402 THE dairymaid's MA^'UAL. 



bought profitably. Coarse feed should always be grown 

 in preference to grain food, as this can be j>rocured out- 

 side of the farm, while the other cannot. 



Partial soiling is indispensable for feeding the cows on 

 a milk farm, for a regular supply of milk must be had 

 eveiT day, and this can only be kept up by liberal feed- 

 ing of succulent fodder* after the grass fails. Ensilage 

 is also a most useful resource, as it provides succulent 

 food in winter. Where a satisfactory supply of brewers' 

 grains, glucose meal, and malt sprouts can be procured 

 cheaply these will take the place of ensilage and can be 

 preserved in the same way. "With these foods hay must 

 be fed as a complementary fodder and the two kinds will 

 be sufficient for all purposes without ensilage. As to the 

 rest, reference may be made to previous chapters for 

 special information in regard to the exigencies of the 

 business. 



The management of the milk is of the greatest impor- 

 tance, and this is the point in the conduct of the business 

 where most of the losses and failures are made. Every 

 attention should be given to insure the most perfect 

 cleanliness, the comfort of the cows in hot weather, 

 and to cooling the milk as soon as it has been drawn 

 from the cow. The last-mentioned subject is worthy of 

 special consideration. It has been previously stated that 

 Aviien milk is cooled to a low temperature and then 

 warmed it sours very quickly. The sugar of the milk 

 changes to lactic acid by an internal decomposition in 

 which the atoms merely change their combination with- 

 out any change of elements. This souring can go on in 

 sealed bottles, when it is supposed to be quite safe from 

 change, and the dairyman is much disappointed to find 

 his agent complaining of the milk souring when he felt 

 sure it was be^'ond all danger ; the very security he de- 

 pended upon being* the source from which the unex- 

 pected mischief arises. 



