Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1893-10-28
FAIR DAIRY TESTS.
Comments on the Experiments Made at the
Exposition.

eaIH OAlhy lGoIS.
Comments on the Experiments Made at the
Exposition.
Now that the dairy tests, which have
been in continual progress since tho
10th Of May with the exception of u
Ave days interval between tests 1 and
p are drawing to a close, 1t may not
be inappropriate to give n resume of
.he origin, object, scope and far reach.
ng result of same. BY many, it Is in :
correctly assumed that this was a test
arranged between the representatives
Of three breeds that have participated
therein, but such is not the case.
When the worlds fair was given to
Chicago, the idea was conceived of es-
tablishing n great dairy school and OPP
Grating n factory in connection there
| with, with the object of demonstrating
the latest improved methods of hand
ling and manufacturing milk, using the
most modern and improved machinery
and appliances for same; SO that all in
terested in dnirying might have In OPP
portunity of studying the latest modes
and machinery used in dairy science.
This resulted in the creation of Il body
Snowna as the columbian Dairy ASSOC
.iation," which was composed OF repre-
sentative dairy appliance manufacture
srs and agents as well as dairymen,
principally from the western and north
western states. Meetings were he d
md q great deal of enthusiasm in q Q
work was displayed. 1t was not long
2efore those interested in this matter
we're confronted with the problem:
From whence is to come n steady sup
ply of good milk to attain the objects
sought" and the various cattle as o ia
ions were requested TO place the milk
IF a stated number of cows of each breed
At the disposal of the school. From
such n request sprung the worlds fair
dairy tests, which have engaged the at
IGNITION of the d~airying public for the
past few months, and which are fraught
With SO much Importance to the future
Of the dairy cow.
In the meantime, Mr.. w. !. Buchan-
an, having been appointed chief of the
agricultural department, gave to the
proposal his most hearty support and
brought to bear on ii the energy, prac-
ticability, fairness and zest which are
such prominent characteristics of his
nature and which have gone SO far to
make the tests the success they have
been. His interest in these tests has
never tagged; he has always advocated
and insisted hat the rules gov
srning the same should be
On the basis of commer
:ial values; and his fairness in the
making of the rules governing it has
been attested to, not only by those taxi
ing part in the test, but by the repre-
sentativcs of the breeds who partici.
pated in the framing of the rules, but
who for various reasons did not enter
the contest.
A meeting was held at Chicago by
the representatives of the various cattle
associations, including, il my informa-
ton is correct, the Shorthorns, Devons,
Red Polls, Ayrshires, Holsteins, Brown
Swiss, Jerseys and Guernseys, and n set
Of rules was formulated to govern the
tests, 10 be held at Chicago on the open
ing of the worlds fair and to last
through the entire period of same. Sub
sequent meetings were held from time
to time, in which the duly authorized
representatives of these cattle associa-
tons took part, at which rules-that
were conceived to be, and were adj
mitted by all such breeds to be, fair to
all-were agreed upon. Naturally con-
cession were made. In these meetings
chief buchanan took part.
The objects sought were: On To de-
nonstrate what n herd of cows was
capable of producing, in n period Of
four months rather than of a week or
thirty days; (2) what the net profit was
-ather than what II % or cows were
capable of producing, forced on a diet
Of unlimited cost, and t3) to cover the
ground of cheese test u, milk and
butter test y, and butter alone, with
out any regard to milk (test -.
1t must be apparent To any one ia
niliar with the subject, that the length
Of tests |, 2 II 3 was most important.
Many misleading results have been put
)ut TO the world, based on public tests
from one days milk, rs made at the
fairs and elsewhere. The worlds fair
tests have clearly proved hat the quail.
ty of any cows milk varies very ma
erially at times, and days test is
almost always misleading. ! have no.
Iced that transportation toy rail or ex.
press will produce in the cow on the day
following such journey, almost always a
nigher percentage of OIL in her milk
than at any other time; yet we have
| -oNo tNSlNb ~ Wv tatto tifS thl Otio"
ing their transportation thereto, and
the stamp of .'butter test" placed on
her. If these Chicago tests have proved
nothing else, they have demonstrated
beyond any question of successful re
rutal, the fact that all zone days
Tests are SO unreliable as to be
worse than useless. Again. it 10
not the COW or breed that makes the
,Aet h,rffav in N Uaal fhut 10 the
most valuable one to keep in your
dairy, but the one that has the faculty
Of changing TO her milk and that is
rich in butter fats" for q period long
enough 10 show that it is a character.
site, fixed in her and the breed. Foi
these reasons trying as was the ordeal,
with the disadvantageous circumstanc
es and conditions surrounding same, ]
say emphatically that the period was
not by any means too long, viz: FROM
May 10 ito September 20.
The abso ute necessity of basing the
decision on the met profit" is too APP
parent to oil to require any elaboration
whatever. The practical dairyman is
running his herd for the profit there Is
IN IL; not for the glory lie may attain
by having cows ''that give a pile Of but.
.er." i am aware that the latter can.
not be attained without liberal
feeding, but l am also aware
that it may be SO wasteful hat it
rcases TO be profitable. If my observ-
alton has taught me anything, it is
this: that there is a limit up to which
q cow can probably assim,late food,
and when you try to force her, by
feed, beyond that capacity, the ratio of
cost TO production Is so Increased that
economic production ceases. While
he decision to base award of merit on
net profit" necessitnted economic
feeding and was prohibitory OF record
breaking" it was tho only one that
could be entertained in a practical test.
VALANcEY 4. FULLER.
THE NAPOLEON ON TOP AGAIN