SELECTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF DAIRY CATTLE 57 



dueer. It is the total amount of fat that counts where fat 

 is the basis of market value. Figures selected from accurate 

 rec< rds kept by the author show the relation between the 

 yield of milk, the percentage of fat, and the total fat yield. 



TAT.LE 12. RICH MILK vs. HIGH FAT PRODUCTION FOR THE 



YEAR 



Jen 

 Jen 

 Jen 



These figures show that the highest percentage of fat is often 

 accompanied by a low total yield. On the other hand a low 

 percentage of fat may go with either a high or a low milk yield. 

 The figures given, which are some of the extremes taken 

 from the records of a large herd, also indicated clearly that 

 the amount of milk varies much more than the percentage of 

 fat. For this reason it is far more important to know how 

 much milk a cow gives than to know its richness. If all the 

 animals in a herd belong to the same breed, it is about three 

 times as important to know the quantity as it is to have 

 records of the richness, even where milk is sold by the fat 

 content. For this reason the keeping of individual records 

 of cows should always begin with the use of the scales. The 

 cow owner should keep the records by weight and not by 

 measure, and become accustomed to thinking of milk yields 

 in terms of weights. 



