No. 7. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 623 



load. In two weeks time he had received hundreds of letters, as 

 far distant as Texas, Mexico, California, Oregon and the states 

 on the Atlantic coast, the writers of which were all anxious for 

 one or more car-loads. He was amazed at the demand. It is so 

 in other dairy breeds. Don't you think it will pay to turn your 

 attention to the question of producing superior cows for your own 

 use and the market? 



The present methods of handling cows, in the great milk producing 

 centers amount to the destruction almost of all calf raising. Cows 

 are bought, fed high for a year or so, and sold to the butcher. This 

 makes all the better the chance for the intelligent, far sighted, 

 dairy farmer to make a handsome profit in growing cows to supply 

 that market. 



A Good Bull. 



There is a great host of dairy farmers who cannot yet see the 

 cash advantage of buying a pure-bred bull and paying the going 

 price for him. The price blinds their eyes, and so they go around 

 looking for a cheap bull, not one that can bring them something 

 good in return. They will say, "Oh, I'm not breeding registered 

 stock. I cannot afford to pay the regular price for a bull." That 

 is short sighted economy as sure as you live. They ai'o keeping 

 down the quality of their own cows in the future and the value of 

 the young heifers they want to sell. An Illinois man who annually 

 buys over a hundred thousand dollars' worth of cows and heifers 

 in Jefferson county, Wis., said to me recentl^^ "I buy a cow on her 

 looks^^ but I never buy a heifer until I take a look at her sire. If 

 he is a good one, I am more confident of the value of the heifer." 



Now, here is a practical example drawn from mv own experience: 

 In February, 1902, the Guernsey bull. Starlight's Excelsior 7992, 

 was born. He was bred bv the late N. P. Fairbanks, of Lake Gen- 

 eve, Wis., I bought him when little more than a calf, paying a 

 price up in the hundreds for him. I was attracted to him by the 

 rich character of his pedigree, the excellent record of the cows 

 back of him and his strong prepotent appearance. He will be five 

 years old in February next, and in his prime. From that bull I 

 have sold |810 worth of grade Guernsey heifer calves, fl,.500 worth 

 of registered heifer calves, f2,000 worth of registered bull calves, 

 making a total of cash sales of calves, from him of -|4.310. I have 

 on hand six of his heifers in milk two years old that I can sell any 

 day for |1,500, and 18 of his calves with nine more to come that 

 are worth at a low estimate |2,500. This makes the total value 

 of his stock up to date, |8,310. Cut it in two, giving one-half of 

 the value to the cows and then the bull stands credited with |4,155. 

 Could I afford to pay a good price for him? 



When I was a boy I read in an old almanac this verse: 



"A fiddler had a cow and he had nothing to feed her, 



So he took his fiddle and played the tune 'Consider, cow' consider.' " 



Allow me for a few minutes to ring the changes on the word 

 '^consider." Please consider that the grade heifer calves of this 

 bull, such as any farmer can raise if he will but have rich blood 

 in the bull to start with, brought me |810, double what he cost 



