SMALL HOLDINGS 145 



chance of obtaining a prize in a milking or 

 butter-making competition. These cattle are 

 taken into the ring and paraded before the 

 judges, who award prizes upon the basis of 

 appearance, inasmuch as no test is made 

 to ascertain their value as milking stock. 

 It is for this among other reasons that 

 the small holder should be guided by 

 milking tests rather than by the appearance 

 of a cow. 



We have pointed out that a small holder 

 should hesitate to add a dairy to his farm 

 unless his experience of cows and the manage- 

 ment of their produce warrants the under- 

 taking. The experienced man cannot be 

 instructed in the line to follow through the 

 medium of a book. Reading as an adjunct 

 to experience is of the highest value, but 

 while a description of the points of a good cow 

 will help the man who knows something about 

 them to make a good selection, it will not 

 help the man who has had no experience 

 at all. There are many persons who, having 

 seen nothing more than the inside of a cattle- 

 house with the cows standing in the stall, 

 have the impression that they could succeed 

 better than the owner if they only had the 

 chance; such men have often tried and 

 S.H. * G 



