37 



reared in the barn ; but neither he nor Mr. Peabody says any- 

 thing as to the yield of individual animals. 



Each gives the date of the dropping of the last calf, but Mr. 

 Blodgett gives no information at all as to the time of dropping 

 the next calf. Mr. Peabody gives the time of the next calving 

 of only three of his cows ; the inference is that they are not in 

 calf. These are important and, indeed, necessary elements in 

 judging of the actual and comparative value of a herd of cows, 

 and ought always to be stated. 



Mr. Blodgett's exhibit was a very fine one. The cows were 

 nearly all thoroughbred Ayrshires, the residue grade Ayrshires, 

 and were all handsome, of good size, possessing all the points 

 for which the good judge of a good cow always looks. They 

 were in excellent condition, indicating the best of care and 

 good feeding ; any cow in the herd was fit for the butcher. 



His statement shows the average daily yield for six months 

 to have been 8.7 quarts per cow, without deducting the un- 

 known quantity used in " rearing stock," whether in the house 

 or in the barn. The committee judged, from verbal statements, 

 that the average yield per cow, had all the milk been account- 

 ed for, would have been fully ten quarts per day, a good show- 

 ing considering the times of the dropping of the calves. 



Mr. Peabody's statement discloses poor feeding, and the ap- 

 pearance of the cows and their product for six months, cor- 

 roborate his written statement. And yet the cows were natu- 

 rally good milch cows — better than the average — and with bet- 

 ter care and better feeding would have been a much more 

 profitable herd. 



The statement of each is annexed to this report. 



The committee desire to express the hope that the Secretary 

 may be able, in some way, to bring to the notice of the farmers 

 of the county the importance and necessity of a full and accu- 

 rate statement of the manner of keeping and yield, not only 

 of the herd but of all the necessary facts concerning each cow 

 of the herd. The committee were all present. 



H. G. Herrick, Horace C. Ware, Alden C. Estes, Samuel A. 

 Merrill, Elias Andrews — Committee. 



