a close observation of the feed consumed by a cow, will enable a dairy 

 farmer to determine whether or not his cows are making a profit. It will 

 also enable him to intelligently weed the poorer cows. 



Dairy Cows may be purchased or they may be bred. 

 Frequently good cows may be bought at reasonable prices, but gen- 

 erally speaking they must be reared by the dairy farmer. For the dairy- 

 man, who cannot afford to keep pure-bred cows, it is desirable to select 

 grade or native cows and breed these to a pure-bred male belonging 

 to one of the dairy breeds. Great attention should be paid to the sire, 

 as milking quality in the female depends more on the sire than on the 

 dam. Dairy farmers do not sufficiently realize the importance of this 

 point. Excellent dairy cows may be secured at small cost by using a 

 dairy sire belonging to a dairy breed and a dairy family. In this way 

 a herd of ordinary or inferior breeding may soon be translormed into a 

 herd of good milkers. The fundamental mistake made by many breeders 

 of dairy cows is in the use of inferior or what are commonly called "scrub" 

 sires. The patrons of every cheese factory and creamery ought to have 

 the use of a pure-bred bull at nominal cost. It would pay the factories 

 to adopt some co-operative plan to secure this result. 



Calves and heifers for the dairy should be kept in a thrifty condition 

 but not too fat- They should commence milking when about two and 

 one-Kalf years old. At the end of the second lactation period and during 

 all future years they should produce not less than 6,000 lbs. milk or 250 

 lbs. butter yearly. This may be taken as a minimum standard of production 

 for profitable dairy cows. Stated another way, they should earn from 

 $25 to $100 per cow each year, above the cost of feed. 



Dairy Stable. The chief requirements in a dairy stable are that it 

 shall be light, clean, and healthful. The first is got by having plenty of 

 clean windows, the second by having cement floors, with stalls of proper 

 length and a gutter or drop behind the cows, and the last by having the 

 stable well ventilated, and whitewashed at least once a year. Mangers 

 are not necessary in a modern cow stable. 



Conditions vary so much on different farms that it is difficult to give 

 a plan suitable for all farms. The accompanying illustrations will show 

 the arrangements in the dairy stable of the College and on the whole it 

 is quite satisfactory. The feed bins are located at one end of the stable 

 and the box stalls, eleven in number, at the other. There is room for 

 thirty cows to be tied up. A large room above the stable holds the hay 

 and straw. This is not the most sanitary arrangement, but it is conven- 

 ient. 



The King system of ventilating is the one adopted in the. dairy stable 

 and it is quite satisfactory. There are six inlets and eight outlets. The 

 cost of putting in the ventilation was $136, including the cost of galvan- 

 ized iron ventilators, of which there are four connected with the eight 

 outlets from the stable. 



