82 THE BUSINESS OF DAIRYING 



not able to pick out the best cow in a herd without 

 weighing and testing. Farmers know the good and 

 poor milkers in their herds in a general way, but 

 only a few breeders, whether of common or pure- 

 bred stock, use the scales or fat test to supply 

 definite knowledge. When the milk is not weighed 

 the amount is almost sure to be overestimated. The 

 fact that a cow gives 12 to 15 quarts of milk a day 

 at a certain time does not prove that she will give 

 5,000 pounds in a year. She must be fed and cared 

 for during the entire twelve months, and the profit 

 or loss depends upon what she will produce during 

 the entire year. Even dairymen who have bred and 

 handled their own cows are not able to estimate 

 their yearly yield of milk, and those who have 

 attempted it have usually come wide of the mark. 

 In one instance reported, a dairyman before begin- 

 ning his test made a note of the joint opinion of him- 

 self and his sons who had done the milking in the 

 herd for years, as to the half dozen best cows in the 

 herd, and an estimate of their season's milk yield. 

 When the year's record was completed it was found 

 that, in order of actual merit, the cows stood thus : 

 First the fifth; second a cow not on his merit list; 

 third his fourth; fourth his first; fifth his sixth; 

 sixth like the second, and his second and third still 

 lower on the list. These facts were verified by 

 subsequent records. The records showed this 

 owner further that about one-fourth of his cows 

 were being kept at a loss, while others barely paid 

 their way. 



The record of the herd is a matter of the utmost 



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