VAN PELT'S COW DEMONSTRATION 



produce records that are large enough to prove beyond a 

 doubt that the handsome cows are the profitable kind to 

 keep on the farm and in the dairy. Working the show ani- 

 mals and showing the working animals is the great. neces- 

 sity that is now being recognized by breeders of dairy cattle 

 for making popular the breeds and stimulating demand for 

 the blood. 



Breed Type 



Dairy breeds differ greatly in color markings, size, yield 

 and quality of milk and in several other minor ways. How- 

 ever, having been bred for so many generations with the 

 same real purpose in view, yielding butter-fat profitably, they 

 do not differ greatly in this particular. There is at this time 

 more difference between the productive ability of various 

 animals in any particular breed than there is between the dif- 

 ferent breeds. 



It is not the purpose to go into a discussion of breed 

 type further than to call attention to the fact that those 

 characteristics peculiar to the breed are distinguishing fea- 

 tures and must be given due consideration by the breeders 

 of pure-bred dairy cattle and by the show-ring judge. These 

 features are important in that they denote that the animal 

 carries the blood lines of the particular breed she resembles, 

 and her production may be estimated accordingly. It is, 

 therefore, reasonable to expect that with given form and 

 conformation she will yield milk in quantity and quality much 

 like the breed from which she is a descendant. 



Color 



Color is a breed characteristic rather than a factor in the 

 determination of the value of the cow. It has had much to do 

 in making the history of some breeds and many herds. Many 

 a great animal has been sacrificed because its color markings 

 did not meet the approval of its breeder. Color has much to 

 do in giving uniformity of appearance to a breed or to a herd, 

 but it should never be the controlling factor in selecting cows 

 for production. 



Like many other of the less important yet desirable 

 characteristics, it is an excellent plan to seek them through 

 the sire, special care being taken that other and more im- 

 portant requirements are not sacrificed. 



Size 



Considered from the standpoint of the beginner in the 

 dairy business or in the breeding of dairy cattle, size is the one 



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