196 agriculture; of maine. 



cow remaining the same. Professor Haecker at the head of 

 the dairy department of the Nebraska Agricultural College 

 substantially confirms this point when he says he knows of 

 farmers on farms almost adjoining where it costs one twice 

 as much to produce milk as the other. 



The milk agent of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad re- 

 cently told me that there are shippers on his line of road whose 

 annual product is as low as 2,780 pounds of milk per cow and 

 that the shippers at one station representing 1,400 cows sold 

 an average of 4,200 pounds per cow. Ex-Governor Hoard has 

 developed a herd that averages 8,000 pounds per cow a year. 

 Who can tell what is a fair price to receive for milk under 

 such varying conditions? 



Taking up some statements as to the cost per quart of pro- 

 ducing milk, the secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Agri- 

 culture estimates, as reported in the papers, that the cost of 

 producing a quart of milk is 5 cents for feed and i^ cents 

 for labor, depreciation, incidentals and interest on the invest- 

 ments — 6^ cents in all ; while Mr. Robert Edkins at the meet- 

 ing of the Pennsylvania Dairy Union estimated the cost to 

 him at less than half that amount, or 3-)- cents. He says the 

 cost of keeping a cow a year is $152 but the average yield of 

 the cows in his herd was 9,500 pounds. 



When intelligent, business-like men who keep books are so 

 hopelessly apart as $40 and $186 as to the cost of keeping a 

 cow a year, or 3 cents and 6j/2 cents as to the cost of a quart 

 of milk, it might seem foolish to urge more attention to book- 

 keeping or to utter any criticism because so many entirely 

 neglect it. 



At a hearing before the attorney general of the State of New 

 York it was noticeable how few farmers had definite state- 

 ments as to the exact cost of milk production. One man 

 "believed" that a fair profit might be obtained by selling milk 

 for five months of the year for 3 cents and for 5 cents for the 

 remaining seven. Another said, "I think it has cost me about 

 33% to 3->'4 cents to produce milk." Another gentleman said, 

 "I cannot say how much it costs me to produce milk per quart, 

 but I should think that it costs about 4% cents." Another gen- 

 tleman said, 'T have no figures, but it is my opinion that it cost 

 me from 3^4 to 3 1-3 cents to produce a quart of milk during 



