Modern Dairy-Farming; A Practical Handbook on the Management of the Milch Cow and the Profitable Utilization of Milk - Tapa blanda

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1906 edition. Excerpt: ... different tale. It is found that although one cow gave a large yield for a time it soon went dry, while another animal which did not start off so well continued to milk for the best part of a twelvemonth. The one pays, the other does not. It may be taken for granted that a minimum of six hundred gallons is necessary if a cow is to leave a profit, and any cow which gives a record of less than this during two consecutive years should be dispensed with. Not only does the record save the dairyman from loss with bad cows, by enabling him to select those which are profitable, it also permanently and continuously increases the value of his stock. If only the best cattle are kept for the service of the herd, and if these are mated with a bull from a deep-milking dam, and the heifer calves reared for the dairy, the improvement in a few years is enormous, and will be the immediate result of keeping a proper record and knowing the capabilities of every animal in the herd. As a Health Indicator. But there is a further advantage in keeping a milkrecord which must never be overlooked. The milk-yield is a very good criterion of the state of the health of the cow. At the seasonal period it is a matter of common experience that there is often a sudden drop in me milk; but this is only of a temporary nature, and a return is soon made to the normal. On the other hand, sudden variation may often point to the approach of some disease, and the cowman should always pay particular attention to such variations and report them to his master. The nervous system must be intimately connected with the udder and its operations, though I am aware that there are some who deny this, for anyone who knows the effect of fear or nervous excitement upon a cow cannot help...