FIFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART IV. 303 



DISCUSSION. 



Mr. Anderson: How long a period would you require to 

 test a cow before you either accept her record or reject her 

 as worthless. 



Professor Fraser: A heifer with her first calf or one of 

 mature age? It would make some difference with a heifer with 

 her first calf. If she did not do well the second lactation period, 

 unless she was a promising looking heifer, I would not keep her 

 any longer; but if she was a very promising looking heifer I 

 might try her one year more; if fully matured, I would not test 

 her over two years at the most, and if she did very poorly the 

 first year without apparent cause, if in good condition, well 

 taken care of and had a good chance, indeed it would go pretty 

 badly against her the first year. Of course cows do have their 

 off years once in a while, treated just the same one year as an- 

 other, so for that reason you should hardly discredit a cow that 

 you bought the first year. 



Question: How long after the cow is fresh before you take 

 this test? 



Professor Fraser : My time is the first week in January, 

 the first week in April, the first week in July and the first week in 

 October, every three months, and test every cow that is in milk 

 in the herd at that time. If just one cow were to be tested I 

 would take the every thirteenth week, beginning seven weeks 

 after she freshened. That would be an ideal way but, of course, 

 with a herd you can not do that. I think it pays to go through 

 this weighing and keep |a record of every cow every milking 

 right through the year. We have a good many farmers doing 

 that, especially in Southern Illinois. 



Mr. Wentworth : I wish to say in a preliminary way that 

 the animals which Professor Fraser has shown in his chart, that 

 the Holstein-Friesian breed are a very unpopular animal with 

 the average granger in the State of Iowa. I would like to ask 

 him how he made the selection of the dairy breed for the uni- 

 versity experiment station; why and by what method did he 

 arrive at the conclusion that the Holstein should be the animal 

 for that purpose? 



Professor Fraser: We have a barn that will hold thirty- 

 nine head and decided that was the size of the herd we should 

 keep. In order to do good work in breeding and to illustrate 



