FIFTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VII 46i 



As the cow's ability is indicated by an udder of quality and texture, 

 hung high behind and extended far forward, the bull's quality and con- 

 formation should be such that he will transmit these essential points. 

 Cows long from the hip bone to the pin bone have udders comparatively 

 long, while cows short between these points have comparatively short 

 udders. It is, therefore, apparent that a bull long between these points, 

 with the power of transmitting his own characteristics, will beget daugh- 

 ters that, when they mature, will have long udders. The bull should also 

 carry out straight at the tail setting, for those with dropping rumps 

 beget daughters "with the most objectionable fault, which is almost in- 

 variably accompanied by a faulty udder, with shallow, tilted front 

 quarters. Heifers with thin thighs, well cut up behind, develop udders 

 that are broad and well attached, and those beefy in the hind quarters 

 necessarily sacrifice the portion of the rear udder displaced by beef. 

 Therefore, bulls with thin thighs, free from all indications of beefiness, 

 are to be greatly preferred. 



Given masculinity, prepotency and good ancestry, the bull in whose 

 conformation is to be found all the essential points belonging to a good 

 cow is well worth risking at the head of the herd, but even then there 

 are many disappointments that are difficult to account for. 



After all, the real tangible proof of a bull's value is determined solely 

 by the character of his daughters. Just what they will be is never known 

 until after some of them have matured and shown their worth by records. 

 This is a most excellent reason for the practice of placing at the head 

 of the herd a bull that is old enough to have demonstrated his worth. 

 Although not generally practiced, it is safe and sane advice to secure a 

 bull that has produced excellent daughters, rather than a young bull 

 whose breeding and individuality indicate that he should become the 

 progenitor of such. If the value of bulls ranging in ages from four to 

 eight years were more fully appreciated, fewer of the best bulls of the 

 dairy breeds would find their routes to the shambles so early in life, and 

 their use would greatly increase the average production of the American 

 dairy cow. 



The last and least important point to be considered in selecting a sire 

 is his cost. The selling price of an animal never indicates his worth, 

 it merely shows that someone is willing to pay for him. And yet 

 thousands of dairymen and many prominent breeders consider little else. 

 Some choose a bull because some one else has been willing to pay a high 

 price for him or some of his immediate ancestors, while others buy a bull 

 merely because they can secure him for a low price. Such practices are 

 the extremes of folly, and those who follow them never advance very 

 far in developing cows with the power of yielding largely and economically. 

 The successful breeder or dairy farmer uses judgment, time and care to 

 locate a bull whose breeding and individuality are sufficiently good to 

 admit of his use in the herd. He always bears in mind that he is for- 

 tunate if he secures a bull whose daughters will be better and more pro- 

 ductive than their mothers, for such a bull will bring him success. On 

 the other hand, if he, through some oversight, is unfortunate, and secures 

 a bull whose daughters prove to be poorer individuals and yield less than 

 their mothers, his efforts are an absolute failure. 



