30 GUIDE TO DAIRYING IN SOUTH AFRICA 



1 6. Don't forget that when you have bought 

 cows by the standard already given you must test 

 them with milk scales and Babcock test ; for, how- 

 ever good a judge you may be, the butter-fat point 

 will delude you. 



The Dairy Sire. 



Having discussed the chief points of a good dairy 

 cow, the reader may perhaps think that the selec- 

 tion of the cows purely for dairy purposes is the 

 beginning and end of having a profitable herd. But 

 although the selection of good cows is so vastly im- 

 portant, the task of maintaining the herd, either as 

 pure-breds or for practical dairy work only, must 

 after all depend chiefly on the sire. In any given 

 herd, whilst the greater number of heifers raised 

 are from different mothers and therefore inherit 

 different traits, they are all by the same sire, hence 

 each one will inherit his good or bad points. If the 

 male used is not suitable he may spoil all the good 

 points which the good cows would impart to their 

 progeny ; so that to maintain the herd in an ad- 

 vancing state of profit it is imperative that the bull 

 should be the best one that can be bought. The 

 selection and study of the sire is a most important 

 matter. When you see a man owning a superior 

 herd of cattle or an even flock of sheep they all tell 

 the same tale they are all the records of the 

 strength and character of good sires. Without a 



