82 



CtExesee farmer. 



April 



Milk --Its Production and Properties. 



There is no product of modern husbandry 

 that better deserves the study of the farmer than 

 that of Milk. It is the natural and most appro- 

 priate food for the young and growing bodies of 



the highest order of living beings. Milk is re- [the reader. 



will be likdly to grow better and better, for many 

 generations to come, as it has already been im- 

 proved for the production of milk, butter, and 

 cheese. It is the improvement of the quality, 

 and an increase of the quantity of milk from cows 

 already iu hand, that now claim the attention of 



The writer has charge and the man- 

 markable for holding in solutiorr every element ^igement of 50 cows belonging to the "Rochester 

 required by nature to form lean meat, tendon, I Milk Company." Experience at this establish- 

 bone, brain, nerves, hair, wool, and every other j "^ent has shown that steeping, or soaking cut 

 organized substance found in the body of man, or : corn stalks in boiling water, or other food for 

 bis domestic animals. When we compare the yield j cows, greatly increases the secretion of milk. — 

 of this life-sustaining fluid, as dr iwn from the best j Carrots are regularly fed at least once a day to 

 cows in civilized society, wit i that afforded by each cow. We intend to plant ten acres in car- 

 the native wild cattle of Calif(Mnia, or the unim- li'ots and live with sugar beets, for feeding cows 

 proved breeds of Missouri and southern Illinois, ! this season. The company have six acres of 



we witness a demonstration of the fact that, the 

 natural secretion of milk can be vastly augment- 

 ed by artificial means. 



It is a practical question of great moment to 

 determine whether human skill and science can 

 farther improve the milk-forming capacity of the 

 one million of cows now kept in the State of 

 New York. Can any available change be made, 

 either in the breeding or feeding of these ani- 

 mals, by which any given quantity of grass, roots, 

 ©r gfain will yield more milk, more butter, and 

 more cheese than it now does ? Is it possible 

 in the course of time to produce a million of 

 cows in this State all of which shall be as valua- 

 ble for dairy purposes, as the one thousand best 

 cows now kept in it ? 



That such a result can be accomplished, we 

 entertain not a doubt. And were it accomplish- 

 ed, the nett productive value of the cows of New 

 York would be increased five- fold beyond what 

 it now is. Let us suppose that the annual ex- 

 pense of keeping a cow is ten dollars, making 

 the cost of a million ten millions of dollars. As 

 a whole, the capital invested in this property 

 would yield a fair interest if the cows gave a nett 

 profit of two dollars each. To yield this, each 

 cow must pay all expenses and one quart of milk 

 a day for 200 days in a year, worth a cent a 

 quart. If all the cows in the State could be made 

 to pay all expenses and yield five quarts of milk 

 a day surplus, where they now yield but one 

 quart, it is plain the profits would be five times 

 larger than they now are, so far as pounds of but- 

 ter, cheese, pork, and other products of the dairy 

 are concerned. 



We make these preliminary remarks, because 

 farmers are apt to forget that a cow which yields 

 from a given amount of forage consumed only 

 one quart of milk a day, over and above the ex- 

 pense of her keep, is really worth only one fifth 

 as much for dairy purposes, as she would be if 

 her daily product was five quarts instead of one, 

 surplus. 



It is not our present purpose to enter into the 

 matter of breeding cows on scientific and physi- 

 logi c al principles, in order to show how any race 



winter rye sown for early feed by cutting the 

 same. The cows are kept in a stable or yard 

 the year round. Major Stewart, who has had 

 the control of the farming operations for the last 

 three years, is confident that he has cut full 

 eleven tons of dry corn fodder from a single acre 

 sown broad-cast — the land of course is very rich. 

 Oats and peas cut green are excellent for soiling, 

 and on suitable land yield well. Clover mown, 

 and about half made into hay, is capital food for 

 cows. By keeping all animals off the field, ma- 

 nuring well with the things that nature uses to 

 make clover, and seeding thick, three heavy crops 

 may be cut in a season. All ruminant animals 

 need a vai-iety of food to preserve their systems 

 in a healthy condition. Hence, a feed of clover, 

 timothy, oats, peas, corn and cob meal cooked, 

 brewer's grains, shorts, cornstalks, potatoes, tur- 

 neps, carrots, beets, pumpkins, &c., can be vari- 

 ously combined so as to suit the appetite or whim 

 of each cow, and cause her to elaborate a generous 

 quantity of milk, if nature has endowed her with 

 the power for so doing. Water, salt, pure air, 

 and clean stables must all be strictly attended to, 

 as well as regular feeding and milking. 



Repeated analyses made by pupils in the labor- 

 atory of the editor, show that two pounds of good 

 milk*contain as much dry matter, exclusive of 

 water, as one pound of fresh beef steak. The 

 latter usually has 2.'i per cent, of dry solid meat, 

 and milk 121 percent, of cheese, butter, and sugar. 



Of the twelve and a half parts of solid matter 

 in 100 of milk as it comes from the cow, we 

 usually find not far from three and a half butter, 

 four sugar, and five cheese. The sugar of milk 

 is obtained by evaporating whey to one-third or 

 less of its bulk, and placing it in a warm oven 

 to form crystal of sugar just as crystals of com- 

 mon salt may be formed by solar evaporation. — 

 Before evaporation, care should be taken to 

 separate all the curd and oil or butter from the 

 whey. We may take occasion, if we can find 

 room, to describe the process by which any in- 

 telligent person may test the quantity of cheese, 

 butter, sugar, and water in the milk of any cow 

 he may have on his farm. 



