Prod/uction and Consumption of Milk, 
423 
A table compiled from returns specially collected from farmers 
all over the country, and containing seventy-four different estimates 
for the districts specified, gave as the mean for Great Britain 
528‘75 gallons as the gross annual yield per cow, 93'07 gallons as 
used for calves, and 435-07 gallons as the net available yield. 
A further table was given of the actual annual yield of milk of fifty 
herds of dairy cattle in various districts, with, in each case, the 
number of cows as returned for the purpose of the Agricultural 
Returns. The mean available yield of milk per cow on these records 
was 47 1 gallons, the figures having a wide range. Generally speaking, 
however, it may be assumed that such records are only available 
in the case of herds kept specially for milk production, and conse- 
quently we should expect to find the yield somewhat high. On the 
other hand, however, there is no doubt that the average yield in 
each case is pulled down to a certain extent by the fact that many 
of the cows or heifers enumerated may have contributed very little 
to the year’s supply. 
After a reference to Scotland and Ireland, the general standard 
to be adopted was considered, and attention was directed to the 
fact that the calf had been eliminated. Former estimates have, as 
a rule, taken the gross yield and then deducted a certain proportion 
for the calf. No doubt it comes to the same thing in the end ; but 
it may tend to clearness to endeavour to bear in mind that milk 
taken by the calf cannot be considered as coming into a calculatioir 
of milk production at all. To reckon calves as “ consumers ” seems 
to me rather confusing. Now, according to the table of estimated 
yields, the average worked out at 435 gallons per cow. I am 
disposed to think that this errs on the side of excess. It contained 
several instances of low net yields, where the calf swallows a goodly 
share of the milk ; as, for instance, in Lincoln, 40 and 52 per cent, 
respectively ; in Shropshire, 50 per cent. ; and in Northampton, 80 
per cent. But, for the simple and natural reason that it is easier 
to obtain returns about milk from those who are chiefly engaged in 
its production, I do not think the returns from the non-dairying 
districts bear a sufficiently large proportion to the total. On the 
whole, therefore, I ventured to state, after a careful consideration 
of such facts as I had been able to obtain from all sources, that if we 
deduct 10 per cent, from the figure given by the table, the result 
will very fairly approximate to the truth. This gives us, therefore, 
roundly, 400 gallons as the standard net average available yield of 
milk per cow for the United Kingdom. 
The total number of cows or heifers in milk or in calf in the 
United Kingdom in 1890, that being the year taken for the purpose 
of the paper, was 3,938,416 ; but I do not think it can be 
assumed that all of these are effective producers of milk, either 
for calf-rearing or consumption. There is on any given date a 
certain proportion of the cows in every herd dry, either for calving 
or fattening. The former are, as a matter of course, included in 
the returns, and it is possible that many of the latter, though 
they ought, strictly speaking, to be excluded, are reckoned among 
