234 



AGR1CUI,TURE OF MAINE. 



of progeny test is playing no part in the breeding of the herd. 

 Without this principle in active operation the breeder is in much 

 the circumstances of a mariner without a compass. Progress 

 towards a desired goal is possible, but it is likely to be by a very 

 roundabout and haphazard route, and is sure to be very slow. 



It is a matter of considerable interest to examine statistically 

 the age of breeding cattle in the hands of progressive Maine 

 farmers and breeders. Data on this point are presented in 

 Table 8. It should be noted particularly that all ages recorded 

 in this table are the ages of the animals at the time when they 

 were bred successfully. Each entry in the table is based upon 

 what we call a "completed record." Such a completed record 

 comprises, on the one hand, a service record, and on the other 

 hand a birth record, which sets forth the facts regarding the 

 calf born as a result of the service accounted for on the service 

 record. The ages tabled here are the ages at the time of service. 



Table 8. 

 Showing the Age in Years of Cattle Used as Breeders. 



1. 



2. 



3. 



4. 



5. 



6. 



7. 



8. 



9. 

 10. 

 11. 

 12. 

 13. 

 14. 

 15. 

 16. 

 17. 

 18. 



Age in Years. 



Totals. 



b. Cows which 



a. Bulls used! have droppedlc. Heifers bred 



as breeders. | one or more for their first 



calves. I calves 



All females 

 ib+c). 



213 



252 



209 



149 



52 



53 



24 



8 



3 



9G710 



8.31 

 19.93 

 16.29 

 11.50 



9.11 

 7.86 

 7.52 

 5.01 

 5.01 

 3.76 

 2.51 

 1.48 

 1.03 



.23 

 .23 

 .11 

 .11 



100.00 



lOThe reason for the discrepancy between these two figures lies in the fact that on 89 

 out of the 967 blanks there was a failure on the part of the breeder to record the cow's age. 



The more important biometric constants from this table are 

 shown in Table 9. 



