545 



Stewartry Dairy Association, Dalbeattie Milk Record Station. 

 A general improvement is very noticeable over all the herds be- 

 longing to members of this section compared with the previous 

 year. Thus there are only two herds which have not had one or 

 more cows which have given 900 gals, of milk of an equiv. of 

 3 per cent of fat. In 1907 there was only one section for the 

 Castle-Douglas and Dalbeattie district, while in 1908 there were 

 two. In 1907 there were 23 cows out of a total of 969 which gave 

 an equivalent of 1000 gals, of milk of 3 per cent of fat, which is 

 equal to 2,37 per cent of those tested. 



In 1908 there were 27 cows out of 576 which gave that quan- 

 tity of milk, which is equal to 4,7 per cent of the total number, so 

 that the good cows may be said to have been doubled. 



Lower District of Wigtownshire Milk Record Society. During the 

 season 88 1 cows were tested for the 15 members. 



30 cows yielded between goo and 1000 gals, of milk of an equi- 

 valent of 3 per cent. 



7 between 1000 and noo gals. 

 i i 100 i 200 



i gave 1265 g a l s - of 3 per cent. 



In districts such as the south of Scotland, where a large pro- 

 portion of the cows are let on what is known as the "bowing" 

 system, the introduction of milk records is likely to exercise a 

 most important influence on the sum paid per cow. They afford 

 besides both owner and dairyman valuable information regarding 

 the cows which should or should not be discarded. 



Yield of Milk and Percentage of Fat by Cows of different ages. 

 Up to the present [no reliable information exists regarding the 

 quantity of milk yielded by cows of different ages, or the average 

 of fat in their milk. 



Since the last report, the author has calculated, for all the milk 

 record societies up to the end of 1907, the yield and fat per cent 

 of all normal cows which have completed their lactations and pro- 

 duced a calf within the ordinary time in the succeeding year. 

 Producers of milk differ greatly regarding the milk yielded by cows 

 at different ages, and more particularly as to its per cent of fat. 



The number of cows on which the averages in the following 

 table are based is, for many of the ages, too limited to be looked 

 on as final, but between the ages of three and ten years the figures 

 are almost certain to be fairly reliable. 



35 



