DAIRY ASSOCIATION. 299 



confidence in you. They must be sure they are getting a good article. 

 Nothing makes a man so mad as to get something to eat and find that 

 it is not good, it makes him mad all the way through. 



It is important to have a good herd of cows. I was impressed 

 with a little point made by Mr. Patterson — I do not know that I can 

 express it as he did — while a good herd is important, a good herdsman 

 is of greater importance. I would rather take a scrub herd in the hands 

 of a thoroughbred herdsman than a thoroughbred herd in the hands of 

 a scrub herdsman. I have found that out by experience. I have seen 

 very fine herds in the hands of bad herdsmen and the result was simply 

 a loss, while I have seen common herds, give good results when in the 

 hands of a good herdsman. 



The thing is to produce a good article and deliver it to the city cus- 

 tomers regularly, carefully, promptly and in a nice condition and they 

 will be satisfied, and my experience is that it is more profitable than 

 the making of butter or cheese. In all I have had about thirty-three 

 years' experience in dair)nng, seventeen of which have been in the re- 

 tail milk business and the others in butter and cheese making and as far 

 as profits are concerned, I find much better profits in selling milk and 

 cream where you have a good market than there is in either of the 

 others. 



For the retail trade we put the milk in bottles. It is a little more 

 expensive but gives better satisfaction. 



DISCUSSION. 



Mr. Erwin : Do you not find that the percentage of loss in measur- 

 ing more than makes up the price of the bottles? 



iMr. Shepard : No. You will save some in measuring, but it will 

 not make up for the loss. There is too much breakage in the bottles 

 and the same wagon cannot carry as much milk, the bottles occupy about 

 three times the space. The milk is poured into the bottles and these 

 put up in cases and the spaces between the bottles are filled with 

 crushed ice. 



Mr. Smith: Do you test your herd? 



Mr. Shepard : Yes, and I find customers do not care so much 

 about the extra rich quality of milk as they do for the milk to be pure 

 and nice and well flavored. And it is important in securing a good 

 flavor to the milk to be very particular as to the feed of the cows. The 

 pastures should be as nearly free from weeds as possible; there should 

 be good grass and the feed should always be first class. I never buy 

 any corn unless it will grade No. 2. There is a great deal of corn 



