CATTLE PRODUCTION 23 



Records of Production a Sure Test. The cow is very much like a race 

 horse when it comes to judging her ability to perform. Both the race horse and 

 the cow must be judged by means of the eye assisted by the record of perform- 

 ance. The milk scale and the Babcock tester assisted by judgment of the eye, 

 are the best means of exercising judgment in building up a profitable dairy herd. 

 Persistently following- this means of judging will lead to the establishment of a 

 herd which is both pleasing to the eye and capable of a large and profitable pro- 

 duction of milk and butter fat. Every dairyman can afford to weigh the milk 

 from each cow at each milking and have a sample of the milk of each cow tested 

 once a month. Results accurate enough for all practical purposes may thus be 

 secured. 



Milk Scale and Tester Increase Profits. If judging by means of the milk 

 scale and tester were employed on every dairy farm, feed worth millions of dol- 

 lars, now being eaten by cows which do not pay their cost of keep, would be 

 saved annually or converted into milk and the value of dairy products of the 

 state would be greatly increased. 



The Advanced Registry system, maintained by dairy cattle associations, 

 records the milk and butter fat production of pure bred cows officially tested, 

 and renders valuable aid in judging pure bred dairy animals on the basis of their 

 ability to perform. A Cow Testing Association, which is usually a group of 

 twenty-six farmers united to hire a man to weigh and test the milk and keep 

 records of feed costs and milk production, is the best means for having entire 

 herds of cows tested. It pays to belong to such an association. Only by elim- 

 inating the poorer cows of the herd can a high herd average be maintained. A 

 breeder of dairy cattle who is particularly anxious to improve the quality and 

 excellence of the herd will be careful to judge dairy cattle by means of the eye 

 assisted by a careful consideration of milk and butter fat production. Further- 

 more, attention should be given to the pedigree of the animals. 



A Good Family Tends to Insure Good Cows. The pedigree of an animal 

 is a record of its ancestors, or family. The ordinary pedigree usually shows the 

 ancestors for five or six generations. The value of the pedigree lies in the funda- 

 mental law of nature that "like produces like." Where ancestors of a given an- 

 imal are known to be good, one can judge more accurately than by the eye alone. 

 The careful dairyman, who is anxious to build up the best possible herd, will 

 find it profitable to study carefully the individuality, pedigree and performance 

 of his cattle. 



FEED AND CARE OF THE DAIRY COW. 



Feeding Dairy Cows. The prime object in dairying is to convert feed 

 into milk and money. Healthy cows of dairy type and breeding- and an 

 abundance of feed suitable for dairy rations, are two equally important factors 

 in mil'k production. 



When prime grass pasture in abundance is available, good cows produce 

 milk profitably and require very little of the dairyman's attention to the 



