FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 23 



shall be required that the mangers be kept clean, and that the hay, 

 stover and ensilage be harvested and properly cured when they contain 

 the largest amount of digestible nutrients ; and the concentrates should be 

 clean and sweet. The dairy herds of Michigan that are being so fed. that 

 are warmly and comfortably housed, and are given but a limited amount 

 of exercise, aside from that of elaborating milk. are. I believe, doing 

 more to improve the condition of the farmer and his farm than any 

 other line of live stock husbandrv. 



MARKET MILK. 



(Abstract.) 



BY HENRY E. ALVORD. CHIEF OF THE DAIRY DIVISION OF THE U. S. DEPARTMENT 



OF AGRICULTURE. 



During the last few years the production of milk for the supply of 

 families living in cities and villages, as well as for creameries and 

 cheese factories, has undergone a wonderful development. There is. 

 however, plenty of room for improvement and attention can well be paid 

 to the best methods of producing high grade milk. There is today a 

 vast amount of inferior milk placed upon the market. In the cities the 

 boards of health have arranged for the inspection of milk and this has a 

 good effect upon the demand, as the consumption of milk increases as the 

 confidence of the public in its purity and high quality advances. 



The sale of whole milk from the farm has a very injurious effect upon 

 the fertility of the soil and the original productivity of the farm, when 

 the milk produced is sold off the farm, unless some means of fertilizing 

 and the replacing of the plant food thus disposed of are used. When one 

 is in the business of producing market milk the location and means of 

 transportation are of the utmost importance and good roads are essen- 

 tial if the market is to be reached. 



It is entirely possible for a dairyman to purchase his cattle foods and 

 to produce his milk at a profit even though he has no land but that on 

 which his buildings are situated. While the farm buildings need not be 

 elaborate or expensive, they should be convenient and adapted to the 

 purpose. Although it need not be as warm, in other respects the build- 

 ing in which cows are kept should be a fit place for a man to live in. 

 In the market milk business the use of pure bred cows is not advisable. 

 A business of this kind cannot be successful without personal super- 

 vision as there are few hired men who can be relied upon to look 

 after all of the details of caring for the cows, and see that the milk 

 goes from the cow to the consumer in the proper condition. Cleanliness, 

 begins upon the premises and includes the owner and his assistants. 

 Nine-tenths of the charges of uncleanliness in milk should be made 

 against the men who have her in charge, and not against the cow. 



The odor of the stable nearly always comes from the milk man and not 

 from the cow. All disturbances such as feeding should be put off until 

 after milking. Nothing should be done in the stable within one hour 



