CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMON FOODS 309 



Yellow turnips with their leaves attached are preferred 

 during the early part of the season, to be followed as Christmas 

 approaches by stored swedes. 



Potatoes are not used if the price rises above 255. per 

 ton. They are given only in limited quantities once a day, as 

 they are more indigestible than turnips and liable to induce 

 hoven ; and moreover, like mangels, they produce pale milk, 

 which looks poor in quality and unattractive to the consumer. 



The best first-crop hay is preferred if its price does not 

 exceed 8os. per ton. When dearer, a proportion of second- 

 crop rye-grass at 6os., or oat straw at an average cost of 455., 

 is substituted. French wheat straw at 425. may be employed 

 for litter. 



Morning feeding, occupying two men, begins at 4 A.M. with 

 a short allowance of draff without water or other food stuffs, 

 followed at 5.30 by a basketful of turnips, and at six o'clock 

 by a foddering of hay. Milking is carried on from 4 to 6 by 

 six women, and two men "muck" the byres at the same time. 

 The second feeding and second milking begins at 9 A.M. 

 The warm mash is given first, followed by about three 

 turnips for each animal at 9.30 and potatoes about fifteen 

 minutes later ; one man being now sufficient for the mucking, 

 another milker is freed. The third feeding and cleaning out 

 of the byre begins with the final milking at three o'clock. 

 The mash is followed by turnips about three o'clock, and 

 hay about four o'clock. At seven o'clock the man in charge 

 looks in to see that all is quiet, and the doors are then closed 

 for the night. 



The following are the amounts of food used, and the 

 results of the practice adopted in a dairy of forty-three cows 

 one of the most successful in Edinburgh averaging per 

 stall all the year round, 3f gallons of milk daily, when the 

 cows milk for nine months on an average. The measured 

 quantities on a test day early in 1906 were 78 gallons at 

 the first milking, and 43 gallons at each of the later milkings, 

 or 165 in all, equivalent (short of 4 gallons) to 7 gallons per 

 cow. The cows cost about ^20, and lose 7 between the 

 buying-in and selling-out prices. 



Feeding commences soon after 4 A.M. The second feed is 

 given at 10.15 A.M. and the third begins at 4.15 P.M., finishing 

 with hay at six o'clock. The cows are kept quiet, and no 



