DUAL-PURPOSE CATTLE 59 



be guilty of adulteration if his milk contains less than "3 per 

 cent, of fatty solids" unless and until he can prove that it was 

 in that condition when it left the cow. It is common knowledge 

 that in our present state of cattle-breeding, the milk from herds 

 of ordinary commercial cows will sometimes fall below this 

 standard; it is a matter almost of everyday occurrence. This 

 frequently leads to an unfair accusation of fraud against the 

 owners of such stock. As it is very unpleasant to be charged 

 with such an offence, and as it is difficult and expensive to prove 

 a negative, some people keep a few little thin-fleshed, rich 

 milk yielders as an insurance against the average quality of their 

 milk falling below the legal standard. 



If it is easy to make out a case against the cow who in her 

 lifetime does nothing but supply rich milk and at her death 

 shows a carcase which is simply skin and bone, it is very 

 much easier to prove that the cow whose carcase is her only 

 asset is hopeless as an aid to high production. She is chiefly 

 useful as a means of stealing from the land without making any 

 very high return. The following statement shows plainly the 

 loss, from the point of view of winning human food from our 

 limited soil, that may occur on every area of land used solely 

 for breeding purposes. A breeding cow kept simply to produce 

 one weaned calf will consume the produce from 2-5 acres of 

 medium grass-land; and in very many cases, where the land is 

 allowed to become weedy or is badly grazed or otherwise mis- 

 managed, three acres are employed for the purpose. The calf 

 coming off the 2-5 acres of pasture and meadow will, given fair 

 management, be quite an average one if it weighs 400 Ib. 

 Figures before me establish the point beyond all question. Now 

 this same area of land is shown, in the following statement, to 

 yield the equivalent weight of calf as well as i5Oolb. of corn 

 for human consumption, and 1600 Ib. of straw for the manu- 

 facture of four loads of farmyard manure. 



I have made the following table as simple as possible, so that 

 anyone who wishes can pick holes in the detail. For instance, 

 the proportion of dry fodder is low. This defect can be got 

 over by growing lucerne or vetch hay on part of the "root" 

 breadth, or in many other ways. Probably in practice, on a 



