450 



Milk Tests in Lancashire. 



[SEPT., 



Each herd will be tested once a fortnight or once in three 

 weeks, as this has been found to be sufficiently correct for all 

 practical purposes, and is much less expensive than dairy 

 testing.* Those farmers taking advantage of the scheme will 

 be in a position at the end of the year to know :— (i) The total 

 number of gallons yielded by each cow. (2) The average per- 

 centage of fat in the milk of each cow. (3) The average per- 

 centage of solids not fat, in the milk of each cow. 



Farmers desiring to have their herds tested, must arrange to 

 provide board and lodgings for the expert while he is testing, 

 and must also arrange to convey him and his apparatus to the 

 next farm as required once each fortnight or once in three 

 weeks. 



The most suitable district would be one where breeding is 

 carried out on the farms, as the information obtained by testing 

 and weighing the milk would be of great assistance when deter- 

 mining which cows should be retained. It is of great import- 

 ance in breeding to select bulls from cows giving heavy yields 

 of milk of high quality, and this can only be done where the 

 milk is systematically weighed and tested. 



The scheme would also be of great value in a district where 

 the farmer maintains his herd 05^ purchasing heifers and 

 keeping them on until about the time of the third or fourth 

 calf. By selection based on the tests it would be possible to 

 have all the older cows of the most valuable type, and if these 

 were sold to the town or other dairymen, they would, 

 undoubtedly, fetch high prices. 



The milk tests might also be carried out in districts where 

 farmers maintain their herds both by breeding and purchasing. 

 During the present season over 325 cows are being tested. 



This system is analogous to that adopted with so much 

 success in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and elsewhere on the 

 Continent, which was described in this Journal, April, 1905, 

 Vol. xii, p. 21. The milk record associations formed by the 

 Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland for the same 

 purpose were dealt with in an article in the Journal, September, 

 1907, Vol. xiv., p. 321. 



* See Journal, May, 1907, Vol. xiv, p. 91, and March, 1908, Vol. xiv, p. 740. 



