SOILING, OR HOUSE FEEDING. 185 



shire, where a large stock is soiled, the opinion is, that the cows 

 do not give so much milk as when grazed. At Glasnevin, Ire 

 land, the opinion of the intelligent superintendent of that estab 

 lishment is, that their production of milk under the soiling system 

 is much greater than when grazed. In a trial lately reported 

 upon the comparative advantages of feeding cows with malt or 

 barley and other articles of food, it was found that, upon being 

 taken from the fields to the stalls, the milk of these cows was 

 considerably increased. It is difficult to make a comparison in 

 the case upon which the matter may be confidently determined. 

 The quality of milk must, to a degree, depend upon the na 

 ture, and its quantity upon the supply, of the food which the 

 animal receives. Some animals naturally and constitutionally, 

 from peculiarities or circumstances which have never yet been 

 explained, secrete milk of a much richer quality than others. 

 The Alderney or Guernsey cows are remarkable examples of this 

 kind, their milk being much richer than that of any other 

 breed of cows known. Yet that the quality of the milk is not 

 wholly constitutional, but depends to a considerable degree upon 

 the nature of the food on which the cow is fed, is well established. 

 Its quantity, of course, depends upon the supply of food which 

 the animal receives. It seems to be determined by experiments 

 which have been made here, that, of all food, grass fed green 

 will produce the largest secretions of milk. It is found, likewise, 

 by experiment, that in order to the largest secretions of milk, the 

 temperature in which the animal is placed must be comfortable ; 

 she must be free from external annoyances ; and she must be 

 &quot;at ease in her mind.&quot; These things being equal, it is not easy 

 to see why, under an ample supply of fresh grass eaten with a 

 good appetite, there should not be an equal production of milk in 

 the stall, as in the pasture. 



In illustration of some of my remarks, and because I think it 

 may gratify the curiosity of my readers, I will here quote from a 

 report just presented to Parliament in relation to the trial of dif 

 ferent articles of food upon two cows, with a view to determine 

 the result upon the quantity and quality of their milk. 



&quot;The intestines are the reservoir in which the food is placed 



for the purpose of being absorbed into the blood. The rapidity 



with which the dissolved or digested matter is taken up must, it 



is obvious, depend upon the rate at which the vessels destined 



16* 



