278 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



milk or butter record stand for, how to select a breed best suited 

 to our local and climatic conditions, so as to get their maximum pro- 

 duction, the kind of stabling, care and feed best suited to the breed 

 selected. How to produce a better article and at a lower cost, and 

 how to put it on the market in proper shape, then the demand and 

 price will adjust itself. 



I want to emphasize the importance of the proper selection of 

 breeds for location. That is something that has been sadly neglected, 

 I don't know that it has been taught very much. We have a widely 

 diversified climate in Pennsylvania and in the eastern part, near 

 Mason & Dixon's line, quite a mild winter. Go to the northern tier 

 of counties and we have it pretty rough and pretty cold. There are 

 breeds of cattle adapted to both of those conditions and it is im- 

 portant if we want the best results to get the right animals in the 

 right place. Pure breed dairy cattle are very artificial; they are 

 the result I know, of man's ingenuity in the way of breeding and 

 selecting and also climatic conditions where these breeds are created. 

 Now when we take them out of those conditions and put them in 

 reversed conditions, opposite conditions, the artificial features ac- 

 quired which are the dairy features, will naturally be the first 

 features to lop off or to be disposed of and a rapid degeneration goes 

 on. We have not given that enough thought. We have a number of 

 good dairy breeds and from them every section of this State can be 

 supplied with cattle that are well adapted to climatic conditions. 

 A little bit more thought, a little bit more study along that line 

 would avoid a great many failures. 



The mixing of breeds is another thing that T think we do wrong, 

 we mix the large and the small breeds, thinking that in one genera- 

 tion we can do what has been aimed at for hundred of years by 

 getting a happy medium that would give a larger quantity of richer 

 milk, or some feature of that kinrl. Now that is destructive breed- 

 ing and not constructive. I thank you for your attention. I won't 

 take any more time. 



REPORT OF VETERINARIAN 



By DR. C. J. MARSHALL 



With the exception of the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth- 

 disease, there is nothing new or unusual for the State Veterinarian 

 to report to the Board of Agriculture for the past year. This dis- 

 ease will be considered at a later meeting. The ordinary diseases 

 that are present and rather common in Pennsylvania at all times 

 are tuberculosis, glanders, hog cholera, rabies, contagious abortion, 

 calf sours and joint evil. The losses from tliese diseases each year 

 are far too great. Much better results may be expected when there 

 is a more united effort put forth to stamp them out. We have made 



