412 Cattle-Breeding in Germany. [oct., 







Average. 



I owest. 



Highest. 





Days. 



Days. 



Days. 



Duration of milking 





165 



837 



Dry period ... 



65 





203 



Interval between calving; ... 



398 



253 



986 



Degrees. 



Degrees. 



Degrees. 



Specific gravity of the milk 



3275 



29 '3 



357 • 





Per cent. 



Per cent. 



Per cent. 



Fat content ,.. 



J63 



2-65 



4-8 



Fat in dry matter .. 



28-36 



22-23 



31-12 



Yield in 365 Days. 



lb. 



lb. 



lb. 



Milk 



6,874 



2,728 



12,470 



Fat 



249 



109 



475 



Dry matter free from fat ... 



630 



254 



1,121 



A milking test of a special character was carried out in 

 1896-97 by the Prussian Ministry of Agriculture. In this case 

 the cows, which were North German low country cattle of 

 various breeds, were tested on their own farms. Prizes were 

 given for the best animals, which were afterwards exhibited at the 

 Hamburg Show of the German Agricultural Society. The test 

 lasted for a year, the cows being milked once a fortnight under 

 the supervision of a responsible official, samples being taken 

 and tested for fat. No restrictions were made as to feeding. 

 The yield of fat by the cows which received the first prize in 

 their respective breeds varied from 3*14 to 373 per cent. The 

 total yields of milk obtained were exceptionally high. 



In addition to the encouragement given by public and private 

 bodies in the separate States and provinces, there are three 

 large agricultural bodies which extend their operations beyond 

 the political boundaries. These are the German Agricultural 

 Society, the Berlin Fat Stock Show, and the German Dairy 

 Union. Of the first of these societies a brief notice has already 

 been given,* and apart from those branches of its work which 

 in a general manner affect the live stock industry, it interests 

 itself in cattle-breeding by annually holding a show in different 

 parts of the Empire somewhat on the model of the English 

 societies. The Berlin Fat Stock Show is also held annually. 

 The Dairy Union aims at the promotion of dairying by holding 

 a Dairy Exhibition, the distribution of literature, the appoint- 

 ment of instructors, the establishment of Dairy Experiment 



Journal, April, 1905. p. 55. 



