CO-OPERATION IN DAIRYING. 101 



It seems to me that policy, if not principle, would lead a man 

 to that conclusion. For instance, here are five or ten farm- 

 ers living in a neighborhood, who are not able to keep more 

 than four or six cows each. Now, if there are ten farmers 

 who can keep six cows each, there are sixty cows. Let those 

 farmers unite and say, " We wish to secure the best possible 

 results of the dairy, and we will decide upon some breed of 

 cow." If it is Jersey, very well ; if it is Short-horn, very 

 well : but take that which is decided to be the best, that it is 

 believed will secure the best results. I believe it has been 

 generally decided that the Jersey is the best : others may be 

 equally as good, but no matter. Let those ten farmers unite 

 with this end in view, consult each other's interest, and con- 

 fer with each other upon the whole matter. They have 

 decided, then, to have one class of cows, and with this num- 

 ber they can obtain a proper sire, and keep him for that 

 special purpose ; and then they can secure, it seems to me, in 

 the course of a few years, by constant pruning and constant 

 observation, a class of cows far superior to those with which 

 they began, no matter what their conditions may be, and I 

 should say, secure the best cows. It is certain that they can 

 get something that is better than any thing that we have 

 had. 



Then, again, in the matter of keeping. There is very 

 much in the food of cows that determines the quality of the 

 milk, or the cream, or the butter, no matter what it is. Now 

 let us consider the condition of our pastures first, and en- 

 deavor to prepare them alike, so that they will produce near- 

 ly the same quality of feed; then let us endeavor to have 

 our mowings as nearly as possible the same, so that our hay 

 will be of the same quality, so that there shall be a uniform- 

 ity of results. 



Then in the matter of making butter. My theory is, that 

 each and every farmer should make his own butter. We 

 should then have the same dairy arrangements, because that 

 is an easy matter. If we can have running water, so much 

 the better, to secure a uniform temperature of the milk ; 

 otherwise, it is a very easy matter, by the use of wells or ice, 

 to obtain that. It requires a little time and a little expendi- 

 ture ; but I am sure that it will pay in the end. Then we 

 have our milk at home, we have skimmed it. If we think 



