DAIRY, SEED IMPROVEMENT, STOCK BREEDERS MEETINGS. 337 



rifl of these poor ones. Until we will do this, there can be sm'all 

 future for dairy cattle breeding. This is best done through the 

 Cow Test Associations. They are the greatest factor for herd 

 improvement in the United States today. The Humber of them 

 in the State of Maine is a very accurate measure of the spirit of 

 improvement in the state. The man who will undertake to 

 separate his poor ones from his good ones is not going to have 

 poor cows long. I give it to you as dairy cattle breeders in 

 Maine to everlastingly work for the growth of the cow test asso- 

 ciation work. 



And the second charge which I give you is of equal impor- 

 tance to it: Get rid of the scrub sire. The value of breedinp- 

 has been amply proven. If we ever have good cattle in this 

 country, we must breed them. The only source of better stock 

 for all of us is through the sire at the head of the herd. An 

 old adage calls the sire half the herd, but so far as improvement 

 is concerned, he is the whole herd. Every breeder should have 

 a mental picture of the sort of herd he desires to have at the 

 end of ten .years and must select the bulls used with all the ele- 

 ments of that picture well in mind. One should always see a 

 bull before buying him ; 'particularly too should one see the 

 mother of that bull and study her well. She is the best certifi- 

 cate of what her son is likely to be able to transmit. She should 

 have size, good type, and high (production. 



Not every pure-bred bull is worthy of reservation for future 

 herd work. Breeders O'f pure^breds should not be too fearful of 

 using the castrating knife. In all our breeding work the man 

 with a medium-sized herd of grade cows is the man whose needs 

 must be met. In' his hands a poor bull plays havoc, creates dis- 

 content and discouragement for the sake O'f one's self, one's 

 breed and one's customers ; no breeder can afford to sell a bull 

 that promises poorly. 



American farmers and many American breeders have yet to 

 learn how and how much to feed. In the making of good stock 

 of all kinds, the last vital cross is the feed-box. Without due 

 regard to the feeding of our stock, we can never realize on the 

 best of breeding. In the earlier improvement of our breeds, 

 feeding has been an important faotor and it cannot be left out 

 now. Failing of proper development due to under- feeding, 

 many farmers possess herds of well-bred scrubs. There is a dis- 



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