32 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



Expensive investigations by the Illinois Experiment Station 

 indicate that a fourth of all the cows in this state follow the left- 

 hand path. That is, they produce no more than the average of 

 133^^ pounds butter fat per year. That is the average of the 

 lowest fourth of 554 cows in 36 Illinois herds tested a full year 

 by this Station. This path is not the "milky way" ; it lacks the 

 upward arch, the starry brightness and — the milk. 



At 23 cents a pound for butter fat these 139 cows make a 

 return of $30.77 to the dairyman. At $30 per year for feed — 

 and who would figure it less — their profit is 77 cents per cow 

 per year ! It takes one of these cows 4J^ days to earn one cent 

 profit, or the fun of milking her 45 times to earn the enormous 

 sum of 5 cents. 



But the highest fourth of the 554 cows produce 301 pounds 

 butter fat, which means an income of $69.32 and a clear profit 

 of $31.32 per cow (after taking out $38 for feed). These 

 are the cows taking the right-hand path above. These are 

 certainly the right cows, and the path they take leads right 

 on to the right things for the dairyman — profit, progress, plenty, 

 an attractive home, wider usefulness, higher education for his 

 children, and real enjoyment of country life for all the family. 

 And the right dairyman will take great pains to add this kind 

 of COW'S to his herd. 



The average cow in that right-hand path is w^orth as much 

 in actual profit to the dairyman as 40 2-3 cows in the left hand 

 path; and 25 cows of this better sort return as mucli profit as 

 1021 cows that turn to the left. 



As seen above, the poor cows naturally find their way to a 

 poor barn, a poor home, a poorly kept farm and poor dairyman — 

 and in the end the dairyman will do well, after slaving hard for 

 years, if he does not find his way "over the hills to the poorhouse." 

 If all these things are not met with on that cow path, it will be no 

 fault of the great bovine procession traveling that way. 



Not only individual cows but large portions of herds, and 

 even whole herds, take the wrong path at the parting of the ways. 

 Of these 36 herds, all the cows of the poorest herd averaged a pro- 



