16 Milk Records. 



type were eligible." Inspection was a condition precedent to 

 entry, and " general appearance " and " milk yield " had both 

 to be taken into consideration before the cow could be accepted. 

 At the present time, save in exceptional circumstances, applica- 

 tion for inspection of cross bred cows for entry in the 

 register of dairy cattle must be made through a cow testing 

 association. 



The owner of each registered cow has to comply with 

 several conditions, the most important being that the cow must 

 be put to a registered dairy bull, or pure bred Ipull of her own 

 type, which bulls must be passed by the Department as eligible 

 for a premium. 



The female progeny of registered cows bred to approved 

 bulls will be eligible for inspection when about two years old 

 at a nominal fee. 



Young bulls, where the conditions have been fully complied 

 with, are also eligible for inspection with a view to provisional 

 selection for premium under the Department's cattle breeding 

 scheme, within the limits of age specified therein, and if 

 selected will be entered in the register of dairy bulls. 



Other conditions are also enforced, but enough has been 

 quoted here to show the practical outcome of the excellent 

 milk record, combined as it is, with the scheme for improving 

 the dairy cattle in Ireland.' 



Daily or weekly weighings. — Returning to the question 

 whether for the purpose of milk records the milks should be 

 weighed daily or only once a week, there can be no doubt that 

 to be absolutely accurate daily weighings should take place, but 

 unless the time of the milkers is unimportant, and there is 

 plenty of clerical assistance, weekly weighings will give all the 

 information required, and will not make such an inroad on the 

 hours of the working farmer. 



The weighing of the milk and entering the weight on the 

 slate or card in the cowshed cannot be done, where there are a 

 large number of cows, under an average of two minutes per 

 cow. Allowing eight cows to each milker, sixteen minutes 

 would be taken from each man's time both morning and even- 

 ing, or roughly half-an-hour in the day per man, which during 

 haytime or harvest would be inconvenient, to say the least of it. 



Experiments to get at the difference between daily and 

 weekly weighings have been carried out at several places in 

 England and abroad, and the results show that the amount 

 calculated from weekly returns is " more often under the actual 



' "Milk Records." Leaflet No. 15 ; "Scheme for encouragin<j improvement 

 in the Dairy Cattle of Ireland through the Selection and Registration of Cows, 

 Scheme No. 20." Both published by the Department of Agriculture and 

 Technical Instruction for Ireland. 



