DAIRY FARMING DAIRYING. 79 



it is believed tliat these may be avoided by feeding in moderate amounts and 

 in combination with other feeds. 



Is dairy farming profitable":' W. F. Spillman (HonnVs Dainjman, Jfl 

 {1910), No. 11, pp. JfOJf, .'/O.J).— The author presents in tabular form data on 12 

 tj'pes of dairy farms in order to compare the net px'ofit when grain is raised 

 and when it is bought, both for large and small herds. The conclusion is 

 drawn that " at the present time in cases where the income of the cow is less 

 than something like $100 there is more profit in keeping the smaller herd and 

 raising the concentrates than in keeping a larger herd and buying the con- 

 centrates, but with herds where the income per cow is $130 or more it will 

 undoubtedly pay under present conditions to keep the larger herd and buy 

 the concentrates." 



Cow index of keep and profit, W. J. Fraser {Illinois ^ta. Virc. ISJf, pp. 22, 

 figs. 2). — The author has compiled a table in which the various items of income 

 and expenditure from a dairy herd, based on the findings of the department 

 of dairying at the station, are so presented that any dairyman can readily 

 ascertain the profit or loss per year for each cow in his herd, providing the 

 yields of milk and milk fat are known. There is a detailed explanation of 

 the methods by which the estimates were made. Tabulated data of a number 

 of herds are given to illustrate the range of profit and loss from individual 

 cows in a herd. 



The individual animal as the unit in profitable dairying, G. A. Smith 

 {New York State Sta. Bui. 322, pp. 16). — This presents cost data from the 

 station herd showing that the productivity of the individual cow is the true 

 basis on which to establish and maintain a herd for an economical milk pro- 

 duction. The cost of milk per iiound was found to range with different cows 

 in 190G from 0.48 to 1.34 cts., in 1907 from 0.6 to 1.578 cts., and in 1908 from 

 0.655 to 1.838 cts. 



"The best cow in the herd (the same cow) averaged 10,150 lbs. of 4 per cent 

 milk annually for 3 years on $.58 worth of food; the poorest cow (different ones 

 each year) averaged 3,350 lbs. of 5.85 per cent milk on $52.40 worth of food. 

 . . . [In 1908] if for the poorer half of the herd we had substituted animals 

 equal to those in the better half, it would have increased the yearly station 

 revenue $237.40 if we had sold milk at current shippers' prices, or $379.90 if 

 we had sold butter fat. with an added expense of only .$40, the cost of the extra 

 food consumed by the better cows." 



Data obtained from inquiries sent to dairymen are also presented, which 

 emphasize the importance of weeding out poor cows if a profit is to be ob- 

 tained at the present high prices of feeds. 



Robber cows in dairy herds, F. II. Hall {New Yor>lc State Sta. Bui. 322, 

 popular 6(7., pp. 2-8). — A popular edition of the above. 



A decade of official tests of dairy cows, 1899-1909, F. W. Woll and R. T. 

 Harris (Wisconsin Sta. Bui. I'Jl. jtp. S-.'i9, figs. 23). — This is an account of the 

 work of the station in making official tests of dairy cows. The number of tests 

 during the year ended October 1, 1909, aggregated 1,479, an increase of 11 per 

 cent over the previous year. The various breeds represented were as follows: 

 Holstein, 364; Guernsey, 143; Jersey, 28; Red Polled, 7; and grades, 1. Of the 

 Holsteiu tests, 20 were 2-day tests, 352 7-day tests, and 10 30-day te.sts. During 

 the last decade these tests have been conducted in 27 counties for 109 breeders, 

 in all a total of 2,764 cows. 



It is believed that the system of official and semiofficial testing has been 

 largely responsible for the improved breeding, feeding, and care of dairy stock 

 which has exerted an influence upon the entire dairy industry. During the 

 first 5 years of the decade the average production of aged Holstein cows on 



