26 MAINE STATE COLLEGE 



in the Report of 1889. the cost of a quart of milk depends not so 

 much upon the volume produced, as upon the amount of solid mat- 

 ter that it contains. Of course the greater volume of milk a cow 

 produces the less its quart cost, other things being equal, but it 

 seems to be true that we do not find in general the production of a 

 large volume of milk which has a high percentage of solids. If, 

 for instance, by a process of selection, the Holsteins are bred to 

 the production of richer milk, a decrease in the yield will un- 

 doubtedly occur. 



The cost of a pound of solid matter in milk is really the true 

 test to follow, especially if we regard the milk simply as human 

 food. It seems that in the case of these cows a pound of Jersey 

 milk has cost nearly a third more than a pound of Holstein milk, 

 whereas, a pound of Jersey milk solids has cost only about one- 

 twentieth more, or five per cent. The figures that represent the 

 cost of the fat, cream and butter, show some very marked differ- 

 ences in favor of the Jersey animals. The butter fat in the 

 milk of the Ayrshire and Holstein animals has cost from twenty to 

 thirty per cent, more than in the case of the Jerseys, with about 

 the same differences for the cream. The cost of a pound of but- 

 ter in each of the three cases varies still more, the Ayrshire butter 

 costing sixty per cent, more than the Jersey butter. In order 

 to make these relations still plainer, the table below is arranged. 

 The cost of the various products, milk, milk solids, fat, cream 

 and butter is taken as 100 for the Holsteins. 



Relation of Food Cost. 



Holstein Ayrshire Jersey 



Cost of milk 



Cost of milk solids 



Cost of butter fat 



Cost of cream per inch 

 Cost of butter 



100 



111 



132 



100 



105 



105 



100 



106 



81 



100 



107 



SI 



100 



115 



72 



It may not be out of place to again emphasize in this connec- 

 tion the great difference between the cost of a pound of edible 

 material in milk and in beef. The Station cows have produced 

 annually during the past two years an average of 895 pounds of 

 milk sol3cls. all of which is edible. This has been done at an 

 average food cost of 7 1-4 cents per pound. It is safe to say 

 that farmers of Maine would consider the production of a 1.400 



