An instructive example of the milk-yielding capacity of Jersey cows is afforded in the carefully kept records of Lord Rothschild's herd at Tring Park, Herts. Overleaf are given the figures for four years, the gallons being calculated at the rate of 10 lb of milk to the gallon.
In 1897, 30 cows averaged 6396 lb., or 640 gallons per cow. In 1898, 29 " " 6209 " 621 " " In 1899, 37 " " 6430 " 643 " " In 1900, 39 " " 6136 " 614 " "
The average over the four years works out at about 630 gallons per cow per annum.
Cows of larger type will give more milk than the Jerseys, but it is less rich in fat. The milk record for the year 1900 of the herd of Red Polled cattle belonging to Mr Garrett Taylor, Whitlingham, 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 list, being in full profit the greater part of the year, numbered 82. Their total yield was 521,950 lb. of milk, or an average of 6365 lb.--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--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 December. Similar cases were those of Nora, which gave 9066 lb. of milk in 455 days; Doris, 8138 lb. in 462 days; Brisk, 9248 lb. in 469 days; Della, 8806 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 weeks, and 30 others had their milk recorded on 300 days or more. Three heifers which produced a first calf before the 11th of 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 10,000 lb., or 1000 gallons of milk; four cows gave from 9000 lb. to 10,000 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, long followed at Whitlingham, of developing the milk-yielding habit by milking a young cow so long as she gives even a small quantity of milk daily, is well supported by the figures denoting the results.