The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1893-07-12
The Farmers Cow.
PRIZE Essay, BY HENRy S. REDrrELD

The recent wonderful performances o
Signals Lily Flagg 3l035 has attracted
marked attention, and such attention i,
deserved by any COW Of any breed thai
under any conditions andunder any sys.
TEN of care and feeding can produce ovel
one thousand pounds of butter in year
The test is tribute TO the judgement oI
the owners of the COW and the skill oil
her manager during the fest, tribute to
the COW, and tribute ITO the Jersey
breed.
But il any farmer comes with the in
quiries, What is the best COW to put in
to my dairy? what COW will give the
most butter at the least cost? what cow,
in short, will prove the most profitable?
] cannot hope to convince him that the
Jersey is the COW he is looking for by
citing to him this test of Signals Lily
Flagg, wonderful as il is, nor to any
other.of the yearly tests which in recent
years have been made upon the "high
pressure" system. The method Of feed
ing, caring for and "handling" the COW is
too different from his own to make the
tests of value to him.
We are not, however, without facts
which will prove TO careful and candid
investigator that the Jersey is the COW for
every farmer who looks TO his dairy for
any portion of his income. There have
been published, by men whose word
would not be doubted in any transaction,
yearly averages OF entire herds of Jerseys
that so far surpass the average yield of
diaries as to-leave little doubt as to the
superior merit OF the breed. But the OBJ
lection is sometimes urged that these re-
ports also have come from breeders who
have better accommodations for keeping
stock than the farmer, who hire expen-
sive labor, and great deal OF it; and
that, under such conditions such as pre-
vail among intelligent, Woodworking
farmers who manage their own herds,
the Jersey will not make such showing
If based on facts, the objection is valid F;
but il is not so based, and knowing this,
and knowing also some farmers who
manage their diaries solely for profit,
who work with their own hands, who
are breeders only as every farmer who
raises calves is breeder, who have no
fancy accommodations for their cows,
and who have settled upon Jerseys and
stick to them because of their incompar-
able dairy qualities, l wrote to three of
them asking the number OF cows in milk
in 1891, and the average yield of butter
per COW.
One writes: "The number of cows
MIXED in 81 was ten; the average yield
of butter was 2S5 pounds per COW. For
the year 1890, twelve COWS MIXED; aver
age yield, 297 pounds"
The report from another is: 81 milk
ed seventy cows last year, and the aver
age yield of butter per COW was $50
pounds" And the third, under date OF
August Goth, say 81 am unable to give
the number OF cows MIXED last year, as
we culled out some that were MIXED
part OF the year and sold. We have for
four or five years previous to last year
MIXED from twenty-five to thirty-two
cows, and the average yield per COW has
been about three hundred pounds. That
means the sales; no account is ever kept
of the butter used at home. Our sales
last year were s,l67 pounds, from what
we thought would .be equal to twenty.
seven COWS the whole year. The bes,
aUerdge yield per COR per gear we Were ere,
able 10 get before lue kept The Jerseys uas on,
hundred aud sepenty:fre pounds, and hdI
only once, often falling below one hundred
and .Gty pounds per COR per year."
To show further value of these reports
as proof OF the merit OF the Jersey, il
need only be added that the first herds
is in Yates county, New York, in fine
farming district; the second in Chemune
county, New York, on farm which is
chiefly hill farm, though having some
fine river fiat; and the third on distinct
lively hill farm, situated in Bradford
county, Pennsylvania.
venture the assertion that no man
in any locality who once gives the Jer-
seys fair trial can be induced to replace
them by any other breed for butter-pro-
duction. They have won on their merits
in the three herds above mentioned, and
he would be a rash man who would seek
to persuade the owners of those herds Ia
make any substitution.