DAIRY MEETING. 219 



HOW I INCREASED MY DAIRY PROFITS BY ^ 



BREEDING. 



By C. L. Jones, Corinna. 



We have listened to addresses on the feeding and the weed- 

 ing of the cows after they have been bred, which illustrates to 

 you that the most important points in this matter are the feed- 

 ing and weeding processes which must always be carried on un- 

 der the most intelligent breeding, to secure animals which will 

 pay a profit in the dairy. Probably one of the greatest mistakes 

 that the average dairyman makes in his breeding operations is 

 in relying so largely upon his individual cows for the improve- 

 ment of the dairy qualities, when in my judgment he should re- 

 ly almost wholly upon the head of his herd, the sire, because he 

 imparts his qualities, whatever they may be, good or bad, to 

 every calf which is born in the herd every year. How to se- 

 cure this individual sire which will impart the desirable quali- 

 ties is a problem which the breeder is up against and which the 

 dairyman is up against. Unfortunately we have but very few 

 breeders of cattle. Somehow the idea seems to prevail in the 

 minds of nearly all dairymen, as well as breeders, that he who 

 mates pure bred animals of like breed is breeding cattle. This 

 to my mind is a wrong impression and the sooner we get away 

 from that idea the better it will be for us who are breeding 

 stock, in the matter of dollars and cents. I believe it was Mr. 

 Hunton who spoke to you of the desirability of wider rations 

 because they cheapen the cost of production. He emphasized 

 the study of individual animals, because by the study of indi- 

 viduals we can cater to the wants of the individual cow and thus 

 secure better results from that cow. Other things must be 

 taken into consideration, such as the capacity of the animal to 

 take and handle these foods, as well as the years of usefulness,— 

 the longevity you may call it, the length of time that she will 

 serve you in the capacity of a milk producer. These must come 

 about wholly by breeding. You as dairymen, are too busy men 

 to study as closely as you ought the individuality of the cow and 

 cater to her wants. You have other things to do, and if you can 



