At one of the Stations, for example, the entire carcass of a steer and
the milk of an Holstein cow were analyzed.
The steer when killed weighed twelve hundred and fifty pounds. The cow
during the year gave eighteen thousand four hundred and five pounds of
milk. From the milk of the cow, and from the carcass of the steer, the
following number of pounds of human food substances were obtained. Of
protein five hundred and fifty-two pounds from the milk, and one hundred
and seventy-two pounds from the steer; of fat six hundred and eighteen
pounds from the milk and three hundred and thirty-three pounds from the
steer; of sugar nine hundred and twenty pounds from the milk and none
from the steer; of mineral matter one hundred and twenty-eight pounds
from the milk and forty-three pounds from the steer.
The steer’s body contained about fifty-six per cent of water, leaving
five hundred and forty-eight pounds of dry matter, which included not
only the edible, dry, lean meat and fat, but also every part of the
body--horns, hide, bones, internal organs, etc. In one year the cow
produced two thousand two hundred and eighteen pounds of dry matter,
every part of which was wholly digestible and suitable for human food.
In that time she produced enough protein to build the bodies of three
steers, fat enough for nearly two steers, and mineral matter enough for
the skeletons of three, besides nine hundred and twenty pounds of milk
sugar, as nutritious and useful for humans as the same weight of
cane-sugar like that bought at the store.