EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 173 



There are some decided advantages in purchasing mature bulls. One 

 of the greatest of these is found in the fact that the buyer can ascertain 

 something relative to the character of their get; this is most important 

 to the breeder of dairy stock. Another advantage arises from the fact 

 that there is always more or less uncertainty regarding the future de- 

 velopment of the bull calf, while this factor is entirely eliminated in 

 the purchase of a mature sire. It is also not unreasonable to conclude 

 that a mature sire will beget more vigorous offspring, especially because 

 the young ones are frequently used to excess. Three and four year 

 old bulls can generally be secured at very reasonable prices. Some of 

 the best show cattle we have seen were sired by bulls far past the 

 mature stage. The expert breeder appreciates the value of mature 

 sires. Attention is directed to the Shorthorn bull Gwenallen shown 

 on the front cover page, now ten years old and in active service in the 

 college herd ; also Count Colantha Alban, eight years old, illustration 

 No. 4, at the head of the college Hostein herd. 



EVIL EFFECTS OF BREEDING IMMATURE FEMALES. 



During the past decade or two, there has been a growing tendency to 

 breed heifers at an early age; this is particularly true among the dairy 

 breeds. The men who advocate and practice the breeding of heifers 

 so as to produce calves under or at about twenty months of age, are 

 extremely numerous. In fact, the practice has been carried to such an 

 extreme that in many localities mature cows of some of the dairy breeds 

 cannot be found bearing the same size that these types did twenty years 

 ago. This practice is supported chiefly on the following grounds, viz.: 

 First, that the earlier a heifer is made to produce, the sooner she begins 

 to make some financial return for her keep, and second, the capabili- 

 ties of the dairy cow can be increased if stimulated at an early age. 

 There are those who claim not to object to lack of size in dairy cows, 

 and also that the smaller cows are more profitable, but this latter claim 

 has not yet been proven. The relative value of small versus large dairy 

 cows as economic producers has not been determined, though much dis- 

 cussed. It is a notable fact, however, that the world's record makers 

 and the majority of the cows entered in the various advanced registry 

 associations, are, in general, considerably above the average as to size. 

 It is also a notable fact that the twenty-five Jersey cows entered in the 

 dairy cow demonstration at St. Louis in 1904, were large cows, the 

 average weight for the twenty-five at the beginning of the test was 

 911.2 pounds, and at the close 983 pounds. These figures place them 

 considerably above the average of the cows of this breed in general use 

 in many dairy sections today. These cows were used in a test where 

 comparative economic production was one of the main features. Some 

 expert dairy breeders are inclining more and more to the belief that 

 heifers should be allowed greater maturity before dropping the first 

 calves and are also permitting them to lay on more flesh than has been 

 thought to be safe; these men are demonstrating the accuracy of their 

 theories in the results produced. While it is clearly apparent that 

 immature breeding has reduced the size of many of our dairy cattle, 

 it has not been proven that diminished constitutional vigor has accom- 



