DAIRY MEETING. "Jl 



pensable to the wants of the people and so profitable both to 

 the farm and the farmer, is worthy of the best efforts of this 

 association, 



Mr. President, your program is rich, containing some of 

 Maine's most practical, successful dairy workers as well as some 

 of the best dairy experts of this country, men who have been 

 identified with dairying and its work for a lifetime. They pos- 

 sess both the science and the art of this subject, and we are 

 expecting much information from them. But the most satis- 

 factory feature of this program is that you have made a special 

 effort to induce some of the students of the University of Maine 

 to take part in this convention. It is the young men that will 

 soon have charge of this entire matter, and I hope we may so 

 arouse, awaken and interest them that they will catch inspiration 

 from this meeting and resolve now to train, prepare and educate 

 themselves for this important business. This is the all-impor- 

 tant work of this convention. 



The remainder of the evening was devoted to the reading of 

 essays by students of the University of Maine, in competition 

 for prizes offered at the State Dairy Conference held at Pitts- 

 field in December, 1905. 



WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5. 



THE HEAD OF THE DAIRY HERD. 



By G. M. GowEi^iv^ Professor of Animal Industry, University 



of Maine. 



One of the most difficult tasks man ever sets for himself to 

 perform is the breeding together of two animals of apparently 

 equal merit and determining beforehand what the offspring is 

 to be like. 



During all the years that have elapsed, since men domesticated 

 cattle and commenced their improvement, the phase of the work 

 that has received most thought, and been discussed more than 

 all others, has been the relative influences of parents on their 

 offspring. Theories have been set up, and vigorously advocated 

 and defended, showing that the sire fashioned certain parts of 

 the offspring after himself and that the dam controlled and 

 shaped other parts of the unborn young, after herself. The 



