20 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



when well along in the period of lactation than when fresh, and we 

 should test her when fresh, again near the middle of the period of 

 lactation, and again near the close, and average these tests to get the 

 normal percentage of butter fat which the cow gives. 



Now to multiply the number of pounds of milk the cow gives in a year 

 by the percentage of butter fat gives the number of pounds of butter 

 fat the cow will give in a year. Reducing this to merchantable butter 

 by adding one-sixth of itself and we have the pounds of butter a cow 

 will give in a year. 



A STANDARD FOR BUTTER PRODUCTION. 



How much butter ought a cow to produce in a year to make her profit- 

 able? Mr. Gurler, the author of American Dairying and a practical 

 dairyman, says there is no profit for him in a cow that produces only 

 200 pounds of butter in a year. Figure the labor, interest on the money 

 invested and the cost of feed, he says, and it takes about 200 pounds of 

 butter to pay the bill. Then, if that statement is true, our standard 

 should be higher than that. So we might begin by assuming 250 pounds 

 of butter as our standard, and at the end of the first year dispose of 

 all the cows that will not come up to that standard. The next year 

 we can raise the standard to 300 pounds, and later on make it still 

 higher. Many dairymen now will not keep cows that do not average 400 

 pounds of butter in a year. And when we consider that individual cows 

 have produced 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 and even more than 1,000 pounds 

 of butter in a year, we realize that there is plenty of chance for develop- 

 ment in the dairy business. 



BREEDING THE DAIRY HERD. 



When we have selected out the unprofitable cows then we should 

 breed the remainder to the best sire obtainable. He should be of unques- 

 tionable breeding. We would like to have his sire a producer of dairy 

 cows with a splendid dairy cow for mother. And we want him to be a 

 splendid individual, showing constitutional vigor and possessing mas- 

 culinity and courage. But with all this the only real test of a good 

 sire is the heifers that he will produce. Are they good or are they 

 common? This tells the story. If they are satisfactory then we have 

 drawn a prize. If not we have drawn a blank. 



The great drawback to improvement in the breeding of our domestic 

 livestock is continually changing sires. We change too often before w^e 

 know the effect the sire will have on the herd. 



CARE OF THE HERD. 



The whole subject is expressed in the one word ^'comfort." Make 

 the dairy cow comfortable and she will yield you a profit. Ex-Govenor 

 Hoard of Wisconsin, editor of Hoard's Dairyman, says we must if we 

 wish to make a success of dairying, treat the dairy cow as a mother, 

 and I am sure he is right. You must treat the cow gently, get on the 

 right side of her, coax the milk out of her rather than try to force it out. 



The dairy cow is susceptible to inclement weather and she must be 

 protected from cold and storms to do her best. A good rule on a 



