ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 299 



though the barns and surroundings are not arranged or kept in 

 condition to f aciliate work. The silage corn which is preserved 

 in two stave silos forms an important part of the winter ration. 

 During the winter months, the cows other than strippers receive 

 about six pounds of bran, and two pounds of cotton seed meal, 

 together with thirty pounds silage and seven pounds clover hay. 

 Part of the time some corn meal was used in place of cotton seed 

 meal. The summer feeding beside pasture, consisted of three 

 pounds clover hay, part of the time supplemented by four pounds 

 bran early in the season and three pounds corn meal late in sum- 

 mer. For a large part of the summer nothing was fed in addi- 

 tion to the pasture. Two hundred and fifty dollars worth of milk 

 was produced by the herd in two months from fifteen acres of 

 pasture. This gives a fair return for short time but we must 

 bear in mind that such production cannot be maintained through- 

 out the season. One striking thing about the herd is its uniform- 

 ity in production. The range in butter fat yield extends from 

 136.02 pounds to 296.09 pounds, the average of the herd being 

 235.04 pounds. A pure-bred dairy sire of apparently good breed- 

 ing is now heading the herd. Considerable interest was taken 

 in the test, resulting in the elimination of some of the low pro- 

 ducers. With cows of this quality it is an easy task to develop a 

 herd capable of large production. 



Herd No. 21. H. H. 



The maintenance of good dairy herds to supply our great 

 centers of population with milk for direct consumption, w ill al- 

 ways be an important matter. The present indications are that 

 the demand will tend to increase as the people are educated to 

 appreciate the importance of milk as a part of the regxilar diet 

 and are assured that the supply can not only be obtained at a rea- 

 sonable price, but is also of a wholesome nature. It is the busi- 

 ness of the dairyman who has access to this market to not only 

 supply milk of good quality, but to produce it as cheaply as pos- 

 sible. To do this efficient cows are a necessity. 



The owner of herd No. 21 is shipping milk to a neighbor- 



