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MILK AND BUTTER

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Originally appearing in Volume V07, Page 740 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MILK AND See also:BUTTER TESTS The See also:award of prizes in connexion with milking trials cannot be determined simply by the quantity of milk yielded in a given See also:period, say twenty-four See also:hours. Other matters must obviously be taken into See also:consideration, such as the quality of the milk and the See also:time that has elapsed since the See also:birth of the last See also:calf. With regard to the former point, for example, it is quite possible for one cow to give more milk than another, but for the milk of the second cow to include the larger quantity of butter-See also:fat. The awards are therefore determined by the See also:total number of points obtained according to the following See also:scheme: One point for every ten days since calving (deducting the first See also:forty days), with a maximum of fourteen points. One point for every See also:pound of milk, taking the See also:average of two days' yield. Twenty points for every pound of butter-fat produced. Four points for every pound of solids other than fat." Deductions.—Ten points each time the fat is below 3 %. Ten points each time the solids other than fat fall below 8.5%. This method of award is at See also:present the best that can be devised, but it is possible that, as experience accumulates, some rearrangement of the points may be found to be desirable. Omitting many of the details, Table I. shows some of the results in the See also:case of Shorthorn and See also:Jersey See also:prize cows. The days " in milk" denote in each case the number of days that have elapsed since Cow. See also:Age.

In milk. Milk Fat. Other Total . See also:

Day Solids. Points. Years. Days. lb % % No. Shorthorns eligible 6 61 52.4 3.7 8.3 91'5. for See also:Herd-See also:Book-, Heroine III. Musical 7 16 45.2 3.2 9.3 90.8 See also:Lady Rosedale 8 48 47.8 3.5 9.0 88.7 Shorthorns not See also:eli- 9 33 70.2 3.5 8.9 144.1 gible for Herd- Book Granny See also:Cherry, 9 Io3 55.5 4'0, 8.9 127.1 See also:Chance 6 23 6o•o 3•6 8.9 124.6 Jerseys- 12 256 41.7 4.9 9.4 112 Sultane 14th See also:Queen Bess . . ' " 71 136 39.4 4.8 9.0 101 Gloaming IV. 7a 156 3o.5 6.7 9.5 94`9 ae.

calving; and if the one day's yield of milk is desired in gallons, it can' be obtained approximately' by dividing the See also:

weight in ' A See also:gallon of milk weighs 10.3 lb, so that very little See also:error is in- volved in converting pounds to gallons by dividing the number of pounds by I n. ` . , pounds by 'o: thus, the Shorthorn cow Heroine See also:Ill. gave 52.4 lb, or 5.24 gallons, of milk per day. The table is incidentally of See also:interest as showing how See also:superior as milch kine are the unregistered or non-See also:pedigree Shorthorns-which are typical of the See also:great See also:majority of See also:dairy cows in the See also:United See also:Kingdom-as compared with the pedigree animals entered, or eligible for entry, in Coates's Herd-Book. The evening's milk, it should be added, is nearly always richer in fat than the See also:morning's, but the percentages in the table relate to the entire day's milk. The milking trials are based upon a chemical test, as it is necessary to determine the percentage of fat and of solids other than fat in each See also:sample of milk. The butter test, on the other See also:hand, is a See also:churn test, as the cream has to be separated from the milk and churned. The following is the See also:scale of points used at the See also:London dairy show in making awards in butter tests:- One point for every See also:ounce of butter; one point for every completed ten days since calving, deducting the first forty days. Maxi-mum See also:allowance for period of lactation, 12 points. Fractions of ounces of butter, and incomplete periods of less than ten days, to be worked out in decimals and added to the total points. In the case of cows obtaining the same number of points, the prize to be awarded to the cow that has been the longest time in milk. No prize or certificate to be given in the case of (a) Cows under five years old failing to obtain (b) Cows five years old and over failing to The manner in which butter tests are decided clear by a study of Table II.

It is seen that larger Shorthorn cows-having a bigger f and consuming more See also:

food-gave both more See also:frame to maintain TABLE II .Prize Shorthorn and Jersey Cows in 28 points. butter in the day of twenty-four hours, the Jersey milk was much the richer in fat. In the case of the first-prize Jersey the " butter ratio," as it is termed, was excellent, as only 13.83 lb of milk were required to yield I lb of butter; in the case of the second-prize Shorthorn, practically twice this quantity (or 27'11 lb) was needed. Moreover, if the days in milk are taken into See also:account, the difference in favour of the Jersey is seen to be 123 days. The butter-yielding capacity of the choicest class of butter cows, the Jerseys, is amply illustrated in the results of the butter Butter Tests, Fourteen Years, 1886-1.899.tests conducted by the See also:English Jersey See also:Cattle Society over the period of fourteen years 1886 to 1899 inclusive. '.These teats were carried out See also:year after year at See also:half a dozen different shows, and the results are classified in Table III. according to the age of the animals. The average time in milk is measured by the number of days since calving, and the milk and butter yields are those for the day of twenty-four hours. The last See also:column shows the " butter ratio." This number is See also:lower in the case of the Jerseys than in that of the See also:general run of dairy cows. The average results from the total of 1023 cows Of the various ages are: One day's milk, 32lb 24 oz., equal to about 3 gallons or 12 quarts; one day's butter, 1 lb Io4 oz.; butter ratio, 19'13 or about 16 pints of milk to 1 lb of butter. individual yields are sometimes extraordinarily high. Thus at the See also:Tring show in 1899 the three leading Jersey cows gave the following results:- Cows' Ages. Cows Average Average Average Quantity Tested. Time in Milk Butter Milk to Milk.

Yield. Yield. lb Butter. Years. No. Days. lb oz. lb oz. lb 2 34 0 13 18.43 I to 2 15 •2 2 „ 3 • 57 73 24 154 I 54 18'74 3 „ 4 . Io8 77 29 14* I 10 18.42 4 „ 5 . 165 72 32 52 1114 19.01 5 „ 6 . 188 8o 32 154 112 18.76 6 „ 7 189 89 34 74 , 13 18.92 7 ,,. 8 139 84 33 See also:

I14 1 131 18.40 8 9 71 82 33 62 112 19.03 9,,10 42 92 32 6± I I14 18.95 31 88 35 4 I 144 18.6o lo „ II 11 ,, 12 . 15 89 37 I I 134 19.96 I2 „ 13 13 95 34 . I 102 20.56 14 (13 14 • 3 54 42 14 2 14 19'85 Live- Butter Cow. Age.

Weight. In Milk. Butter. Ratio. See also:

Sundew 4th Years. lb Days. lb oz. lb 8 929 77 3 64 15.10 See also:Madeira 5th . 7 Io6o 107 2 151 16.14 Em 7 864 44 3 44 13'32 No. of In Milk to r lb Breed. Cows. Milk. Butter. Butter. Shorthorn . . Io6 Days. lb oz. lb 50 I II 28.81 Jersey 126 99 1101 19.15 See also:Guernsey .

2' 3 72 I 91 21.86 Red Polled 30 6o I 44 30.29 containing larger-sized fat globules, and is therefore more profitable for converting into butter; (b) that the weights of the animals, and consequently the proportionate food, must be taken into account in estimating the cost of the dairy produce; (c) that the See also:

influence of the See also:stage reached in the period of lactation is much more marked in some breeds than in others. An instructive example of the milk-yielding capacity of Jersey cows is afforded in the carefully kept records of See also:Lord See also:Rothschild's herd at Tring See also:Park, Herts. Overleaf are given the figures for four years, the gallons being calculated at the See also:rate ofro lb of0 milk to the gallon. Milk Milk to Points Points Total for. Cows. Age. Milk. per Butter. I lb for Lacta- Points. Day. Butter. Butter. tion. Years.

Days. lb oz. lb oz. lb No. No. No. Shorthorns- 9 104 55 2 2 54 23.67 37.25 6.40 43'65 1st . 2nd 9 34 72 7 2 10*-, 27•II 42'75 •. 42'75 3rd 7 33 58 5 2 74 23'47 39'75 .. 39'75 Jerseys- 7 157 29 10 2 24 13.83 34.25 11'70. 45.95 1st 2nd 4 103 33 10 2 3 15.37 35.00 6.30 41.30 3rd 12 257 40 13 1 12 23.32 28.00 12.00 40.00 The eight prize-winning jerseys on this occasion, with an obtain 32 points. average weight of 916 lb and an average of 117 days in milk; will be rendered yielded an average of 2 lb 9 oz: of butter per cow in the twenty-whilst the much four hours, the butter ratio working out at 1669. At the Tring show of 1900 a Shorthorn cow Cherry gave as much as 4 lb 41 oz. milk and more of butter in twenty-four hours; she had been in milk 41 days, the Butter Tests, London Dairy Show,'9oo. and her butter ratio worked out at15'79 which is unusually See also:

good for a big cow. In the six years 1895 to 'goo inclusive 285 cows of the Shorthorn, Jersey, Guernsey and Red Polled breeds were subjected to butter tests at the London dairy show, and the general results are summarized in Table IV. Although cows in the showyard may perhaps be somewhat upset by their unusual surroundings, and thus not yield so well as at See also:home, yet the average results of these butter-test trials over a number of years are See also:borne out by the private trials that have taken See also:place in various herds. The trials have, moreover, brought into prominence the peculiarities of different breeds, such as: (a) that the Shorthorns, Red Polls and Ferries, being cattle whose milk contains small fat globules, are better for milk than the Jerseys and Guernseys, whose milk is richer, 740 In 1897, 30 cows averaged 6396 lb, or 64o gallons per cow.

In 1898, 29 „ „ 6209 „ 621 „ „ In 1899, 37 „ 6430 ,, 643 „ In 1900, 39 „ 6136 ,, 614 The average over the four years See also:

works out at about 63o gallons per cow per annum. Cows of larger type will give more milk than the Jerseys, but it is less See also:rich in fat. The milk See also:record for the year 19oo of the herd of Red Polled cattle belonging to Mr See also:Garrett See also:Taylor, Whitlingham, See also:Norfolk,, affords a good example. The cows in the herd, which had before 1900 produced one or more calves, and in 1900 added another to the See also:list, being in full profit the greater See also:part of the year, numbered 82. Their total yield was 521,950 lb of milk, or an average of 6365 lb—See also:equivalent to about 636 gallons—per cow. In 1899 the average yield of 96 cows was 6283 lb or 628 gallons; in 1898 the average yield of 75 cows was 6473 lb or 647 gallons. Of cows which dropped a first calf in the autumn of 1899, one of them—See also:Lemon—milked continuously for 462 days, yielding a total of 7166 lb of milk, being still in milk when the herd year closed on the 27th of See also:December. Similar cases were those of See also:Nora, which gave 9066 lb of milk in 455 days; See also:Doris, 8138 lb in 462 days; Brisk, 9248 lb in 469 days; Della, 88o6 lb in 434 days, drying 28 days before the year ended; and Lottie, 6327 lb in 394 days, also drying 28 days before the year ended; these were all cows with their first calf. Eight cows in the herd gave milk on every day of the 52 See also:weeks, and 30 others had their milk recorded on 300 days or more. Three heifers which produced a first calf before the 11th of See also:April 1900, averaged in the year 4569 lb of milk, or about 456 gallons. In 1900 three cows, Eyke Jessie, Kathleen and Doss, each gave over 1o,000 lb, or moo gallons of milk; four cows gave from 9000 lb to 1o,000 lb, two from 8000 lb to 9000 lb, 17 from 7000 lb to 8000 lb, 19 from 6000 lb to 7000 lb, 30 from 5000 lb to 6000 lb, and 16 from 4000 lb to 5000 lb. The practice, See also:long followed at Whitlingham, of developing the milk-yielding See also:habit by milking a See also:young cow so long as she gives even a small quantity of milk daily, is well supported by the figures denoting the results.

Though milking trials and butter tests are not usually available to the See also:

ordinary dairy See also:farmer in the management of his herd, it is, on the other hand, a See also:simple See also:matter for him to keep what is known as a milk See also:register. By a milk register is meant a record of the quantity of milk yielded by a cow. In other words, it is a quantitative estimation of the milk the cow gives. It affords no See also:information as to the quality of the milk or as to its butter-yielding or See also:cheese-yielding capacity. Nevertheless, by its aid the milk-producing capacity of a cow can be ascertained exactly, and her See also:character in this respect can be expressed by means of figures about which there need be no equivocation. A greater or less degree of exactness can be secured, according to the greater or less frequency with which the register is taken. Even a weekly register would give a See also:fair See also:idea as to the milk yields of a cow, and would be extremely valuable as compared with no register at all. The practice of taking the milk register, as followed in a well-known dairy, may be briefly described. The cows are always milked in the stalls, and during summer they are brought in twice a day for this purpose. After each cow is milked, the See also:pail containing the whole of her milk is hung on a See also:spring See also:balance suspended in a convenient position, and from the See also:gross weight indicated there is deducted the already known weight of the pail.' The difference, which represents the weight of milk, is recorded in a book suitably ruled. This book when open presents a view of one See also:week's records. In the See also:left-hand column are the names of the cows; on the right of this are fourteen columns, two of which receive the morning and evening record of each cow.

In a final column on the right appears the week's total yield for each cow; and space is also allowed for any remarks. 1 A portable milk-weighing appliance is made in which the weight of the pail is included, and an See also:

indicator shows on a See also:dial the exact weight in pounds and ounces, and likewise the See also:volume in gallons and pints, of the milk in the pail. When the pail is empty the indicator of course points to zero. Fractions of a pound are not entered, but 18 lb 12 oz. would be recorded as 19 lb, whereas 21 lb 5 oz. would appear as 21 lb, so that a fraction of over half a pound is considered as a whole pound, and a fraction of under half a pound is ignored. By dividing the pounds by to the yield in gallons is readily ascertained. Every dairy farmer has some idea, as to each of his cows, whether she is a good, a See also:bad or an indifferent milker, but such knowledge is at best only vague. By the simple means indicated the character of each cow as a milk-producer is slowly but surely recorded in a manner which is at once exact and definite. Such a record is particularly valuable to the farmer, in that it shows to him the relative milk-yielding capacities of his cows, and thus enables him gradually to See also:weed out the naturally poor milkers and replace them by better ones. It also guides him in regulating the See also:supply of food according to the yield of milk. The register will, in fact, indicate unerringly which are the best milk-yielding cows in the dairy, and which therefore are, with the milking capacity in view, the best to breed from. The simplicity and inexpensiveness of the milk register must not be overlooked. These are features which should commend it especially to the See also:notice of small dairy farmers, for with a moderate number of cows it is particularly easy to introduce the register.

But even with a large dairy it will be found that, as soon as the See also:

system has got fairly established, the additional time and trouble involved will sink into insignificance when compared with the benefits which accrue. The importance of ascertaining not only the quantity but also, the quality of milk is aptly illustrated in the case of two cows at the Tring show, 1900. The one cow gave in 24 hours 44 gallons of milk, which at 7d. per gallon would See also:work out at about as. 7d.; she made 2 lb 12 oz. of butter, which at Is. 4d. per lb would bring in 3S. 8d.; consequently by selling the milk the owner lost about Is. Id. per day. The second cow gave 51 gallons of milk, which would work out at 3s. Id.; she made I lb 12 OZ. of butter, which would only be See also:worth 2S. 4d., so that by converting the milk into butter the owner lost 9d. per day. The See also:colour of milk is to some extent an indication of its quality —the deeper the colour the better the quality. The colour depends upon the See also:size of the fat globules, a deep yellowish colour indicating large globules of fat.

When the globules are of large size the milk will churn more readily, and the butter is better both in quality and in colour. The following fifty dairy rules See also:

relating to the milking and general management of cows, and to the care of milk and dairy utensils, were See also:drawn up on behalf of, and published by, the United States See also:department of See also:agriculture at See also:Washington.

End of Article: MILK AND BUTTER

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