320 THE FAT OF THE LAND 
much raw material as the Holsteins, and turned 
out rather less than two-thirds of their product, 
while they occupied an equal amount of floor 
space; consequently they had to give place to 
more competent machines. They were to be 
sold during the season. 
Why dairymen can be found who will pay 
$50 apiece for cows like those I had for sale 
(better, indeed, than the average), is beyond my 
method of reckoning values. Twice $50 will 
buy a young cow bred for milk, and she would 
prove both bread and milk to the purchaser in 
most cases. The question of food should settle 
itself for the dairyman as it does for the factory 
farmer. The more food consumed, the better for 
each, if the ratio of milk be the same. 
My Holsteins are great feeders; more than 2 
tons of grain, 24 tons of hay, and 4 or 5 tons of 
corn fodder, in addition to a ton of roots or suc- 
culent vegetables, pass through their great mouths 
each year. The hay is nearly equally divided be- 
tween timothy, oat hay, and alfalfa; and when I 
began to figure the gross amount that would be 
required for my 50 Holstein gourmands, I saw 
that the widow’s farm had been purchased none 
too quickly. To provide 100 tons of grain, 125 tons 
of hay, and 200 or 300 tons of corn fodder for the 
cows alone, was no slight matter; but I felt pre- 
pared to furnish this amount of raw material to 
be transmuted into golden butter. The Four 
Oaks butter had made a good reputation, and 
