191 1.] Summary of Agricultural Experiments. 147 



meadow hay, sesame cake, brewers' grains, starch flour, and salt, 

 with a specially compounded ration containing the same amount of food 

 material, but in unappetising forms, viz., straw, gluten, and earth-nut 

 oil, and then testing the effect of the addition of molasses to this latter 

 ration. 



The addition of molasses to the feeding stuffs poor in condimentary 

 matter was found to raise the milk production by almost one-half as 

 much again, the yield obtained being, in fact, practically identical 

 with that obtained from the foods rich in condimentary stuffs (hay, 

 brewers' grains, &c). It is suggested, therefore, that the agricul- 

 turist possesses in molasses a means of making tasteless or unsavoury 

 food more acceptable to animals. Molasses contains materials which,, 

 apart from their content of digestible foods, have a considerable influ- 

 ence on milk secretion. The poorer the fundamental rations in sweet: 

 tasting or sweet smelling materials, the more marked was the effect: 

 of the addition of molasses. 



Experiments on feeding molasses to dairy cows were also noticed' 

 in this Journal, June, 1901, Vol. viii., p. 45. 



Influence of Foods on the Composition of Milk Fat (Die Landw. 

 Versuchs-Stationen. Band lxxiv., Heft Hi. -v.). — In continuation of the 

 foregoing experiment, the influence on milk fat of the feeding stuffs 

 given to cows was investigated. Roots, potatoes, and lucerne were 

 compared with dry foods as before. The milk was left to stand for 

 twenty-four hours, when the cream was taken off and made into butter. 

 From the butter fat obtained were determined the saponification 

 number, the Reichert-Meissl number, and the iodine number, then the 

 refractive index and the melting-point. The following conclusions were 

 drawn from the experiment : — Feeding with foods the fat of which has 

 a high iodine number (e.g., maize, barley, bran, and rape seed cake)- 

 raises the iodine number but lowers the Kottsdorf and Reichert-Meissl 

 numbers. Compared with concentrated foods such as maize and rape- 

 seed cake, roots and potatoes increase the content of volatile fatty 

 acids in the milk fat. Although the fat in the foods influences the 

 composition of the milk fat, rations composed of quite different feeding 

 stuffs can produce the same amount of milk fat. Towards the end of 

 lactation the saponification and Reichert-Meissl numbers of the milk 

 fat are lowered, while there is a rise in the iodine number, the refrac- 

 tive index and the melting-point. After a change in feeding (e.g., 

 from watery to dry foods) the saponification and iodine numbers of 

 the milk fat are quicker to change than the Reichert-Meissl number. 



An Organism producing a Burnt-milk Taste (Centralblatt fur 

 Bakteriologie, &>c, Abt. II., Bd. 29, Heft 1-3). — This journal contains 

 an interesting note on a new organism which has been isolated by 

 Mr. Wilfrid Sadler, Assistant Instructor in Dairying and Dairy Bac- 

 teriology at the Midland Agricultural College, Kingston. In the 

 autumn of 1909 the College received a sample of milk possessing a 

 peculiar flavour and aroma. The milk was soured, and had an aroma 

 resembling caramel, while the taste or flavour was similar to that of 

 milk which had been cooked or burnt; further, the flavour was dis- 

 tinctly bitter, the milk thus being totally unfit for consumption. 



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