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Fortieth Annual Report of the
Those who have had very small pastures this summer have received
just as much good from them as those with large ones. One of my
patrons has only eight acres for fifteen cows. He has used no more
supplementary feed than his neighbor who has about three times as
much and his cows have been fed to their full capacity.
Another thing is the cheapness of silage. Not only have the cows fed
silage produced more milk and appear better than those not fed silage,
but they produced It more cheaply. I have been surprised to find how
little really good corn It takes for silage. One of my patrons filled a
silo 14 feet by 32 feet with a little over five acres.  Another
filled three silos from 45 acres. One of the silos was 20x48, another
16x40 and the other 14x40. These silos were filled in spite of the fact
that we had a poor year for corn in our county.
One of the things we testers have to contend with is the breeder
of pure bred cattle who will not test. I have found two such cases in
my work. They are afraid their cattle will not make a good showing.
Their cattle are good because they are pure bred, not because they are
high producers. Is it less than a crime to sell an animal for a good
one when the only thing good about It is that it, by accident of birth,
is bred pure? This is what I call a pure bred scrub. Will not a pure
bred scrub be a poorer breeder than a common scrub, because of its
prepotency? It Is wrong not only to the purchaser but to the breed as
well.
Some day these breeders will awaken to the fact that their cattle
are not as good as those who have tested systematically and regularly
and have graded up with good pure bred sires.
TROUBLES OF A TESTER.
By C. 0. HELDSTAB.
To begin with, the difficulties of the work are not so very numerous.
The working out of balanced rations with the feeds we have at hand is,
I believe, the worst we have to contend with, and that is becoming
much easier with the advent of the silo, as a ration is easier to com-
pound with silage and good results are sure to follow in use In con-
nection with other feeds; that is, if it Is properly put in and cared for
when taken out.
Another trouble Is to induce men to feed liberally. With the high
prices of hay and other feedstuff it is a great temptation to sell off the
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