FARM MANAGEMENT PRACTICE OF CHESTER COUNTY, PA. 77 
even more important here than in a region where fewer cows are 
kept. 
TABLE XLIII.—Relation of receipts per cow to labor income, Pennsylvania 
owner farms. 
Five and more cows. 
Divided according to receipts per cow. 
Number | Receipts | Adjusted | Labor 
offarms. | per cow. | income. | income. 
Per cent. 
1) @uoVel WESENS Biss eee See Re ae ee ceed ie eee See ee eee ae Se 48 $42 55 $418 
FAL HO) GO Se eS a eRe ae La 43 68 102 592 
ll UD TO sc SS GE EE OHE ORE BE Ae BERS be RSS See erie et ee ea ete 27 57 92 783 
TLL EO BO case SESE ARSE SEAS a oa a een I ce Pre 51 75 99 782 
SH HO OO ccpnb ABS S ee ee ee eS See ee ee oe Ree ne 24 86 111 831 
CHIR OBN() (Peery eet na tetra ee Der ee SR Rar ae oy allie eta 39 96 137 1,185 
HOT GO WD Soe Se ee ele ceca te kee Pa oN a 29 110 162 1, 422 
COWIE VAD). css eS a cre art ee eR ce eg 28 138 175 1,602 
CANOE LAS oh oh SN RR ae a OR naa ae ree 289 80 lil 906 
Within the limits found in this survey the labor income increases 
markedly as the income per cow increases. Forty-eight farmers re- 
ceived $50 or less income per cow. Their labor income was 45 per 
cent below the general average. Twenty-eight farms had incomes 
per cow of more than $120, and their labor incomes were 75 per cent 
above the average. 
It is possible to overdo in this direction also, just as it is in the 
matter of yield per acre, but no farmers were found in this survey 
who went to too great an expense to get high yield of product per 
cow. The results of this survey show very clearly that the farmers 
of Chester County can increase their profits more markedly and 
more certainly by improving the quality of their cows than in any 
other way. On farms maintaining large herds this can be done 
easily enough by using the right kind of bulls. But on the smaller 
_ farms this is not always feasible. The right kind of bulls cost so 
much that the small farmer can not afford them. This difficulty can 
best be overcome by cooperative ownership of good bulls. Cow- 
testing associations should be organized, not only as a means of 
finding which cows are worth keeping and which should be disposed 
of, but also as a means of providing good breeding stock. With 
such organizations a good bull can be passed from farm to farm, and 
thus retained in the neighborhood as long as he is serviceable. 
One difficulty in the past has been the fact that so few farmers 
raised their cows. In order to maintain herds and keep up their 
quality, it is necessary to replace yearly an average of about one- 
fourth of the herd. The number of heifer calves saved annually 
must, therefore, be about 25 per cent of the number of cows kept. In 
this locality the farmers raise an average of only 8.2 per cent as 
