2 i 8 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



during the year, then we computed her milk and butter records from the 

 weights and tests of every seventh week during her period of lactation. 

 We found the variation was not over 7 per cent. If we can come within 7 

 per cent or even 10 per cent of what the cow is doing in your herd, we are 

 getting pretty close. As I was saying, every seventh week the farmer is 

 supposed to weigh a sample of each mess of milk from each cow in his 

 herd. He placed the little sample of milk in a composite bottle which is 

 provided with a tablet for preserving it for a week or two. He mixes it 

 thoroughly every day, and at the end of fourteen consecutive milkings 

 I come with my traveling outfit and test that milk. We have the weights 

 and tests of each cow in the herd for a whole week and from this I can 

 figure exactly how much each cow has produced in that week of weigh- 

 inw and sampling. From this we estimate what she has done for the 

 three weeks past and what she will do the three weeks following. Then 

 for the next six weeks the farmer goes on with his regular work in the 

 same way, until I notify him it is time to begin weighing and sampling 

 again. 



That is all there is to do, unless the man is interested in keeping 

 track of the amount of feed and he kinds that he is giving his animals. 

 I have some farmers who weigh the grain when mixing it. For exam- 

 ple, he mixes together one-half bran and one-half corn meal. One hun- 

 dred pounds of each is weighed and mixed together.. He then takes a 

 measure and weighs it full of this mixture of grain and by keeping track 

 of the number of measures that he feeds each cow, he knows approximate- 

 ly how much grain each cow is getting. The roughage is also estimated 

 in a similar manner. 



At present, I have all the work I can attend to. When I first com- 

 menced, it was hard to get any ore to take any interest in it at all. They 

 took me for a creamery shark. They wouldn't let me test their cows; 

 thought I was working for some creamery, or a crank of some kind. 

 When I had been to their places three or four times, they found out I was 

 no creamery shark or connected with any creamery, and the work goes 



