13G ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



so much now." However, that is the way with all of us. We 

 don't know so much about the looks of a dairy cow as we did a 

 few years ago, but why shouldn't we expect that there is a differ- 

 ence in dairy cows ? We can look over the other animals and find 

 the difference. Horses are not capable of performing the same 

 labor. Men are the same way. We make mistakes when we pick 

 them out by looks. Many a poor fellow is mistaken when he 

 picks out a wife by looks. 



Since the invention of the Babcock test, we have a simple, 

 effective and accurate way of determining the value of a dairy 

 cow. It is because of the invention of that wonderful test that 

 Smith had come to the conclusion that he did not know so much 

 and that is the way with all of us. When you do not know 

 whether your judgment is correct or not, then we stick to a theory 

 and argue about theory, like the philosopher who argues whether 

 a fish put in a pail of water would increase the weight of the 

 water. They argued and argued the subject, and finally asked 

 the opinion of a man with a practical turn of mind. Take away 

 the water and weigh them and find out. That's the way we are 

 settling the value of a dairy cow. We are simply finding out 

 without any question as to what she can do, and fix the value 

 upon her product. In the same way, we want to know how 

 much a dairy cow will give in a year ; not the amount in a day or 

 in a week, or even in thirty days. We want to know how much 

 in a year, 365 days, or during a period of lactation. We have 

 got to feed her that time. I say the quantity of milk, simply the 

 quantity, does not determine the value. We must know how 

 much solids, and especially how much butterfat she puts in that 

 milk. We want to know the other solids as well as the butterfat, 

 but we know that there is almost a fixed ratio between the other 

 solids and the butterfat. If we determine the butterfat we know 

 about what the other solids are. 



We have got to find out how much to keep a dairy cow on. 

 There is a question that is a stumbling block to the average 

 dairyman. He will allow that he can weigh the milk of a cow 

 during a period of lactation and keep a record of it ; allow he 



