Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-07-09
Testing Dairy Cows.

| DAlh1 MEN neeu often reminding Oh
the things they should, but generally do
not, do. We have often illustrated
what occurs in so many herds-un-
profitable dairying, for the want of in
dividual tests of the COWS in the herd.
1t almost passes belief that an intelli.
gent dairyman could keep cows year
after year without knowing whether
they made or lost him money. But such
is the fact and number of instances
have occurred where dairymen, on a
careful test of each individual cow.
found that one-third of them did not
pay for their keep, one-third paid a
small profit over cost of keep, and the
other third paid handsome profit over
all expenses. Now, is it not easy to see
that such a dairyman would make much
more from his one-third good cows than
from his whole herd-say herd of fif-
teen COWS, five paying a good profit,
hVe not even paying for their keep, and
five paying little more than their keep.
but no profit; the bad COWS lust about
balance the good ones, making the
whole herd unprofitableP But the five
good COWS would require only one-third
OF the labor, and would pay at least
NOupAo ullO Cl6dT JIOLJ. . ..
There is a less reasonable excuse for
Keeping an Improbable COW than most
other things For instance, raising a
poor crop year after year, upon the
same land, has but poor apology but
1t may be said that the land can't we'll
be sold aud that it may be improved,
while the COW runs him deeper and
deeper in debt, with no hope of amend
ment.
You may easily test the yield of milk
from each COW, in weight, by hanging
a spring scale at convenient place in
the stable, where the milk of each cow.
can be weighed and recorded one day
in each week. A few weeks will serve
to show the character of each COW with
regard to quantity, and this will repre-
sent her value at the cheese factory, |
where the standard is weight. But If |
you keep a dairy for butter, nothing |
short of setting each cows milk by it. |
self for short period and churning the
cream will give the value of the COW |
for butter. The bulk or weipht of |
cream does not test the butter it con-
tains, as the cream is often so uneoual
in quality that the butter must be aotu-
ally separated to test it, By preparing
small book with the name or number
OF each COW entered, and having a pen
Gil attached to it, the weighing of each
cows milk will not occupy more than
one minute, and certainly any dairy
man can afford this minute oncea week
in consideration of learning the charac-
ter of the COW. .l .
When the dairyman has determined
that COW is Improbable, he should get
rid of her at the earliest opportunity.
There will be different reasons for de-
string to be rid of COW. Ii butter il
lhe product desired, COW that gives a
liberal quantity of milk may be quite
because the milk is verv
poor in cream; and in this case the COW
should be sold to the patron of a cheese
actory, to whom she will he valuable:
1ut if the COW gives too small a auan-
ity, OF too poor a quality to be profit
'ble, one OF the best ways to get rid of
Ter is to fatten her, by feeding with
grain for that purpose. Feed her very
generously, and milk her to pay the cost
'f fattening, This is often a profitable
way to test cows capacity for inn
If she is capable of inn
'rovement as a mixer, such feeding
VII test it, and may occasionally show
o marked an improvement as to war
ant her being kept for further trial;
tut II she does not improve materially
n milk, she will take on flesh and
Don be ready for the butcher,
While her milk will pay at least
large proportion of the cost of fatten- {
lg. In this way poor cow may be
disposed OF as beef without any real
oss. Dairymen sometimes give cows a |
ad character when that character is l
he result of insufficient feeding. In s
broad sense, the dairyman is Wholly
for the character of his
ows. In the first place, it is his duty +
D give all the food required to manu- y
lcture large yield of milk, and to use i
is best endeavOrs to develop and en-. 9
lrge the milk yield of his COWS. By l
oing this for the young COWS, for two
easons, and noting the yield of each :,
II one day in the week, he NAV de-
'rmine which ones are profitable and h
'hich ones Improbable; and the un- G.
rohtable ones he can turn into beef at 2
good price, and need not keep a COW ,,
lat does not yield profit.
When dairymen shall give close at q
ntion to everything that relates to the n
anagement and welfare of their dairy v
'rds-t testing everything, both cows B
I'd food-we shall hear much less about H
sses in dairying. .-NattoaGl LiUe Stock