280 Management of Dairy Cattle. 



in medicine use them for distinct purposes. Cod-liver oil has been 

 long used for pulmonary complaints ; latterly, olive, almond, and 

 rape-oils arc being employed as substitutes. These are all of 

 the unctuous class of oils. Mr. Rhind, the intelligent medical 

 practitioner of this village, called my attention to some experi- 

 ments by Dr. Leai'ed, published in the 'Medical Times,' July 

 21st, 1855, with olein alone, freed from margerine, which 

 showed marked superiority in the effect ; and I now learn from 

 Mr. Rhind that he is at present using with success the pure 

 olein, prepared by Messrs. Price and Co. from cocoa-nut oil, 

 one of the unctuous class. That linseed, and others of the drying- 

 oils, are used in medicine for a very different purpose, it seems 

 unnecessary to state. 



The olein of oil is known to be more easy of consumption and 

 more available for respiration than margerine — a property to 

 which its use in medicine may be attributable.* If we examine 

 the animal fats, tallow, suet, and other fat, they are almost wholly 

 of the solid class, stearine or margerine, closely resembling or 

 identical with the margerine in plants ; whilst butter is composed 

 of olein and margerine, combining both the proximate elements 

 found in vegetable oils. 



It seems worthy of remark that a cow can yield a far greater 

 weight of butter than she can store up in solid fat ; numerous 

 instances occur where a cow gives off 2 lbs. of butter per day, or 

 14 lbs. per week, whilst half that quantity will probably rarely 

 be laid on in fat. If you allow a cow to gain 16 lbs. per week, 

 and reckon 7 for fat, there will only remain 9 lbs. for flesh, or, 

 deducting the moisture, scarcely 3 lbs. (2*97) per week, equal to 

 •42, or less than half a pound per day, of dry fibrine. 



The analyses of butter show a very varying proportion of 

 olein and margerine fats : summer butter usually contains of 

 olein 60, and margerine 40 per cent, whilst in winter butter 

 these proportions are reversed, being 40 of olein to 60 of mar- 

 gerine. By ordinary treatment the quantity of butter during 

 winter is markedly inferior ; the common materials for dairy- 

 cows in winter are straw with turnips or mangel, hay alone, or 

 hay with mangel. If we examine these materials, we find them 

 deficient in oil, or in starch, sugar, &c. If a cow consume 2 

 stones or 28 lbs. of hay a day, which is probably more than she 

 can be induced to eat on an average, it will be equal in dry 

 material to more than 100 lbs. of young grass, which will also 

 satisfy a cow. That 100 lbs. of young grass will yield more 

 butter will scarcely admit of a doubt. The 28 lbs. of hay will 

 be equal in albuminous matter and in oil to the 100 lbs. of grass,, 



* See ' Lehman's Physiological Chemistry.' 



