VoL. LX. No. 2704 
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 23, 1901. 
$1 PER YEAR. 
GUIDE BOARDS FROM THE MODEL DAIRI. 
WHAT THE BUFFALO DAIRY TEST SHOWS. 
Edward Van Alstyne’s Comments. 
NOT PHENOMENAL COWS.—After the six 
months’ battle of the breeds is ended and the 
cows have “come home” strong and well, and in 
increased flesh, it would seem as if it were wise 
to call attention to some of the many points 
brought out and lessons taught. These were not 
phenomenal cows and beyond the reach of the well- 
to-do farmer, but fair samples of the different breeds 
represented. Nor was their production so large in 
either milk or butter as to be beyond ordinary attain¬ 
ment. This is evidenced when the Guernsey cow, 
Mary Marshall (the banner cow), in her best week 
(that ending May 21) gave 16.22 pounds of estimated 
butter, and the second-best cow, the Red Poll May¬ 
flower, in her best week (that ending May 28) gave 
15.07 pounds. The average per day for the six months 
of the Guernsey 
herd in churned 
butter was 7.77 
pounds or 1.55 
pound per cow; 
of the Jersey 
herd 7.65 pounds 
per week or 1.53 
pound per cow. 
The total pro¬ 
duction of milk 
by the Holstein 
and Ayrshire 
herds was 39,- 
269.94 pounds 
and 3 2,969 
pounds respec¬ 
tively, or an 
average per day 
of each cow of 
42.68 pounds in 
the former and 
35.83 pounds in 
the latter. 
There are many 
working dairies 
that can show 
records equally 
as good, and bet¬ 
ter. It would be 
interesting if 
readers having 
such would re- 
port. Many 
times the re¬ 
mark has been made to the writer that these cows 
were given extra care, which would be imprac¬ 
ticable in a working dairy. This point I have 
studied very carefully, and the consensus of opinions 
of those in charge, including the herdsmen, was 
that the extra care would hardly balance the unnat¬ 
ural conditions; i. e., excitement from crowds, close 
confinement, little or no exercise and unduly long 
hours, they being milked and fed at 5 A. M., 12.30 
P. M. and 8 P. M., never getting entirely quiet until 
9 P. M., and this was detrimental. 
EXERCISE FOR COWS.—This naturally brings up 
this point: Do cows need exercise, or is entire 
stable feeding during the Summer desirable? I have 
very decided opinions on this subject, yet to prove 
conclusively the first point from this test would be 
impossible. I can only point to some suggestive cir¬ 
cumstances. Without doubt they gave as much or 
more milk from not wasting energy in search of food, 
and perhaps took on more flesh. That this practice 
is to be commended for a breeding herd, that is to 
go on for generations producing healthy and strong 
offspring, I believe no careful student of maternity 
will allow. It was a source of perplexity to those 
of us, who handled the product, why a higher flavor 
could not be produced in our butter. It seldom 
scored over 42 points for flavor, and often in some 
of the churnings the flavor would be positively bad. 
This, too, with milk strictly clean, handled in the 
most approved manner, and with the best culture 
for starter. After careful investigation along all 
lines we tested the milk of each cow in a jar by 
itself, and found that in many of the cows the milk 
developed an odor plainly brought about by indiges¬ 
tion. Some of this doubtless was due to our feed 
(as 60 pounds of silage with six pounds of hay and 
10 or 12 pounds of grain is more than the ordinary 
1,000-pound cow can digest, particularly without ex¬ 
ercise). After the yard was built near the barn for 
judging sheep the Jersey cattle for some time were 
allowed to run in it for an hour or two at night. 
That week their butter scored the highest in the 
barn, and the highest it had scored for the season. 
SILAGE AND SOILING.—As to the practicability 
of silage for Summer feed there can be no doubt. 
Our silage until August 13 was brought from Ham¬ 
burg, 17 miles distant, in spite of which, when 
drawn by our own men, it was in excellent condition. 
Prom that date until September 17 we fed in place 
of it oats and peas, millet and green corn; when we 
fed from the silo built on the grounds. After going 
over carefully the cost and amount of feed for the 
different herds during these periods the tendency 
seems to be that with the green feed a little less 
grain was fed. Yet the average cost of the ration 
was no less, and the milk production no more from 
the green feed than the silage. The difference in 
the amount of grain is accounted for by the grain 
in the silage. It seems very clear that cattle will 
produce more milk from the feed they graze in the 
pasture than from that cut and fed to them. Every 
dairyman knows that with abundant pasture little 
or no grain is needed. Yet to keep up a profitable 
milk flow these cows were fed from eight to twelve 
pounds of grain each a day, practically Winter 
rations. I would therefore conclude that when land 
is cheap and not easily tilled pasture is much cheaper 
than soiling; that land producing abundance of other 
crops would better be cropped than pastured, but 
that ordinarily the two systems can best be com¬ 
bined with profitable results. 
NO ONE “BEST BREED.”—We have certainly 
demonstrated that no one breed contains all the best 
cows. A man must be guided by his surroundings, 
amount of feed produced on his farm, and what he 
purposes to do with his product. I have no hesi¬ 
tancy in saying that the man who wishes to produce 
butter should select one of the Channel Islands 
breeds, not only because they can make a pound of 
butter at less cost, but because their butter is of a 
finer texture and higher color. The Guernseys made 
a pound of butter fat for 10.9 cents for the cost of 
food, the Jer¬ 
seys for 11.1 
cents, the Ayr¬ 
shire 11.5 cents, 
and the Hol¬ 
stein 12.9 cents. 
The butter from 
any of the Chan- 
nel Islands 
breeds, particu¬ 
larly the Polled 
Jerseys, could be 
churned at a 
much higher 
temperature and 
under unfavor¬ 
able conditions 
and still be firm 
and merchant¬ 
able than could 
that of any other 
breeds in the 
barn. For milk 
production 
where the fat is 
not the main 
factor and feed 
is abundant the 
Holstein or Ayr- 
shire would 
seem to be the 
desirable cow. 
The former 
made a pound of 
solids at a cost 
for food of .0347 per pound, a pound of milk for 
.00419; the latter a pound of solids for .0336, a 
pound of milk for .00427. The Guernsey’s solids 
cost .0362 cents, milk .00504 per pound; the Jersey’s 
solids .0365, milk .0059 per pound for cost of food. 
The former with an average per cent of solids of 
13.9, fat 4.6; the latter 13.6 solids, 4.58 per cent fat. 
The lower cost of solids in the Ayrshire milk is due 
to the fact that the average per cent of total solids 
in this milk was 12.6 per cent, the average fat 3.69 
per cent, while that of the Holstein was 12 per cent, 
the average fat 3.25 per cent, a very significant factor 
in cheese making. It is interesting to note that the 
French Canadian cattle made a pound of solids for 
.0344 and a pound of milk for .00466; their average 
per cent of solids being 13.3 per cent, with an average 
fat per cent of 3.99. This point will be of value 
to many who have small farms and a limited amount 
of feed available for the dairy. 
Doubtless no breed attracted more attention than 
the Red Rolls. They produced a pound of solids for 
