191 1.] Summary of Agricultural Experiments. 853 



pasture over keeping them on the unmanured, would probably be greater 

 than was found in this experiment. 



Composition of Milk. — Some investigations on this subject were 

 carried out by the Somerset C.C. in 1908, and were noticed in the 

 Journal, December, I909, p. 756. They were continued in 1909, and 

 an account of them has been furnished to the Board by Mr. Lawrence 

 Abram, B.Sc, who conducted the investigations for the County 

 Council. 



The tests were made with the milk of four herds consisting of 

 Shorthorns and Shorthorn crosses, the ordinary type of cows in the 

 dairying districts of Somerset. The following are particulars of these 

 herds : — 





Number of Cows at 

 beginning of experiment 

 (April 8th). 



Number at 

 the end. 



Food. 



Herd A. 



16 ; 14 of these calved 

 since Feb. 1st 



22 



About 4 lb. hay per head daily 

 for six weeks, after this grass 

 only 



Herd B. 



11 ; all calved since 

 Jan. 14 



25 



Same as Herd A 



) Herd C. 



7 ; all calved since 

 Jan. 1st 



8 



About 4 lb. cotton cake and j 

 4 lb. hay per head daily for 

 five weeks, 4 lb. hay for three 

 weeks, after which grass only 



Herd D. 



3 ; all calved since 

 Jan. 1st 



2 



Grass only 



Herd A is the herd with which the investigations of 1908 were 

 conducted ; Herd D was included in the experiment in order to observe 

 how the small number of cows affected the variations in the composi- 

 tion of the milk. 



All the cows were out in the fields during the whole time, and 

 were milked out of doors ; as is the custom of the district, the winter 

 feeding was gradually changed on turning the cows out to grass, 

 so that some cows received a small quantity of hay for a time, others 

 a small quantity of cotton cake in addition to hay, while others 

 received grass only. The cows were milked twice daily, and the 

 milking times were gradually changed, according to the usual practice, 

 as the Spring advanced. 



The cows were allowed to suckle their calves at first, and were 

 brought into the experiment when the calves were sold or weaned, so 

 that the number of cows increased as time went on. No cows were 

 stale in milk except one in Herd D ; it was decided to fatten this cow, 

 so that her milk was not included in the sample after June 3rd. 



Samples of the mixed milk of each herd were taken once a week 

 at both the morning and evening milkings. The samples were tested 

 for fat by the Gerber process, and for "total solids " by direct evapora- 

 tion on the water bath. During the tests made in 1908 and 1909 over 



