256 FEEDS AND FEEDING, ABRIDGED 



reached. The typical beef cow usually has a very limited capacity 

 for producing milk and yields only sufficient for her calf, even tho 

 her feed be abundant. Any surplus of nutrients is stored in her 

 body as fat. On the other hand, in the well-bred dairy cow the im- 

 pulse to produce milk is so strong that with abundant and suitable 

 feed and good care she yields much more milk than her calf requires. 



Many dairymen make the serious mistake of failing to supply good 

 dairy cows with sufficient feed for the most economical production of 

 milk. As shown in Figure 72, a good dairy cow fed a liberal ration 

 requires about half her feed to maintain her body and uses the other 

 half to make milk. If she receives less feed, the proportion which 

 she can use to produce milk will be decreased. For example, if fed 

 three-fourths of a full ration, she can use only one-third of what 

 she eats to make milk. Should she be fed but half of a full ration, 

 she will still need as much as before to maintain her body and no 

 feed will remain for milk production. Any milk she then yields 

 would be made by robbing her body of nutrients. The true dairy 

 cow thus produces milk most economically when fed a liberal ration, 

 while a cow of beef type or one lacking in dairy temperament, when 

 liberally fed, will store a considerable part of the food nutrients in 

 her body as fat, instead of turning them into milk. A safe rule is 

 to feed such a cow only what she will eat without gaining in weight. 



The increase in production due to good feed and care is shown in a 

 striking manner by a trial at the New York (Cornell) Station. 9 A 

 herd of cows poorly fed and cared for by their owner, was taken 

 from a farm to the Station where they were liberally fed for 2 years. 

 Then the cows were returned to their owner and fed by him as be- 

 fore. During the time the cows were at the Station they gave 42 

 per ct. more milk and 51 per ct. more fat than when with the farmer. 



Turning to pasture; temperature; weather. — When cows are 

 turned from winter stables to spring pastures usually both the yield 

 of milk and its richness are slightly increased, but after 2 to 4 weeks 

 the percentage of fat falls to normal. Especially when the grass is 

 soft and lush, cows lose in weight for a short time when first turned 

 to pasture. 



The tendency is for cows to give richer milk when the temperature 

 falls and poorer milk as it rises, and so they generally yield slightly 

 poorer milk in summer than in winter. Cows exposed to cold rains 

 shrink in milk flow and may yield milk poor in fat. 



Exercise and grooming. — Moderate exercise tends to increase the 

 yield of milk and the richness of all constituents except casein, while 

 too much exercise decreases the yield and injures the quality of the 



sWing and Foord, N. Y. (Cornell) Bui. 222. 



