.CIRCUMSTANCES AFFECT THE QUANTITY OF MILK. 541 



quarts a day. The county surveys state the average daily produce 3f 

 dairy cows to be, in — 



Devonshire ... 12 qts. I Lancas)iire . . . 8 to 9 qts. 



Cheshire .... 8 " | Ayrshire 8 " 



But the best Ayrshire kyloes will yield an average of 12| quarts daily, 

 during 10 months of the year (Ayton). 

 The yearly produce of the best Ayrshire kyloes is stated by Mr. 



Ayton at 4000 qts 



Of average Ayrshire stock 2400 '* 



Good short-horns, grazed in summer, and fed on hay and tur- 

 nips in winter (Dickson) 4000 ** 



Mixed breeds in Lancashire (Dickson) 3500 " 



Large dairy of mixed long and short-horns, at Workington 



Hall, taking an average of 4 years (Mr. Curwen) . . 3700 " 

 Crossed breeds in many localities are found more productive in milk 

 than pure stock of any of the native races of cattle. 



2°. Food and pasture. — In the same animal the quantity of milk is 

 known to be greatly influenced by the kind of food. This is best under- 

 stood in the neighbourhood of large towns where the profit of the dairy- 

 man is dependent upon the quantity* rather than upon the quality of his 

 milk. Hence the value of highly succulent foods — of the grass (/f irri- 

 gated meadows — of mashed and steamed food — of brewers' grains — ot 

 turnips, potatoes and beets — and of other similar vegetable productions 

 which contain much water intimately mixed with nutritive matter, and 

 thus tend both to aid in tlie production of milk and to increase its quan- 

 tity. 



3°. Distance from the time of calving. — It is a well-known fact that 

 cows in general after the first two months from the time of calving, 

 though fed upon the same food in equal quantity, begin gradually to give 

 less milk, till at the end of about 10 months they become altogether, or 

 nearly, dry. In the best Ayrshire kyloes, the rate of this decrease is thus 

 represented by Mr. Ayton : — 



First fifty days, 24 qts. per day, — or in all, 1200 qts. 

 Second do. 20 " " " 1000 " 



Third do. 14 " " " 700 " 



Fourth do. 8 " " " 400 " 



Fifth do. 8 " " " 400 '* 



Sixth do. 6 " " " 300 " 



Some cows indeed do not run dry throughout the whole year, but these 

 may be considered as exceptions to the general rule. By feeding them 

 upon brewer's grains, mashes, and succulent grass, the milk-sellers near 

 our large towns occasionally keep the same cow in profitable milking 

 condition for three years and upwards. f Such cows are generally fat- 

 tened after they have become dry — indeed as they cease to give milk, 

 they generally lay on fat in its stead — and, as soon as they are consider- 

 ed ripe, are sold ofi' to the butcher. 



* It is quoted, even by foreign writers, as a fair joke against the dairy establishments of 

 our large towns, that among the advantages possessed by one which was advertised for sale, 

 much stress was laid upon a never-failing puvip. — See II latte e i auoi prodotti. p. 07. 



t Even on shipboard 1 have heard of a cow being kept in milk during the whole of a three 

 years' cruise — the food being principally a kind of pease soup. After the first year, how- 

 ever, the milk is said to become thinner and more watery. 

 23* 



