1891.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 291 



seed, cultivates and harvests his crops for this single pur- 

 pose, and the culmination of it all is with the dairy cow. 

 No matter how diligently he may have toiled, no matter how 

 rich and succulent has been the feed in his pastures, or how 

 bountiful his crop of hay, upon her capacity or power to 

 convert her food into milk, and the products made there- 

 from, depends the measure of his reward. Recognizing this, 

 how essential it is that her owner should direct his best 

 efforts and energies to her care and management. 



The subject assigned me is of a two-fold nature, for the 

 milch cow may be one kept particularly either for milk or 

 for butter. The care and management are essentially the 

 same, but their breeding may be on a different line. It is 

 as a milk producer alone that I shall speak to you on this 

 occasion, for as such has been my entire experience. 



From the time when I first embarked as a farmer, some 

 eighteen years ago, down to the present, my energies and my 

 farm have been directed to the production of milk of a quality 

 satisfactory to my customers, and in quantity sufficient to 

 pay me better by selling it whole than by converting it into 

 butter. The location of my farm, but a mile or so from a 

 busy manufacturing town of seven thousand inhabitants,, 

 made it possible and desirable that I should, in the very 

 beginning of my farm life, adopt this course ; and I have 

 seen my permanent stock increase from twelve head to forty 

 head, maintained from the same number of tillable acres that 

 I possessed at the beginning of my farming career. 



From the outset to the present time it has been my aim to 

 breed and raise my own cows. Occasionally I have bought 

 promiscuously, to tide over a temporary deficiency in my 

 supply of milk, and again I have bought now and then a cow 

 in which I saw promise of a superior milker ; but, as a whole, 

 my herd has consisted of stock bred and reared by myself. 

 I believe this course has been of continuous and permanent 

 advantage to me. By this method I have known, to a far 

 greater degree, the nature, characteristics, temperament and 

 predispositions of my cows than would have been the case 

 had I replenished my herd by purchases, as the cows them- 

 selves are thoroughly at home, and are accustomed from 

 birth to their surroundings. I know that with the farmers 



