136 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



record of the herd begins with 1856, and ends with 1863. 

 He kept up the number of fifty cows ; and the main point is 

 the steady increase in their average product year after 

 year : — 



1863 

 225 



In eight years he had entirely changed his animals, al- 

 though keeping the same stock, improving by good manage- 

 ment and without expense. The result was an increased 

 product of a hundred pounds of butter a year to each 

 cow, three-quarters of which he reckoned clear gain. It 

 was a most common-sense, practical, business-like operation. 

 Any farmer can do the like. 



On a high bluff overlooking the village of Prattsville and 

 the farm where this work was done, the profile of Col. 

 Zadock Pratt stands out in bold relief, cut on the solid 

 rock, — a fitting monument to one of the first men who sys- 

 tematically undertook, in an inexpensive way, the improve- 

 ment of the common milch stock of America, and left an 

 authentic record of his doings as a guide and encouragement 

 to others. 



Some men feel satisfied, if, on keeping a record of the prod- 

 uct of the whole herd, it shows a good annual average per 

 cow. But the knowledge of what each animal does for its 

 owner is far more valuable than the herd average ; the main 

 object of record being to show up the non-paying cows, that 

 they may be weeded out. A very common mistake is made 

 in dividing the gross product of the herd by the average 

 number of cows in milk, instead of the whole number kept. 

 It should be remembered that every cow has to be fed twelve 

 months in the year, and every twelve months lessens her 

 period of usefulness by a year : therefore what is wanted 

 is not what the animal yields while in milk, but what she 

 produces during every calendar year. 



Still further : as to a record, milk-production alone is not 

 sufficient ; quality, as well as quantity, must be considered 

 in the question of profit, especially if butter-making be the 

 object. The only sure way is to test the milk of every cow 



