DAIRY AND SE;i;d IMPROVEMENT MEETINGS. 283 



ESSAYS 



BY STUDENTS IN AGRICULTURAL COURSE IN SECONDARY SCHOOL'S, 

 IN COMPETITION FOR PRIZES OFFERED BY MAINE DAIRYMEn's 

 ASSOCIATION. 



WHAT IS GAINED BY WEIGHING AND TESTING 



YOUR MILK. 



By Earl Smith^ Bucksport. 

 (Prize Essay.) 



In colonial times and extending up to within one or twc 

 generations of the present time, the cow was given but little 

 care. Generally, the cow freshened in the spring, as was the 

 case in her original wild state, gave milk during the summer 

 while there was an abundance of green food, then as soon as 

 the food became poorer her yield would begin to drop off 

 until by mid-winter, few, if any, would give enough to pay 

 for the milking. It cost but little to keep the cow through the 

 summer and the returns from her milk in the form- of butter 

 or cheese would generally pay for her feed during the winter. 

 For this reason dairying became simply a side issue, varying 

 in importance according to the location. 



Times have changed. Men are now in the business for the 

 returns they can get from it as a specialty. The cow has been 

 bred toward this end until she is a machine for the production 

 of milk from the feed which is given her. All else seems to 

 have been lost sight /of in the effort to geit the maximum pro- 

 duction of the thing which at firsit thought is the only chance 

 of income. So great has been the Change in this direction that 

 in some cases (and their numlber is on the increase) the cow's 

 usefulness is limited to not more than five or six years. The 

 stamina of the animal has been impaired by forced feeding on 

 the heavy, richer grains. Men who work day in and day out 

 feeding cattle the year tlhrough are apt to forgeit that they are 



