ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 1 4 1 



sell some of the best cows from our herds. The writer has in mind the 

 1S98 cow Sweet Briar, of the Minnesota Experiment Station, that produced 

 for ten years an average of 358.07 pounds of butter a year, while in 1898 

 she produced only 206.62 pounds of butter, but in 1899 she made 306.53 

 pounds, and in 1901 370.53. If the merits of Sweet Briar had been wholly 

 based on the work she did in 1898 she would have been classed as a very 

 ordinary cow, and perhaps sold. The great value of scales and Babcock 

 test lies in their continued use in the dairy herd and not in one year's test. 

 Good heifers usually come from the best dairy cows, but it sometimes 

 happens that a promising heifer may do very poorly the first year. In 

 such cases the heifer's individuality together with her breeding should be 

 considered before she is sold. The testing of cows should, however, be 

 carried on in every dairy if a systematic selection is to be made. 

 A good cow seldom has two " off years " in succession. 



The Variation in Flow and Per Cent of Fat in Milk. 



It has often been asked why it is necessary to weigh and sample each 

 milking for a week. By weighing and testing each milking separately we 

 usually find considerable variation in milk yield and fat content. The 

 following tables show to what extent a cow will vary in quantity of milk 

 and per cent of fat from one milking to another. These tables are taken 

 from records of cows that were tested for the Holstein-Friesian Advanced 

 Regestry. 



The above table readily shows the importance of weighing and samp- 

 ling the milk for more than one milking, if the average test of the cow la 

 to be obtained. Maid of Cloverdale, for example, tested on the morning of 

 September 25, two per cent, and at noon, September 26, 4.50 per cent. 

 Had either been taken as her actual test it would have been very mislead- 

 ing, for her average test for that particular week was 2.99 per cent. 



The Basis Upon Which the Profit or Loss of the Cow Is Computed. 



It is very difficult to express the true value of the dairy cow in dollar! 

 and cents. But since the profit or loss of more of the cows tested has 



