ay a day, it requires
one ton of hay to produce 40 lbs. of cheese. But if we could induce her
to eat, digest, and assimilate 50 lbs. a day, one ton would produce 120
lbs. of cheese. If a cow eats 33 lbs. of hay per day, or its equivalent
in grass, it will require four acres of land, with a productive capacity
equal to 1-1/2 tons of hay per acre, to keep her a year. Such a cow,
according to the figures given above, will produce 401-1/2 lbs. of
cheese a year, or its equivalent in growth. A farm of 80 acres, on
this basis, would support 20 cows, yielding, say 8,000 lbs. of cheese.
Increase the productive power of the farm one half, (I hope the Deacon
has not gone to sleep), and keep 20 cows that will eat half as much
again food, and we should then get 21,600 lbs. of cheese. If cheese is
worth 15 cents per lb., a farm of 80 acres, producing 1-1/2 tons of hay,
or its equivalent, per acre, and supporting 20 cows, would give us a
gross return of $1,204.50. The same farm so improved as to produce 2-1/4
tons of hay or its equivalent, per acre--fed to 20 cows _capable of
eating, digesting, and assimilating it_--would give a gross return of
$3,240.

In presenting these figures, I hope you will not think me a visionary.
I do not think it is possible to get a cow to produce 3 lbs. of cheese a
day throughout the whole year. But I do think it quite possible to so
breed and feed a cow that she will produce 3 lbs. of cheese per day, _or
its equivalent_ in veal, flesh, or fat. We frequently have cows that
produce 3 lbs. of cheese a day for several weeks; and a cow _can_ be so
fed that she will produce 3 lbs. of cheese a day without losing weight.
And if she can extract this amount of matter out of the food for a part
of the year, why can not she do so for the whole year? Are the powers of
digestion weaker in the fall and winter than in spring and summer? If
not, we unquestionably sustain great loss by allowing this digestive
power to run to waste. This digestive power costs us 20 lbs. of hay a
day. We can ill afford to let it lie dormant. But the Deacon will tell
me that the cows are allowed all the food they will eat, winter and
summer. Then we must, if they have digestive power to spare, endeavor to
persuade them to eat more. If they eat as much hay or grass as their
stomachs are capable of holding, we must endeavor to give them richer
hay or grass. Not one farmer in a thousand seems to appreciate the
advantage of having hay or grass c