I06 AGRICUI.TURE; OF MAINE. 



THE IMPORTANCE OF COW TEST ASSOCIATIONS. 

 By Prof. J. L. Hills, Burlington, Vt. 



A few words at the outset concerning work which has been 

 carried out in several New England states, in New York and 

 many western states in the taking of a "cow census." The 

 results attained in the cow census recently taken in New Hamp- 

 shire will emphasize the importance of cow test associations. 



In the spring of 1905 a gentleman came into my office and 

 stated that he was instructed by a prominent dairy paper to take 

 a cow census in Vermont. I directed him to several typical 

 dairy sections. The results of his study of 100 herds were pub- 

 lished. According to his findings 32 herds were kept at a profit 

 and 68 at a loss. His report was made in much detail and its 

 publication excited much comment. His critics claimed that his 

 survey was inadequate, his judgment faulty, his attitude biased, 

 his knowledge imperfect, his choice of herds unwise, his motives 

 unfair, his temperament unjudicial, his findings unrepresenta- 

 tive and worthless. He was charged with every crime in the 

 decalogue and particularly with the fracture of the ninth com- 

 mandment. Now these critics misconceive the purpose of such 

 work. It is not meant to boom, to advertise, to exploit, or to 

 compliment, but to expose. The methods of the detective rather 

 than of the promoter are used. The observer simply states 

 things as he sees them, without misrepresentation or coloring. 

 Whether he sees them correctly or not is another matter. 



I reviewed this census two years ago, before the Vermont 

 Association. I tried to show what it meant and what it did not 

 mean. A similar cow census has been taken this year in New 

 Hampshire with a similar outcome, and many others have been 

 elsewhere taken. A review of the New Hampshire work, 

 analyzing data, and drawing deductions may be worth while. 



Let us at the outset get a clear idea of just what a cow census 

 is. It is simply a comparison made, on say a hundred farms, 

 of the cost of food fed the cows and of the income obtained 

 from the creameries. Many things on each side of the account 

 are not taken into consideration ; the manure, the skim-milk, the 

 fat cows, the calves, home usage of dairy products, etc., on the 



