HOW TO BUILD A HERD OF DAIRY COWS 23 



There is decidedly a " type " which belongs 

 exclusively to a dairy cow a type indicating ability 

 at the pail, which a cautious and observant farmer 

 or student is able to recognise at once. In nearly 

 each breed there are cows which have the true 

 dairy type, and there are good performers in nearly 

 all breeds. But they are found more regularly, so 

 that it becomes a rule rather than an exception, 

 among the recognised dairy breeds the Friesland, 

 the Jersey, and the Ayrshire. There are some- 

 times to be found good performers also amongst 

 the beef breeds, but they are the exception, and 

 while good themselves they are not likely to 

 transmit dairy qualities to their progeny. It is 

 therefore best to seek, when buying, cows amongst 

 the dairy breeds mentioned or amongst "Grade" 

 breeds, viz. those which have a mixture of dairy 

 stock blood in them, and which have been raised 

 from common stock and used through many gene- 

 rations for dairy purposes. The " Cape " cow is one 

 of the most notable examples of a "grade" dairy 

 breed in the world. 



The cautious farmer, therefore, when he buys 

 a cow from a man who does not keep a daily entry 

 of the milk-yield from each, will carefully look at 

 the animal and decide from her shape and outward 

 points whether she is, in his own opinion, of the 

 right type to be a good producer. It must not be 

 thought that there is a different type for each of the 



