DAIRY COWS. ^15 



been given to cows producing most milk, or richest milk, 

 or most butter-fat, or most solids, during the test, which 

 may have lasted one to three days. At the Vermont State 

 Fair, 1889, the following points were given : For each 20 

 days since calving, i point ; for each 10 days of gestation, 

 I point ; for each 2 oz. of total solids in 24 hours' milk, i 

 point ; for each oz. of butter-fat in 24 hours' milk, 2 points; 

 for each 2 oz. of salted butter from 24 hours' milk, i point. 

 In the milking trials conducted by the Royal Agricultural 

 Society of England, the size of the cows has been con- 

 sidered, the cows being, as a rule, separated into two 

 classes, viz., over and under 1 100 lbs. live weight. 



From the best information at hand at the present, the 

 system of awards adopted by the British Dairy Farmers' 

 Association, and given above, must be considered the most 

 perfect and the most just to all concerned. Its main short- 

 comings lie, as it would seem, in its not considering the 

 food eaten by each animal during the test, and in the fact 

 that the test is made at the fair, and not at home under 

 every-day conditions and in surroundings familiar to the 

 animals. The former objection would be removed by tak- 

 ing into account the dry matter in the food eaten, as shown 

 by chemical analysis. 



BUYING AND SELLING COWS BY TESTS OF THEIR 

 MILK. (Emery.) 



The money value of a cow may be estimated by multi- 

 plying the number of gallons of milk which the cow gives 

 by 12, adding to or subtracting from this product one dollar 

 for every one fourth per cent of fat in the milk above or 

 below 3.5 per cent. 



,, , pounds of milk per day , , , . 



Value =-^- ~ X 12 +4 (per cent fat— 3.5). 



(See Bull. No. 113, N. C. Exp. Station.) 



