170 TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 



ence in production was found to be the amount of feed con- 

 sumed above maintenance. The maintenance requirement 

 being practically the same, Ramaposa had 65 per cent, of the 

 total feed consumed available for milk production, and Elf had 

 only 44.2 per cent, thus available. 



It was observed that Ramaposa, when producing the maxi- 

 mum milk yield, was practically to the limit of her capacity 

 for handling feed. Her maximum capacity for feed seemed to 

 coincide closely with the amount necessary to maintain her at 

 uniform weight. Elf consumed all her feed, and would have 

 taken slightly more had it been offered, although she never 

 showed lack of feed. Ramaposa had much the stronger ap- 

 petite; she ate rapidly, swallowed the grain with much less 

 chewing, and always showed by her impatience to get her feed 

 a much keener appetite than did the latter. Both cows remained 

 in excellent physical condition throughout the investigation. 



After deducting the maintenance requirement, one cow 

 produced milk as economically as the other. The ratio between 

 the feed available for milk production and the milk produced 

 was practically the same for each cow. The experiment showed 

 that cows vary but little in the maintenance requirement, or 

 in their ability to digest feed. A superior dairy cow is one with 

 a large capacity for feed above maintenance, and one that is 

 not disposed to take on fat, but uses the feed above maintenance 

 for milk production. This once more emphasizes the impor- 

 tance of a large, well-developed barrel and its significance in 

 judging dairy cows, provided the cow also has a high degree of 

 dairy temperament as shown by her lean appearance when 

 heavily fed while in milk. 



Effect of feed on quantity and composition of milk. The 

 general statement may be made that the quantity of milk is 

 dependent upon the amount of feed and upon the inherent milk- 

 giving qualities of the cow. Feed has an effect on the quantity 

 of the milk yield, in that an underfed cow cannot produce to 

 the limit of her ability. As shown in the Missouri experiment, 

 however, heavy feeding does not increase the cow's ability, it 

 merely makes possible a production that is up to the limit of 

 her natural, inherited ability. The composition of the milk 

 cannot be permanently changed by any known method of feed- 

 ing; the composition is regulated by the udder of the cow, each 

 cow having her own characteristic quality of milk. By fatten- 

 ing dry cows, the fat content of the milk is temporarily raised 



