BREEDING FOR THE DAIRY. 609 



Ibs. per daj. Nearly all the great annual yielders of milk will 

 have long periods. This is a matter of so much consideration that 

 a cow having a short period of milk -giving should be rejected as a 

 breeder, as this would be inherited by her offspring. Still another 

 important consideration in the selection of a common-blood cow is 

 her pedigree. If you can find her descent from a large milking- 

 dam, grandam or great grandam, this will greatly increase the prob. 

 ability of your success in breeding her to a thoroughbred bull from 

 deep-milking ancestors. Now, a few cows selected with these 

 requisites will lay the foundations of a herd of dairy cows such as 

 will be a source of perpetual delight and profit to the owner. On 

 the other hand, it is simple folly to rear a calf for the dairy from a 

 poor milker. It is bad enough to keep an unprofitable cow for a 

 season, but it is deliberately throwing away good food to breed from 

 such a cow, with the proof before you that the heifer will never pay 

 for her keep. Of course, no males will be kept of such crosses for 

 breeding purposes." 



Proper Age of Breeding Dairy Heifers This must 

 depend, to a great extent, upon the way in which they have been 

 reared. If they have been fed on food which has made them strong 

 and their growth has been developed without restraint, they may 

 safely be served by a bull at eighteen months old. At such an age 

 it is wise to select a small bull, because a young dam will be able to 

 more perfectly supply the necessary sustenance while she is carrying 

 it. 



Reasons why Dairy Heifers should Breed at an 

 Early Age First, it brings her earlier to the service of the 

 dairy; second, it makes her more inclined to be docile and handled 

 easily; third, her milking faculty is more easily aroused than if its 

 action be delayed, and the cow is likely to prove a better milker. 

 But the dairyman who breeds thus early from his heifers, must 

 give the stock good care and good food. Those who do not 

 take special care of their cattle should not undertake to breed from 

 them till they are three or four years of age. But the best dairy 

 cows are made from heifers which calve for the first time before 

 they are three years old. 



Best Breeds of Cows for Milk The Ayrshire is espe- 

 cially the cow of the milkman. She is small and developed in 

 every point that shows a tendency to the yielding of large quantities 

 of milk, and she is of that delicate organization, which, without 

 exception, accompanies the giving of rich milk. Whether the 

 farmer's business be the sale of milk or its manufacture into dairy 

 products, the Ayrshire takes the lead in the list of pure bred cattle. 

 For butter she is not inferior to any other in the quantity which 

 may be produced. 



THE DEVON has good characteristics, and may be classed as a 

 medium dairy cow. She has the advantage of a calm temper, is 



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