DAIRY MEETING. 173 



cost of feed and the large difference in profit is this : It takes 

 from 35 to 60 per cent of all a cow can eat for her mainte- 

 nance ration. A cow of limited capacity to consume food fre- 

 quently does not eat enough in addition to her maintenance 

 ration to produce enough product to pay for all the food con- 

 sumed. This type is illustrated by No. 2 and No. 4. 



Some cases like No. 6 produced enough milk to pay for the 

 maintenance ration and the food utilized for production, but the 

 percentage of food available for milk production is still small 

 and conseciuently the profit is small. 



Good cows like Nos. i, 3, and 5 use a smaller portion of all 

 food consumed for maintenance and hence more food is availa- 

 ble for production, resulting in larger profits ; the profit gener- 

 ally increasing with an increase in quantity of food consumed. 



Capacity, although not the only factor to be considered in 

 connection with a large production, is absolutely necessary in 

 a good dairy cow. 



Cows Nos. T, 3, and 5 represent the hope and the future of the 

 dairy business, while Nos. 2, 4, and 6 represent the present 

 despair. Cows of the former type are a source of pleasure and 

 profit while those of the latter are a source of discontent, 

 drudgery and loss. 



Cows of the type of No. 2 and No. 4 are not the greatest 

 danger to the profits and to the future of the dairy business as 

 they are so poor that even the least observing dairyman will 

 realize they are unprofitable and will dispose of them. Cow 

 No. 6 is a greater danger. The man who does not keep records 

 of his cows assumes that such a cow is profitable and he not only 

 keeps her but often breeds her to an inferior bull and raises 

 heifers of the same limited capacity for production and for 

 profits. 



These figures like those in table No. 2, emphasize that the 

 larger the yield of milk the greater the profit. 



COST OF KEEPING COW PER YEAR. 



In considering the cost of milk production the cost of feed is 

 only one factor ; in fact it is sometimes less than one-half the 

 expense of keeping a cow. 



Most of the following figures on cost of milk production are 



