THE DAIRY THE HOPE OF THE SMALL FARMER 37 



kind can the herd be kept in a state of health suitable 

 for the production of potable milk. 



It is a crime of the worst character to sell milk from 

 an infected animal. It may go into a home where an 

 infant or young child is nourished by it, and the most 

 dreadful of all diseases, tuberculosis, may be conveyed 

 in this way from the cow to the human being. I am 

 aware that this theory is contested by authorities emi- 

 nent and worthy of consideration. Especially did the 

 great Dr. Eobert Koch combat the theory that bovine 

 tuberculosis is communicable to the human animal. 

 The weight of authority, however, supports the theory 

 of the possibility of communication. In such circum- 

 stances the only safeguard is to give the benefit of the 

 doubt to the consumer. 



AIT OBJECT LESSOIT. 



I have a near neighbor, a college graduate, who has 

 a small farm of one hundred acres and a small herd of 

 a little over a dozen cows. He is able to make a very 

 decent income from the proper scientific handling of 

 these animals. If he had to depend upon a pasture 

 alone to give them their green food in summer, it would 

 be difficult to sustain them in a proper condition for 

 the production of the maximum quantity of milk on a 

 farm of this area. In the soiling process the green 

 crops are harvested and fed to the cattle, and thus from 

 a small area a large quantity of fodder can be produced. 

 One of the earliest of the soiling crops is rye, and this 

 is followed by alfalfa, clover, and then later by cow- 

 peas, vetch and Indian corn, so that from early spring 

 until late autumn a continuous succession of green 

 crops is available. Good feeding is the first step in 

 getting good milk. 



