68 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 164. 



It will be seen that the animals, most of which were grade Jerseys, 

 varied in live weight from 600 to 900 pounds, the latter being the weight 

 of a thrifty grade Holstein heifer. The average weight was 713 pounds, 

 and the daily average gain .86, or a little less than a pound a day for the 

 first two years. 



The food cost varied from $46.81 to $78.79, the latter cost being due 

 to the fact that the heifer was soiled one season. The food cost of two 

 tlirifty grade Holstein heifers was $58.03 and $63.07, respectively, and 

 the average cost of the 20 heifers was $57.73. 



Several of the heifers did not prove satisfactory and were disposed of; 

 for instance, Maud and Mibbs were poor producers, 0. Amy and Lena 

 failed to breed, Susie developed tuberculosis, and Daisy II. aborted. 

 The prices secured for these discards are, unf ortunatelj^, not available, but 

 a fair estimate would be about $140, which, deducted from the total 

 food cost of the 20, — $1,154.57, —would leave $1,014.57, this sum 

 being the cost of the 14 good ones remaining, or an average cost of $72.47. 

 The discarding of 30 per cent, of the 20 heifers raised seems large, and 

 it is doubtful if it would hold true in most cases. The results, however, 

 are presented as secured. It is known that in spite of the best judgment 

 in the rearing of dairy animals a considerable loss is experienced through 

 one cause or another. 



Trueman,! in a detailed feeding record of one Guernsey, two Jersey 

 and two Holstein heifers, shows that the average food cost of each heifer 

 at two years of age was $55.^ He calls attention to the fact that "a cer- 

 tain number will fail to be good producers, and will have to be discarded 

 at a loss," but presents no data on this subject. 



Morse ' in 1898 has shown that the food cost of raising dairy heifers to 

 sixteen months of age averaged $28.81 each. This, however, was at a 

 time when the cost of feed was very much less than at present. 



Bennett* and Cooper* present exceedingly interesting data on the entire 

 subject in a publication entitled, "The Cost of Raising a Dairy Cow." 

 They co-operated with C. I. Brigham on his private farm located in Wis- 

 consin. The dairy farm contained 50 Jersey cows and about 40 head of 

 young stock. The observations covered a period of five years, during 

 which time 117 calves, some of which were bulls, were under observation. 

 The average food cost of the 73 heifers that reached maturity was $40.83, 

 the cost of the different articles of feed being below that charged in our 

 own experiment.^ As nearly as can be ascertained from the bulletin, of 

 the 86 heifer calves on trial during the five years, 73 were brought to 

 maturity, 2 died and 11 were discarded, a loss of 15.1 per cent. 



» Bui. 63, Storrs Exp. Sta. 



2 Whole milk $2 and skim milk 25 cents a hundred pounds; hay $12, silage $4, and grain $30 

 a ton; pasture $2 and $4 a season. 



3 Bui. 58, N. H. Exp. Sta. 



* Bui. 49, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1914. 



' Whole milk $1.50 to $1.60 a hundred; skim milk 20 cents a hundred; bren and corn $22 to 

 $25, oats and barley $25, linseed meal $35 to $41, hay $8 to $10, alfalfa $12 to $15, corn stover $4, 

 silage $4 per ton; pasture 10 to 20 cents a week. 



