The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1902-01-24
CECIL FARMERS CLUB.
An Interesting Meeting at the Home of Elwood
alderston---Election of Officers.

protein, or the milk producing elements,
and in order to make meal ration "bal-
anced," that is contain food elements in
the proportion of h. of protein to S lbs.
of carbohydrates, we will have to buy
some of the feeds rich in protein. A
careful study of this table will be helpful
as showing the compai alive value of these
feeds, as indicated by analysis.
A good "Cattle Feed Law" requiring
the marking of the bags of feed, as fertil-
izer bags are marked, will not only
protect farmers from deception in buy
ing feeds, but will be instructive, as a
reminder of what food elements you want
to get when you purchase these feeds on
the market
After an exchange of remarks on
this instructive address, the host
was called upon for his essay and
responded with the following:
The Babcock Test as Factor in rlodern
Dairying.
The Babcock test, the process and the
machine for testing milk that has been
given to the dairying interests by DR..
Babcock without patent or royalty of any
kind, is now N such practical and uni.
versal use that it seems unnecessary to
dwell upon it, but as factor in the
private dairy it has not become so gen.
orally adopted. The first cost may deter
some, though this is not great. but I
presume more generally it is an appre-
hension that the process is something
complicated and beyond the use of the
average farmer that this deters him from
procuring its assistance iu the manage
tnent of his dairy.
AS factor in the creamery have used
it ever since its first introduction, In fact
l used the Cochran method, which was
considerably more complicated yet very
satisfactory. 1t required the use of ether
aud acetic acid and boiling for half
hour, while with the Babcock from two to
twenty tests may be made in from five to
eight minutes. Sulphuric acid only is
used to dissolve the caseiue in the milk,
liberating the sugars that settle to the
bottom and the fat that Is thoroughly
separated and thrown to the top by the
centrifugal motion. and is recorded at
once on the graduated scale on each
bottle. Forty tests are taken and the
glasses emptied and washed within an
hour.
rather feel proud to have been one of
the first TO adopt the test system of paying
for milk. Not so much because the sys-
tenn has become so general but because of
the justness of the system, and that the
patrons appreciate it by keeping only
good cows, their herds as whole show
ing above the average of other commu-
mites where all milk has been pooled and
the patrons paid per hundred, without
regard to the quality of his particular
milk.
AS a factor In my individual herd,
have frequently used the Babcock test for
individual cows, but approaching the
necessity of carefully weighing and re.
cording the milk in conjunction with the
test, that we could come at a fair average
of each cows usefulness, had not under.
taken it until the present season.
have now dial spring balance scale
that is balanced with the pail on it. 1
then weigh and record each cows milk
to quarter of a pound, one day of each
week, and take samples of the same one
day in each four weeks, and compute the
results. and hang up fresh sheet, for
another four weeks. These are readily
computed and give us the data for each
COW for the four weeks. OF course it |
would be better to take sample each |
time for testing but this would be nearly
prohibitive to the most of us who have
little enough help to attend to our work
The accompanying paper gives the re-
suits of my herd for the ffty.two weeks
ending twelfth month 3Ist, 1901. Al
though do not claim anything remark.
able for this herd think they show good
results. The actual receipts by weight of
the milk for twa1x,a