Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1910-05-17
Some Thlues Thew Have Learned.

Some Things They Have Learned.
Prof. A. W. Gilman, Commissioner
of Agriculture for the state Of Maine,
has especial charge of the Cow Testing
| Associations of that state. A very In
teresting pamphlet OF 169 pages was
issued last September, in which the
records of the various associations and
the herds in each association are found.
As in other states, it is slow work to gel
the farmers to take hold of this impor'
tant work which turns out to be OF such
great value to them.
Human nature is about the same In
Maine as 1t is in Wisconsin. Where you
find wide awake, reading farmer, there
you will find a man who is ANXIOUS to
take advantage Of this means to put him
self in possession of the right knowledge
concerning his cows. Such man real
ICES, to start with, that he needs this
knowledge. Here are some of the opin,
ions expressed by these Maine farmers
concerning the benefits OF the Cow Test
ing Association.
81 have the value of definite know
ledge concerning ones business"
| 'iI have learned the value of method
in conducting dairy business.
81 have learned that COWS vary in
food requirements"
81 have learned that the cost to pro-
duce a pound of milk varies widely with
different cows"
"I have learned that the consuming
often exceeds her producing capacity"
81 have learned something of the part
the food nutrients play In the economy
of animal life and milk production"
81 have learned much concerning the
methods of feeding"
81 have learned the analysis of feed
stuff"
81 have learned that protein is some
times fed in excess"
81 have learned to have a genuine
pride in good dairy cows"
II have learned the Importance OF
breeding"
81 have learned that breeding oper
ations should be carried on with intelli-
gence."
II have learned that fads have NO
rightful place in the breeding OF dairy
animals"
Now these thirteen very important
items of knowledge those thirteen men
have learned in one year, and that is not
all they have learned. How did they
learn these things2 By going to COW
testing school. We will guarantee thai
every one of those Maine farmers feels
himself much better able to graple hold
of the problems of dairying than ever
before. We have heard hundreds OF
L. ooH
What ails these farmers that they d"
not stop keeping 80 many worthless COWS
which are eating up their profits righ'
along? The answer is plain and open as
pike staff. A large proportion OF
them do not know their cows. They
have taken NO pains to know them.
They have thought 1t would take lot OF
trouble to keep q record, which is not
true, but they think so all the same.
Read our "Cow Census' reports tax
On no matter where. The naked truth
ia dug right out in those reports. So 1t
is in the Cow Testing work. Think OF
the lack of the commonest business
ability that marks the conduct OF nearly
every herd in the COW census reports
1t is "don't know" here and "don',
know" there. II our census takers were
not experts in digging out the facts and
in making up an estimate of cost o'
keeping the COWS we would be all at sea
All this census work and the cow test
ling work Is but an effort to get tht
farmer to exercise the same thought and
knowledge about his business that Other
business men have to exercise about
their work. at is putting 81 viii
know" in place of this everlasting VI
don't know. ."-Hoard's Dairyman.