VERMONT DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 123 



and a better cow. If we improve our judgment we must keep 

 posted on the experience of other men. To get this we must 

 either visit such men or read what we can concerning them. 



If we improve our cows we must do it by breeding first, and 

 by rigid selection and good feeding' afterwards. We cannot 

 increase the capacity of the heifer over the mother unless we 

 find for her a father that will convey to her superior dairy 

 capacity. We must breed in more dairy blood if we expect 

 larger dairy performance. I know of no other way. No man 

 that I ever saw has increased the capacity of his cows genera- 

 tion after generation, bringing them up from 125 pounds of 

 butter per cow to 300 pounds, as hundreds have done, and 

 done this by breeding in the same old general purpose chan- 

 nels. If he secures an improved heifer, he must breed in 

 more and better dairy blood than the mother has. To get 

 this blood he must have recourse to the improved dairy breeds. 



If you breed up scrub horses either for racing or draft pur- 

 poses, you must draw from the race or draft fountain in the 

 sire. 



The law of heredity is what you take advantage of. It is 

 as clear as the multiplication table, yet I have seen men who 

 wanted to say twice two makes three, or five, just as it suited 

 their purpose. They were simply deceiving themselves. 

 They are not the men who get 600 per cent profit, or 32 cents 

 per 100 more for their milk than their fellowmen. 



Some men, yea many men, say " this is too fine thinking." 

 But it is none too fine for profit. We are dealing with fine 

 principles, and course thinking will not do. An Arkansas 

 man was asked why he did not put a glass in his windows. 



He thought that was too fine thinking, and replied "I reckon 

 the sash will keep out the coarsest of the cold." Remember, 

 the dairy farmer is a manufacturer. The cow is his manu- 

 facturing machine. She must be constructed to suit her pur- 

 pose and his profit. It is our duty to know and practice the 

 finer economies in constructing the cow and in her manage- 

 ment if we expect the larger per cent of profit. 



Here is one more hard fact to illustrate the loss that comes 

 to men who persist in thinking that they don't need sound 

 dairy knowledge and good cows to do business with. During 

 the summer of 1898 the Kansas Agricultural College made an 

 investigation of the patrons of the Meriden Creamerv to as- 

 certain the income they were realizing per cow for milk sold 

 to the creamery. The poorest cow averaged ST. 54 annually, 

 and the best one only S42.09, making a difference of S34.55 

 per cow. Taking the poorest five herds, the average per cow 

 i> $9.44, and for the best five only S33.74, a difference of S24.30 

 or 257 per cent. Where records have been kept, it has been 



