714 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



rience and close obsei'vation and study of the animal will determine, and 

 seldom if ever, is there a feeder who Avill not overstep the Ijounds, for the 

 reason that we sometimes find cows whose capacity is less than their 

 ability to convert food into milk. This, however, is a i-are occurrence. 



In this test it was shown to be profitable where they were trying to 

 secure the maximum, economical production, to study each cow's likes and 

 dislikes, how and when she was Avatered, exercised and milked and which 

 feeds she liked best. One cow was particularly fond of alfalfa hay and 

 would eat more bj' far than any of the others, which, with corn and oats, 

 would produce the best results at the pail. All of which suggests the im- 

 portance of giving much more attention to the individual than is the com- 

 mon pi'actice. Knowledge of the individual, her requirements and her 

 returns is the key to success. 



Prof. Plumb: I think there is some danger of the college men leading 

 us to believe that it is all in feeding, and I fear that before some of these 

 folks get out of here they will wonder where they are at after this dis- 

 cussion is over. In my address that Avas the point I tried to bring out— 

 that the coav herself was the first and most important thing, and the feed 

 second to the coav. You must study the individuality of the cow. There 

 is not an experiment station in the United States that would propose or 

 attempt to tell you just what the rations should be for each individual 

 cow. I believe in a special combination of rations. For example, you 

 have corn, bran and oats, and some other things are good, and Avhen you 

 have mixed these up you have got a good ration, but you will have to 

 make changes for some animals according to their individuality, and this 

 you will have to study out yourself. Sometimes you will have to feed 

 seven pounds of this mixture to one animal and nine to another. You 

 must feed the animals according to their individual needs. Down in St. 

 Louis they tested each different animal as thoroughly as possible to bring 

 out her individuality. They had one person to look after this alone. There 

 is ahvays a question from the dollars and cents standpoint. It seems to 

 me that a man that has a number of cows can afford a man to look after 

 the feeding of his cows, and to study out their individuality. In the long 

 run it will pay him from a dollar and cents standpoint. We must study 

 the question of prices. It seems to me that this is the only thing for a 

 layman to do. Y'ou must find out whether or not you are making anything 

 off of your butter. You must figure out what your butter fat is costing 

 you. You must also study your conditions. When it comes to feeding 

 your cows the more individuality you put into it the more you will accom- 

 plish. It makes a great difference with different people as to what the 

 cows will pi'oduce. 



Mr. Wood: I have been in the dairy business for 15 years, and I think 

 a whole lot of this talk does not fit our case in the least. Every farmer 



