ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 283 



have been somewhat improved. In winter the ration was com- 

 posed of 3 to 5 pounds of bran, 5 to 7 of corn and cob meal, to- 

 gether with corn stover and a small allowance of cowpeas. The 

 cows were about medium size but not the deepbodied kind th.it 

 are capable of storing away large quantities of coarse food which 

 they convert cheaply into milk. In summer millet was supplied 

 to sustain the herd when pastures became short, the cows in milk 

 receiving in addition 5 pounds of bran and 5 pounds of corn and 

 cob meal. The stable, which was roomy, was provided with a 

 good floor and was comfortable, though light and ventilation had 

 been overlooked. All things considered, the herd was fairly well 

 cared for, yet as a whole, made a poor return. It occasionally 

 happens that a herd of good cows makes a poor return because 

 they are not given an opportunity to respond in proportion to 

 their ability, from the fact that they are either under fed or mal- 

 treated. The low production here cannot be explained in thai 

 way. 



A glance at the table shows that the best cow, No. 8 yielded 

 only 264.01 pounds of butter fat per year, while the poorest, No. 

 2, produced but 128.96 pounds. An average production of 

 170.49 pounds of butter fat is obviously approaching very closely 

 the lowest point of profitable production. Here then was a man 

 who was keeping his herd with scarcely any profit, if we estimate 

 the cost of food at prevailing commercial prices. However, 

 these cows were maintained quite largely on farm-grown foods, 

 and the owner probably realized a small profit as shown in the 

 following table. From the fact that the cows were all retained 

 for a year, we have some interesting records, yet the retention 

 of some of the cows incurred a loss to the owner. 



In table 9 is given the production of each cow and its value 

 at 25 cents per pound for butter fat. A record was kept of the 

 approximate amounts and values of the foods consumed by this 

 herd, from which it is found that the average cost of food was 

 about $35.00 per cow per year. On this basis, the first part ct 

 table 9 shows that two cows were kept at a loss while three others 



