The Dairy Cow Scientific Findings. 377 



We learn that the fattening ox, when making the substantial gain 

 of 15 Ibs. weekly, produces 1.13 Ibs. of protein or nitrogenous sub- 

 stance, mostly in the form of water-free lean meat. In the same time 

 the cow yielding 30 Ibs. of milk daily produces 7.67 Ibs. of casein and 

 albumin, or nearly 6 times as much nitrogenous substance. While 

 the ox is laying on 9.53 Ibs. of fat, the cow puts 7.35 Ibs. of fat in 

 her milk. She also secretes 9.67 Ibs. of milk sugar, against which 

 there is no equivalent substance produced by the ox. Changing this 

 sugar to its fat equivalent, (68, 131) the cow is shown to yield some- 

 what more fat or fat equivalent than the ox. The ox stores 0.22 Ib. 

 of ash or mineral matter, largely in his bones, while the cow puts 

 into her milk 1.57 Ibs. of ash, or over 6 times as much. 



We have shown in Art. 102 that for each 100 Ibs. of digestible nu- 

 trients consumed the cow yields about 6 times as much edible solids 

 in her milk as the sheep or steer yields in its carcass. 



591. Cow and steer compared. Trowbridge of the Missouri Sta- 

 tion analyzed the entire body of a 1250-lb. fat steer fed at that Sta- 

 tion. At the same Station a Holstein cow gave in one year 18,405 

 Ibs. of milk. The following table by Eckles 1 shows the total dry 

 matter found in the body of the steer and in the milk: 



Dry matter in Dry matter in 

 18,405 Ibs. milk 1,250-lb. steer 



Protein substance > 552 pounds 172 pounds 



Fat 618 pounds 333 pounds 



Sugar 920 pounds None 



Mineral matter 128 pounds 43 pounds 



Total 2,218 pounds 548 pounds 



The steer's body contained about 56 per ct. water, leaving 548 Ibs. 

 of dry matter, which included not only all the edible dry lean meat 

 and fat, but also every part of the body horns, hoofs, hair, hide, 

 bones, tendons, and all internal organs. In one year the cow pro- 

 duced 2,218 Ibs. of dry matter which was wholly digestible and suit- 

 able for human food. In that time she produced enough protein to 

 build the bodies of 3 such steers, fat enough for nearly 2, and min- 

 eral matter enough for the skeletons of 3, besides 920 Ibs. of milk 

 sugar as nutritious and useful for humans as the same weight of 

 cane sugar. 



Eckles writes: "These figures show the remarkable efficiency of 

 the cow as a producer of human food. It is because of this economi- 

 cal use of food that the dairy cow and not the steer is kept on high- 



1 Hoard 's Dairyman, Feb. 25, 1910. 



