78 BULLETIN 341, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
many heifers a year as they have cows. The remainder of the needed 
animals are obtained by purchase. The herds can not be materially _ 
improved as long as this practice continues; but, as already stated, 
the prices which it is now necessary to pay for cows in this region 4 
are becoming so high that farmers are beginning to raise a larger 
proportion of their cows. This is perhaps fortunate, for it gives a_ 
better chance to improve the quality of the herds. 
Because of the large proportion of cows bought, there is consid- 
erable mixture of breeds in this region, much more so than would . 
ordinarily be the case where farmers raise their cows. When the 
practice of raising cows again becomes common, as it seems to bid : | 
fair to do, it is important that particular attention be given to the 
matter of breeds, and more especially to securing bulls from the best 
producing cows. Every dairy farmer in this region should get 
firmly fixed in mind the idea that improvement in the producing — 
capacity of cows means increased profits, provided, of course, the 
ordinary dairy farmer does not have to pay exorbitant prices for the 
right kind of breeding stock. | 
The facts given in Table XLIV emphasize strongly the point here 
under consideration. In this table those farmers who secured $50 — | 
or less income per cow are divided into three groups, according to 
the number of cows in the herds. With cows of this quality, or | 
rather lack of quality, the larger the herd the less the profit. 
TABLE XLIV.—felation of receipts per cow and number of cows to labor in- © 
come on commercial dairy owner farms, Chester County. 
Number of Average | Average 
Receipts per cow. cows per 100 Se number | income ee jane 
crop acres. of cows. | per cow. per cone 
Ato; 16-92 14 1st 7) 43.1 405 52 
HD raAriG lesSes see noose tae eon eece 17 to 22-9=- =. 20 19.5 41.2 369 46 
23 to 28.9. -- = 11 26.8 45.3 258 32 
1tonG:92=— 15 iS? 13ES5 1,090 112 
LAO 229-255 7 19.9 119. 7 1, 426 182 
aaa aay eae 23 to 28.9... 14 25.4| 1193| 12566 184 
29 plus...... 23 40.1| . 125.8] 1,723 197 
The last part of the table refers to those farmers who secured 
incomes per cow in excess of $100 per annum. Here, as the herds _ 
increase in size, the labor income increases rapidly. This merely — 
goes to show that very poor cows do not pay, while high-grade cows 
are quite profitable under the conditions prevailing in this area. 
COMBINED EFFECT OF YIELD PER ACRE AND INCOME PER COW. 
Table XLV shows the combined effect of yield per acre and in- 
come per cow. Thirty-four farms have incomes of $60 or less per 3 5 
cow and a crop index of 90 or less. Their average labor income is _ 
Adjusted 
%, 
nN hil elt. Rb aR AO 
