TEST ASSOCIATIONS. 



If the individual milk producers do not like to take the~ 

 trouble to test their cows and keep an account with them, ten or 

 twelve may co-operate and hire a young man to do it. Such a 

 Test Association was started in 1895 ' m Denmark, and in 1908 

 that country boasted of 479 such. If desired, the selection and. 

 buying of pure-bred bulls may also be made the object of such an 

 Association. Co-operation is the only way in which the farmers 

 can hold up their end of the line. 



I cannot too strongly urge the formation of these associations,, 

 and the State or National government might well encourage therrr 

 by subsidies, if proper reports are made annually. Little Den- 

 mark spends $32,400.00 on subsidies to them. 



It is, however, very little work to weigh the milk from' 

 each cow once a week and test it with a Babcock Tester. If there 

 is no creamery nearby willing to do it cheaply, a good four or 

 eight, bottle tester can be bought for $8.00 to $10.00. Figure I 

 shows one made by the D. H. Burrell Co., and all our leading- 

 firms now make good ones. 



The spindle legged cheap tester should be avoided. But testing 

 will not be treated here in detail as Professors Farrington and 

 Woll, in their book on"Milk Testing" (see list 

 of books) treat the subject in an exhaustive 

 and practical manner, and every dairyman 

 should buy this book as well as a tester. 



As to keeping track of the cost of food, 

 (Fig. 1) there is no need of weighing it out to each 



cow; but it is enough to make a memorandum now and then and 

 note the dates when changes are made, so as to give a fair idea of 

 what has been consumed during the year. 



As a beginning let creamery men and patrons co-operate 

 and keep track of the number of cows fed (not milked) by each 

 patron, so as to know the average milk yield on each farm at the 

 end of the year. The difference revealed will be an eye-opener 

 and prove the necessity of testing each individual cow. 



WHAT FEED TO USE. 



It would be absurd here to attempt to reply to this question,, 

 which Prof. W. A. Henry, of Madison, Wis., has treated in his- 



