386 APPENDIX. HORSFALL'S SYSTEM. 



Though many discussions have taken place on the 

 fattening of cattle, the not less important branch of 

 dairy treatment has hitherto been comparatively neg- 

 lected. I therefore venture to call attention to con- 

 siderations which have arisen from observations in my 

 own practice affecting the chemist^ and physiology, 

 or, in other words, the science of feeding. That I am 

 seeking aid from its guidance will be apparent, and I 

 have no hesitation in admitting that, beyond the satis- 

 faction from the better understanding of my business, 

 I have latterly derived more benefit or profit from 

 examination of the chemical composition of materials 

 of food than from the treatment or feeding experiments 

 of others which have come under my notice. So per- 

 suaded am I of the advantage of this, that I do not feel 

 satisfied to continue the use of any material, with the 

 composition of which I am not acquainted, without 

 resorting to the society's laboratory for an analysis. 



To one leading feature of my practice I attach the 

 greatest importance the maintenance of the condition 

 of my cows giving a large yield of milk. I am enabled, 

 i>y the addition of bean-meal in proportion to the 

 greater yield of milk, to avert the loss of condition in 

 those giving sixteen to eighteen quarts per day ; whilst 

 on those giving a less yield, and in' health, I invariably 

 effect an improvement. 



When we take into consideration the disposition of a 

 cow to apply her food rather to her milk than to her 

 maintenance and improvement, it seems fair to infer 

 that the milk of a cow gaining flesh will not be deficient 

 either in caseine or butter. 



I have already alluded to the efficiency of bean-meal 

 in increasing the quantity of butter : I learn, also, from 

 observant dairymen who milk their own cows and carry 

 their butter to market, that their baskets are never so 

 well filled as when their cows feed on green clover, 

 which, as dry material, is nearly as rich in albumen as 

 beans. I am also told, by those who have used green 

 rape-plant, that it produces milk rich in butter. From 

 this we ma}' infer that albuminous matter is the most 



