176 



MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 187. 



2. The individuals vary greatly in the amount of slime given at different 

 milkings; in successive tests No. 107 gave .095, .04, .015 and .095 per cent. 

 No. 26 varied even more, from .095 to .01 per cent. 



3. A few cows seem to be fairly constant in the amount of sUme. Nos. 125 

 and 118 illustrate this very clearly. 



4. The amoimt of sUme is affected by sore teats and diseased or bruised 

 udder. No. "B" averages .056 per cent, for two successive tests, the follow- 

 ing test she gave .105 per cent. On inquiry of the milker it was found that 

 the cow's udder was bruised. Nos. 48, 75, 76, 108, also illustrate this. 



5. It cannot be said that large amounts of sUme indicate sore or diseased 

 udder. No. 125 in eleven tests never gave less than .1 per cent., and no 

 trouble could be found. Nos. 16 and 94 both gave very high tests, but without 

 apparent cause. 



6. The presence of blood in the sUme cannot be said to indicate a diseased 

 udder in so far -as close examination would reveal. Bloody sUme is not con- 

 fined to cows giving high amounts of sUme. 



7. The period of lactation does have an influence. Cows just freshened 

 give a high per cent, of shme; it is often continued for several weeks. In 

 late lactation the tendency seems to be to give a high per cent., yet this does 

 not always hold good. Many of the tests given in the table show that cows 

 which have been milking for a long period give very small amoimts of slime. 



8. The relation between amount of milk secreted and sUme is in no way 

 clear; it is doubtful if there is any such relation. 



The Determinations of this Laboratory. — To Lieutenant Da vies' data may 

 be advantageously added further determinations of slime from different 

 breeds and individual cows, together with a few determinations made upon 

 cormnercial milk from different sources. One of the significant things 

 which comes to light in these determinations, which were made incidental 

 to other work, is the tendency to remain more or less constant over succes- 

 sive days. This does not appear in Lieutenant Davies' work. 



Table IV. — Amount of Slime from Different Breeds. 



Certified Milk. 



[Five pounds of milk used.] 



Cow. 



Breed 



Condition. 



Slime (Dry Weight in Grams). 



53 



77 

 78 

 72 

 85 



100 

 30 



127 



Jersey, 



Jersey, 



Guernsey, 



Guernsey, 



Ayrshire, 



Ayrshire, 



Holstein, 



Shorthorn, 



Normal, . 

 Normal, . 



Abnormal, 

 Normal, . 

 Normal, . 

 Normal, . 

 Abnormal, 



.2140' 



1.3065' 



1 Weights made on successive days. 



