68 The Bulletin. 



measured by its capacity for work, or, in case of the cow, by her production. 

 A man is paid, or ought to be paid, for his ability to work, eitber with his mind 

 or muscle. The value of a race horse is measured by his record. The value of 

 the dairy cow depends upon her capacity to produce butter and milk at a profit. 

 So the first thing we ought to do is to use the scales and Babcock test and fiud 

 out whether old Brindle is paying or not. If we were dairying for fun it might 

 be all right not to know this, but if for business we must use business methods. 

 It is not enough to know that a cow gives a pail full of milk when she is fresh ; 

 we want to know what she produces in a year. To make butter profitable on 

 the farm it is very important to know these things, because the small dairyman 

 will have to breed and raise his cows, and if he acts wisely there is no reason 

 why he cannot breed as good or even better than the larger breeder, as he can 

 give the herd his personal supervision, while the large breeder has to depend 

 on hired help, which in most cases will not take the interest that the owner 

 would. I have been asked often whether or not a mule colt could not be raised 



• to maturity as cheaply as a cow. My answer to this is, it probably can be, but 

 why not raise a cow that will bring as much as a mule? This I have tried, and 

 believe I have succeeded in doing. 



To get the most profit out of butter on the farm it is necessary to do it in a 

 co-operative way. Get several of your neighbors interested. This is particu- 

 larly necessary when the market is not convenient and the product has to be 

 shipped, as it is rather expensive to ship a small amount often, which it is very 

 necessary to do in order to get the best price. By combining the shipments the 

 cost can be very much reduced, as each can do this in turn. It will be quite a 

 while yet before creameries of any size can be run to any advantage. We will 

 first have to get more people interested in keeping cows, but with the hand 

 separator and proper handling of the cream there is no reason why we cannot 

 make just as good butter or even better on the farm. If we try to learn and 

 have conditions right we can be sure to turn out the best product. Our people 

 should be educated to make a better quality of butter, as this will greatly 



increase the consumption. When there is a lot of inferior butter on the mar- 

 ket people use but little of it. I was once told by one of my customers that the 

 only objection he had to my butter was "that it took too much of it," that he 

 used double the amount he did of cheap butter. However, this man is still 

 buying the best butter he can get for family use and paying the difference in 

 price. 



Co-operation with your neighbors will* also greatly help in breeding up better 

 dairy cattle. By co-operating we can buy the best sires and change our breed- 

 ing without so much expense. I think every dairyman, it matters not how 

 small his business, should make an effort to breed registered stock, as it does 

 not cost fmy more to raise them, and when he has a surplus there is so much 

 more profit in what he sells. 



One among the most noted Jersey breeders in America to-day is a man who 

 only keeps eighteen to twenty cows. He has bred and developed some' among 

 the largest producers. On the -Island of Jersey the breed has been developed 

 by small dairymen through co-operation. If the average farmer could get 

 rid of his prejudices and false notions about registered stock and be per- 

 suaded to give up saying this, "They say grades are worth just about as 

 much for business as registered stock," he would put himself far along on the 

 road toward the improvement of his cows and a big increase in their earnings. 

 They seem to stick to their notion that the haphazard cow is really better and 

 more profitable for them than a cow born of an improved sire and dam. The 

 same low grade of judgment prevails upon the subject of feeding. Many peo- 

 ple really think they cannot afford to feed their cows well. It is true that no 

 man can afford to buy feed, or raise it either, for poor cows, but it is certainly 

 true that no man can afford not to feed a good cow the right food and all she 

 will eat and digest. 



