422 
Production and Consumption of Milk. 
the innocent cause of untold complications. Milk is now so essen* 
tially an article of human food that we have almost lost sight of 
the calf’s original claim. As a matter of fact, however, there is 
still an appreciable number of what we may call old-fashioned 
cows, who do no more than rear their calves. Thus, a Hereford- 
shire correspondent replied to the inquiry as to how much milk per 
cow is, in his district, used for rearing calves : “ All, as a rule ; ” 
and this answer I believe fairly applies to the greater part of that 
county. Again, a Lincolnshire correspondent wrote : “ In Lincoln- 
shire a large number of calves are bought from dairy counties and 
reared for beef. A cow rears on an average two or three calves per 
annum.” On the other hand, the practice which possibly most widely 
prevails, and yearly increases, is for the cow practically not to rear a 
calf at all, the whole of her milk, with only an infinitesimal deduc- 
tion, going to market. 
The yield of milk from individual cows varies enormously. A 
table was given, showing, for all the animals in one Shorthorn herd 
(that of Mr. I. N. Edwards, of St. Albans), the number of days 
in milk and the weight of milk yielded after each calf. The 
length of time during which a cow continuously gave milk ranged 
from 112 to 471 days, and the quantity of milk given by one cow 
during one lacteal period, from 1,4581b. to 11,1621b. The age of 
the animals affects the yield. Mr. J. F. Hall, of Sharcombe, Wells, 
wrote that he found, from records in his Jersey herd, that the 
average yield of 38 heifers, with their first and second calves (under 
four years old), for 42 weeks — which was the average period of 
lactation — was 503 gallons, while with 13 older animals the average 
yield for 41 weeks — the average period of lactation, in their case — 
was 584 gallons. Mr. George Gibbons, of Tunley, Bath, stated that 
two-year-old heifers would give only two-thirds of the average for 
older cows. 
Various estimates of tlie average yield per cow made by different 
authorities were referred to, the four most recent for the United 
Kingdom (after deducting for calves) being, Mr. Morton (1885), 
294 gallons ; Professor Sheldon (1889), 403 gallons ; Mr. James 
Howard (1888), 360 gallons ; Mr. Turnbull (1890), 393 gallons. 
A number of data referring to foreign countries having been 
noted, reference was made to a few maximum yields. 
Instances of an individual yield per cow of 1,000 gallons and 
upwards are by no means uncommon. Exceptional cases, however, 
are of little value, save as curiosities. It is of more interest to 
refer to a few instances, which were tabulated, of what may be 
taken as fairly typical records of dairy herds in this country ex- 
tending over several years. These records are, of course, in the 
nature of maxima, as they refer to herds specially kept for milk, 
while the mei’e fact of records being carefully kept is an indication 
that the management is above the average. For what it is worth, 
however, it may be mentioned that the average annual yield per 
cow, several different breeds being represented, came out as 666 
gallons. 
