fair condition, but not enough to do this
and fill the milk pail, too. I read somewhere about a ration for
'maintenance' and one for 'product,' and there was a deal of difference.
Most farmers don't pay much attention to these things, and I guess
that's one reason why they don't get on faster."

"You've got the whole matter down fine in that 'ration for product,'
Thompson, and that's what we want on this farm. A ration that will
simply keep a cow or a hen in good health leaves no margin for profit.
Cows and hens are machines, and we must treat them as such. Crowd in the
raw material, and you may look for large results in finished product.
The question ought always to be, How much can a cow eat and drink? not,
How little can she get on with? Grain and forage are to be turned into
milk, and the more of these foods our cows eat, the better we like it.
If these machines work imperfectly, we must get rid of them at once and
at any price. It will not pay to keep a cow that persistently falls
below a high standard. We waste time on her, and the smooth running of
the factory is interrupted. I'm going to place a standard on this farm
of nine thousand pounds a year for each matured cow; I don't think that
too high. If a cow falls much below that amount, she must give place to
a better one, for I'm not making this experiment entirely for my health.
The standard isn't too high, yet it's enough to give a fine profit. It
means at least three hundred and fifty pounds of butter a year, and in
this case the butter means at least thirty cents a pound, or more than
$100 a year for each cow. This is all profit, if one wishes to figure it
by itself, for the skimmed milk will more than pay for the food and
care. But why did you say dehorn the cows?"

"Well, I notice that a man with a club is almost sure to find some use
for it. If he isn't pounding the fence or throwing it at a dog, he's
snipping daisies or knocking the heads off bull-thistles. He's always
doing something with it just because he has it in his hand. It's the
same way with a cow. If she has horns, she'll use them in some way, and
they take her mind off her business. No, sir; a cow will do a lot better
without horns. There's mighty little to distract her attention when her
clubs are gone."

"What breeds of cows have you handled, Thompson?"

"Not any thoroughbreds that I know of; mostly common kinds and grade
Jerseys or Holsteins."

"I'm going to put a small herd of thorou