1 May, 1902.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL 353 
work best at a temperature of about 101 degrees Fahr. Any marked deviation 
from the normal temperature indicates an abnormal or diseased condition of 
the body. This temperature is maintained by the generation of heat within 
the body itself, independent of outside conditions, but in accordance with their 
demands, one use of the food eaten being that of fuel to be burned in keeping 
the body warm. Not only must the body be warm enough, but it must not be 
too warm. So, when the air is warmer than the body itself, moisture is brought 
to the surface and the evaporation of this has the necessary cooling effect. 
Then, again, the body must be kept dry, and, just as fuel is necessary for pro- 
duction of steam in the boiler, so is fuel necessary in the body of the cow for 
the evaporation of snow or rain from her back and sides. Professor F. H. 
King, in his Agricultural Physics, is authority for the statement that “if a 
cow evaporates from her body 4 lb. of water she must expend the equivalent of 
3°39 lb. of milk solids” in so doing. 
When we stop to think it over, therefore, we come to the conclusion that 
the food of the cow serves some very important uses in her body aside from 
being converted into the product we desire for market; machinery must be 
kept going, the waste repaired, and the temperature maintained. In following 
out the familiar law of self-preservation, which is said to be the first law of 
nature, these functions are performed first and, if need be, at the expense 
eyen of that product intended for the nurture of offspring. If, then, a 
rofitable flow of milk is to be maintained, not only must food be supplied for 
its manufacture, but for those other necessities of the body, which vary to 
meet the demands imposed by outside conditions. These are facts familiar, 
cba ys to every reader of this hint, and yet how few realise their practical 
earing on their own work. 
The keeping of a herd record has enabled us to observe some of the 
practical bearings of the case, and below will be given very briefly some 
observations bearing on the relation of cold and rain to milk and butter fat 
production. 
A study of the record of the amount of milk delivered at the creameries 
during the year seems to point to the fact that summer rains tend rather to 
increase the amount of milk brought to the creamery than otherwise. This 
increase is probably due to the cans being left open and not to an increased 
flow from the herds. In the case of our own herd there has been a falling off 
in the amount of milk due to heavy rains amounting to 10 per cent. The cows 
have recovered quickly from this decrease, however, and when the rains have 
been light no detrimental results have been noted. 
During the second week of December, 1901, Salt River Valley experienced 
something of a cold wave, which is to say, the average temperature for twenty- 
four hours dropped 17 degrees F. in two days, and a minimum temperature of 
24 degrees was registered by the weather bureau. ‘There are few localities 
where this would be called cold weather, but compared with the warm weather 
preceding and following, it was cold. The creamery record seemed to show 
nothing more than a normal falling off in the amount of milk delivered during 
this time. The six cows of the station herd were upon rather poor pasture, 
but three of them were receiving hay in addition. During the week including 
the cold weather the three cows on pasture alone gaye 10 Ib. less milk and 
2 Ib. less butter fat than the preceding week, while the three cows having hay 
gave 20 lb. less milk and 13 1b. more butter fat. From this it would appear 
that there was no falling off in product due to the cooler weather, but that 
the decrease from the cows on pasture alone was normal, while with those 
haying hay the cold weather acted as a stimulant, causing a temporary rise in 
amount of product. 
In the case of winter rains there seems to be no questioning their bad 
effect. A single example: The 17th, 18th and 19th days of November, 1900, 
were rainy days. From the day before to the day after the rains the amount 
of milk delivered at the creameries fell off 10 per cent. In the same time the 
milk from our own herd decreased 37 per cent. and continued to decrease until 
