SELECTION OF COWS. 37 



herd of six cows, selected from a herd of twenty, for one 

 year, was 2,462 quarts; the average of Waushakun herd of 

 Ayrshires, six selected animals, for one year, was 3,123 

 quarts. Here, also, we have about 700 quarts, representing 

 the breed difference between Avrshires and natives. 



Mr. Wetpierell. I would like to have Dr. Sturtevant tell 

 us whether the Ayrshires he selected were not all superior 

 cows, collected from the various States and from Canada ; 

 and whether those would represent a fair average of the Ayv- 

 shires generally, as compared with the average on the other 

 side ; whether the natives which he has compared with the 

 Ayrshires, were the best natives that could be selected, as 

 the Ayrshires were the best that could be found. 



Dr. Stuetevaxt. I will state what our practice has been. 

 In selecting any cows, we select the best we can find among 

 a great many individuals, and in selecting our native cows 

 we had our choice among tens of thousands ; we had the 

 whole country to choose from ; and we selected the very best, 

 in our judgment, that we could find, and paid the largest 

 prices for them ; and at the time when good milch cows were 

 selling for from fifty to sixty dollars, we had a standing offer, 

 well known to all the farmers in the region, of one hundred 

 and twenty-five dollars for any cow that would milk 26 

 quarts a day. We purchased cows under that plan, and we 

 claim, therefore, that while our comparison of the best cows 

 in each breed is certainly fair, it is yet not quite fair, because 

 in selecting the natives, we had tens of thousands to select 

 from ; and in selecting the Ayrshires, we had only a few 

 thousands in Ayrshire, and a thousand or so in this country . 

 to select from. So it is a fair comparison, because it takes 

 the best Ayrshire cows and the best native cows and com- 

 pares them together. We could very easily compare the 

 average Ayrshire cow and the average native cow, provided 

 we had the statistics which would arive us the average in 

 each case ; l)ut it is fair to presume that in the cases pre- 

 sented to our agricultural fiiirs, by farmers, each farmer 

 presented the best cow he had, and thought she was a very 

 superior cow ; and in taking these statements, and the cases 

 presented in the Reports as the best individual cases, and in 

 taking the Ayrshires we have taken, — which in our judgment 



