174 PROFITABLE DAIRYING 



the farmer must be governed by conditions. 

 Whether to sell his milk or to make it into 

 butter or cheese will depend upon his nearness 

 to factories and markets, the relative price Of 

 milk, butter and cheese, and other local condi- 

 tions. One fact must be constantly kept in mind. . 

 All kinds of dairying are not equally light on 

 the soil. The farmer who sells his milk to con- 

 sumers takes from his farm all the soil elements 

 found in the whole milk. The sale of cheese 

 returns a portion of these soil elements in the 

 whey, while the sale of butter removes from the 

 farm practically nothing of a soil nature. The 

 milk required to produce a ton of butter con- 

 tains 450 pounds of fertilizing substances, worth 

 about $45. The cheese made from the same 

 amount of milk removes about half as much 

 of these substances, while the total amount of 

 soil matter in a ton of butter has already been 

 stated to be worth less than fifty cents. All 

 else being equal, it is better to make butter 

 than cheese for the market, as it makes so little 

 demand on the soil. Again, the skim-milk is 

 available to feed on the farm, while whey has 

 a much less feeding value. 



The draft of dairying on the soil. In order to 

 compare the effect of dairying on the soil with 

 the other kinds of farming, let us suppose that 

 forty acres of land will support ten cows. This 



