DAIRY FARMING DAIRYING. 503 



of butter fat per year, on the average, and 25 out of thi' total number of .SS cows 

 yielded a profit of $40 or more, over the cost of tlie food eaten. 



"(2) The average production of 10 cows during their year of maxinunn production 

 wa^ 376.51 lbs. of butter fat, and their average net profit $5S. 21. During the year 

 following their maximum production the same cows yielded, on the average, 281.47 

 lbs. of butter fat and a net profit of $40.82. Cows making exceptionally high records 

 for a single year are almost certain to require a portion of the succeeding year for 

 recovery, and will therefore give a much smaller production and lower net profit for 

 that year. 



"(3) Cows ))elonging to the different breeds represented in the lierd yielded, on 

 the average, as follows: Red Polled (1 cow), 461.81 lbs. of butter fat per year; Hol- 

 stein (5 cows), 351.62 lbs.; Guernsey (9 cows), 319.35 lbs.; Jersey (12 cows), 301.13 

 lbs., and Shorthorn (11 cows), 281.73 lbs. The average net profit returned by cows 

 of these breeds decreased in the same order from |56.70 (Red Polled) to $36.09 

 ( Shorthorn ) . 



"(4) The cows in the university herd may be considered as representing three dif- 

 ferent types of cows, viz, extreme dairy type, large dairy type, and dual-purpose type. 

 If the results for cows of the same ty]ie be averaged, we find that the large dairy cows 

 lead in average annual production of fat with 325.23 lbs., the extreme dairy cows being 

 next with 310.21 lbs., and the dual-purpose cows last with 292.99 lbs. The rank of 

 the cows, according to net profit returned, decreased in the same order from $45.31 

 for the large dairy cows, to $37.82 for the dual-purpose cows. In the opinion of the 

 authors, cows of the large dairy type of the particular breed suiting the fancy of the 

 farmer and weighing, say 1,000 lbs. or more, will, everything considered, be found 

 the most satisfactory for the dairy farmer; cows of the dual-purpose type, on the 

 other hand, are to be recommended for farmers who wish to utilize more or less of the 

 rough feed produced on their farms for raising beef for the market, in conjunction 

 with keeping a number of cows for milk production. It is not, in our opinion, the 

 part of wisdom for our dairymen to select small refined cows with a square habit of 

 body in an extreme degree as the most desirable type of dairy cow. 



"(5) Cows of exceptional merit as producers were found within all the different 

 types or breeds represented in our herd; the main reliance in selecting cows for the 

 dairy herd should therefore be placed, not on any particular type or breed, but on 

 individual excellence for dairy purposes. The best indications of true merit in dairy 

 cows are a large digestive capacity, as evidenced by great depth and length of body, 

 and a general refinement in conformation, as shown by fineness of bone in the legs, 

 a clean-cut feminine head, a long and fine neck, light shoulders, prominent back- 

 bone, a fine, elastic quality of udder, and a well-developed milk vein system. Minor 

 X^oints are fine, silky hair, thin unctuous and movable skin, large bright eyes, and a 

 general sprightly appearance. 



"(6) The milk produced by the cows decreased somewhat in quality as the cows 

 advanced in age. The average per cent for the year with cows in our herd came as 

 follows: 1st year, 4.49 per cent; 2d year, 4.40 per cent; 3d year, 4.29 per cent, and 

 4th year, 4.17 per cent. 



"(7) The flow of milk decreased, on the average, for all cows in our herd and for 

 4 years, with 8 per cent for each month during the progress of the lactation period, 

 and the production of butter fat decreased with 7.3 per cent for each month. 



"(8) Our dual-purpose cows maintained their flow of milk during the progress of 

 the lactation period, as well or better than cows of the dairy types; the shrinkage in 

 the production of milk between the third and the fortieth weeks of the lactation 

 period for the same cows was 44 per cent for the extreme dairy cows, 59 per cent for 

 tlie large dairy (;ows, and 49 per cent for the dual-purpose cows, and in the produc- 

 tion of fat for the same types of cows, 43, 60, and 46 per cent, res])ectively. 



