THE MASSACHUSETTS COW. Ill 



Our Massachusetts cow, when we get her, will be equal to 

 all the demands which will be made upon her for cheese- 

 making. But shall we not breed one kind of cow for the 

 milkman and another kind for the butter-maker? I say, No ! 

 In the long run, a good article will always bring a better price 

 than a poor one. 



I aglmit that the milk trade of the country is now in a 

 demoralized condition, chiefly because the public have taken 

 it for granted that one quart of good, honest milk is like every 

 other quart of good, honest milk, just as one dozen of eggs 

 in the grocer's market is supposed to represent every other 

 dozen of eo^s. 



It is but a very few years since milk began to be studied 

 by the public. It is comparatively but a short time since we 

 were first urged to select special breeds for special purposes ; 

 since we were told to choose the Jersey for butter-making, 

 the Shorthorn or the Hereford for beef, the Dutch or Hollander 

 for the cheese dairy, and the Ayrshire for the milk-wagon ; 

 that, for butter, we want milk, rich in fat; for cheese, an 

 abundance of caseine, and, for the milk market, a superabun- 

 dance of water. And I think we have carried out this idea 

 of watering our milk, through our cows, about far enough ; 

 for you injure your neighbor none the less when you sell him 

 an undue proportion of water added by the cow, than when 

 you sell him that which is equally diluted directly from the 

 pump. 



The time must come when milk will have a standard of 

 excellence, and when it will be sold according to its intrinsic 

 value, compared with that standard. Then good milk will 

 bring what it is worth, and the sooner this condition is brought 

 about, the better it will be both for the purchaser and the con- 

 sumer. 



We have been trying to see how poor a grade of milk we 

 could produce and dispose of too long already, and I hope 

 about as long as the market will bear it. I know I am not 

 taking the popular view of this subject, but I believe my 

 position is the true one, and that he who would prepare him- 

 self for the future dairy market will strive to breed for a 

 richer quality of milk. 



A uniform type of cows for the butter-maker and the 



