33 



The amounts fed depend upon conditions on the farm and should be 

 settled upon economic princijjles. The laws of increasing and dimin- 

 ishing returns are operative here as in most lines of agricultural pro- 

 duction. To state this principle in another way, it is evident that cows 

 fed on starvation rations j'ield no product, and therefore the little food 

 they do consume is wasted, with a minimum profit. On the other 

 hand, by greatly over-feeding with expensive fodders wastefulness and 

 loss are incurred. Somewhere between these two extremes is a point 

 where the food consumed yields the greatest product per unit, or 

 each unit of product is obtained at the lowest cost and therefore at the 

 greatest profit. It is the feeder's business to learn where this point is. 

 It would be nearer to the high limit in towns where products were 

 high priced, than in remote country districts, far from markets. In 

 general, feeding cows to half capacit}', like working mills and factories 

 on half time, is less profitable than when at full producing capacit}'. 



Condi mental Feeds. — The general use of condimental feeds acts 

 adversely on the profits of the dairy. Considered as feeds, these prep- 

 arations are sold at prices out of all pro^^ortion to their value. !Mix- 

 tures of bran, middlings, corn, linseed, salt, etc., seUing at from 10 cents 

 to 25 cents per pound, when their feeding value is in no case more than 

 2 cents, is ridiculous. Considered as medicines, their use is pernicious. 

 The healthy animal needs no medicine; the sick animal needs to be 

 treated specifically and not with a general shot-gun mixture. — a 

 panacea for all the ills to which flesh is heir. The claims made by 

 manufacturers of these condiments would be quickly discredited as 

 preposterous if made by candid people of your acquaintance. It is 

 not expected that these words will deter any from the use of condi- 

 mental feeds or patent medicines. Men dearly "love to be hum- 

 bugged," and will scarcel}' forego the pleasure it gives for mere financial 

 reasons, which are the chief ones against the use of condimental feeds. 



Variation's ix Quality of Milk. 



It is well understood that milk varies in its percentage composition 

 as regards solids, particularly in the fat content. Many of the causes 

 of this variation are also well known. 



Breed. — Jersey and Guernsej' cows yield richer milk than Holsteins 

 and Ayrshires. 



Lactation Period. — Milk from cows soon after calving is poorer in 

 fat than in the middle of the lactation period. As cows approach the 

 time of freshening milk grows richer, and is generally richest in fat 

 just before they dry off, when the amount secreted is small. 



Individual. — Each cow has a normal fat content in her milk which 

 she very persistently maintains, subject to the variation caused by 

 different stages of lactation. Between different individuals in the 

 same herd, the same breed and different broods is a variation amount- 

 ing sometimes to the difference between loss than three and more than 



