MILK PRODUCTION 433 



The relation between actual and profitable production 

 is close and intimate. Actual production in the first period 

 has been found by experiment to be less profitable the first 

 period than the second, and more profitable the second 

 than the third. In other words more food relatively is re- 

 quired to produce 100 pounds of milk during the first 

 than the second period and less food relatively during the 

 second than the third. 



Large and small cows. Authorities are not all agreed 

 as to the relative profit from large and small cows, respec- 

 tively. Such disagreement results probably from the ob- 

 served fact that experience has shown that the bearing 

 of size on production if operative at all, is much less so 

 than that of various other influences apart from size, such 

 as inheritance and individuality. The balance of testimony, 

 however, favors the view that, other things being equal, 

 large cows of the breed or grade are on the whole more 

 profitable relatively than smaller ones. 



Three experiments conducted by Brandl with small 

 and large sows, respectively, gave the following results: 

 The small cows gave less milk relatively than the large 

 ones, and consumed more food relatively in making it, but 

 the milk was somewhat richer in fat. The result last stated 

 is in keeping with the general relation between quantity in 

 milk production and the fat which it contains, (see p. 427). 

 The large cows not only produced more milk relatively 

 and absolutely than the small ones and on less feed relatively, 

 but when farrow they proved more persistent milkers and 

 sold at a greater relative profit per head, after having been 

 kept almost a year. Fifteen of each class were included in 

 the experiment, the average weight of the lighter cows be- 

 ing 979 pounds and of the heavier 1,205 pounds. 



Woll gives a summary of the results of breed test 

 No. i, conducted at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 

 1893, an d bearing on this question. The cows, 75 in num- 

 ber, are divided into three groups, and each group con- 

 tained the same number of Jerseys, Guernseys and Short- 



