PUBLIC COMPETITIONS, 1889. 101 



"1st The amount of butter each cow would give (as shown by Short's 

 system of computing butter fat). 



'2d The amount of full cream cheese a cow would make (as a total solid 

 in chemical analysis) . 



"3d The amount of milk each cow gave by weight. 



"4th The amount of feed consumed to produce the above result. 



"Some seven Jerseys and six Holsteins actually commenced in the test, but 

 five Jerseys withdrew on account of the poor showing, and the Holstein heifer 

 Blanch S. was sick from complications following calving and should have 

 been withdrawn in justice to the Holstein men. 



"Average live weight, Jerseys 740 Ibs., Holsteins 1,190 Ibs. 



"Average days since calving, Jerseys 65 days, Holsteins 110 days. 



"Average daily butter yield, Jerseys .85 Ibs. per cow, Holsteins 1.85 Ibs. 

 per cow. 



"Average daily milk yield, Jerseys 19.75 Ibs. per cow, Holsteins 54.50 Ibs. 

 per cow. 



"Average daily yield of cream cheese, Jerseys 2.57 Ibs. per cow, Holsteins 

 6.52 Ibs. per cow. 



"Now if we increase the average yield of each Jersey by 60 per cent to 

 correspond with the average difference in live weight between the Jerseys and 

 /Holsteins, when we find that pound for pound of live weight a Holstein cow 

 110 days from calving will produce 40 per cent more butter, 70 per cent more 

 cheese and 75 per cent more milk than a Jersey cow 65 days after calving. 

 That is, a Holstein man owning six cows weighing 7,140 Ibs. in all, could sell 

 about 70 per cent more butter, cheese and milk than a Jersey man owning ten 

 cows weighing 7400 Ibs. in all. 



"As to food consumed the test shows nothing beyond statements of the 

 owners. It was utterly impossible for the committee to stand guard over the 

 various cows for three days to see what they consumed, and one Jersey man 

 making no report a comparison is not possible. 



"The vast superiority of the Holsteins in both average yield and yield 

 relative to size will naturally drive the Jersey men to consider the amount of 

 'food consumed.' 



"Now, gentlemen, this is not the question. The true statement is this: 

 Each of the six Holstein cows in the test produced two and one-half times as 

 much total solids as each of the two Jerseys, which may have been due to one 

 of two causes. First, to a more perfect digestion, or: Second, to a larger 

 consumption of food. When we consider that the length of time required to 

 digest the same kind of food is about the same in all cows, it proves that a 

 Holstein could hold more food and thus digest more food than a Jersey. But 

 this would account for a difference of only 60 per cent in yield while we 

 here have a difference of 250 per cent to account for. It must be that the 

 digestive apparatus of the Holstein cow in perfection of work and 

 domestic economy far surpasses that of the Jersey, and that all other 

 differences of size, form and color are not more marked than this greatest of all 

 differences in digestive economy. 



"The Dutch are the most thrifty and most economical people on earth. 

 They have bred and culled their black-and-white cattle for over a thousand 

 years, on land worth hundreds of dollars per acre. High priced food, valuable 

 room and urgent demands for beef have been permanent factors continually 

 operating on this breed. No cow's life was safe for a day after she failed to 

 give a good account for her rations. The Dutch ascribe their prosperity to 

 these black-and-white cattle. This test would indicate that an equal pros- 

 perity awaits the owners of Holstein cattle in Nebraska." And he might have 

 added, America ! 



The official report of the test of dairy cows made at the Ohio State Fair of 

 1889 showed a sweeping victory for Holsteins in various classes, viz., for cow 

 producing the greatest amount of solids, including fat; for the cow producing 

 the greatest amount of milk; and for the cow producing the greatest amount 

 of milk, including fat and solids. There were nine entries in this test one 

 Red Polled, three Jerseys, five Holstein-Friesians. The test was conducted on 

 the grounds, and a chemical analysis made by H. A. Webber, of the State 

 Board of Agriculture. 



The results were calculated from the chemical analysis, and based upon the 

 following rules : One point for each pound of milk, twenty points for each 



