204 THE CHEMISTRY OF THE FARM 



a milking cow may be reduced to a maintenance ration 

 without stopping the production of milk ; this produc- 

 tion may be long continued, but in greatly diminished 

 quantity, the lack of food being supplied out of the 

 body of the cow, which daily becomes thinner. As 

 withholding food will not stop the production of milk, 

 so neither by abundant feeding can milk production 

 be pushed beyond a certain point. Each cow has a 

 natural Hmit to its milk production; to feed beyond 

 this requirement will merely fatten the animal. 



The quantity of milk produced by a cow depends 

 largely on the breed to which it belongs, and on its 

 individual character. For profitable dairying it 'is 

 before all things essential to start with a good cow. 

 All the cows on a farm should have their yield in milk 

 measured and registered at least once a week, and all 

 unprofitable cows should be got rid of as soon as 

 possible. If butter is made, the proportion of butter 

 fat in the milk must also be regularly determined, as 

 the quantity of the milk does not indicate its richness 

 in butter fat. The most profitable cow is the one 

 giving the largest return in milk or butter per U7iit 

 of food consumed. 



While abundant feeding will not turn a bad cow 

 into a good one, a liberal diet is essential for a 

 full supply of milk, and by sustaining the cow with 

 proper food at the time of her greatest milk production, 

 it is possible to prolong that profitable period very 

 considerably. The supply of concentrated food (cake, 

 bean meal, bran, &c.,) should rise and fall with the 

 varying yield of milk as the period of lactation advances, 

 the object being to obtain as large a produce as can 

 be reached without fattening the animal. 



