DAIRY MEETING. I4I 



characters of an animal in question. The influence of one indi- 

 vidual seldom exceeds 50%) while the other 50% in the off- 

 spring is accounted for by the preceding five or six generations. 

 In buying a pure bred dairy bull, therefore, all the information 

 possible in regard to the production of the ancestry should be 

 obtained and it is especially desirable that the dam and grand 

 dam on the sire side should be good producers. 



The quality of the milk as well as the quantity should be con- 

 sidered. Quantity can often be increased by feeding but an 

 increase in quality must come through selection and breeding. 

 Further, in selecting the bull the buyer should consider indi- 

 viduality, — his conformation, and especially the constitution and 

 capacity of the cows. Cows of great producing power must be 

 able to endure the work, and it is not uncommon that lack of 

 constitution in dairy herds has been due to mating animals which 

 had similar constitutional weakness. 



FEEDING. 



Some men conceive the erroneous idea that pure bred animals 

 should give great quantities of milk and butter fat just because 

 they are pure bred and registered. No animal, whether a pure 

 bred or a scrub, will produce milk profitably, without the proper 

 feed and care. Good liberal feeding is as essential to increase 

 the production of the dairy cattle in Maine as good breeding. 

 In fact many so called unprofitable cows can be made profitable 

 by more intelligent feeding. 



With the present high prices of feed stuffs we must practice 

 economy in feeding. Economy in feeding does not mean to be 

 stingy with the cows and give them less food, but to carefully 

 select the foods which supply the necessary elements the cheap- 

 est, especially the protein. One kind of feed at $1.40 per 100 

 lbs. may be a much more expensive feed to use than another 

 at $1.60. A comparison of the value of a feed can be made only 

 when both the price and the composition are known. In many of 

 our so-called mixed feeds, although they cost less per 100 lbs., 

 we pay a higher price for the protein than we do in our stand- 

 ard mill feeds such as cottonseed, gluten, and bran. 



Selecting a suitable and profitable ration for the herd is a 

 vital problem before the dairymen. First of all it must be 

 clearly understood that a cow is given food and in return is ex- 



