THE SILO AND SILAGE 137 



for what she will bring. No matter if her dam was 

 of exceptional value, and the sire of great worth, 

 if she has not the individual merit she should give 

 place to a better cow. She must first have a fair 

 chance to prove that her performance is not the 

 result of bad feeding or some other cause capable of 

 being remedied. The fault must be proved to be hers 

 and not that of her environment. By always taking 

 care to select sires of the best quality, and to get 

 calves from the best mothers, this method will in a 

 few years secure a herd in which individual prefer- 

 ences will be few. 



DEHORNING 



Horns are the weapons of offense and defense by 

 which in the wild state cattle protected themselves. 

 As a domestic animal, the cow has no further use for 

 them. The condition of fright and fear common 

 among herds where horns are worn materially affects 

 the average flow of milk. Careful observation has 

 shown that the dehorned cow is not affected by the 

 operation for more than two or three days, and then 

 not to a great extent. The time to dehorn a heifer 

 is while she is a calf less than a week old. As soon 

 as the knob begins to appear, the hair is cut close 

 over it about the size of a nickel. Caustic potash, 

 in the stick form, is then moistened and rubbed on 

 until the blood shows through the skin. After a 

 few minutes the operation is repeated and the work 

 is done. Allowing the potash to get soft and then 

 pasting it on is unnecessary cruelty. 



