Profitable Dairy - Farming. By H. M. Upton. (Sampson Low and Co.)—Mr.
Upton begins his "Introduction " thus :—" That Dairy-Farming, as a profitable industry, is at present very imperfectly understood, as a rule, in England, no one who has studied the question will deny." This is the evil which he sets himself to combat. The topics with which he successively deals are the " breed of cows " (a matter which the ordinary farmer knows little or nothing about), buildings, food, mills, the making of butter, the principles of analysis, &c. Estimates are supplied, and a variety of miscellaneous information, of a useful and practical kind, is added. Here is one calculation. A cow costs (allowing 18 per cent. for death-rate, &c.) £18 8s. per annum to keep. She produces 600 gallons of milk. If you can sell this at 4d. per quart, you clear £21 12s. ; if for 3d., £12 12s. If you have to sell whole- sale, you cannot get, on an average, more than lid. per quart. This reduces the profit to £4 2s. ; and railway carriage has, we think, to come out of this. But a good dairy business in a country town ought to pay well. There is too much competition, which, without bringing down price, cuts up the custom. It would be in- teresting to know how much might be made by one large milk monopoly. Why should not the Municipalities undertake it?
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