COW TESTING.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXIX, Issue LXIX, 24 July 1915, Page 2

COW TESTING.

MR JAS. BURGESS'S HERD. Mr J. Burgess, Warea, forwards to the Taranaki Herald the records of his herd of 35 cows for the 1914-15 season. In a covering letter he says* the season on the coast was far from a good one. The spring was laite and cold, the short summer hot and dry, and cold weather, with frosts at night, checked growth early in the autumn. In spite of this, the production of butter-fat per cow exceeded the previous highest average by about 51b., and the most promising aspect is the very much higher production of the fii-st calvers as compared with anything before obtained. In the case of three cows which are still milking, an estimate of what they will still produce has had to be made to complete their records, but the amount in question is so small that it cannot affect the average results, one way or the other, to the extent of more than a quarter of alb. of butter-fat. Of course in publishing these returns there is no guarantee, except my word, that they are correct, but I am prepared to spend an hour with anyone who will call upon me in showing what has been sent tO the factory, what was fed 'to calves, and what was used by two families, and am certain that all claimed can be accounted for. Since starting the regular weighing and 'testing, the average production per cow has increased by nearly 1001b" of butter-fat, and that without purchasing expensive cows, without making long seasons at the expense of future ones for >:he purpose of making records, and without any special feeding or treatment. And yet, good as the returns for the work are, not one farmer in a hundred .is doing it. and many consider two shillings & cow 'too much to pay for having the testing done through the association. Truly one can but wonder at the indifference of the vast majority of farmers io a practice that would do so much for them. The returns are as follow:—

Lb. of No. milk. Test. 1 85381 4.18 2 7204.', 4.89 3 7382" 4.63 4 6910 4.86 5 86941 3.80 6 8819" 3.74 7 7907J- 4.13 8 7315 -A 4.35 9 87641. 3.(53 10 75801- 4.08 11 - 8051i 3.73 12 6979" 4.29 13 5633 5.26 14 5646 5.24 15 7420 3.94 16 70411 4 ' i 17 7262 .V 3.88 IS 71331 3.92 19 62231 4.48 20 6538" 4.21 21 6954 ' 3.95 22 70S6 3.86 23 6907 3.86 24 55131 4.76 25 53391 4.87 26 7408.1 3.48 27 72141 3.58 28 64271 4.00 29 6779'" 3.63 30 6764 3.50 31 5693 4.04 32 4695 4,71 33 5405 V 4.05 34 46141 4.31 35 4136 4.11 lib. of butterfat. 369.23 352.17 341.87 336.17 332.73 329.31 326.83 318.37 317.76 309.63 &>.'■. 54 2^.40 296.57 295.93 292.28 288 09 281! 60 279.63 278.80 275.23 274.65 273.31 266.31 262.69 260.03 259.47 258.31 257.12 246.09 236.95 229.90 219.7S 218.80 200.91 171.92 Days in milk. 320 265 260+ 356 s 292 288 285 251 279 276 276 274 279* 288 246 °66 287 266 243 272 283 265 268 261 279 979 279 308 240 942 321* 223* 281 259* 265* Aver. 65241 4.32 fPedigree Ayrshire. 281.67 *First 275 calf.