314 BULLETIN 409 



hence depreciation and interest on them, also increases. If wages increase, 

 the cost of pasture and buildings goes up. Moreover, a change in the 

 cost of feed, cows, or labor causes dairymen to modify their practices. For 

 all these reasons, one can never safely predict what will be the effect of a 

 change in any one item on the cost of production as a whole. 



PART II. CONCERNING COWS 



Breeds 



Practically all of the dairy herds in Broome County are of grade stock, 

 but most of the cattle carry some Holstein blood. Probably animals of 

 this breed are best adapted to the production of market milk under the 

 prevailing conditions of the region, chiefly because of their large size. 



About two per cent of the dairy cattle in the county are purebred. In 

 January, 1917, there were 498 purebred Holsteins on 45 farms, 53 pure- 

 bred Jerseys on 7 farms, 40 purebred Ayrshires on 2 farms, and 20 pure- 

 bred Guernseys on 6 farms, in Broome County. On 3 1 of the farms there 

 were less than 6 head of purebred dairy cattle, and on only 8 of the 149 

 farms were there as many as 20 purebreds. 



On the farms included in this study there were only 39 registered cows. 

 Excepting one Ayrshire and one Dutch Belted, these were all Holsteins. 

 Records for two purebred Holstein herds containing 52 cows were obtained, 

 but were not included in the tabulations. The market for purebred 

 dairy cattle in the southern -tier counties is relatively undeveloped. It is 

 no doubt due largely to this fact, and to the more extensive system 

 of dairying, that few purebred animals have been brought into the 

 county. 



Owing to the fact that the herds were so largely of Holstein charac- 

 teristics, it was impossible to group them in any manner that would allow 

 a comparison of one breed with another. There were six herds of pure- 

 bred Holstein and Holstein grades, twenty-eight high-grade Holstein 

 herds, twenty-eight herds comprised of Holstein grades and animals of 

 mixed breeding, eleven herds of part Holstein grades and part Jersey 

 grades, six herds of part Holstein grades and part Guernsey grades, and 

 seventy herds of various other combinations of breeding. Most of the 

 larger herds are Holstein grades, while more of the smaller herds are of 

 mixed breeding. 



Numbers 



The inventories, purchases, sales, and deaths of cows are given in detail 

 in table 20 (page 301). The average number of cows was 2058, and the 

 average value was $65 a head. The number per farm varied from 6 to 

 37, the average being 13.8. 



During the year 47 farms purchased 134 cows at an average price of 

 $64 a head. On 103 farms there were 304 heifers that freshened for the 



