The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1893-11-23
THE FARMERS COW.

PRIZE Essay, BY HENRY s. REDFIELD
The recent wonderful performance
OF Signals Lily Flagg 3l0S5 has at
tracted marked attention, and such
attention is deserved byany COW Of
any breed that under any conditions
and under any system of care and
/ teeding can produce over one thous-
aud pounds of butter in year. The
test is tribute to the judgment of the
owners OF the COW and the skill of her
manager during the test, tribute to
the COW, and tribute to the Jersey
breed. it
But If any farmer comes with the
inquiries, what is the best COW to put
into my daryl what cow will give the
most butter at the least costf what
COY - sport, will prove the most
pro6,sble2 | can not hope to convince
him that the Jersey is the cow he il
looking for by citing to him this ter
of Signals Lily Flagg, wonderful a,
it is nor to any other of the yearly
tess which in recent years have bee,
mste upon the "high-pressure" system.
Thp method of feeding, caring for an,
"hsnd'lLg" the COW IL too differen
fro h' awn to make these tests o
value to him.
We are not, however, without facts
which will prove to a careful candid
investigator that the Jersey is the
COW for every farmer who looks to his
dairy for any portion of hissincome.
There have been published J; byamep
whose word would not be doubted in
any transaction, yearly averages of
entire herds OF Jerseys that SO far sur.
pass the average yield of diaries as to
leave little doubt as to the superior
merit of the breed. But the objection
is sometimes urged that these reports
also have come from breeders who
have better accommodations for keep
ing stock than the farmer, who hire
expensive labor, and great deal OF
it; and that under conditions such as
prevail among intelligent, hard-work-
ing farmers who manage their, own
herds, the Jersey will not make such
showing. If based on facts, the OBJ
lection is valid but it 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 breed
ers only as every farmer who raises
calves as breeder, who have no fancy
accommodations for their cows, and
who have settled upon Jerseys and
stick to them because of their inconn-
parable dairy qualities, I wrote to
three OF them asking the number Of
COWS in milk in 1891, and the average
yield of butter per cow. a
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
nnilked average yield, 1917 pounds"
The report from another is II
MIXED seventy COWS last year, and the
average yield Of butter per COW was
$50 pounds" And the third, under
date Of August Goth, says: Il am I'M
able to give the. number of cows
MIXED last year, as ne culled out
some that were MIXED part Of Che
year and sold. We have for four or
FIVE years previous to last year milked
from twenty-five to thirty-two COWS,
and the average yield per cow haa
been about three hundred pounds
That means the asales ); no account il
ever kept Of the butter used at home
Our sales last year were S,167 pounds
from what we thought would be equal
to twenty seven COWS the whole year
The best average yield per COW pei
year we were ever able to get before
we kept the Jerseys was one hundred
and seventy-fve pounds, and that
only once, often falling below one
HUNDRED and fifty pounds per DOW
per year"
To show further the value OF these