The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1888-11-22
The Importance Of Testing the
Milk Of Each Cow.
For the Bureau Of Dairy Information. By
Prof w. A. Henry, Director Wiscon-
sin Agricultural Experiment Station.
III. Concluded.

Iroi w. "A. henry, Director WlScOn-
sin Agricultural Experiment Station.
III.-Concluded.
TO show the importance of know
ing just what a COW will dc in the
way Of butter making, | will relate
an actual experience with us at the
Experiment Station some four or
five years ago We had bought a
plain locking, understood COW for
thirty dollars, and had given the
owner more for her, probably, than
he thought she was worth. The COW
was placed in the herd with others,
and We soon found the yield Of milk
to be quite satisfactory, though not
remarkable in quantity. We consid-
cred her fair COW, but rather home
ly, and no doubt would have been
willing to part with her at any time
tor about what she cost US. When
the dalryman started in the fall to
test each individual Of the herd, to
our surprise, we found the homely
little cow was giving very rich milk,
and enough of it to make fully a
pound and one-half a day of butter.
Fearing the churn test had not been
correct, we repeated it, and found
the cow all that the first test had
showed.
Other COWS, much larger and finer
appearing, were giving on the same
feed about one pound day each.
Suppose pound of butter to be
worth twenty cents, and that the feed
of a COW is worth fifteen cents per
day; those COWS giving one pound
of butter a day would leave us five
cents after paying for the feed, while
the little cow would leave us fifteen
cents, or three times as much. I con-
slider the lesson taught me at that
time one of the most valuable in my
life, and never since have been will
ing to make up my mind as to what
a cow is worth until she has been
carefully tested.
And now for the best way of keep
ing an account with the herd, |
think no one who has ever tried it
will object to Weighing the milk of
each COW in the herd at every milk
ing, and properly recording it. In
order to have the proper record,
take board foot wide and eighteen
inches long, and bore a half inch
auger hole near the middle at one
side. Have one surface of the board
planned smooth. On this board tack
a sheet of brown MANILA paper ruled
both ways with lead pencil. On
the left hand side write the names of
the COWS. In the vertical rulings
put the days of the week or of the
month, allowing two spaces for each
day or number, for morning and eve
ning's milking. ANY farmers boy
will understand what | am trying to
describe. Do not use the Spring
balance for weighing, but get scales
with platform on which the milk
pail can stand. Hang the record
board on nail close by the scales,
which should be conveniently placed.
AS soon as the cow is MIXED the
milkman passes to the scales, weighs
and records, and carries at once to
the milk cans for straiLing. have
timed our men repeatedly to find out
how long it took to weigh and re-
cord milking, and, to my surprise,
learned that from 80 to IS seconds
we've sufficient for both operations.
am firmly convinced that no
dairyman should omit weighing the
milk at each milking, but if that
seems too much of an undertaking.
let him proceed in the same manner,
only weighing one day in the week,
and multiplying the average of four
days Weighings by the number of
days in the month to determine the
monthly milk yield. This is step
in the right direction, and better
than no progress. If followed for a
time it will lead to daily weighing, I
am quite confident. Men who weigh
the milk of each COW daily soon come
to look anxiously for cause of de-
crease in milk flow, and are careful
to milk the cows dry. These two
facts alone are worth all the time re-