TENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK-PART VHI 337 



These yields were so phenomenal that, upon meeting this dairyman, I 

 questioned him closely as to the way in which these tests were made. 

 He finally admitted that he did not weigh the milk but said that No. 1, 

 for instance, gave more milk than they could get into a sixteen quart pail, 

 so he knew she gave as much as seventy-five pounds a day. When I ques- 

 tioned as to the test I found he had each cow's milk tested the fall pre- 

 vious at the creamery, and took it for granted that the cows would test 

 the same the year through. These findings are about on a par with the 

 results usually obtained in trying to find out something about the pro- 

 duction of a cow. 



The next step taken by the American dairyman to determine the value 

 of his cow was the weekly tests and these continued to be made until fi- 

 nally it was announced that a cow had given 46 pounds and 12 ounces of 

 butter in seven days, and that many cows had, in these weekly tests, 

 made a pound of butter from less than six pounds of milk, and in one or 

 two instances, from less than four pounds of milk. 



The public, naturally, became incredulous, and demanded some more 

 accurate information as to the production of cows. 



With the invention of the Babcock test in 1890 it became possible to 

 both accurately and easily determine the butter fat production of a cow. 

 The Holstein breeders were the first to embrace the opportunity offered 

 by the Agricultural Experiment Station to have their cows officially tested 

 by representatives of the station, and thousands of such records have 

 been made of pure bred dairy cows of all breeds. 



These tests have proven that it is possible for a cow to give 28 pounds 

 of butter fat in seven days, under right conditions. But the dairy public, 

 backed up by the Experiment Station, demanded yearly tests in place of 

 those of shorter duration and the American Guernsey Cattle Club were 

 the first to inaugurate a system of yearly semi-official testing. By semi- 

 official I mean that the Experiment Station made a test of a cow, at least, 

 once each month during the year, and while the records published are not 

 absolutely accurate, they are approximately correct. 



The other breed association rapidly fell into line and now all of the 

 registry associations of pure bred dairy cows are encouraging the mak- 

 ing of these semi-official yearly tests. The results have far exceeded what 

 was deemed possible ten years ago. 



The largest record yet made is that of Colantha 4th Johanna that gave 

 998 pounds of fat in 365 days. This cow is Holstein and is owned by my 

 neighbor, W. J. Gillett, of Rosendale, Wisconsin. 



The largest record made by a Jersey cow is that held by Jacoba Irene, 

 with a production of 952 pounds of fat a year, and what was more re- 

 markable in her case, is the production of 2,331 pounds of fat in thirty- 

 seven consecutive months. 



The largest record made by any Guernsey cow is that Dollie Dimple 

 that made 906 pounds of fat, commencing at three and a half years of age. 



The best Ayrshire record is that of Rena Ross, 644 pounds of fat in a 

 year. 



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