MICHIGAN STATE GRANGE. 351 



record makers. It must not be forgotten, however, that the record is 

 produced through forced feeding which may tend to impair the reproduc- 

 tive powers of the cow and even sacrifice her entirely. The most rigid 

 selection must take place, not among the calves and heifers alone, but 

 among the producers also. In order to select wisely, something more 

 than casual observance is necessary and a record of each individual must 

 be kept. We have great faith in the use of spring balances and Babcock 

 testers; these are the two potent factors in building up the dairy herd. 

 Weigh up every milking, recording the weight on a weigh sheet, and 

 transfer to a herd record book once a week, testing frequently for butter 

 fat. In this way we know exactly what each cow produces during each 

 period of lactation, and we are able, without doubt, to discard the least 

 profitable ones. But, it is objected that such methods involve too much 

 labor. We answer that the extra labor involved will be repaid abun- 

 dantly. Any falling off in the milk flow is readily detected, and the 

 cause can be sought out and possibly removed. Records are made dur- 

 ing a season which, as a rule, imbue the dairyman with ambitions to im- 

 prove his herd each succeeding year. 



The question of size in dairy types has been a matter of much discus- 

 sion among dairymen and the prevailing practice of breeders has been 

 to breed heifers at a very early age, in many instances bringing them 

 into motherhood as early as nineteen or twenty months of age. This 

 method has a marked tendency toward the reduction of size. And is 

 it not correct to assume that constitutional vigor will also be sacrificed 

 in time? According to a late report from the Wisconsin Experiment 

 Station, the results of a number of years testing cows of various types, 

 indicate that the large dairy type will be found the most satisfactory 

 for the dairy farmer. 



