54 The Journal 
and before they had taken any food, 
an average of 67 pounds. Their 
weights were 64, 70, and 67 pounds. 
In order to secure a long lactation 
period and the maximum amount of 
milk, buffalo cows kept for milk are 
usually not bred until three or four 
months after freshening. Although 
the ordinary buffalo of China gives but 
a small amount of milk, it is extremely 
rich in fat, and lactation periods of 
twelve months are common. ‘The cows 
are considered profitable for dairy pur- 
poses until they are about 15 years old. 
TO TELL THE AGE OF BUFFALO 
The age of a buffalo is indicated quite 
accurately by the teeth, up to a certain 
number of years, similar to the way it is 
indicated in European cattle. Like 
other members of the bovine group, 
the buffalo has no teeth in the front of 
the upper jaw. The calf is usually born 
of Heredity 
with six temporary teeth in the front 
of the lower jaw. Two more appear 
a few weeks later. At about three 
years of age the middle pair of the 
temporary teeth are replaced by two 
permanent teeth. When four years 
old, the ones on either side of the first 
pair are up and in use. At five the 
next teeth on either side of the fourth- 
year teeth are up, and at six the corner 
teeth are up and in wear. The age of 
animals more than six years old is 
roughly estimated by the appearance of 
the wearing surface of the teeth in the 
front of the lower jaw. In the younger 
animals the teeth have a sharp outer 
edge, the wearing surfaces slope in- 
ward, and the teeth are somewhat an- 
gular. As the animals grow older the 
sharp edges of the teeth wear down, the 
wearing surface becoming more flat and 
the teeth more round. After eight to 
ten years the enamel has worn away 
Note by David Fairchild: 
It may be interesting in this connection to 
quote here from a letter which I wrote in 
Poona, India, in 1901 to the Hon. James 
Wilson, then Secretary of Agriculture, re- 
garding the Indian breeds of milch water 
buffalos which are mentioned by Mr. Levine 
in this article. The possibilities of utilizing 
these milch breeds in the Philippines so 
appealed to Mr. Wilson that he ordered the 
letter published, together with others regard- 
ing plants, as Bulletin No. 27, Bureau of 
Plant Industry, 1902. In this letter the fol- 
lowing facts were reported: 
“The carabao or water buffalo (Bubalus 
bubalis, Lyd.) is a well-known object in 
Manila, and its use as a beast of burden 
thoroughly understood, but, so far as I am 
aware, little attention has been paid to it 
as a milk producer. 
“Unthinking prejudice, which prevents us 
from eating many excellent things, may play 
the same role in Manila that it does im 
Ceylon, and forbid the employment of buf- 
falo milk. If this is so it is a great pity, 
for there is a race of water buffalos which 
come from Delhi, India, that gives over 30 
pounds of milk per day, while the best Sind 
cattle give only 18, and this buffalo milk is 
so rich in fat that 12 to 13 pounds of it 
make a pound of butter, whereas 20 pounds 
of milk of a Sind cow are required. 
“These Delhi buffalos are easier to keep, 
less expensive, and cleaner (having almost 
no hair) than ordinary cattle. They sell for 
about 180 rupees, or $56 in gold, in Bombay, 
a 
and can be bought at Dawans, the buffalo 
market, near Grant Road Station, but could 
be best secured by applying to Mr. Mollison, 
Director-Gemeral of Agriculture for India, 
at Poona, who could probably be prevailed 
upon to arrange to have good specimens 
picked out. 
“Tn general, the animals are priced accord- 
ing to the amount of milk they give, 10 
rupees being added to the price for every 
re additional pounds of milk given per 
day. 
“Another good yariety of milch buffalo 
is that from Gujarat, called the Surti. It 
yields only about 20 pounds of milk per 
day, and is sold at from $33 to $36 gold. 
The cost of keeping this variety per day 
amounts at Poona to only cents gold, and 
it is considered the most @@Onomical race by 
Mr. Kelkar, the foreman in charge of the 
college herd. According to him, a dairy 
should have both buffalos and Sind cattle. 
The buffalos are better for butter produc- 
tion, and the cattle are superior for milk 
purposes, because the milk fetches a better 
price, being, in fact, much preferred to that 
of the buffalos, which has a bluish color and 
a slight, though not disagreeable, odor. 
“Both the buffalos from Delhi and Gujarat 
and the Sind cattle are well worth introduc- 
ing into the Philippines. e buffalos should 
be tested for butter making, though they cost 
more to feed than the Sind cattle, which 
latter will prove, howeyer, especially useful 
for milk.” 
