92 SECOND THOUSAND QUESTIONS IN AGRICULTURE 



farrow at fourteen to sixteen months. This means that they should 

 be bred at eight to twelve months, for the period of gestation is 

 approximately four months. 



What a Good Cow Should Do. 



How many pounds of butter fat per year should one expect from 

 a first class dairy cow well cared for? What should be paid for such 

 cows at the present time? 



What one should expect from a cow in a year depends upon the 

 man. Some dairymen are satisfied with a 150-pound cow, while others 

 do not keep one that gives less than 300 pounds a year. It costs about 

 $50 a year to feed and care for a cow under California conditions, 

 where alfalfa is the main feed, so with fat at an average of 30 cents a 

 pound a cow that gives 150 pounds of fat just about pays for her 

 keep and no more. There are many cows that do not give more than 

 that amount that are sold for from $50 up according to how bad a buy 

 the purchaser makes, and it is hard to say what the average price is at 

 this or any other time. You should be able to purchase good grade 

 cows with a production of from 200 to 300 pounds of fat for from 

 $80 up. The best way to get a herd of high producing grades is to 

 buy the best cows that you can get and breed up with a pure-bred bull 

 which has reasonably good milk records back of him, as most of those 

 who have good grades in this State at present do not want to part 

 with them. 



Which Cow Shall He Buy? 



I am going to keep four or five cows, sell cream and butter to 

 customers in town, and feed the skim milk to chickens and pigs. Which 

 breed would be better for me to keep Jersey or Holstcin? From what 

 I can glean by reading the Jersey gives not so much milk but richer 

 milk, while the Holstein gives more milk but not so rich, but in the 

 aggregate yields just as much cream and more skim milk. 



You have the relative qualifications about right for the two breeds 

 as a whole, but you still have to decide which qualification is best for you, 

 considering your feed supply, land available, etc. Every man has to work 

 that out for himself, and whichever breed he chooses he is pretty sure to 

 permanently swear by. We would no more tell a man which cow to buy 

 than to advise him which girl to marry. If he chooses for himself he will 

 usually be content ; if another chooses for him he will begin to doubt 

 right away. It is that way with a man. 



Cows Before Calving. 



/ have a two-year-old heifer, due to calve in about a month, which 

 I notice when lying down would often squeeze quite a little milk from 

 her udder. On trying to milk her I was quite surprised to get five pints 

 of milk. Should I milk her regularly, how often, and up to how near 

 calving time? 



