40 DAIRYING. 



to .$40. Adding to this $10 as the value of her skim milk over that 

 of the 4,000 pound cow, makes a total of $50. 



104. According to these estimates, a cow giving 4,000 pounds 

 of milk allows her owner no return, while the cow giving 6,000 

 pounds of milk makes a profit of $50 which is 10 per cent, on 

 $500. These figures show that dairying is especially well adapted 

 to the farming of high priced land, as it not only keeps up the fer- 

 tility of the soil, but allows a fair interest on the money invested 

 provided the farming and feeding are intelligently done, and most 

 important of all, provided the cows are carefully selected and only 

 those giving milk enough to pay for their feed and a margin besides, 

 are kept on the farm. According to these figures it may safely be 

 calculated that while a cow giving 4,000 pounds of milk is worth 

 nothing, a cow giving 6,000 pounds of milk may be worth $250, and 

 one giving 8,000 pounds of milk may be worth $500 to her owner. 



E Estimating the Value of a Cow. 



105. Certain items in the cost of keeping a cow are nearly the 

 same for all the cows in one herd. These are the cost of stabling, 

 of attendance, of labor, the general care of the cows, and of the 

 utensils such as milk pails, shovels, forks, etc. A uniform charge 

 against each cow, good, bad and indifferent, can be made for these 

 items of expense. 



106. The variation in the expense of keeping the cows will fall 

 almost entirely on the feed consumed; and although it has been 

 demonstrated that two cows will often give different amounts of 

 milk on the same amount and kind of feed, still the amount of feed 

 consumed is a large item in the cost of keeping a cow. 



107. The relation between the cost of feed and the milk and 

 butter fat produced by different cows may be seen from the follow- 

 ing, taken from records of 25 cows at the Wisconsin Agricultural 

 College for the year 1908-09. 



Cost of Milk Butter 



feed Ibs. fat Ibs. 



Highest $64.33 14,484 689 



Lowest 26.44 4,516 243 



Average . : 41.05 8,493 363 



Average for six years j- 37.70 7,454 315 



