296 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



For convenience in comparison for the reader as well as for reference in 

 future reports the product of the herd during their first year as reported in 

 bulletin No. 238 is given below as Table lA. 



TABLE lA. 



Of the twenty original cows reported in Table lA, sixteen have reports in 

 Table 1. These sixteen have collectively thirty records. It will be noted 

 that of these thirty records there are but eight which exceed the initial 

 record of the individual cow as shown in Table lA. Further a comparison 

 of the average as shown in the last line of each table shows 30 pounds more 

 milk and 10 pounds more butter fat per cow for the first year. These cows 

 were purchased for fall freshening in a locality where winter dairying was 

 not generally practiced. Most of the cows had been dry for some little 

 time, quite a few of them a good share of the season. Practically all of 

 them had had a good rest and were carrying sufficient flesh to insure maxi- 

 mum yields after freshening. Then too the management was a little more 

 uniform during the first year than was possible to arrange for during suc- 

 ceeding years. As will be shown in the feeding tables which follow, a smaller 

 amount of silage and some of the other cheaper feeds were available for the 

 herd in subsequent years; these had to be supplemented with grains and 

 other more expensive foods, consequently the profit item was adversely 

 influenced. It will further be observed from a comparison of the two tables 

 that the average number of days of lactation as shown in Table I is slightly 

 less than in Table lA; this would be sufficient to offset the smaller average 

 milk yield. The smaller average production of butter fat is however largely 

 caused by the lower average per cent of butter fat. The average for Table 

 I being 14 per cent lower than for Table lA. 



