FOURTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART V. 303 



cow two years. There is no better food for dairjr cows, with a litilo 

 Lorain added, than ensilage. It is a good sncculent food aijproaching 

 nearer the grass condition than most any other food. 



We hope the time is not far distant when we will see a good silo 

 on almost every dairy farm in the State. Not only this, but we will see 

 alfalfa grown in abundance, as it is one of our cheapest sources of pro- 

 ducing protein. 



We can never expect to make much progress in dairying until more 

 intelligence is displayed in the production of milk. This certainly 

 opens a large field for future investigation. A lot of useless writing 

 has appeared in many of our agricultural papers within the last few 

 years on the merits of the dual purpose cow and the special dairy type. 

 What we want is a cow that will produce three hundred pounds or 

 more of butter in a year. It does not make much difference whether 

 she is a dual purpose or a special dairy type. If she can produce this 

 much butter she is entitled to the name of a dairy cow. 



iowa is a natural corn State, hence the value of the calf should be 

 taken into consideraticn. If we can get a good large cow that can 

 make three hundred pounds of butter, and at the same time produce a 

 good calf, she is a very desirable animal to keep. No practical farm.er 

 can afford to keep a cow for the value of the calf alone. The low yield 

 of butter in our State is not due to the kind of cows kept as much as to 

 the care they receive. Cows are like people; they only do their best 

 under the most favorable conditions. It takes about sixty per cent of 

 the food consumed to sustain animal life, and the profits must therefore 

 come from the extra food consumed. We can not expect to let cow.5 

 run out in all kinds of weather and live on the roughage picked up 

 around strawstacks. and then give the same returns as cows that are 

 well cared for. 



At our school we have a number of Shorthorns and Shorthorn grades 

 that are producing from three hundred to four hundred pounds of butter. 

 These are the results of intelligent feeding and proper care. 



A great many rules have been laid down, for the selection of a dairy 

 cow, such as deep barrel, sloping hips, small neck, broad head, full eyes, 

 and even the length of the tail, have been taken into consideration. 

 While many of these points would give some indications of the dairy 

 type, the best test is a good pair of scales and a Babcock tester in 

 intelligent hands. Many of you. no doubt, have heard of the Holstein 

 and Jersey breeders' test for their respective breeds. .A Holstein 

 breeder was boasting about the rich milk that his cows were giving. 

 The Jersey man said. "Friend, are you sure that your cows are full 

 blooded Holsteins? I have a sure test for determining Holstein cows.' 

 The Holstein man wanted to know what his test was. He said, "When 

 you begin to milk, put a silver dollar in the pail. If the milk is thin 

 enough so that you can see the dollar when the pail is full of milk, you 

 may be sure you have a Holstein cow." The Holstein breeder replied 

 that he had a test that never failed to detect a Jersey cow. When asked 

 for an explanation he said, ••Put a silver dollar in the milk pail when 

 you begin to milk, and if the milk does not cover the dollar when you ?ire 

 through,, you may be sure that you have a Jersey cow."' 



