140 Thirty-Sixth Annual Report of the 



incredible that so few carry it out. Spring balances with pointers 

 so set that the empty pail brings it to the zero mark, a ruled sheet 

 of paper and a pencil constitute the apparatus. Hanging the full 

 pail on the scale, noting, recording and footing up the totals con- 

 stitute the operation. That is all. 



Even this relatively small amount of work may be reduced 

 to but one-tenth of its volume without affecting the essential ac- 

 curacy of the results. If one weighs the milk of each cow during 

 any three days in each month, say, for instance the 14th, 15th 

 and 1 6th, or the loth, 20th and 30th, and then puts a zero at the 

 end of the addition, the result will be close enough to the 

 weights which would have been obtained during the entire year 

 had weights been made daily, that is to say, close enough to en- 

 able one to detect profitable animals. Of course one naturally 

 takes cognizance of a shortened month if the animal comes in or 

 goes dry during the month. This statement as to the validity of 

 the results thus obtained is based on a thorough survey of the 

 immense mass of data accumulated during seventeen years at the 

 Vermont Station with a herd from a dozen to seventy cows. 



What does it mean in terms of time ? Twenty cows in milk 

 on the average, say ten months in the year. 20 x 6 x 10 equals 

 200 weights of milk in the course of a year. Separately to weigh 

 and to record the milk of each cow, if scales are conveniently 

 placed, can hardly take more than half a minute per cow. It 

 takes us less than than. This totals 600 minutes, or one working 

 day of ten hours for one man ; and as a result of that day's work 

 one gains a close knowledge as to the efficiency of his several 

 cow machines as milk makers. Scales cost about $3.00 ; paper and 

 pencil 3 cents. Is not such information worth so slight an ex- 

 penditure ? 



