FARM ANIMALS 179 



account of the cost and the profits in the case of all 

 of their cows. This should Be brought to the notice 

 of all persons intending to enter into the dairy 

 business. The profits derived from dairy cows 

 obviously depend upon the individuality of the 

 cow and the kind of treatment she receives. As 

 the result of a test of ordinary farm cows in various 

 states throughout the country, the surprising fact 

 has been disclosed that in nearly all dairy herds 

 there are cows which do not give enough milk to 

 pay for their keep. Where such cows are kept for 

 dairy purposes it simply means that the milk is not 

 weighed nor tested for milk fat and that, therefore, 

 the owner has no means of knowing whether the cow 

 is yielding an average amount of milk or not. The 

 results obtained by this test furnish striking argu- 

 ments for the necessity of frequently testing the 

 milk of all cows to determine the yield and per- 

 centage of milk fat. When this has been done it 

 is an easy matter to eliminate the unprofitable 

 cows from the herd and fatten them for beef, 

 replacing them with other dairy cows. 



From records obtained in creameries in Missouri 

 it appears that the average returns from cows in 

 that state amount to from $37 to $61 . The value 

 of the milk sold at the creamery may be estima- 

 ted at from $50 to $60 per cow, the value of the 

 cream and the milk returned and fed to calves 

 and other domestic animals is about $10 per 

 cow and the value of the calf for veal about $4. 

 This makes the average financial production of 

 each cow range from $64 to $74 per year. 



It must always be borne in mind, however, as 

 shown by almost innumerable tests for milk fat 

 and milk yield, that there are enormous differences 

 in the profit to be derived from individual dairy 



