CLASSIFYING COWS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXII, Issue 8258, 26 December 1911, Page 7

CLASSIFYING COWS.

A writer in the *'" Guernsey Press" quotes one of'the teachers at the V'auxbeiets School as proposing the following scale for dairy cbw/s. Although specially applied to Guernsey --it may welf challenge the attention of: every owner of cows no mat-, te'r whether scrubs, grades or purebreds: —"A.-Guernsey cow can give> under the best conditions of food and descent and care, ten times her own weight in her milk production in her season, say a year. Those giving eight times, their living weight in a season's milk are valuable and profitable animals, and all farmers should aim at such production. If only six times her weight is yielded in weight of milk, bnly the cost of keep and food are earned, and just the value of the calf is added. Anything less is downright loss to the farmer. Every farmer ought regularly to weigh the milk from each cow, or use a graduated milk pail, and so know which cows are profit earners and which losers. Many farmers who complain that dairying is unprofitable are feeding cattle which do not pay, and are ignorant as to which they are. This home tost can be easily carried out by everyone. " Stated in another way and in briefer form, the classification may be tabulated as follows: — Annual Yield of Milk. Class. Ten times weight of cow ...... Excellent Eight times weight of cow ...........Good Six times weight of cow ...... Medium Five times weight, of cow Poor Anything less■■;.. \y.orse than Worthless