GENERAL PROBLEMS IN DAIRY HUSBANDRY 



343 



however, yielded 7,190 Ibs. of milk and 367 Ibs. of fat. This well shows 

 the unreliability of short tests. Time, the scales, the Babcock fat test, 

 combined with good judgment, are all essential in determining the true 

 value of dairy cows. 



547. Dairy cow censuses. The importance of several factors in deter- 

 mining whether or not a fair profit will be made in dairying is well 

 shown in the dairy cow censuses, conducted several years ago by Hoard's 

 Dairyman. Following the first "cow census," conducted under the 

 supervision of W. D. Hoard in 1887, a series of 26 canvasses were taken 

 from 1899 to 1908, including 2,163 herds which contained 28,447 cows. 

 In the following table are summarized some of the most important data 

 compiled in these extensive surveys: 10 



Summary of the Hoard's Dairyman cow censuses 



The various differences recorded are not wholly due to the different 

 single factors. For example, the low results from the herds in poor 

 stables were not due to this alone but also to the fact that, compared 

 with the cows in good stables, a greater proportion of these cows were 

 undoubtedly lacking in dairy type and that a smaller number were fed 

 silage or belonged to progressive owners who read dairy literature and 

 applied its teachings in their business. The poor dairyman is usually 

 deficient in not one but in many particulars. While the herds in which 

 the cows were of good dairy type returned $17.38 per cow on the average 

 over cost of feed, the herds lacking in dairy type little more than paid 

 for the feed they ate. The cows fed silage yielded $1.39 for each dollar's 

 worth of feed consumed, while those not known to have been fed silage 



"Compiled in U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. of Anlm. Indus., Bui. 164. 



