240 ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



the pig. Twenty-eight per cent, of a good carcass of beef sells for 

 nearly 64 per cent, of the total value of the carcass. The high priced 

 cuts are the ribs and the loins, and in growing beef, or any meat 

 producing animal, it should be the aim to feed or raise only those 

 individuals that will put the maximum amount of flesh on these 

 valuable parts. In case of dairy cows, "improved animals" are 

 those that will produce a maximum amount of milk and butter for 

 a given amount of food. Or, in case of the general purpose cows, 

 those that will produce a large quantity of milk and beef. This 

 ability to do well is termed quality in live stock. It is possessed in 

 great measure only by high grade or pure bred stock and is the most 

 important factor to be considered in all farm animals. 



This plea for better stock is made, please remember, for your sake, 

 brother stock owner, and I wish to call your attention to a few 

 points, feeling sure that you, as well as your stock, will be ma- 

 terially helped if they are observed. Three essentials to success in 

 stock raising may be briefly touched upon: These are breeding, 

 feeding, and care or management. If these are once mastered, a 

 breeders' success is almost assured. 



In regard to breeding, this much may be said here. Choose those 

 breeds for which you have a natural fondness and which are adapt- 

 ed to your conditions. Do not choose the Hereford or Angus 

 cattle if your farm is rough and hilly, or the Ayrshires if your pas- 

 tures are low and grow an abundance of grasses. Start right by 

 investing in a few superior animals, rather than in a larger number 

 of inferior individuality. Do not cross breeds, but stick to the breed 

 of your choice through thick and thin. Select your sires with great- 

 est care. A hundred dollars extra invested in the right kind of a 

 sire may return you a thousand extra in his superior offspring. 

 Select individuals, rather than pedigrees, but study to become fa- 

 miliar with a large number of the most prominent individuals of 

 the breed in which you are interested, that you may be able to es- 

 timate a pedigree at its correct value. Do not invest too heavily 

 in single families or strains in the height of their popularity; rather 

 try to make a family of your own herding popular and reap the 

 benefits yourself. Do not yield to the temptation of breeding for 

 some fancy point at the expense of general utility. If you succeed 

 in raising a cow that will produce 700 pounds of butter in a year, 

 no one will ask if her tongue is black or whether she has a Flandrine 

 or a Selvedge escutcheon. 



In regard to feeding, it may be said, without much fear of con- 

 tradiction, that a poor feeder never made a successful breeder, and 

 that a successful breeder is always a good feeder. He may not 

 understand the chemistry of foods nor know how to compute a bal- 

 anced ration, but he doe* know how to give a calf, a lamb, or a pig, 



