[1] A gallon of milk weighs 10.3 lb., so that very little error is
involved in converting pounds to gallons by dividing the number of
pounds by 10.
[2] A portable milk-weighing appliance is made in which the weight of
the pail is included, and an indicator shows on a dial the exact
weight in pounds and ounces, and likewise the volume in gallons and
pints, of the milk in the pail. When the pail is empty the indicator
of course points to zero.
[3] _Landw. Futterungslehre_, 5te Aufl., 1888, p. 249.
[4] The Analyst, April 1885, vol. x. p. 67.
[5] The evidence on this point taken by the Committee on Milk and
Cream Regulations in 1900 is somewhat conflicting. The report states
that an impression commonly prevails that the quality of milk is more
or less determined by the nature and composition of the food which
the cow receives. One witness said that farmers who produce milk for
sale feed differently from what they do if they are producing for
butter. Another stated that most of the statistics which go to show
that food has no effect on milk fail, because the experiments are not
carried far enough to counterbalance that peculiarity of the animal
first to utilize the food for itself before utilizing it for the
milk. A witness who kept a herd of 100 milking cows expressed the
opinion that improvement in the quality of milk can be effected by
feeding, though not to any large extent. On the other hand, it was
maintained that the fat percentage in the milk of a cow cannot be
raised by any manner or method of feeding. It is possible that in the
case of cows very poorly fed the addition of rich food would alter
the composition of their milk, but if the cows are well-fed to begin
with, this would not be so. The proprietor of a herd of 500 milking
cows did not think that feeding affected the quality of milk from
ordinarily well-kept animals. An experimenter found that the result
of resorting to rather poor feeding was that the first effect was
produced upon the weight of the cow and not upon the milk; the animal
began to get thin, losing its weight, though there was not very much
effect upon the quality of the milk.
[6] _Journ. Roy. Agric. Soc._, 1898.
[7] Trans. Highl. and Agric. Soc. Scot., 1899.
[8] _Report on Cheddar Cheese-Making_, London, 1899.
[9] "The Practice of Stilton Cheese-Making," _Journ. Roy. Agric.
Soc._, 1899.
[10] _Experiment Station Record_, xii. 9 (Washington, 1901).
[11] Market butter is sometimes deliberately over-weighted with
water, and a fraudulent profit is obtained by selling this extra
moisture at the price of butter.
[12] "Thermal Death-Point of Tubercle Bacilli, and Relation of same
to Commercial Pasteurization of Milk," by H. L. Russell and E. G.
Hastings.
[13] _16th Rept. Wis. Agric. Expt. Station_, 1899, p. 129.
[14] See also the article ADULTERATION.
[15] A special committee appointed by the council of the Royal
Statistical Society commenced in 1901 an inquiry into the home
production of milk and meat in the United Kingdom.
[16] In 1901 the United Kingdom imported 3,702,810 cwt. of butter,
valued at L19,297,005, both totals being the largest on record.
DAIS (Fr. _dais_, _estrade_, Ital. _predella_), originally a part of the
floor at the end of a medieval hall, raised a step above the rest of the
building. On this the lord of the mansion dined with his friends at the
high table, apart from the retainers and servants. In medieval halls
there was generally a deep recessed bay window at one or at each end of
the dais, supposed to be for retirement, or greater privacy than the
open hall could afford. In France the word is understood as a canopy or
hanging over a seat; probably the name was given from the fact that the
seats of great men were then surmounted by such a feature. In ordinary
use, the term means any raised platform in a room, for dignified
occupancy.
DAISY (A.S. _daeges eage_, day's eye), the name applied to the plants
constituting the genus _Bellis_, of the natural order Compositae. The
genus contains ten species found in Europe and the Mediterranean region.
The common daisy, _B. perennis_, is the only representative of the genus
in the British Isles. It is a perennial, abundant everywhere in pastures
and on banks in Europe, except in the most northerly regions, and in
Asia Minor, and occurs as an introduced plant in North America. The stem
of the daisy is short; the leaves, which are numerous and form a
rosette, are slightly hairy, obovate-spathulate in shape, with rounded
teeth on the margin in the upper part; and the root-stock is creeping,
and of a brownish colour. The flowers are to be found from March to
November, and occasionally in the winter months. The heads of flowers
are solitary, the outer or ray-florets pink or white, the disk-florets
bright yellow. The size and luxuriance of the plant are much affected by
the nature of the soil in which it grows. The cultivated varieties,
which are numerous, bear finely-coloured flowers, and make very
effective borders for walks. What is known as the "hen-and-chicken"
daisy has the main head surrounded by a brood of sometimes as many as
ten or twelve small heads, formed in the axils of the scales of the
involucre. The ray-florets curve inwards and "close" the flower-head in
dull weather and towards evening.