SOILING, OR HOUSE FEEDING. 187 



extent of 4 Ibs., and with the white cow only to the amount of 

 2 Ibs. That this result was not merely owing to a deficiency of 

 water was proved by experiment, which gave the same amount 

 of water in the milk of both cows ; but the quantity of butter 

 afforded by the brown cow amounted to lljlbs., while that of 

 the white cow was 8J Ibs., in fourteen days, from 1427 Ibs. of 

 grass supplied to each animal. Again, when the animals were 

 fed on steeped entire barley, the brown cow s milk fell from 22i 

 Ibs. to 17 Ibs., while that of the white cow s only declined from 

 22 Ibs. to IQJlbs. ; the brown cow falling oif to the extent of 

 5 Ibs., and the white only to the extent of 2J Ibs. These facts 

 are sufficient to show that the two animals were constitutionally 

 different. The occasional wild look of the brown cow, her ten 

 dency to gore those who approached her, her frequent startled 

 aspect, all indicated a nervous state of excitement ; the probable 

 cause of which has been already alluded to. The result of these 

 experiments seem to countenance the idea that, although a hand 

 some external figure is not necessarily an indication of the high 

 est capacity in a cow to produce milk and butter, yet that it may 

 conduce to afford a steady supply of milk, inasmuch as it appears 

 to indicate a proper relation between the organs. &quot; * 



That stall-feeding does not necessarily tend to reduce the 

 quantity of milk, seems satisfactorily established at the various 

 milk establishments which I have visited, where it is often 

 found that the quantity is increased by the improved system of 

 feeding under which they are placed. One milkman, of large 

 experience, has assured me that he can almost at pleasure, in 

 some cases, increase the quantity of milk full an eighth by a. 

 change of feed, as, for example, by giving them an extra supply 

 of raw potatoes in addition to their other food. In a comparison, 

 likewise, between the two modes of feeding, it must be remarked, 

 that cattle wholly grazed are liable to the changes made in their 

 feed by the variations of the seasons, the grass being at one time 

 abundant and most succulent ; at another short, or dried up by 

 drought. In the stable, their feed may be kept uniform through 

 out the season. Cows, with us, that are depastured, give a flush 

 of milk in May and June, when the feed in the pastures is most 



luxuriant, but &quot; fall away &quot; greatly in their yield in August : 







* Parliamentary Report on feeding Cattle with Malt, 1846. 



