THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DAIRY BREEDS. 29 



ment of the barrel, and I consider that one of the most important 

 points in the judging of a dairy cow. A large barrel develop- 

 ment, a large udder development, with its corelations of teats 

 and milk veins, and a highly developed nervous organism are 

 the three important points that I should look for in the dairy cow. 

 A nervous temperament does not necessarily mean a wild, excit- 

 able animal. It may be a quiet nervous development, which is 

 shown by the open condition of the backbone. If you can drop 

 the edge of your hand between the vertebrae of the backbone, this 

 shows a large development of the spinal column, which is essen- 

 tial to high dairy qualities. 



I want to say incidentally that I am not speaking entirely from 

 a scientific or theoretic standpoint. \\'hile I have had class room 

 work for fourteen years, yet during those years I have studied 

 dairy cows, and at the present time I am managing a farm of 

 500 or 600 acres with 50 head of cows, 30 thoroughbreds and 

 20 grades that will, I hope, be replaced by thoroughbreds in 

 time. I have endeavored during all of my teaching and scientific 

 work to combine the practical with the scientific, and I think this 

 is what we must do if we are successful. 



QuES. I would like to inquire in regard to the Devon breed ? 



Ans. There are very few Devons in our State at the present 

 time. Fifty years ago the raising of Devon oxen was quite an 

 industry, but now there are but few. These are kept mainly for 

 the same purpose, the raising of working cattle. There is 

 scarcely a herd of Devons that would be classed as a dairy herd 

 in the State. I am inclined to class the Devons as a beef breed 

 rather than a dairy breed. Certain strains of the Devons may 

 be developed, as is the case with the Shorthorns, that will have a 

 decided dairy tendency, but the general tendency is toward beef 

 production. 



OuES. Is there any certain way that we may know the differ- 

 ence between the two strains of Shorthorns? Is there so great a 

 difference as between the Shorthorn and the Jersey animal ? 



Ans. There certainly would not be that wide variation 

 between the two strains of the Shorthorn as between the Short- 

 horn and the Jersey or the Shorthorn and the Guernsey, but still 

 you see the same general variation. Some of the Shorthorns 

 have a decided dairy tendency, but the general tendency of the 

 breed as a whole is towards beef production. Some of the 



