MANUAL OF OATTLE-FEEBIJSTG. 419 



1% The Quality OF IVfmi^. 



Fodder of Secondary Importance.— It is apparent at 

 once, from the preceding section, that the quantity and 

 quality of milk nuist be determined in the lirst place by 

 the development of the milk-glands, and it is, indeed, per- 

 fectly well known that, w^ith exactly the same fodder, one 

 cow will give little and another much milk. 



A poorly developed nnlk-gland cannot be stimulated to 

 great production even by the richest food, and hence, in 

 milk production, nuich depends on the choice of suitable 

 animals. It is not, however, the size of the gland alone 

 which is to be taken into consideration, but also its quality — 

 its capability for rapid cell-building in the vesicles, which, 

 as we have seen, is the essential part of the production of 

 milk — and its ability to yield the desired quality of milk. 



Such being the case, the food supply can have but a 

 secondaiy importance ; at the same time, the production of 

 milk, like every other function of the body, demands a 

 certain supply of food for its normal performance* and it 

 is easy to see that the latter nuist exert a very considerable 

 influence, at least on the quantity of the milk. 



Period of Lactation. — Another factor having an im- 

 portant influence on the quantity of milk produced is the 

 period of lactation. In the same animal, and with uni- 

 form feeding, the greatest yield of milk is generally ob- 

 tained shortly after calving. At that time the milk-gland 

 reaches its greatest development, and consequently pro- 

 duces the most milk, while subsequently it retrogrades, 

 and the flow of milk decreases correspondingly. 



This gradual diminution in the daily yield of milk is to 

 a degree independent of the fodder, although its rapidity 

 can ])e influenced by the latter. Consequently, it is desir- 



