320 MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS. XIV. 



The author's experience agrees with the results of the 

 American investigation. The results of about 700 analyses 

 of the milk of 17 cows made in the spring of 1900, classified 

 according to the month of lactation of the cows when the milk 

 was collected, gives the following table : 



Period of lactation Fat. Solids not fat. Total solids. 



First month... ... 4-11 8-91 13-02 



Second ,, ... ... 3-40 8'81 12-21 



Third ,, ... ... 3-65 8-99 12-64 



Fourth 



Fifth ... ... 3-70 9-00 12-70 



Sixth ,, ... ... 3-82 9-08 12-90 



Seventh ,, 



Eighth ,, ... ... 4-30 9-31 13-61 



Ninth ,, ... ... 4-35 9-37 13-72 



Tenth ,, ... 



Eleventh ,, (evening only) 5-48 9'65 15-13 



Influence of food. The character of the food of a cow has 

 an influence on the quantity and quality of the milk only 

 between narrow limits unless incipient starvation be induced. 

 Eich, palatable, concentrated food is conducive to an increase 

 both in the quality and quantity of the milk, but only up to a 

 certain point. It is usually asserted that the use of succulent 

 or sloppy food to stall-fed cows increases the quantity but 

 reduces the quality of the milk ; but according to Danish and 

 American experiments this is not quite true. At Copenhagen 

 (20th Eeport, 1890), for example, experiments conducted with 

 636 cows for three years showed that the addition of 40fb. of 

 mangels or 50ft>. of turnips per day increased the daily milk 

 yield by over 2tb., while the animals increased in weight and 

 consumed 3 - 08Ib. less straw daily ; but no appreciable altera- 

 tion in the composition of the milk could be detected. 



Many investigations as to the influence of food upon milk 

 production have been made in America." The majority of 

 these have been directed to contrasting the effects of rations 

 with wide and with narrow albuminoid ratios, and the results 

 show that a distinct improvement both in the quality and 



* v Reports of the Storrs Agric. Kxpt. Station 1894-97. 



