696 BOAED OF AOBICDLTUEE. 



for them just as he had always. The station arranged for him to weigh 

 the daily millv yield and take frequent samples of the milk of each cow, 

 which was once a week ^tested for their butter fat composition by a 

 representative of the station. After the first milking period was over 10 

 of the cows were brought to the station and taken to its farm, where 

 they were cared for and fed liberally for two years. A record was kept 

 of all the food they ate, and the milk they produced was weighed daily, 

 and its fat composition measured. While these cows were being studied 

 the other cows left on the Gibson farm were also being studied just as 

 they were the first year. On the fourth period of milking the 10 cows 

 they bought were taken back to the Gibson farm and again subjected to 

 the same conditions they were under when the experiment began. - Dur- 

 ing the second milking period at the station they fed the cows all the 

 easily digested food they would consume without getting them out of 

 condition, economy of production being not considered. During the third 

 milking period they tried to feed all the coarse fodder each cow would 

 readily eat, and all the grain' that could be eaten in addition such as 

 would give return at the pail. I might say here that this third method 

 really represents our policy at Rockdale farm, to feed liberally yet eco- 

 nomically. Those cows for coarse fodder were fed red clover, timothy 

 hay and silage. When the cows were on pasture they also got a grain 

 ration, until the milk yield became very small. 



"Now, what was the result of this careful experiment covering four 

 years, bearing as it did on the health and vigor of the herd and its pro- 

 ducing capacity? Well, I notice in the first place that the total yield of 

 milk and butter fat was in nearly every case much increased while 

 the cows were at the experiment station under satisfactory care. Of the 

 10 cows it is shown that by liberal feeding the yield was inci'eased 46 

 per cent, in milk and 55 per cent, in fat. These 10 cows were not the 

 best in the herd of 21. Thej' simply represented a fair average of the 

 herd. Her-e is a fair sample of the way those cows did, taking Polly for 

 example: The first year she produced 3,143 pounds of milk and 177 

 pounds of fat; the second years she produced 5,526 pounds of milk and 

 346 pounds of fat; the third year she produced 4,802 pounds of milk and 

 283 pounds of fat; the fourth year she produced 2,945 pounds of milk and 

 184 pounds of fat. 



"Some of the other cows show an even greater influence from feed 

 and care than this. 



"In regard to the cost of the milk and fat during these different feed- 

 ing periods, it is interesting to note that the average cost of 100 pounds 

 of milk the first period on the Gibson farm was 53 cents, the fat being 

 12 cents a pound; the second period, when economy was not considered, 

 it was only 65 cents an 100 pounds for the milk and 14 cents a pound for 

 the fat, while the third period of good feeding the cost was reduced to 

 45-cents an 100 pounds for the milk and 10 cents a pound for the butter 



