per day. 



Nos. 6 and 7 suffered also, and No. 11 considerably, after their 

 weighing, Oct. 8th : each of them regained their yield of milk 

 after recovery. It will be clear that their weights would have 

 been greater had they continued in health throughout. In stating 

 their produce of milk and food, I treat them as if they had 

 remained in health. 



I now proceed to examine the materials of food, their compo- 

 sition, and the probable changes they undergo in the animal 

 economy : — 



