DAIRY CATTLE 1 



465 



cow gives a constantly increasing milk 

 yield for the same amount of feed up to 

 the age of seven years, after which a 

 slow decline is observed until about the 

 eleventh year. 



Breeds of cows as related to the 

 milk yield — The champions of all breeds 

 are anxious to show the great possibili- 

 ties of their particular breed in milk 

 production, and every year comparative 

 tests are carried out under more or less 

 carefully observed conditions, to deter- 

 mine the relative milk yield of different 

 breeds. The attempt has frequently been 

 made to show that some particular breed 

 is uniformly better for the production 

 of milk, butter or cheese than any other 

 breed. The results of such experiments, 

 however, as well as the claims of the 

 champions of different breeds, are so 



for Jerseys; 12 pounds for Guernseys; 

 14 pounds for Eed Polls, and 12 pounds 

 for Holsteins. 



A test of several Ayrshire herds in 

 New Hampshire showed that the daily 

 milk yield per cow varied from 18 to 46 

 pounds. A comparison of breeds in 

 Wisconsin, running over a period of one 

 year, gave the following amount of but- 

 ter: 461.8 pounds for Eed Polls; 351.6 

 pounds for Holsteins; 319.3 pounds for 

 Guernseys; 301 pounds for Jerseys and 

 281.7 pounds for Shorthorns. The 

 average net profit returned by the cows 

 of these different breeds decreased in the 

 same order in which they were first men- 

 tioned. In other tests carried on in 

 Wisconsin, to determine the milk yield 

 the following results were obtained in 

 daily milk production: Holsteins, 48.9 



'm 



Pig. 294 COWS YIELDING LESS THAN 7,000 POUNDS OF MILK PER YEAR 



much at variance that no unqualified 

 conclusions can be reached. 



In a series of experiments in New 

 York, it was found that individual cows 

 of the same breed may vary more in 

 milk and butter production than cows 

 of different breeds. Likewise in Con- 

 necticut, experiments have shown that 

 "the type of the cow is a much better 

 index of her ability for economical pro- 

 duction than is her pedigree." In a 

 seven-day test of cows of different breeds 

 in Wisconsin, Woll found an average 

 fat content of 5.26 per cent for Jerseys; 

 4.79 per cent for Guernseys; 3.85 per 

 cent for Eed Polls; 3.46 per cent for 

 Shorthorns and 3.43 per cent for Hol- 

 steins. In the same test, the average 

 milk yield was 177.9 pounds for Jerseys ; 

 265.77 pounds for Guernseys ; 384 pounds 

 for Eed Polls and 365.9 pounds for 

 Holsteins. The total fat yield during 

 the seven-day period averaged 9 pounds 



pounds; Brown Swiss, 37.3 pounds; 

 Shorthorns, 39.1 pounds ; Guernseys, 28.9 

 pounds; Ayrshires, 27.7 pounds; Dutch 

 Belted, 27.2 pounds; French Canadian, 

 27 pounds; Eed Polls, 26.6 pounds; Jer- 

 seys, 24.5 pounds and Devons, 11.8 

 pounds. In a test regarding the per- 

 centage of fat in the milk of different 

 breeds, the Jerseys stood at the head, 

 followed by Guernseys, Devons, French 

 Canadians, Ayrshires, Eed Polls and 

 Shorthorns. The cost of the feed per 

 quart of milk as related to the breed has 

 been studied in New Jersey. In these 

 experiments it has been found that it 

 cost 1.66 cents to produce a quart of 

 milk from Aryshires ; 1.71 cents from 

 Guernseys or Shorthorns; 1.75 cents 

 from Holsteins and 1.91 cents from Jer- 

 seys. In the same test the cost of a 

 pound of butter fat was 15.3 cents from 

 Guernseys ; 17.9 cents from Jerseys ; 20.6 

 cents from Ayrshires; 20.8 cents from 



