190 THE PRACTICAL SIDE OF 



average price of 8d. per gallon the returns 

 from a 500 gallon cow would reach £16 3s. 4d., 

 a small herd of five cows thus returning 

 £83 6s. 8d. Taking the average cost of 

 feeding a cow of full size to be £13 a year, 

 this leaves a gross profit of £3 13s. 4d. per 

 cow, or £18 6s. 8d. for a herd of five. 

 Obviously, therefore, cows which yield an 

 average quantity of milk fail to pay, for while 

 a small holder could obtain a livelihood 

 from keeping five good cows, he would be 

 unable to pay his rent from the produce of 

 five bad ones. 



We do not propose in a work of this 

 kind to discuss the details of the cost of 

 feeding, but while we have fixed that cost 

 at the lowest estimate, we may remark that 

 considerable skill is required in the purchase 

 and preparation of food to feed a large cow 

 for less than Is, l|d. per day during the 

 period in which the cows are kept in the stall, 

 and which commences with October and ends 

 with the first or second week in May. The 

 difference in the value of the milk produced 

 by a good cow may be seen by a similar 

 estimate based upon a yield of 750 gallons. 

 At the price already named this quantity 

 ivould return some £25 per year, or £12 after 



