Effect of Strong -flavored Foods 21 



The volatile fats that are derived directly from 

 the food may give either desirable or undesirable 

 flavors to the milk. Thus we esteem the character- 

 istic flavors due to the grasses, clover and like fodder ; 

 on the other hand, the stronger flavors of garlic, 

 onions, turnips, cabbage, etc., give to the milk an 

 undesirable character. 



The presence of these undesirable flavors in milk 

 is often a source of a good deal of annoyance, but 

 with proper precautions the bad results coming from 

 them may be greatly lessened, and in many cases 

 entirely obviated. Since all of these flavoring oils are 

 volatile, they easily pass through all the tissues of 

 the animal, and in a comparatively short time pass 

 off through the various excretory channels. We shall 

 find them present in the greatest amount not only 

 in the milk, but in all the tissues of the animal, 

 during the time that the fodder containing them is 

 undergoing digestion, and by the time the digestion 

 is completed the volatile products will have almost 

 entirely passed away. If, therefore, sufficient care 

 is taken to so time the feeding and milking that the 

 milk shall be drawn not less than ten or twelve 

 hours after the undesirable fodder has been eaten, 

 there will be slight danger of contamination of the 

 milk by it. Whereas, if milking occurs within three 

 or four hours after feeding, the milk will be 

 strongly impregnated with the undesirable flavor. 

 Taking advantage of this, and feeding cows immedi- 

 ately before or immediately after milking, dairymen 

 are often enabled to feed large quantities of turnips, 



