79 



able cow and the least ])rofitable but one were both of the same breed. 

 Of the two most profitable cows one was fed for 584 and the other 

 for only 278 days. 



To the practical daiiyman these experiments, conducted with the 

 j-esonrces and accuracy of an experiment station, teach clearly the 

 dirtVrcncc between coavs which arc ])i-ofitable and those which are not, 

 and the importance of selecting the former for his dairy and getting 

 rid of tiie latter. To the experimenter and to the breeder they illus- 

 trate the futility of judging of the relative merits of different breeds 

 from experiments with a small number of animals, though the results 

 are less emphatic in this regard than if they had been obtained with 

 full-blooded cows instead of grades. 



Coiichisions. — The following are among the conclusions drawn 

 from these experiments : 



(1) The total profit over net cost of feed and of cow in no instance 

 exceeds 15.1)7 cents per day; the average in 11 cases is 12.91 cents. 

 In one case, wliei'e the average daily yield of milk was as low as 7.7 

 (fuarts. there is a loss of 1.2 cents per day. 



(2) The profit is controlled in every case by the value of manure 

 oI)tainable. In one case it prevents serious loss; in one it represents 

 the entire gain ; in all others, more than one-half the gain. 



(H) In selecting a diet for dairy cows, it should be remembered that 

 the \alue of the manure is largely determined by the amount of ferti- 

 lizing constituents in the feed. 



(4) Pains should be taken to collect and preserve in its most valu- 

 able form the manure obtained from dairy cows. 



(5) Although the dairy cow, aside from the A^alue of her milk, is an 

 important factor in mixed fanning for the economical disposition of 

 home-raided crojjs and the production of manure, yet her value as a 

 mere })r()ducer of manure for the market may be Avell questioned. 



((')) Judging from the conditions in this locality, a cow which 

 yields on the average not more than 8 quarts a day had better be sold 

 to the butcher than kept for milking, if the milk is to be sold at 

 wholesale rates. 



Analyses of fodder imaterials, C. A. Goessmaxn, Ph. D. (pp. 

 10-12). — These include two samples of white soja bean (seed), and 

 one of soja bean (entire plant, dry). This ])lant, which is A^aluable as 

 food for man and domestic animals, nuiy be successfully cultivated in 

 a light, well-fertilized soil and in a climate similar to that suitable for 

 Indian corn. 



BULLETIN No. m, MARCH, 1889. 



Ox COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS, C A. (jrOESS:MAXX, PlI. D. (pp. 1-12). 



Under a new State law discrimination must hereafter be made " be- 

 tween analyses of samples collected by a duly qualified delegate of the 

 Kxpei-iment Station, in conformity Avith the rules prescribed by the 

 new laws and those analyses Avhich are made of samples sent to the 

 Stilt ion for that purpose by outside parties. In regard to the former 



