STATE DAIRY ASSOCIATION. 343 



of the year the farmer knows just what profit each cow has made, and 

 the unprofitable ones are disposed of as soon as possible. Heifer calves 

 are raised from the best only. As a result, the average production of 

 milk by this breed has increased surprisingly within a few years, and 

 probably the breed is being improved faster than any other breed in the 

 world. 



We need some such systematic method of testing our cows, and I 

 believe \we need it more than any other one thing. A farmer can buy a 

 Babcock tester and test his own cows, but he rarely does it, and when he 

 does it is usually done in anything but a systematic way, and only 9 

 little of the possible benefits is derived. 



Agricultural Schools. — Another lesson from European agriculture 

 is the benefit derived from agricultural schools. While they have noth- 

 ing to compare in equipment with our leading agricultural colleges, they 

 have vastly more schools for teaching agriculture. These are mostly 

 purely practical schools, and rank about with the short courses given in 

 our agricultural colleges. 



Denmark, with an area of one-fourth that of Missouri, has forty- 

 four well-attended agricultural schools. To compare with Denmark, 

 according to area, Missouri would have to have one hundred and sev- 

 enty-six agricultural schools. 



Dairy Management in Holland. — No dairyman can visit Holland 

 without being a cleaner and a better dairyman. Outside Holland, the 

 European dairymen, in my opinion, are behind us in regard to cleanli- 

 ness, but we are not in the same class with Holland. It has been well 

 said that this remarkable country is a cow's paradise. Here she cer- 

 tainly receives the best treatment of any place in the world. The farm 

 buildings are all of brick and of a uniform style. A common door 

 leads directly from the kitchen into the cow stable. Here the cows re- 

 main constantly about seven months in the year, and are cared for most 

 carefully. They stand very close to the family in the affections of the 

 owner. In summer they are on pasture constantly, and if a cold wind 

 or rain comes they are blanketed in the pastures. At short intervals they 

 are taken to the canals and washed. 



Behind each stall in the barn hangs a string from the ceiling, which 

 is tied to the bush of the tail, so when she lies down it is not soiled. 

 The Holland cows, called Holsteins in America, although they do not 

 come from Holstein, are a beautiful lot, and respond to the unusual care 

 with immense yields of milk. Holland dairying teaches us that careful, 

 kind treatment and comfortable surroundings pay handsomely when 

 given to a dairy cow. 



