186 THE STOCKFEEDER'S COMPANION 



purchased concentrates ; consequently, in order to pro- 

 duce milk one has to try and compound a ration which 

 will approximate to pasture grass in its efficiency as a 

 milk producer. Before one can do this it is necessary 

 to know something of the various effects of con- 

 centrates, fodder crops, and roots on the quantity and 

 quality of milk produced when fed to dairy cows. 



The outstanding features of milk produced by cows 

 feeding on good pasture, as well as the butter, etc., made 

 from it, are : 



(a) The milk is, comparatively speaking, abundant 

 in quantity, and of good quality. 



() The butter made from it has a rich yellow colour. 



(c) The butter-fat is generally firm at normal 

 temperatures, but not hard and tallowy like 

 margarine. If well made, it possesses a sweet, 

 full, nutty flavour, and a pleasant aroma. 



These are standards which we shall need to keep in 

 mind, and as fodder crops and roots form the basal 

 part of the ration, we will consider the effect of these 

 crops on dairy produce first. 



Fodder Crops. Green forage crops have a similar 

 effect to that of pasture grass, but green clover, if fed in 

 considerable quantity, is apt to give a tallowy butter. 



Straw (usually oat straw) gives a very pale and 

 rather hard butter ; while meadow hay butter is not so 

 pale, but resembles it largely in the latter characteristic. 



Root Crops have similar laxative properties to grass, 

 but the butter produced from such milk varies in 

 colour according to the kind of root crop fed ; e.g., 

 mangels and sugar beet give a pale-coloured butter, 

 while carrots give a nice yellow colour to it. At Wye 

 College, cows which were giving a pale-coloured butter 



