236 PRINCIPLES OF FARM PRACTICE 



This problem will be considered by taking up each aspect 

 separately: first, the dairy herd; second, the handling and 

 care of milk. 



THE DAIRY HERD 



Experience has shown that an economical production of 

 milk depends chiefly upon the kind of cows, their proper 

 feeding, and good management. 



Kind of cows to keep. The only accurate way to find a 

 cow's value as a milk producer is to weigh her product at 

 each milking, and to test the milk for butter fat at intervals, 

 using the Babcock test. From the data secured, the value 

 of her product may be compared with the cost of her feed 

 and care. 



However, there are certain characteristics associated with 

 milk production that may indicate to some extent whether 

 the animal is a good or poor producer of milk. These 

 characteristics, based upon the physical requirements 

 associated with producing milk, are the digestive system, 

 which makes the feed ready to enter the blood; the circulatory 

 system, which distributes nutrients; the respiratory system, 

 which supplies oxygen and removes carbon dioxide and other 

 gaseous impurities; the udder, an organ which takes certain 

 material from the blood and makes it over into milk; and the 

 nervous system, which coordinates and regulates the work 

 of all the various organs concerned. A good representative 

 of the dairy type should show a high degree of development 

 in all these respects. In general, the conformation of an 

 animal of the dairy type is in every way the reverse of that 

 of the beef type. In the dairy type it is desirable that the 

 feed should be used mainly to produce milk; in the beef type, 

 to produce flesh. 



