62 The Bulletin. 



tearing down what our best breeders have spent many years in building up. 

 After you have selected your breed, stick to it. 



The real value of a fine milk cow lies not alone in her powers of production. 

 Her prepotent power of heredity, that power received from a long line of good 

 ancestors, which enables her to pass her good qualities on to her offspring. 

 So a great deal depends on whether the man is wise in selecting the kind of 

 animals for the work ; and, with the proper care and feed, there is nothing 

 to hinder the dairyman from being master of the situation and having condi- 

 tions favorable to his ambition. 



HOW WE MAY CHOOSE A DAIRY COW. 



There are certain rules laid down with which we ought to be familiar, and 

 if we follow them, we will not go very far wrong in picking out a dairy cow. 

 These rules were not made and then a cow made to fit them, but some of 

 the greatest milk and butter producing cows were taken, and they were found 

 all to be of a certain type or form, aud this was adopted as a standard for a 

 dairy cow. There are, of course, exceptions to these iniles, but, to the breeder 

 who is trying to bring his herd up to the highest point of profit, this dairy 

 type of cow is the one most sure of transmitting her good qualities to her 

 offspring. 



The sire is half the herd, and in his selection the best is none too good. 

 See that he is from good producing ancestors, and also that he has constitu- 

 tion and vigor. I think that it is a well-established fact that the most pre- 

 potent sires are the ones with lots of vigor and vim. Give him plenty of exer- 

 cise and don't burden him with an over-abundance of fat, for possibly this 

 tendency may be transmitted to the young, and this is not a desirable charac- 

 teristic for dairy work. 



CABE OF THE YOUNG STOCK. 



The usefulness of the dairy cow depends largely upon the care and develop- 

 ment she gets for the first two years of her existence. I believe it possible, 

 with improper feed and care, to injure calves so as to impair their future 

 usefulness. Their digestive organs are dwarfed and stunted the same as their 

 bodies, and later on, when we ask them to take *a lot of feed and convert it 

 into milk and butter fat, they say: "We can't do it; we have not been 

 developed and brought up the right way." So it stands us in hand to look out 

 for the little fellows, and not only see that they are bred right, but that they 

 are cared for and fed right, and kept in good growing condition every day, 

 with good wholesome feed and exercise. I think many have made the mis- 

 take of breeding heifers too young. This has a tendency to dwarf them in 

 size, constitution and vigor. Grow them well; and if a heifer, after having 

 been bred, lays on considerable flesh, don't get frightened. If she has been 

 bred right, "blood will tell," and when she comes to freshness she will need 

 all of this surplus flesh to tide over this period until she gets into good work- 

 ing condition. A heifer's first milking period is a critical time in her develop- 

 ment. Habits are often formed this year that are to possibly remain with her 

 for life, one of which is persistency in milking. Give her a long milking 

 period the first year, that she may get the habit of giving milk a long time 

 established. 



STUDY THE PERFORMANCE OF EACH COW. 



The Babcock test, scales and milk-sheet are a necessity. The three taken 

 together tell the whole story; they tell us whether we have cows that are 

 keeping us, or whether we are keeping them. As a matter of business every 

 dairyman should study the individuality of every cow and know the amount 

 of milk each one produces, so as to be able to weed out the "boarders" and get 

 his herd on a good paying basis. 



There is much to be read between the lines of the milk-sheet. It not only 

 tells how much milk each cow has given in a year, but shows the persistency, 

 by telling how many days she was in milk, and, if you have been changing 

 feed, whether the feed has been one of profit or loss. It is also an incentive 



