April 1, 1904.] Supplement to the " Tropical AgricuUwi.'^t." 
If milch cows of a good type aie selected and 
properly treated they will give a good return, 
but if they are not properly kept the result will 
be disappointing. Fanners cannot be too parti- 
cular in the selection of cows for the production 
of milk, particularly when milk is to be 
manufactured into butter; ai;d it is much more 
profitable to pay a full price for a good milking 
cow then have an indifferent one for nothing. If 
heifer calves intended for milking purposes were 
kept only from the best milking cows, four 
gallons of milk might be produced at the cost of 
every three now yielded of most herds. In that 
respect a valuable lesson was learnt from their 
keenest competitors the Danes, who 25 years ago 
were not dairy farmers at all but grain producers 
and stock feeders. 
Subsequently they were advised by their experts 
to weigh the milk of every cow night and 
morning, and to keep a record of it ; also to keep 
heifer calves only from what were known to be 
the heaviest milking cows. This expert advice 
was right and prevailed, though some thought 
it unnecessary, and at the present time there 
were few Danish farmers who could not give the 
annual yield in their herds for several generations 
back. The result of it all was that probably no 
cows in any country had such a high average 
yield as those in Denmark. The time occupied 
in the labour of weighing the milk was very 
trifling, and in the end he was sure it would prove 
of the utmost value. 
As an example of what had been done by 
selection and breeding, the late Mr. E. C. 
Tisdall told him that when he was purchasing the 
best heifers he could get, their average yield was 
426 gallons per annum for the first ten years of 
his experience. Heifer calves were kept from the 
best of these, and in a short time the average of 
the heifers was 600 gallons in the year, and in 
1896, the end of the third period of ten years, he 
had ten heifers which averaged 800 gallons in one 
year. Mr. Tisdall olso told him that the system of 
feeding was practically the same all the time. 
The selection of the sire to mate with the cows 
kept was also a point of first importance. This 
was specially so because of the fact that tlie bull 
would regulate not tlie milk of one cow only, but 
would influence for good or bad that of every 
animal bred from him. It was, therefore, most 
important that every stock bull kept for service 
in a dairy herd should be out of the very best 
milking cow procurable. 
Their attention should also be directed to 
keeping cows only whose milk contained a high 
percentage of butter-fat. They should not delude 
themselves with the idea that if they had cows 
giving plenty of milk, that all they required to 
do to get plenty of buttei'-fat was to feed them 
well. By all means feed them well; but they 
might rest assured that no amount of feeding 
would raise the percentage of fat in the milk of a 
cow which was naturally low to equal the milk 
of a cow whose produce was naturally rich. Two 
cows could quite e:'sily produce the s im-,' quantity 
• of milk in tlie year, yet when that milk was 
turned into butter, the one cow might have 
produced 100 lbs. more butter than the other. 
That was not all, for the cow which had the 
100 lbs. extra of butter had not probably cost any 
more to keep than the other. When the cow 
came to within a fortnight of calving, she should 
be brought into tiie house and kept there till she 
calved. This was particularly necessary if food 
was abundant, and especially so after midsummer, 
and during early autumn. After being brought 
into the house, the cow should receive two or 
three meshes of bran and treacle daily, with a 
little hay, and what water she cared to drink. 
After the cow calved she should not be milked 
completely dry for several days. 
A little milk could be taken away as often as 
one liked, but only just a little to relieve the 
udder. Until a week after calving the udder 
should never be completely emptied — the object 
of this was to prevent milk fever. In winter 
when in calf, cows should be put out every day 
for a little exercise, fresh air, and what greeu 
food could be picked up on the pastures. If any 
grass was to be had, plenty of good hay was all 
that was required. If no grass was avcihible, a 
few turnips, potatoes, or cabbage served in 
keeping the bowels in good order. 
Mr. Speir imire;sed on his listeners the 
importance of keeping cows at this period in good 
condition, for by spending money to attain this 
end they would be but saving it, and would be 
more than repaid by the butter produced later on. 
The cow should not be put out for several days 
after calving, and even then only a short time. 
This was to be particularly attended to during 
the autumn and winter, and cows calving during 
this period were better kept in the house for some 
time, feeding sparingly for the first ten days, and 
using bran and hay as the principal foods. 
Having spoken on the desirability of giving dry 
food to cows on pasture when inclined to scour, he 
went on to deal with the effect of food on milk, 
and how to improve the quality of poor milk, 
and pointed out the high percentage of fat in 
milk was to be got by breeding, and not by 
feeding. 
If, however, the cow is thin in flesh, it 
may not give its normal quantity of milk on 
pasture alone, because it may be unable to find 
sufficient materials in the food to produce butter 
and supply the craving of the body for more faf. 
Under feeding would not only reduce the live 
weight of the animal and the total butter pro- 
duction, but it might reduce the percentage of 
butler-fat in the milk also. On the other hand, 
there was very little evidence to prove that extra 
feeding would materially increase the percentage 
of butter-fat in the milk more than average or 
moderate feeding. 
As to the relative merits of crushed or ground 
and whole gi^in, Mr. Speir said that if graiiiS 
were merely crusiied they would be found to give 
as good feeding results as if finer, and tliat at the 
same time they would not run into dough, in 
vvhieli condition they were sometimes dangerous, 
Te-is made at vaiious times had slio(vn that 
when grain was thoroughly soaked in water 
before being u^ed it gave better results, and was 
much safer than when such was not done. 
