COW TESTING SYSTEM.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 23 May 1913, Page 7

COW TESTING SYSTEM.

UNFAVOURABLY COMMENTED ON. The system of cow-testing advocated and in many oases adopted in regard to our dairy herds by the Agricultural ■ Department's officers was rather unfavourably commented am by a well-known Otago dairy farmer. Although a thorough boKewT in the value of testing if scientifically aplied, ho has one fault to find with the genera] practice is New Zealand, and so convinced of its gravity is he that this year he has discontinued testing his hord. He ■ points out (says the Dunedin Star) that usually there is an interval of some 16 hours between evening and morning milking, and of but eight hours between morning and evening. When this r? the case it is almost always found that a cow which yields say. two ;yd a-half gallons at the morning milk-ng only gives about n gallon in the evening* But in quality the evening milk is found to be far the richer; yet for the purposes of westing, samples of equal quality taken f>om tho P"il morning arid evening. Thr> result of such a test, therefore, gives an entirely false and nattering -idea of th 6 cow's "doings" in the all-import-ant' matter of butter fat. The point seems so obvious that some explanation is needed, as it appears that veterinary science, ox its practice here, does not square'with the principles of arithmetic. "The great thing, so far ns my experience goes," adds" this gentleman,, "is to get a herd of 'stayers'—cows which will milk steadily and give a fair average quantity for 10 months out of every twelve. This is the. cow that will come out on top every time. In this respect I have round the Ayrshire cross to be the best."