"Why, I had no idea one cow could give so much milk," she replied.
[Illustration: EXTRA PROFITS ARE NOT THE ONLY THINGS A FARMER GETS
FROM A HERD OF WELL-BRED DAIRY COWS. THERE IS A SATISFACTION IN HAVING
SPENT HIS TIME CARING FOR ANIMALS THAT ARE WORTH WHILE]
"That's why," said Bob, "it doesn't pay to keep common cows. They eat as much as a purebred and don't give nearly as much milk. Besides, their milk isn't as rich as Holsteins. If you come along to the dairy house, I'll show you how we separate the milk and get the cream."
"May I carry one of the pails, Bob?" asked Ruth.
"You'll have to be careful, Ruth, if you carry it," admonished her aunt. "If you and Edith don't go racing, you may carry it between you," she continued, as the two girls picked up one of the largest pails and started off for the dairy house.
When they arrived, Bob weighed the milk given by Spot and made a note of it in his record book, setting down the date and name of the cow; then he weighed the balance of the milk, and under the heading of "Herd of Ten Cows," he set down the total amount given by all. "You see," said Bob, "in this way we have an individual record of milk taken every ten days from each cow, and a daily record of the ten taken together. It doesn't make so much bookkeeping and is close enough for all practical purposes. When we get our electric lights in, Mrs. White," he continued, as he started the separator, "we're going to put an electric motor on the separator. Then I can be doing something else while the milk's going through."
"Listen to that, Ida," said the banker, addressing his wife.
"Everything on Brookside is going to be run by power and every person
on the farm will be multiplied by two or five before Bob and his Aunt
Bettie get through, and besides it won't be such hard work."
"No," laughed Bob, "when the power does the work, you don't notice it so much."
"That's so," said the banker's wife; "you must be tired, Bob, at the end of a day, with all the activities you have around here."
"Oh, one gets used to it, Mrs. White. I've gained ten pounds since I came here."