ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



147 



On account of the extreme high prices for feed, it occurred to me along 

 in November, that I must do some thing to make a profit in handling my 

 herd. My cows apparently were eating up all I got from them, and when 

 oats were 45 cents a bushel and brand $22.00 a ton. I could not stand those 

 expenses. So I put my cows on the following feed in December: 



Silage, $8.62 worth; hay, $5.50. and shelled corn, $3.00. I gave them 

 oat straw to pick at. That constituted all my cows' feed. I milked 

 twelve. There were five of them 2 jear old; three out of five had been 

 milked 15 months, and the remainder three and five year old. Those 

 twelve gave 7146 pounds of milk at 81.15 makes about $82.00, and with an 

 expense of $17.12 for feed, I received about $65.06 clean profit from my 

 entire herd. 



I will say here that my hay was clover hay, and that substitutes 

 for grain they did not get the month before. 



Mr. Glover was at my place and we figured this thing over and I think 

 that my cows were receiving on an average about 1.34 pounds protein per 

 cow a day, where I had been feeding before 2.12 pounds protein per day. 

 My test increased at the creamery on this feed to what it was when they 

 were eating 10 pounds ration of bran and oats, less that clover hay. 



My cows are handled probably the same as everybody else's cows are 

 handled. House them in a fairly good barn; its nothing extra, only just 

 medium. I give them pure water to drink twice a day and clover hay to 

 eat once a day, and straw at noon. They have the chance twice a day 

 to the water tank as I said and they get pure water. They are groomed 

 only occasionally. Judging from what the gentleman said yesterday 

 about using 25 per cent muscle, I don't think my cows are giving what they 

 would according to his theory; I think my self they would be better if 

 cleaned oftener. People in our neighborhood claim that it is costing 

 them $1.75 a hundred for milk and they are only receiving $1.15 a hun- 

 dred for their milk. I think if my cows were doing that I would put them 

 on hardtack. 



