328 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



(Mr. Detrich made quite a lengthy explanation from a chalk diagram 

 on a large black-board of the conformation which he regarded as best 

 in a dairy cow. He drew a number of lines indicating good and bad 

 conformation, and described in terms that could only be misunder- 

 stood by those viewing the diagram, the essential requisites to be 

 sought for in the make-up and bodily organization of a successful 

 dairy cow.) 



If a man has a poor cow, it is not the cow's fault; it is the breeder's 

 fault, for we can correct any faults that may exist simply by the 

 laws of selection, just as we correct the corn and breed it for the 

 purpose for which we w T ant it. If we want a food breed, that is one 

 thing; if we want dairy breeds, that is another. Therefore we must 

 conform to the lines which are productive of milk and butter, if we 

 want to succeed in the dairy business, and if we want beef, we must 

 conform to the lines that are necessary for success for that pur- 

 pose. 



Now if we take up the feeding of the animal again, there is no 

 doubt a balanced ration will be of very much advantage in handling 

 our dairy herd, yet what folly to follow that to extremes. It will 

 not do to just say, here is the book and here is the arithmetic. As 

 far as figures and proofs go, it is very easy to cipher it out, but what 

 does the cow's digestive system say about your arithmetic? There 

 comes a question for you to settle again. A man must be just like 

 an engineer who has his hand on the throttle, that directs the loco- 

 motive, w r hen to go and when to stop. There must be no guesswork 

 about it. The dairyman must have that knowledge in order to suc- 

 ceed, and if he has not got that knowledge, he must learn it. He 

 must read the very best books in order to come in contact with it, 

 and beside that, his own personal observation must be continued 

 and constantly directed to enlarging his knowledge, and he must 

 profit by his experience. 



There is nothing that has helped the dairy business so much to- 

 day as photography. I have a portfolio in which I have preserved 

 pictures of the great sires and great dams from the time I first took 

 up the handling of a dairy in Flourtown. I wouldn't take anything 

 for that portfolio to-day. By means of it I can compare the great 

 sires and the great dams. It is astonishing to note the uniformity 

 of the lines which they show. Of course there is a difference in 

 them, but you can distinguish their individuality. There is :i uni- 

 formity of lines in these animals that is something very remarkable. 

 The line of the back should be long and level, like this (indicating by 

 drawing a line on the figure of a cow on the blackboard.) You can 

 see that there is plenty of room for the maternity of the animal. 

 An animal should have an abundance of room in here (indicating). 



