118 TRANSACTIONS OF STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



We do not need to possess all thoroughbred stock in order to appre- 

 ciate the true value of such animals. Neither do we need to have our 

 herds entirely composed of thoroughbreds in order to reach a stage of 

 highly profitable production. What is necessary is to realize the value 

 of the thoroughbred sire in improving the ordinary grade herds, and to 

 use none but thoroughbred sires for breeding purposes. The merit of 

 the thoroughbred animal lies in its being the descendant through a long 

 line of ancestry which has been selected, bred, and fed continually with 

 the idea of producing animals best suited for the particular purpose for 

 which the breed is designed, whether that purpose be to make meat or 

 milk. The best known breeds of cattle have been developed through 

 one hundred or more years of this kind of breeding, and their breed 

 characteristics are, therefore, very firmly fixed. When a thoroughbred 

 is bred to the ordinary native animal of no particular breed, or of a 

 mongrel mixture of breeds, the traits of the thoroughbred will be more 

 strongly implanted in the offspring than the traits of the mongrel. 

 This principle and fact enable the dairyman to improve his herd at a 

 small expense by the purchase of a thoroughbred bull to head his herd. 

 Before buying the bull the breed which it is desired to grade up to 

 should be decided upon. Then stick to that breed, and use none but 

 thoroughbred bulls of a good strain backed by as many good records as 

 possible. 



In order to know which are the best cows in the herd from which to 

 choose heifers for the future generations, some kind of a careful record 

 must be kept of each cow's yield of milk and butter fat. An approxi- 

 mate record, near enough for practical purposes, may be obtained by 

 weighing the milk from each cow twice a month and testing a sample 

 of the weighed milk for fat by the Babcock test. Because of the 

 variation in per cent of fat between night's and morning's milk, it is 

 best to weigh both milkings for the day and take an equal amount of 

 each to be mixed for the Babcock test. By this simple means the 

 dairyman may easily calculate the yield of milk and butter for each 

 cow of his herd every year. He will soon possess a speaking acquaint- 

 ance with all the cows and'find out that some are eating up the profits 

 which others are making for him. Having obtained this knowledge he 

 will not be slow in weeding out all unprofitable animals. No better 

 foundation for a high-grade herd can be found than exists in nearly all 

 parts of the State in the large numbers of grade Shorthorn cows. They 

 are excellent animals on which to breed the special purpose Jersey or 

 Holstein-Friesian, and also the dual purpose Shorthorn if bulls from 

 the dairy strain can be secured. 



The science and art of feeding is the other line along which an 

 improvement may confidently be expected to bring increased profits, 

 for no matter how well we select and breed, improvement will be sadly 



