1919] DAIRY FARMING DAIRYING. 275 



eutering iuto the computations (except inventory vulues of cows) are tabulated 

 as well as the area of the farm, the size of the herd, the predominating breed, 

 and the highest and lowest milk and butter fat production in each herd. 



The average amounts of feed and labor in all herds consumed annually per 

 cow were as follows: Grain 1.534 lbs., silage 4,971 lbs., hay 1,4G2 lbs., stover 

 1,065 lbs., green feed 4S4 lbs., pasture 187.2 days, man labor 162.8 hours, and 

 horse labor 2G.S hours. About 62 per cent of the grain was purchased. Feed 

 constituted 54 per cent, labor 28 per cent, and other charges IS per cent of 

 the total cost. Tlie average expenditures for items other than feed and labor 

 are also computed as percentages of the average inventory value of a cow 

 (.$69.70), viz: Land and building charge 8.1, equipment 3, interest, insurance, 

 and taxes 6.3, service fees 2.5, depreciation 3.5, and miscellaneous 4.3, making 

 a total of 27.7 per cent. As evidence that this method of dealing with such 

 items leads to uniform results, the data furnished by Bulletin 501 of the U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture (E. S. li., 30, p. 873) are treated in a similar manner 

 and the items total 27.9 per cent of the inventory value of a cow. 



The fertilizing constituents recovered in the manure of a cow are computed 

 for each herd. The average estimates are nitrogen 103.9, phosphoric acid 42.9, 

 and pota^jh 78.4 lbs. The average annual milk production was 5,884 lbs., and 

 the average butter fat 255.4 lbs. The total returns from milk, calves, and 

 manure averaged $124.62 per cow, while the expenses average $98.55, leaving 

 $25.47 net returns. In five of the farms the expenses exceeded the gross 

 returns. The net cost of producing milk, including loss on young stock, was 

 $76.06 per cow, or $1.30 per 100 pounds of milk. In July, 1918, it is estimated, 

 the net costs would have been $1.78 and $2.61, respectively. No charge for 

 managerial ability was added to these costs. 



" In fixing a price for milk, it would be unjust to use the average cost of 

 production, as this would cause about one-half of the dairymen to operate at a 

 loss, and no line of business could long endure such conditions. If 20 per cent 

 of the dairymen who furnished the foregoing data had been eliminated because 

 of inefficiency, a price could not justly have been set at a lower figure than .$1.58 

 or, under July, 1918, prices, approximately $3.58. If seasonal variations were 

 computed according to Warren's suggestion, such a price would range from 

 about $2.50 to $4.30 per 100 lbs." 



The composition, dig-estibility, and feeding value of alfalfa, J. B. Lindsey 

 and C. L. Beai.s (Ma.'^sachnsctts Sta. Bui. 1S6 {1918), pp. 105-Ul) .—This paper 

 considers alfalfa. as a feeding stuff with special reference to its value in milk 

 production, and is intended partly as a complement to a study of alfalfa cul- 

 ture in Massachusetts previou.sly noted (E. S. R., 31, p. 735). Seven feeding 

 experiments with dairy cows are reported, each conducted by the reversal 

 method during two periods. From 4 to 8 cows were used in each. In experiment 

 6 the periods were 4 weeks long; in the others, 5 weeks. 



Experiments 1 to 3 compare alfalfa hay, beet pulp, and corn meal with first- 

 cut naixed hay, beet pulp, and corn gluten feed or meal. The hay in each ration 

 furnished about 71 per cent of the dry matter. The 5 weeks' milk yield of the 

 22 animals on the alfalfa ration totaled 15,806 lbs. and on the mixed hay ration 

 15,733 lbs. Since there was a small difference in favor of the alfalfa ration in 

 each experiment, this result is held to indicate a slight stimulating effect of 

 alfalfa on milk flow. The animals showed a total increase in weight of 13 lbs. 

 on the alfalfa and 481 lbs. on the mixed hay ration, a difference attributed to 

 the lower energy value of alfalfa. The total protein in the milk (NX 6.25) 

 produced by the alfalfa ration was 545.3 lbs. and by the mixed hay ration 

 558.8 lbs. The total milk solids were, respectively, 2.125 and 2,149 lbs. These 



