172 



NORMAL MILK : ITS ADULTERATIONS, ETC. 



The figures in Table XL. afford a striking illustration of the 

 effect of food causing scouring on the composition of milk, and 

 show how easy is the remedy. 



A herd of 26 cows (Ayrshires) was turned out into a field of 

 new grass at the end of April, and received no other food ; the 

 percentage of fat rapidly fell, and on May 7 the author saw 

 all the cows milked, and the foregoing analyses of the milk were 

 made. 



The cows were very thin, though otherwise pronounced by a 

 leading veterinary surgeon quite healthy, and suffered from 

 profuse diarrhoea, the motions being quite liquid, and containing 

 much undigested food. On this day the food was changed, and 

 the quality af-the milk steadily rose till within a week the per- 

 centage of fat was over 3'0 per cent., and remained above this 

 figure. The only cow of the herd which had not been turned 

 out to the new grass was No. 13, and it is seen that her milk was 

 practically up to the standard in fat. 



A too highly saccharine diet is not advisable, and may cause 

 a disturbance in the composition of the milk. The author has 

 examined the milk of three cows which had been fed on a ration 

 containing much sugar; apparently the sugar had fermented 

 in their stomachs, as the cows suffered from the effects of alcohol. 



The analyses were : — 



TABLE XLI. 



A. C. Abrahams has found that exposure to cold winds has 

 the effect of causing milk low in fat to be produced. 



It is seen that the following rules will go a long way towards 

 preventing abnormally low fats, 

 (i.) Do not let the cows scour, 

 (ii.) Do not give too much saccharine food, 

 (iii.) Do not expose the cows to very cold weather. 



