CHAPTER XV. 
ON THE MILK OF THE COW AND THE SOLID EXCREMENTITIOUS MATTER, 
AS AFFECTED BY FOOD AND TEMPERATURE, OR THE SEASON. 
The experiments which I am about to give, in detail, were undertaken for the purpose of ascer¬ 
taining the influence of food on the quantity and quality of the milk of the cow, especially upon 
the quantity of butter which the winter’s milk contains. In undertaking this task, I am aware 
that cows differ materially among themselves, both as it regards the quantity and quality of 
their milk. It has not, however, been so well established that the winter milk differs from 
that of summer, which I believe I am justified in stating. I was the more desirous of under¬ 
taking these experiments from the fact that, so far as I am informed, no experiments of the 
kind have been undertaken in this country, which have been accompanied with the necessary 
analyses. So also, the universal use of the milk of the cow makes it an important subject for 
investigation : the young of all mamiferous animals are fed upon it, and it contains, in its 
healthy state, all the elements of nutrition, in the proper proportion to supply the materials of 
growth : it is the standard from which we may derive important rules for regulating our own 
ediet. We may infer that, as it is the nutriment prepared for the young, it must contain not 
only the proper elements of support, but also the proportion and combination best adapted to 
the wants of the living system. It must also be obvious, upon a moment’s reflection, that the 
milk of animals will differ. The flesh feeder will secrete milk whose properties will differ 
somewhat from the vegetable feeder. Taking the classes of animals by themselves, no one 
would be surprised to find their milk differing in the proportion of its elements. Let us look 
at this subject for a moment, taking the analyses of the most distinguished chemists in this de¬ 
partment of science. The late Frank Simon gives us the following analyses of the milk of 
animals ; 
Water,. 
Cow. 
.. 857-0 
Ass. 
916-3 
Goat. 
868-0 
Ewe. 
856-2 
Bitch. 
657-4 
Solid matter,. 
.. 143-0 
83-5 
42-0 
342-6 
Butter,. 
.. 40-0 
1-1 
33-2 
42-0 
162-0 
Casein,. 
18-2 
40-2 
41-0 
174-0 
Sugar and extractive matter, .. . 
.. 28-0 
60-8 
52-8 
42-0 
29-0* 
Salts,. 
3-4 
5-S 
15-0 
* Only a trace of sugar, mostly extractive matter. Taste, saltish and mawkish; odor, unpleasant. Simon. 
[Agricuxtitrai. Report—Vol. xii.] 40 
