256 Bulletin 38. 



THE VALUE OF A DAIRY HERD RECORD. 

 No. 23, December i. 



In a previous Timely Hint concerning the selection of dairy 

 cows, the necessity of testing and keeping a record of the product 

 of the individual cows of the herd was strongly urged. In order 

 to demonstrate this necessity when intelligent management of the 

 herd is attempted, the writer has kept such a record of two herds 

 during the past year, following the plan that he would recommend 

 for general practice. 



The milk was weighed and sampled at every milking and the 

 samples tested twice a month, the writer testing the milk and 

 keeping the record as his share of the work. The owners of the 

 herds state that the extra time required to weigh the milk, record 

 the weight and take the samples, did not exceed one minute per 

 cow. The samples tested every two weeks were composite samples 

 consisting of a part of the milk from each milking during the 

 two weeks, and were kept in condition for testing by the addition 

 of bichromate of potash and bichloride of mercury in about equal 

 parts. The time required for testing each set of samples for the 

 two herds was about a half day. 



It was the original idea to secure herds fairly representing 

 the different breeds used for dairy purposes, but the men owning 

 Shorthorn and Holstein herds failed to co-operate when the time 

 came to begin the test. Of the two herds of which records were 

 kept, one consisted of twelve full-blood Jerseys, and the other of 

 thirty -five cows of mixed breeding, some being high-grade Short- 

 horns, some grade Jerseys, and others of various admixtures of 

 blood. Of this latter herd, thirty cows completed a year's record, 

 which is given below. This record, we think, speaks for itself, 

 and demonstrates what a similar record of any dairy herd will de- 

 monstrate, that it pays to keep a record. 



In addition to the record of the pounds of milk and butter fat 

 produced hy each cow, we have calculated the comparative profits 

 returned by the different animals. The gross receipts have been 

 determined by multiplying the pounds of butter fat by twenty 

 hundredths, twenty cents per pound being the average price paid 

 for butter fat in the valley during the year The net receipts 



