FIRST CENTURY OF DAIRYING IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 



There are both good and bad milkers in every race ; the proportion, 

 however, of each presents a certain constant character, by which some 

 breeds may be recognised as possessing a decided milking superiority. 

 Climate and nature of pastulrings have also great influence on the 

 lacteous qualities of the different races, varieties, and sub-varieties of 

 cattle. 



A large cow will consume loolb. of green food per day, which could 

 not be valued at less than 6d. or 8d. if prope'rly raised ; thus her keep 

 would amount on good pasture to from 35. 6d. to 45. 6d. per week. 

 When food is scarce, as it sometimes is at the beginning o-i spring or 

 autumn, she should receive some concentrated food with hay. Where 

 this is the case, an estimate must be fixed as to the price it wi 11 pay 

 the farmer to feed hay to his cows, and that estimate can hardly be 

 fixed above 3 per ton. 



Suppose a cow to be fed at the rate of s61b. per day during 120 

 days ; she will consume exactly 3 tons, which, at 6os. per ton, is 9. 

 No other calculation is necessary to prove that feeding cows with hay 

 is, as a rule, out of the question. 



Oil meals are so called because they are the residues left after the 

 extraction of the oil from certain seeds and nuts, among which are 

 cotton seed, flax seed, sunflower seed, cocoanuts, hemp seed, poppy 

 seed, rape seed, sesame seed, palm nuts, peanuts, and walnuts. Of 

 the residues from these sources, those from cotton seed, flax seed, and 

 cocoanuts are in more common use. Those who have carefully studied 

 the economical feeding of dairy cow.s have long since become con- 

 vinced that the selection of a ration which shall be the best possible 

 from a business standpoint is not a simple matter. We must always 

 distinguish between the combination that is most efficient physiol- 

 ogically and productively, and the one that is the source of largest 

 profit. 



It is often the case perhaps generally that a food mixture which 

 induces a high rate of production is the most profitable one to use ; 

 but this occurs only when business conditions make it possible. Many 

 seem to think that if a ration is " balanced" it necessarily meets all 

 the requirements for the maximum profit, but this is by no means 

 correct, and requires careful study. 



It is necessary to understand the capacity of a cow, her abilitv to 

 produce, the effects of the sundry foods upon her health and condition, 

 her appetite and tastes, the quantity and quality of her product, and 

 the profits derived .from her use. 



No commercial feeding stuffs are regarded with greater favour, or 

 are more widely and largely purchased, than the by-produ-N of the 

 grain millers. Wheat bran and middlings are cattle foods of standard 

 excellence, whether we consider composition, palatableness, or their 

 relation to the quality of products. Nearly all the herbaceous plants 

 that are grown for consumption by 'farm animals may be fed cither 

 in a green or dry state. Oats, maize, sorghum, lucerne. &c. whirh 

 serve so well for winter and spring feeding, are also dried, and can 

 be successfully stored in the form of hay. 



There is a widely prevailing opinion among dairymen tint th 

 character of milk is intimately related to the kind and quantity of 

 food from which it is produced; that is, a dairyman who is pos->c>^-<l 

 of sufficient knowledge may, by variations in the ration. IMU-C material 

 changes in the composition of the milk of his herd. This mav be 

 possible up to a certain standard, but forcing the production o-t a herd 

 is governed by the law of limitation, beyond which it is very unwise 

 to attempt to pass. 



282. 



