I/O AGRICULTURE OF MAINi:. 



reason for this. \\'hen the Jersey cow was first brought over 

 liere she found unfavorable conditions and surroundings. You 

 know what the conditions were years ago. Our old New Eng- 

 land farmers were hardy, strong and vigorous men but stern 

 disciplinarians. They believed in the saying of Solomon, 

 ''Spare the rod and spoil the child." That saying they carried 

 out in the care of their stock. The Jersey cow met with unfav- 

 orable conditions the moment she landed in Elaine. Is it 

 strange that she commenced to deteriorate, that the ''call of the 

 Avild" grew strong, that she commenced to go back? But for 

 the last twenty-five years there has been a most rapid advance 

 in dairying in this State. We have learned how to handle and 

 control these conditions, and the result is that in my opinion the 

 Jersey cow today is improving. We are giving her as near 

 as possible like conditions to those she had in her native coun- 

 try, and that is right. 



Now, to look at the practical side, the quality in the Jersey 

 covr is fixed, she gives a rich milk ; what we want is the quan- 

 tity. I think I have learned by my experience in breeding that 

 in going out to buy a male to head our stock we should first see 

 that it comes from ancestors that produce large quantities. In 

 buying a Holstein, I should reverse this. I made a mistake 

 when I first started in, by thinking that I could get a better 

 breed. I commenced to cross Holsteins with Jerseys, and it 

 was a complete failure. I learned that when you cross a Jersey 

 with a Holstein you are just as liable to get the Jersey quantity 

 and the Holstein quality as you are to reverse the operation. 

 Occasionally you will get a grand good cow, but it is not a safe 

 proceeding. In the State of Maine today there seems to be a 

 turning away from special purpose cows and a looking after 

 dual purpose cows. There have been more Shorthorns 

 imported into the State the last year than any other one breed. 

 The verdict has gone out that the Shorthorn is a dual purpose 

 cow, an all-round cow. Now I am not very much of a believer 

 in all-round cows. I have made a mistake along this line. I 

 would not discourage farmers in some sections of Maine, in the 

 remote sections, out of the reach of creameries and good markets 

 from trying, perhaps, to find the dual purpose cow ; but the dairy 

 type and the beef type are so entirely different that the man in 

 reach of a good creamery, getting a good price for his product, 



