The Dairy Cow — Scientific Findings. 389 



the extra labor and feed. Grisdale of the Ottawa Experimental Farms^ 

 found 2 feeds as effective as 3 in maintaining the milk tiow. It is 

 reasonable to hold that 2 generous feeds daily are sufficient for the 

 dairy cow with her roomy digestive apparatus. (701) 



On feeding dairy cows wet and dry concentrates, Grisdale- found 

 a small difference in favor of the dry feed. 



Carlyle of the Wisconsin Station-' found that changing milkers had 

 no appreciable effect upon the yield of milk or fat. Linfield* con- 

 cludes that any change in milk yield is due to the individuality of the 

 milker, not to the mere change of the milkers. Grisdale of the Ottawa 

 Experimental Farms^ found that irregularity in the intervals be- 

 tween milking slightly reduced the quantity and quality of the milk. 

 The quantity of milk drawn after the longer interval was greater, 

 but its fat percentage lower than that of the milk drawn after the 

 shorter interval. The conclusion was reached that, w^ere the changes 

 not sudden, the effect due to the difference in the length of the inter- 

 vals between the milkings was negligible. 



Hills of the Vermont Station" found that cows milked thrice daily 

 gave the most and poorest milk in the morning, less and the richest 

 milk at noon, and the least milk and of medium quality at night. 

 He states that usually it will not pay to milk cows thrice daily, tho 

 a temporary increase in the flow of milk is produced thereby. Dean 

 of the Ontario Agricultural College^ concludes that milking thrice 

 daily is unprofitable with cows giving a good flow, while it might be 

 profitable with very heavy milkers. 



The ''Hegelund method" consists in so manipulating the cow's 

 udder after milking as to bring down all remaining traces of milk. 

 By this system, Woll of the Wisconsin Station^ found that the daily 

 milk yield of a herd of 24 cows was increased 4.5 per ct. and the fat 

 yield 9.2 per ct. The average daily gain per cow was 1 lb. of milk 

 and nearly 0.1 lb. of fat, and these gains seemed to be maintained 

 thruout the whole lactation period. 



Hills of the Vermont Station^ as the result of 2 tests concludes 

 that there is no benefit from grooming cows so far as milk yield is 

 concerned, tho it may lessen the bacterial content of the milk. 



II. The Influence of Feed ox Milk. 



616. Feed and milk yield. — The quantity of milk the cow yields 

 depends indirectly on the inherent tendency or constitution of the 



'Ept. 1904. * Bui. 68. ''Rpt. 1S98. 



^ Ottawa Expt. Farms, Rpt. 1901. ' Rpts. 1901, 1902. 'Rpt. 1902. 

 ^Ept. 1903. »Rpt. 1907. "Rpt. 1900. 



