INFLUENCE OF FOOD IN THE PRODUCTION OF MILK. 493 
to local requirements in Riverina; how even Bakewell, that 
prince of breeders, established his Dishley flock of a pure 
Leicesters,^ for it has been surmised that this was the pro¬ 
duct of cross breeding. The Messrs. Learmouth, Currie, 
Shaw, and Graham have shown what can be done in the way 
of producing and maintaining the renowned Australian merino. 
W ho will be the first to give our farmers, as Bakewell did 
the farmers of Britain, a breed of Australian long-woolled 
sheep ? The path is clearly defined. All that is wanted is 
some one possessed of the skill, patience, and perseverance 
of a true breeder to work out the result. 
THE INFLUENCE OE EOOD IN THE PRODUCTION OE MILK. 
It is a well-established fact that the milk of the cows of 
town dairies is inferior in composition to that of the cows on 
ordinary farms. Dr. Cameron states that out of forty samples 
of pure milk obtained from Dublin dairy cows, not one con¬ 
tained less than 11 £ per cent, of solid matters; whilst most of 
them included more than 12^ per cent, of dry substances. 
There is a popular notion that town milk is very inferior to 
country milk. No doubt, when city dairy cows are fed on 
unwholesome slops, and confined in insufficiently ventilated 
stables, the milk which they yield is poor, and probably want¬ 
ing in the essentials of a healthy food. Such is the character 
ascribed to the notorious “ swill milkwith which so large a 
proportion of the citizens of New York are supplied. In 
British towns, however, there is no doubt but that the milk 
of the dairy stock is very rich naturally, and is only rendered 
poor by the fraudulent addition of water. It is not the in¬ 
terest of the dairymen to feed their animals poorly. They 
know very well that it is only by means of abundant food that 
they can maintain efficiently and prolong the lactescent quali¬ 
ties of their cows. Why is it that ci country cows ” are not 
equal as milk producers to the “ city kine }” Simply because 
the former are not nearly so well supplied with food of a 
nourishing character. Although the milk of country cows 
often contains 13 per cent, of solid matters, yet occasionally 
its percentage of really useful ingredients sinks to nearly 10, 
and on the average is not more than llj percent. The 
yield, too, is in favour of town cows as against farmers’ cows. 
We believe, then, that it would be to the advantage of farmers 
if they would feed their dairy stock a little more liberally. Of 
course, we do not mean to assert that all farmers stint their 
