94 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



The question might then be asked, wherefore the necessity of selection, in such a case, 

 if the offspring would be liable to inherit the bad qualities of the dam or her ancestors? In 

 reply we say the nearer we can approach perfection in the animal, the more liable are these 

 fine qualities to be transmitted, providing there is a fixed habit of transmitting these qualities 

 firmly established in the breed, by a long line of hereditary descent. For this reason, as 

 previously explained, when both parents are pure bred animals we can predict the character 

 of the progeny with almost certainty, but if the sire only is pure bred, the better the dam, 

 the more possibility is there of the offspring being a good animal, than if the dam was infe 

 rior, since we believe the dam has nearly if not wholly as much influence in determining the 

 character of the progeny as the sire, and it is always safest to run as little risk as possible, 

 and select the best native cows in such cases. 



The bull designed to get dairy stock should possess the characteristics which in the cow 

 are indicative of fine dairy qualities, large hind-quarters, large and well -developed veins and 

 escutcheon, fineness of form, mellow skin, etc. He should also be descended from the best 

 dairy stock, and his dam be a good milker. For further discussion of the subject of breeding, 

 we refer the reader to BREEDS AND THE PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING, in another department of 

 this work. 



Although much depends upon the breed with regard to the profits resulting from the 

 rearing of cattle for any purpose, yet it is equally certain that stock of the best quality of its 

 kind, whether native, grade, or thoroughbreds, will be sure to deteriorate, and become 

 unprofitable by neglect and lack of proper attention. 



&quot;We would impress it upon the minds of all farmers, that the most profit as well as 

 pleasure consists in keeping good stock and in giving it equally good care, consisting of a 

 liberal amount of food of suitable quality, an abundance of pure water, shelter from storms, 

 the heat of summer, and cold of winter, according to the temperature and climate, also pure 

 air when confined in stalls. Precaution should be taken to prevent interference with 

 improvement in cattle by &quot;scrub-bulls,&quot; whose progeny is not worth the raising. Such 

 creatures are a nuisance to their owners and all adjoining neighbors, and by being permitted 

 on the highway, or from breaking into enclosures, have been the means of doing much harm 

 in this respect. Such animals are only fit for the butcher s block. 



Early Breeding of Heifers. Some breeds of cattle arrive at maturity considerably 

 earlier than others. By breeding as early as practicable, without injury, much valuable time 

 is saved, and the animal thus made more useful during her life, while it is found that there 

 is no perceptible difference between the calves thus produced, and those of older cows. To 

 farmers who are anxious to improve their stock in the shortest possible time, early breeding 

 of their heifers is a great advantage. Early stimulating the secretions of milk in the grow 

 ing heifer has a tendency to increase the milking propensity through life, while she is also 

 more docile and may be handled more easily. If a heifer is bred from before her physical 

 system is sufficiently developed and matured, it will have a tendency to check her growth and 

 prove a positive injury. Much depends upon the condition of the animal, and the treatment 

 she has previously received. Animals that are well fed and cared for from birth will 

 develop much more rapidly than those that have been neglected and ill-fed. No heifer of 

 any breed should drop her calf when much under two years of age. When two years or twenty- 

 seven months may be safely taken as a general rule of practice, instead of three years, as in 

 some cases a year is gained in the profit of the animal for dairy use. Most of the western 

 ranchmen permit nature to take its own course in this respect in their herds, and the cows 

 generally drop their calves at about the age of two years. There are well-authenticated 

 instances of heifers calving at fourteen or fifteen months of age, and even younger. 



A Mr. Eldridge Davis, living near Cambridge, 111., owned a grade Short-horn heifer a 

 few years since, raised by himself, that dropped a strong, lively heifer calf at the age of 



