164 THE STOCKFEEDER'S COMPANION 



ready for eating until it is from a month to twelve 

 months old. Dairy cows may, then, be required for 

 milk, butter, or cheese production, and for each of 

 these branches of dairying a particular kind of milk is 

 required. 



Milk selling. In this case volume, or a large milk 

 yield, is all important as long as it keeps up to the 

 Government standard for butter-fat (3 per cent.), and 

 solids other than fat (8J per cent.). At the same time 

 the milk should be free from taints, either from food 

 or bad odours. The chief breeds of cows for this 

 purpose are Shorthorns, Ayrshire, South Devons, 

 Welsh (dairy) cattle, Kerries, and Dexter Kerries. The 

 Shorthorns are more especially suited to good land and 

 heavy hand-feeding, while the other breeds will stand 

 more exposure and thrive on scantier fare. First 

 crosses often give excellent results, e.g. Shorthorn- 

 Ayrshire. 



Buttermaking. Here volume of milk is not so 

 important, but the amount of butter-fat which the cow 

 yields during the year ; i.e., volume and richness in 

 butter-fat must be considered together. It is also 

 important that the fat-globules should be large, so that 

 the cream, which consists largely of butter-fat, will 

 separate all the more readily. Generally speaking, 

 cream with large fat-globules gives the finest 

 quality of butter. The most suitable breeds of 

 cattle for this purpose are Jerseys, Guernseys, South 

 Devons, and Shorthorns. Ayrshire milk has small 

 fat-globules, and is consequently more difficult to 

 churn. 



Mr Matthews, in the 1909 Journal of the R.A.S.E., 

 gives a tabular statement of the average amount of 

 milk from different breeds which is required to yield 



