New York AcGricvuttuRAL Experiment Station. 149 

Cost of Milk and Fat Production. 
” The first two tables following give the cost of food, the yield 
__ of milk and fat and the cost per pound for the same for each 
animal, and the average for each breed as also the general average 
of all the breeds for the entire period of the first lactation, as 
q - also the same data for comparison of the nearly completed second 
_ period of lactation. 
The second two tables give the ratio of cost of production of 
milk and fat of the individual animals, as also of the breeds for 
the entire first period of lactation and for the nearly completed 
second period. 
; | It will be seen that as a rule those animals and breeds which 
_ produce milk at the least cost are generally those which produce 
fat, and therefore butter, at the greatest cost. 
It will also be remarked that while the estimated cost of the 
_ several constituents making up the rations of these animals has 
© been kept the same for both years for greater ease of comparison, 
that the average daily cost of each animal for food during the 
_ second period has been 16.17 cents, while for the first it was 
' 18.11 cents, or as 123.3 to 100, the average cost of milk the 
= second period was but 90.6 per cent. of the cust for the first period, 
BS: and the cost of the fat for the second period was 95.6 per ceunt., 
upon an average, of the cost during the first period of lactation. 
The increased cost of food during the second period was due to 
the natural increase demanded for maintenance, the cows having 
‘@ averaged about forty pounds increase in weight during their 
second period over their weight during the first. 
It will be of value to learn whether these relations in cost of 
_ production shall be retained when the data is secured for the 
* _ entire second period of lactation, the data thus far at hand for 
_ this period covering an average of 273 days, while the average 
q number of days of lactation for the first period was 498 days, 
several of the cows having been permitted to remain in milk far 
~ into the second year in order that the herd could be-~ divided 
into a summer and winter herd. 
___ It is to be observed that there is very great differences in the 
individual animals as to the relative cost of production of milk 
and fat for the two periods, which differences each reader may deter- 






