Supplement to the # Tropical Agriculturist." [Oct. 1, 1894. 
'•'That some foods exercise a material effect ia 
raising the melting point of butter. 
"That the aim of all producers of milk, butter, 
or cheese should be to feed what will give quan- 
tity in moderate amount and of a mixed nature, 
and the produce will be the best the cow can 
give. 
" The extra quality must be looked for by im- 
proving the breeds and judicious selection rather 
than by any special foods or method of feeding. 
" That the variations in the percentage of fat in 
a cow's milk are caused by something, but what 
that something is we at present do not know, 
though if we did we might he able to influence 
the quality." 
We would now draw attention to the following 
editorial paragraph in the Melbourne Leader .*— 
"Cow keepers, almost from time immemorial, 
had a fixed belief that the quality hs well as 
quantity of the milk depended in a great measure 
upon the food of the animal. So general was 
this belief that feeding for quality was a common 
practice until [experiments conducted in America, 
and subsequently in England and elsewhere, went 
to show that while the quantity of milk depended 
in a great measure upon the class of food, the 
quality — that is, the percentage of butter fat 
which it contained — remained unchanged. The 
question has since occasioned a considerable diver- 
sity of opinion, upsetting as it did all pre-con- 
ceived ideas, but the balance of evidence has 
been in favor of the reliability of the experiments. 
The latest account is of a trial carried out on the 
Ontario College Experimental Farm, where, by 
the way, previous trials were conducted, which 
showed that the quality of the milk remained 
unchanged no matter what the food was. Bight 
cows were fed for a month on pasture, 1 lb. of 
bran per day being given to ea^h animal to induce 
her to come into the stalls. For the second 
mouth the food consisted of the same pasture 
with 1 lb. each of bran, peas and wheat during 
the first week, double quantities in the second, 
and treble in the tjhird and fourth weeks. For 
the next fortnight the cows were fed on pasture 
and all the green peas and oats they liked to eat. 
Just here it may be mentioned that before being 
in the first instance turned out of t,he byre on to 
the pasture the cows were fed on 1 bushel of 
roots, 20 lb. of hay, 4 lb. of wheats and 4 lb. of 
bran each day. The average percentage of fat in 
their milk under this treatment was 8'51, but 
during the first week on pasture alone, with the 
addition of 1 lb. of bran per day, the percentage 
was increased to 4"22, with a much enlarged 
volume of milk. Here then was a remarkably 
clear demonstration of food making a striking 
difference in the richness of milk, and indicating 
that good pasture will produce richer milk than 
corn and root crops. Dry weather and consequent 
deterioration of the pasture caused the quantity of 
milk to shrink during the second monthly period, 
and the percentage of butter fat was reduced 
during the first fortnight to an average of 3 62. 
It is more than probable at this time the more 
nutritious of the grasses were eaten bare, yet 
with an increase of corn during the last week of 
the second period the percentage was raised to 
3'82. Again, in the last fortnight of the trial, 
when the cows, still running on the pasture, had 
all the greefti peas and oats they liked to eat, the 
percentage was raised from 3-82 to 401. Com- 
paring the result! of the last period with those of 
the first week of the second period (when the cows 
had poor pasturage and little corn), the increase 
is from 8'62 to 4 01. But the most striking differ- 
ence is that first mentioned, viz., kVffl of butter 
fat when the cows were kept exclusively in the 
byre and fed as already described, and 4±i when 
their food was pasture with only 1 lb. of bran 
each additional. Seeing that the trials made in a 
previous year at the Ontario College were relied 
on to a great extent as having indicuted that food 
made no difference to the richness of the milk, it 
is important to notice the latest evidence from 
that source. The last experiment goes a long 
way toward* upsetting recent theories, and it is 
to be hoped that further experiments will be 
umlertaken with a view of setting all doubts at 
rest on the subject.'' 
The statement of the result of the latest ex- 
periments at Ontario College must come as a 
surprise — though, nt the same time, a pleasant 
one — to all who have any interest in this sub- 
ject of the feeding of milk cows. It is certainly 
curious that the American investigations should 
on seperate occasions have produced different 
results. This inconsistency warns us that we 
should not rest satisfied with the latest conclu- 
sions arrived at, but await further corroborative 
testimony. We, as interested in dairy matters, 
should certaiuly wish to see it established, that 
by judicious feeding we can nut only increase the 
quantity but also the quality of the milk pro- 
duced by dairy cows. Our experience so far has 
certainly tended to support this belief. 
FODDER CHOPS AND CATTLE KKEPIXO 
IX CEYLON. — III. 
Another grass which is largely cultivated in 
Ceylon is the Mauritius grass (Panicum Molle 
or Baibinotle) commonly known as " water 
j grass. ' This may be said to be the only fodder 
i crop grown to any extent in the Island. It6 
I growth is confined chiefly to Colombo and its 
| vicinity, and it is only seen to a very small 
, extent in other towns. The cultivation is in the 
I hands of Tamil men from the South Indian 
1 Coast, who after a long experience have come to 
' know thebe.it methods to be adopted in growing 
; it. Why this grass is known as Mauritius grass 
i it is hard to say, though it might have come to the 
j Island from Mauritius. It is very little known 
! in India. The term "water grass" is applied 
j to it obviously for two reasons, — one, , that it 
! thrives best in moist localities; and the 
other, that it is a grass containing a large 
percentage of moisture somewhere about 60 
X>er cent of its total weight. 
Mauritius grass is a succulent plant with 
creeping underground stems, which give off 
numerous stalks. These stalks are round 
and tubular and have dark green lance- 
olate leaves. The plants grow to the height 
of two to four feet, and in many instan- 
ces when not cropped properly the stalks may 
be seen trailing along the ground to the 
extent of five to six feet or even longer. 
A friable soil with a large amount of moisture, 
or where water is close to the surface, and 
