i8 GUIDE TO DAIRYING IN SOUTH AFRICA 



Africa, and if each of these cows were milked and 

 gave the small yield of 100 Ibs. butter fat per year, 

 think of the money which would be put into 

 circulation ! We have, then, a gold-mine in the 

 Union far more lasting than the Rand. These two 

 million cows are grazing on pasture which should 

 be converted into produce for the country, but in 

 the present state of affairs the result is not com- 

 mensurate. The root of the trouble does not lie 

 with the farmer so much as with the cows them- 

 selves. They are usually of the wrong kind and 

 need to be carefully selected. 



The dairy farmer must begin with those on his 

 own farm. It is impossible to judge a cow from 

 one milking whether she will return a profit or a 

 loss on the year's working, and to try and do so is 

 folly. For unless the whole milking period is taken 

 into account the farmer may decide to sell her and 

 so be getting rid of a good animal before he knows 

 what she is really capable of yielding. There are 

 many good cows which are sold off each year by 

 farmers who think that they are worthless. This 

 seems a questionable statement to make, but it is 

 true nevertheless ; for so many farmers have no 

 idea of the actual value of their cows. The 

 remedy for this is to keep an exact record of the 

 milk given daily by each cow, and also to test 

 the milk from each cow for butter fat by means of 

 the Babcock Tester described elsewhere. Unless the 



