THE DAIRY BREEDS OF CATTLE 285 



very large amounts of milk running between 24,000 and 

 29,000 pounds in 365 consecutive days. These records 

 illustrate the highest attainments of the breed thus far 

 in the matter of milk- and butter-fat production. For 

 such production, the cow, of course, must receive special 

 care and food, and must be milked three or four times a 

 day. 



The milk of this breed has several peculiar and notable 

 characteristics. It is not highly colored. " The absence 

 of granules, as a predominant feature, makes the skimmed 

 milk especially appear blue." The fat globules are com- 

 paratively small and uniform in size. The cream, there- 

 fore, rises slowly, but it is dense in consequence of the 

 compactness of the globules. The milk is richer than the 

 color or thickness of the cream would indicate. After 

 the cream rises to the surface it is easily re-incorporated 

 in the milk by stirring or shaking. This renders the milk 

 more than ordinarily valuable for direct consumption 

 purposes, especially for city supply, since it insures to all 

 consumers a comparatively uniform quality. Moreover, 

 both the milk and the cream approach the structure of the 

 corresponding human products more closely than those 

 of any other breed which has been tested in this respect. 

 This leads to the inference that the milk of this breed is 

 superior to that of any other for the feeding of young 

 children. Recent experiments made at the Storrs' Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station in Connecticut tend to sub- 

 stantiate this inference. 



317. Use for butter. Butter-fat records of the breed 

 have been no less remarkable. (See above.) In 1894, 

 state agricultural experiment stations began the official 

 supervision of the testing of Holstein-Friesian cows at the 

 homes of the owners. Thousands of such tests for a 



