12 GUIDE TO DAIRYING IN SOUTH AFRICA 



be unwise for the beginner to compete at a dis- 

 advantage. This makes it unnecessary to notice 

 here the nature of the returns from butter and 

 cheesemaking. 



Sale of Milk Retail. 



There is no way of disposing of milk so profit- 

 able as by selling it whole or intact, always pro- 

 viding the farm is convenient to a town or village 

 where a "milk round " can be worked up. 



Under this system the cost of production is 

 usually higher than any other, because the land, 

 being near a town or village, has a higher upset 

 value, is generally of small area, has very little 

 grazing, and has to be worked on an intensive 

 system. It is only right, therefore, that the income 

 derived from this form of marketing should be the 

 greatest possible. 



The milk is usually sold by the " bottle," of 

 which six make up a gallon. In summer the price 

 readily obtainable is 3^. per bottle, while anything 

 from 4^. to 6d. is obtainable in winter. In South 

 Africa the value of the cow (breeding not con- 

 sidered) is reckoned at the rate of i for every 

 bottle of milk yielded in twenty-four hours when at 

 the height of her lactation period. This is to say, 

 that a cow yielding 18 bottles (3 gallons) would 

 be worth ^18. But most sellers would want from 

 2$ to 30 for such an animal. 



A cow of this description, yielding the conser- 



