The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-01-21

INDIVIDUAL YIELDS OF JERSEY
cows IN THE WORLDS
FAIR TESTS.
OO-rrespondenoe Of the Progressive Farmer.

! sought to obtain COWS that had a
capacity of three pounds of butter per
day at home under normal and best
conditions. Comment has been made
upon the fact that none of the COWS
composing the herd came up to a daily
average of three pounds. If my critics
had possess more practical experience
in handling COWS under the conditions
surrounding the COWS at Chicago, or in
testing COWS removed from home sur
roundIn g, they would hardly have
looked for the same yield at Chicago as
at home.
Before 1 accepted the position Of
superintendent 1 informed the chair
man, Nj. J. J. Richardson, and the
late Mai. Campbell Brown, that if we
could C a herd that would aver
age two pounds per COW per day up to
the end of the 80 days test, l would be
satisfied; and that to obtain such a herd
it was necessary to have COWS which
had a capacity Of three pounds per day
under normal conditions and home sur
roundings. Or, in other words, that
the yield at Chicago would be relative
" two pounds where at home it would
be three pounds. When l made these
figures the basis Of my calculation, l
expected that the COWS would have a
daily supply of green food, when the
time came that the same would natur.
ally be available.
Any COW, especially that is very
highly bred, Is q creature of habit, and
very sensitive, and anything that dis
turbs that habitude does so at the ex
pense of production. To demonstrate
in a practical way the effectof achange
in habitude, / would mention that I r.
ceived letters from Jersey breeders
during the progress of the 80 days test,
who had COWS that we're then doing
better than those at Chicago, and who
thought they would be desirable &C
QUESTIONS to DUR herd. At my sugges
ton, they brought these COWS at home
to as approximately lee a c~ondidition
as the COWS would be in at Chicago, for
the purpose of seeing how far they
would, in the changed conditions, stand
I'D to the work they were then doing.
They isolated the COWS from the rest OF
the herd for a period OF a week, the
same man attending to them and milk
ing them, and at the end of the week
began q test for another week. During
the two weeks they we're to be fed any
cut clover (this was in June and july
and any feed the owners thought
would attain the best results. There
were six COWS so treated, and of these
but one retained the flow of milk and
butter production of the preceding few
weeks. She was not an extremely
heavy producer, not exceeding what
soma other COWS were then doing at
Chicago. But all the other COWS de
creased in flow from 20 TO 80 per cent.
and in percentage Of butter fat at least
n per cent. This would be in about
the sams portion which the actual
work Of most of the COWS at Chicago
bore to the home production, as re
ported by the owners There were
COWS in the herd who not only yielded
as much as they had done at home, but
exceeded it. But if the same care,
thought and attention were given to
them at home as was given at Chicago,
am satisfied that, under normal con
ditions, with home surroundings, the
COWS that were at Chicago could In
crease their production under favor
able conditions at least 20 to 25 pei
cent. over their work done there. This
is not my own opinion alone, but il
shared in by the chairman of the test
ing committee and by every Other
member of such committee with whom
/ conversed.
found that the COWS from the West
which we're in the habit Of being tieC
UP throughout entire lengthy winters
did better than the COWS from the East
that the COWS from the South, which
roamed the pastures the year through
or at least got some. little green tooc
throughout the entire year, suffered
most of all by the confinement anC
surroundings at Chicago.
Ny preconceived opinion would seen
to be borne out by two COWS from
farm where 1 am told it is the custom
to keep the cows tied up Throughout
the whole year, isolating them, am
these two COWS more nearly maintained
the home production than. any othe
two COWS we had at Chicago, and
think, if l am not mistaken, that on