SEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK-PART VII. 283 



NO ACCOUNTS KEPT. 



It is equally surprising that these poor cows are not known to the 

 owner; their demand on his charity is not suspected. It is very hard to 

 find a dairyman who employs any means whatever of knowing -the exact 

 returns from each cow in his herd. The ordinary dairyman has no idea 

 of how such milk, butter fat or butter each animal produces in a year, 

 or how much it costs to feed her. The natural result with the majority 

 of our dairy farmers is large investment of money and labor for too 

 small returns. 



EVEN IF MILK IS SOLD BY WEIGHT ALOXE. 



If a man has a cow giving 5 per cent milk, that milk is worth more 

 pound for pound than milk testing 3 per cent, and costs more to produce 

 it. The dairyman can take advantage of the extra value in the milk of 

 such a cow by adding to his cow giving a large flow, but testing much 

 lower in fat. This would economically increase the amount of milk with- 

 out reducing the test of all the milk below a fair standard. In this way 

 his high-testing cows are made worth more to him and he can afford to 

 keep them; otherwise they would be less economical than the low or 

 medium testing cows. Every dairyman should know the test of every 

 cow's milk even if he sells milk by weight alone. 



If the millf is sold by test, then of course it is of direct importance 

 to test as well as weigh the milk of each cow in order to know what 

 income is returning. 



The yield of milk may vary greatly at different times in the milking 

 period Or under different feed and care. A cow that gives a large flow 

 of milk for a short time may not yield as much for the year as a cow 

 that gives a smaller amount for a longer time. It is the total of the 

 year's production that counts. 



THE ONLY WAY. 



There is no other or easier way to find out the accurate production of 

 each cow than to weigh and test the milk of each separately. This 

 method is found simple and practical by these who have tried it, and 

 their common verdict is that they receive much better pay for this than 

 any other labor done on the farm. 



The measure of milk will indicate its weight fairly well, but to be of 

 value the measure must be exact, and it is much easier to weigh the milk 

 than to measure it. Some may think they can estimate what a cow gives 

 by noting how high the milk comes in the pail, but this is nothing more 

 than guessing and is far more liable to be wrong than even approxi- 

 mately right. The froth usually prevents seeing where the milk comes 

 to on the side of the pail, and as the froth varies in thickness at different 

 times and with different cows, it is very apt to deceive the guesser. 



THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCE. 



Experienced dairymen who have begun weighing the milk have told 

 the writer without exception that a close guess at the amount of milk in 

 the pail is practically impossible, and they have every one been surprised 

 at the revelation of the scales. 



