BREEDS OF DAIRY CATTLE 165 



capable of producing large quantities of milk and butter fat. 2. 

 These cows must be properly housed and cared for. 3. There must 

 be a feeder who has good judgment. 4. Sufficient food of the proper 

 quality must be supplied. The last is equal in importance- to the first. 

 The best way to obtain good cows is by careful selection and breed- 

 ing of animals from one of the recognized dairy breeds or their 

 grades. Scrub cows have no place in profitable milk production. 

 On the other hand, no matter how carefully cows are selected nor 

 how 7 well bred, if poorly fed, they will give little better returns 

 than scrubs. To become a good feeder requires a knowledge of the 

 needs of the dairy cow and of the nature of different feeds. This 

 means that the man, w T ho is to become a successful feeder, must be 

 willing to spend time and energy in studying the details of these 

 subjects. The cow is a business partner not easily defrauded. If she 

 is the right kind of cow, supplied with the proper materials, she will 

 return a just amount of product, and if proper feed and care are 

 withheld, she will withhold the desired product. Food of the right 

 kind and amount is absolutely necessary to any considerable degree 

 of production. 



Things to Consider. There are many things which should in- 

 fluence the feeder in selecting feeds and working up a balanced ra- 

 tion for his herd. Some of these are given below: 1. What is the 

 composition of feeds as shown by chemical analysis? Do they con- 

 tain the materials necessary to support the animal and make milk? 

 2. What feeds can be grown on the farm? 3. 'What feeds should be 

 purchased and what is their relative value? 4. What is the quality 

 or condition of the feeds to be used? 5. What is their physiological 

 effect on the animal? (111. Cir. 152.) 



Wit en Will It Pay to Milk a Cow? Having cows of various 

 ages and capacities on the farm, the question arises as to when it will 

 pay a man to milk the cow and raise the calf on skim-milk. Since 

 it costs about $12.50 per cow to pay for the work connected with 

 milking, and from $7 to $8 to raise the calf on skim-milk, a cow 

 must produce, in order to be profitable, at least $20 worth of butter- 

 fat before it will pay to milk her, assuming that the skim-milk pays 

 for the hauling. With four-per-cent milk and fifteen cents for but- 

 ter-fat, this would mean 3,333 pounds of milk per annum; with 

 eighteen-cent butter-fat it would be 2,777 pounds of milk per annum, 

 and with twenty-cent butter-fat it would be 2,500 pounds of milk. 

 This is assuming that a dairy cow would eat no more when giving 

 milk than she would when not. Doubtless she would eat some more, 

 and this would have to be added to the above cost. (Kan. B. 125.) 



Fighting Flics. Flies are a torment to the dairy cow. Where 

 possible, it is desirable to keep the cows during the day in a cool 

 barn, where the doors and windows are screened to keep out the flies, 

 and allow the cows to run on pasture at night. 



Where this arrangement is not possible, we have found by test- 

 ing several fly mixture?, that it is possible to produce a mixture that 

 will work reasonably well in keeping flies away. The best mixture 

 that we have used, all things considered, is as follows: Resin, one 



