76 a EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



hundred and sixty-four cows are now on test at 43 different 

 farms. This is an increase of 114 cows over the number on 

 test a year ago. One hundred and twenty-eight of the cows are 

 Jerseys, 193 Guernseys and 43 Ayrshires. There have been 

 completed during the year 200 Guernsey, 114 Jersey, 40 Ayrshire 

 and a few Holstein tests. 



The Holstein breeders usually test for seven or thirty-day 

 periods, and require the presence of a supervisor during the 

 entire test, although there is a provision for yearly work in the 

 Holstein rules. The latter work, however, is in slight demand 

 in Massachusetts; only one farm in addition to the Ma'ssacha- 

 setts Agricultural College is conducting such tests. During the 

 year 26 different men have been employed on these shorter 

 tests; and 201 seven-day, 41 thirty-day, and 21 fourteen-day 

 tests have been completed. In addition, one cow owned by the 

 Fred F. Field Holstein Company has been tested for three 

 hundred and sixty-six consecutive days. 



At times the station has been asked to permit cow test 

 associations, which are under the supervision of county farm 

 bureaus, to conduct advanced registry work. It is felt that 

 for the best interest of all concerned it is not wise to follow 

 this procedure, and our position has been endorsed by the 

 Association of Dairy Instructors who, at their meeting held in 

 Springfield during the National Dairy Show, voted unanimously 

 against such a practice. 



(/) Miscellaneous Chemical Work. 

 This section has analyzed 230 samples of milk and 175 

 samples of cattle feeds in connection with experiments in 

 animal nutrition. Several hundred samples of milk have been 

 analyzed for the dairy department in connection w^ith dairy 

 shows and milk contests. Thirty-seven samples of slum gum 

 (the residue left from the extraction of beeswax from honey- 

 comb) have been tested for the station apiarist in order to 

 ascertain the efficiency of different methods for the extraction 

 of beeswax from honeycomb. This section has also co-operated 

 with other departments of the college in planning and furnish- 

 ing material for an exhibit at the National Dairy Show in 

 Springfield. 



