173 



Galls 



No. Milk. Test. Butter. Price. Value. 



li) 140 3 7 57-2G 8d. £1 18 2 

 2 81) 3-7 3G-40 8d. £14 3 



The best return for a month by cow 

 No. 2 is quoted, and in the monthly com- 

 parison No. 19 cow would get credit for 

 being by far the more prohtable animal. 

 However, in looking at the year's record 

 it is found that she was only a sprinter. 

 For the month No. 19 gives 13s. lid. 

 more than No. 2, but for the year No. 3 

 gives £3 14s. 8d. more than No. 19. The 

 one cow gave a big yield for a short 

 period. The other did not give a big 

 How, but v^as a consistent milker, and 

 came out best. 



Cheapening Cost of Production. 



If it costs £1 to produce 32G lbs. of 

 butter with the best cow and the same 

 amount to produce 133 lbs. of butter with 

 I he worst cow, then it has cost less than 

 3d. per ft. to produce butter from the 

 good cow and almost 8d. per lb. with the 

 bad one. 



A Problem. 



A herd that would give an averao^e 

 return of £7 3s. 5d. under such condi- 

 tions, and in a year described by the 

 oldest residents as the worst experienced 

 for thirty years past, would be desig- 

 nated a picked herd. Therefore, this 

 may be termed a picked herd, and if the 

 individual members of a picked herd 

 vary so much in the returns given 

 by them, it would be most inter- 

 esting to know to what extent the results 

 of an average herd would dUh'v when 

 recorded in the same way. 



Great Possibilities. 



If such returns can be obtained under 

 such adverse circumstances by an ordi- 

 nary or mixed herd of cows in Victoria, 

 what is it possible to secure from a herd, 

 say, like the ten best cows in a favour- 

 able year ? It is said that the average 

 return from Victorian cows is 290 gallons 

 —not equal to that of the worst cow here 

 quoted. The ten best cows gave two and 



a quarter times that of the worst cow, 

 so it can easily be seen what scope for 

 improvement lies in this direction. 



If it has been worth our while build- 

 ing up an industry of the magnitude — 

 local and export— of £3,500,000 with the 

 indifferent cows we are credited with, it 

 will not be a hard matter to more than 

 hold or own against all countries in the 

 world if we pay more attention to the 

 breeding, feeding and management of 

 our cattle. To say that we are not 

 making headway in this direction would 

 not be true. In every district there are 

 to be found a few up-to-date dairymen, 

 who serve as splendid examples to the 

 remainder, and who are ever ready to 

 adopt improved methods. This system 

 of recording the quantity of each cow's 

 milk, together with the quality, is 

 strongly recommended. The beginning 

 is the hardest part of it. Give the plan 

 a trial, and you will find the trouble and 

 delay not nearly so much as it appears. 

 In a short time it will become ])art of 

 the routine of milking, and the informa- 

 tion continually gained will far outweigh 

 the little extra attention. Whnt better 

 technical education can be afforded the 

 young people who usually do the milk- 

 ing ; and what a splendid thing it is to 

 know definitely which cows are worth 

 keeping and breeding from. 



Care of Dairy Utensils. 



All cans and vessels of tin in which 

 milk has been used should be rinsed 

 out with cold water first, then washed 

 with hot water, and afterwards scalded 

 with boiling water or steam. If scald- 

 ing water is used first, the albumen in 

 the remaining milk sticks fast to the tin 

 and renders the operation of cleansing 

 most difficult. 



"Wooden vessels should receive almost 

 the same treatment. Churns aiid butter- 

 workers should have all the small par- 

 ticles of butter washed down with cold 

 water after use, and then scrubbed and 

 scalded. Should hot water be used first, 

 the little waste atoms melt on the wood, 

 and are sometimes liable to soak in. 



