FARM ANIMALS 175 



hours per day is forty-five cents with sawdust, and 

 $4.80 for shavings or cut wheat straw. Sawdust 

 was found to absorb a much greater amount of the 

 liquid manure than any of the compared materials. 

 Moreover sawdust adds to the bulk of the manure 

 and to the ease with which it may be spread upon 

 the land. Cleanness and a wholesome appearance 

 of the cow stables are secured by the use of saw- 

 dust and in this respect no other material can 

 compare with it excepting perhaps shavings and 

 these are always too expensive as compared with 

 sawdust. It is obvious therefore that if a saw 

 mill is located conveniently for the dairyman it is 

 desirable to haul this material for use as bedding 

 in order to benefit from the increased cleanliness 

 and appearance which can thus be obtained in the 

 stable. 



The Age of the Cow as Related to the Milk 

 Yield. Good dairy cows usually give an increasing 

 yield of milk up to the age of seven years or more 

 after which the milk yield remains nearly stationary 

 up to the age of ten or twelve when it begins to 

 decline quite rapidly. As a rule the quality of the 

 milk decreases as the cow advances in age. In one 

 series of tests the average fat content was, for the 

 first year of lactation, 4.49 per cent., for the second 

 4.4 per cent., for the third 4.29 and for the fourth 

 4.17 per cent. Similarly during any single period of 

 lactation the amount of milk decreases during the 

 period and also the production of milk fat. As a 

 rule the yield of milk decreases about eight per 

 cent, for each month while the amount of butter 

 fat decreases about seven per cent. It may be 

 stated that the milk yield is greatest in the second 

 and third weeks of lactation. 



A lively rivalry naturally exists regarding the 



