The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1889-12-07
MAKING GOOD COWS.
Practical knowledge That Can BE Ac-
qulred Only by Hard Work.

PraCtiCal hnOWleuSe Sdh DO Az
quired Only by Hard Work.
1t has become a remark that is not
only trite, but true, that no one should
keep COW that is not profitable in the
dairy, but this rule, like most others,
should be taken with one regard to cir
cumstances. There are times in the
lives of all COWS that, strictly speaking,
they are not profitable Mixers as, for
instance, the period when they neces-
sarily go dry or accidents be1all them
from which there is reasonable hope
that they may recover. 1t may be said
that there is no special wisdom in such
advice, which is true, but this principle
can be indefinitely extended, as when
we ask the question, How can you tell
definitely whether or not the cow is
profitable animal in the herd? She
may, for instance, be profitable by COM
parison only; that is, she may be one of
the most profitable animals in that herd,
but would rank so low in another herd
that she would quickly be discarded.
Some men, and most of them for the
matter of that, work on a slim margin
of profit, while others require far
better work. This means that the COW
is often what you make her. If your
standard is high and your intelligence
and ability up to your ambition, it will
be no very difficult matter to find among
cows the material to work out your pur-
pose with, for the nature of a cow is eX-
ceedingly plastic, but with the man who
possesses the ambition to go to the top,
but has not the necessary intelligence,
it is uphill work. How can he tell
whether the COW is doing all she is capa-
BILE of? The answer to this question is:
BY hard work. First let him study up
the improved methods of feeding and
handling, and then put his knowledge
in practice. beginning with small
herd of the best COWS he can afford, let
him go into a regular course of expert
menting with them, weighing the milk
twice day and churning the cream of
each COW separately at stated periods
This will give him a splendid advan-
tage, but it will not do to jump at con-
clusions, which is the bane of all lleXperi-
menters, from the humblest TO the high
est. We see this sticking out in the nu-
merous reports of all our experiment sta
tions. A conclusion once reached mustnot
be stuck to until it has been proven over
and over again, and under varying cir
cumstances. BY comparing the work of
one COW with that of another, standard
for that herd can be established, but
that is not saying that different and bet
ter handling would not destroy the stand
ard. If, for instance, sufficient food had
not been given, and better and more
liberal ration adopted, it would be found
under new test that some of the former
favorites in the herd would have to take
n back seat, while some of the moderate
performers heretofore would 60 to the
head simply because some could respond
to the better treatment while others
could not. In this way the man and
his cows will improve in way that will
prove lasting, and we know no other
way to accomplish such desirable end.
Money can not purchase the information,
and study alone will not do 1t, but the
two combined is sure to master the sit
uation. If the young man has the right
kind of stuff in him, there is no reason
in his despairing of reaching the top
story, where it is said there are always
rooms to let-American Dairyman.