38 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



The University of Illinois has a cow in its grade dairy herd 

 which for any ©ne year has never produced milk that would come 

 up to the legal requirements in solids. Her average production 

 for three years was 2.77 percent of fat and 8.14 percent of solids 

 not fat. During this time she has been kept in good physical 

 condition and the changes in ration have not resulted in raising 

 the quality of her milk. 



In summing up the effect of feed on the composition of 

 milk we must conclude that only indirectly does the ordinary 

 ration have any material effect. As long as a cow is well nour- 

 ished the solid content of the milk she produces will not be 

 lowered. If the feed, either because of its character or its 

 insufficient amount, does not properly supply the body of the 

 animal and she is forced to draw upon the substance of her 

 tissues to too great an extent the solids of the milk produced 

 will be lowered. In other words, dairy cows which normally 

 produce milk low in solids should be kept in fairly good physical 

 condition if a further lowering in the solid content of their milk 

 is to fee avoided. 



