The Dairy Cow Scientific Findings. 405 



lating the cost of 100 pounds of fat, the results favor the heaviest 

 cows, though the difference is small. 



618. Large versus small cows. Brandl 1 conducted three ex- 

 periments with light and heavy dairy cows, each lasting four 

 weeks, the second commencing seventy days after the close of the 

 first, and the third a year after the beginning of the first. Thirty 

 of the heaviest milkers in the herd were separated into two lots 

 of fifteen cows each, according to live weight. The cows were 

 kept under similar conditions as to feed and care during the trial, 

 none being bred after the beginning of the experiment. The 

 average weight of the heavy cows was 1,205 pounds and of the 

 light cows 979 pounds. The leading conclusions from the experi- 

 ments are: 



1. The milk of the small cows is richer in fat than that of the 

 large ones. 



2. Large cows eat a greater amount of feed than small cowsj per 

 thousand pounds live weight they eat less. 



3. Small cows produce less milk than large cows, absolutely 

 and relatively. 



4. When in thin flesh small cows may produce more per thou- 

 sand pounds live weight than large cows. 



5. Large farrow cows are more persistent milkers; on the other 

 hand, small cows show a greater tendency to fatten on the same 

 feed, with a decrease in milk flow. 



6. The loss in selling ten of the large cows amounted to five 

 guilden per head on the average, after having been kept nearly 

 a year, while the loss for ten small cows was twelve guilden per 

 head. 



619. Dairy compared with beef type. At the Minnesota Sta- 

 tion 2 Haecker conducted a trial which shows in a marked way the 

 difference between cows of the so-called dairy type and the blocky 

 beef cow. The Station herd was separated into four lots, Group I 

 including those of the beef type, Group II showing less tendency 

 to the beef type, Group III embracing spare cows lacking in 

 depth, and Group IV spare cows with deep bodies, representing 

 the dairy type. 



1 Jahresber. u. Agr. Chemie., 1894, 474. 2 Bui. 35. 



