58 DAIRYING 



with all the cows during the last 16 days, when the grain was re- 

 duced to six pounds per day. But it will also be noticed that as 

 soon as the cows went to pasture, the milk flow gained again to 

 nearly the same amount as four months earlier in the cow's milk- 

 ing period. 



The drop in the test of the milk when the cows went to pasture 

 was simply bringing it back to the same richness that the milk had 

 before the cows began to dry up on account of a reduction in the 

 grain ration. 



The conclusions of all careful experiments on this point have 

 been the same; and as before stated the richness of a cow's milk is 

 a natural characteristic like the color of her hair. Changes in feed 

 do not permanently affect it so long as the cow is in normal con- 

 dition/ The net profit or a profitable return for the feed consumed 

 is the all important point in feeding and breeding dairy cows, and 

 records of milk produced and feed consumed if carefully obtained 

 by the owners of cows or by farmers' Cow Testing Associations 

 will furnish valuable information concerning the animals to be 

 selected for breeding purposes in order that milk may be produced 

 as economically as possible. 



