CHAP. IV. " LAZY " MILK. 291 



time 1 Ib. hay, and 1 Ib. oats per day together with turnips. The 

 weight of milk she gave each day from the beginning of May was : 



Date . . 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 

 Grains. . 523 620 736 768 840 910 924 992 987 



From May 10 to May 20 there was a very regular daily yield of 

 1,000 grams. On May 21 the ewe was shorn, and, notwithstanding 

 the continuance of the same food and treatment, the following falling 

 off in yield was recorded : 



Date . . 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 



Grams. . 1006 913 854 781 750 712 



The meaning of this is obvious. The removal of the wool necessitated 

 the immediate consumption of more food to maintain the body warmth ; 

 the rations served out to the animal remained the same, and conse- 

 quently the production of fat had to suffer, and this loss fell on the 

 secretion of the mammary gland. On May 26, however, \ Ib. of linseed 

 cake was added to the other food, and the following yields of milk 

 were measured : 



Date . . 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 

 Grams. . 687 760 889 950 910 961 



Thus the decrease in the yield which resulted from the shearing, was 

 made good by adding an appropriate quantity of linseed cake to the 

 daily food of the ewe. 



To some extent in this country, but more especially in countries 

 where, as in Canada, the contrast between summer and winter is more 

 marked, an error is made in the underfeeding of cows that are not in 

 milk. Exposure to the winter's cold causes a larger demand to be made 

 upon the food for its heat-giving properties, so that with the same 

 amount and quality of food, less milk can be expected in winter than 

 in summer ; this necessity for increased food in colder weather may, 

 however, be largely met by warm and comfortable housing. It is a 

 blunder, both economically and physiologically, to imagine that if cows 

 are just kept alive through the winter, all that is necessary has been 

 done. On the other hand they need to acquire in winter a reserve of 

 health and of flesh, which they can fall back upon in summer, when 

 the flow of milk should be most copious. The frequent drying up of 

 pastures towards the end of summer must be met by an extra supply 

 of food, otherwise the milk-secreting function will be much impaired, 

 for, as has been shown, it is quite subservient to other demands of the 

 body. 



Related in some degree to the change from winter to summer feeding 

 is the not yet thoroughly understood occurrence of "lazy" or "heavy" 

 milk, so called because of the apparent reluctance with which the cream 

 separates. As complaints of lazy milk are generally most numerous 

 at about the time when the cows begin grazing, Schrodt and Du Roi, 1 

 imagining that the sudden change from the dry hard feeding of the 



1 "Bieder. Centr.," 1880. 



u 2 



