DAIRY MEETING. yj 



he was well behaved when fastened out to the cable, in sight of 

 the cows, just through the fence. It is the best arrangement 

 I know of. 



On the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, it seemed to be the 

 general practice to tie the bulls out in the open fields, with a 

 combination of chain and rope, a dozen feet long, running from 

 the ring in the nose to an iron pin driven into the ground, in 

 the same wav the cows are fastened, except that with the cows 

 the chain passes around the horns close to the head. 



It is of the utmost importance that some method of keeping 

 and handling bulls be pursued so as to save the.ni until their 

 value as sires may be known by the quality of their get. 



It is not pleasant to have a bull break loose and take charge 

 of the place, as I have had them do, but it is a chance that every- 

 one takes when he retains a spirited animal at the head of his 

 herd. 



The selection of an animal to head the herd is a matter of 

 the greatest importance. To the professional breeder who has 

 made his herd, and knows the strong and weak parts of his ani- 

 mals, I have no advice to give. A man who has sufficient skill 

 to breed a herd of females, to uniformity, knows better tnan 

 anyone else their weaknesses, which he wishes to correct, and 

 he also knows how to select a mate for them, who is strong 

 where they are weak, but he has to take the chances of that 

 mate's transmitting the desired improvement without interfering 

 with the good qualities already prevailing in the herd. 



To the farmer breeders who breed dairy cows for their dairy 

 worth, I w'ould recommend the plan of breeding to producers, 

 to get producers. I would go to that breeder of pure-blooded 

 stock, whose ability for truth telling is above question, and ask 

 him to show me the individual records oi his herd for as many 

 years as he can. This he can do, for any man w^ho is w'orthy 

 the title of breeder knows the performance of his animals. 

 Look among the bulls he has for sale, for one whose mother 

 and both grandmothers have each yielded above 300 pounds 

 of fat for several years in succession. Then look for vigor, and 

 strength, and evidence of function in the individual and see that 

 among his relatives there are no w-eaklings. Be sure that he 

 has a good skin — soft and of fair thickness. I am afraid of a 

 very thin skin. Beware of a hard one. 



