EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 363 



advance of the meeting, also on petition of five stockholders to the sec- 

 retary. 



Article 12. 



These articles of agreement may be amended at any meeting of the 

 association by a majority vote of those present and voting. 



BY-LAWS GOVERNING COOPERATIVE BREEDERS^ ASSOCIATION. 



(1.) It shall be the duty of the ofiicers of this association to pur- 

 chase the necessary sires and negotiate with competent parties within 

 the association, centrally located, to care for and handle the bulls, at a 

 sum not to exceed per annum. 



(2.) All bulls must be purchased subject to the tuberculin test as a 

 safeguard against the introduction of tuberculosis. 



(3.) No bull, or bulls, or other breeding animals shall be pur- 

 chased from any herd in which three or more cases of abortion have oc- 

 curred during the past three years. (This will make reasonable allow- 

 ance for accidental abortion and act as a safeguard against the ravages 

 of contagious abortion.) 



(4.) Should any contagious or infectious disease appear in the herd 

 of any member of this association he must forfeit the right to patronize 

 males of the association until such time as his herd is declared free from 

 disease by a competent veterinarian. 



(5.) A service fee of fl.OO shall be charged members of the associa- 

 tion, to be collected at time of service. A charge of |2.00 will be made 

 to non-members in case the association should decide to accept the pa- 

 tronage of the same. 



(6.) Service fees shall be used to defray cost of maintenance and 

 handling of sires. Any surplus accumulations from this source may be 

 divided among stockholders as dividends. 



(7.) It shall be the duty of the officers of this association to require 

 and see to it that each sire is kept in a strong, vigorous, healthy condi- 

 tion, in moderate flesh, with plentiful supplies of suitable feed and suf- 

 ficient yardage to afford ample exercise in the open air and sunshine 

 in addition to the protection of the stable. 



(8.) Bulls shall not be used for service under one year of age, nor 

 shall heifers be bred to calve under twenty-four months of age. During 

 the rush of the breeding season single services only will be allowed. 



Mr. Raven, the field agent, began work about March 1st, 1908, and 

 continued for two and one-half months, to which a similar amount of 

 time was added during the autumn just passed. As a result, 569 herds 

 have been visited, containing a total of 4,365 cows, of which 3.75 per cent 

 were registered. Of the total number of these cows 15 per cent were 

 bred to registered sires in 1907, but attention is directed to the fact that 

 these were established dairy districts where continued effort has been 

 made for some time to improve the live stock. 



As a result of the five months' introductory work, ten co-operative as- 

 sociations have been formed and seven are in process of formation. In 

 addition to this many who have not entered an association have been 

 induced to procure registered sires. In all 51 registered sires are known 

 to have been introduced and 2,100 cows which were bred to grade and 



