332 Cost of Food in Production of Milk. [sept., 



winter, and when to the latter are added 3d. per gallon for extra 

 cost of food during winter time, it will be seen that even at the 

 higher prices of winter milk probably less is left for profit than 

 that produced during summer and sold at a lower rate. 



The Costs of Production Abroad. — All over Denmark, Sweden, 

 and Norway there is an accepted scale of what are called 

 food equivalents, by which certain weights of various foods 

 are considered equal to one another for use in the production 

 of milk or butter. The following is the scale in general use : — 

 1 lb. oil cake, 1 lb. mixed grain, 10 lb, mangolds, 2J lb. hay, 

 6 lb. straw. 



Each of these is presumed for the purpose of comparison to 

 be worth 5^ ore, which is equal to about \d. As, however, the 

 Danish pound is somewhat heavier than the Imperial one, the 

 value works out to about \d. per food equivalent. On this basis 

 the production of a gallon of milk does not seem to differ so 

 much in average cost in these countries from our own as many 

 are inclined to believe, and if the basis on which the Scandi- 

 navian food equivalents are valued is correct and the quantities 

 of foods used here are accurately estimated and valued, we 

 seem to produce milk about as cheaply as they do, at least so 

 far as consumption of food is concerned. The averages of the 

 food consumed and milk produced by several hundred milk 

 record associations in various districts have been submitted to 

 me by friends in different parts of the country and worked out 

 by several of them and by myself. The average cost for food 



is somewhat as follows : — 





Zeeland 



d. 



4*4 per gallon of 10 lb. Imperial. 



*Fyen 



4.25 „ „ 



+ » 



4-69 



Jutland 



47 



Norway 



4'5 jj 



Scottish Milk Record 





Associations 



4-36 



* For one set of figures. 

 + Another. 



In proportion to the food consumed, all cows will give more 

 milk three months after calving than at any other time of 

 their lactation. In the Scottish milk record associations with 

 which the foregoing figures deal, a large proportion of the cows 

 calved during the spring months, and on that account the two 



