AGRICULTURAL AI'PROPRIATION BILL, 1024. 123 



Ability f<»r liif^li j>r()<lM<ti()n. In other words, we hdicvr tliat it is 

 possible to us«> sires that luivr l>ceii proven as pn»«lueers of a larjje 

 number of animals of hi^h prodtit^tion, niul con(!entrat«> that nbility. 

 We also have a fourth, ui which we are att<'mptinf; to i)r«»vi' or dis- 

 prove what is known jus the "'nickin*;" theory, by comhinin^ bloo(l 

 of eij^ht distinct fanulies. 



Mr. Andkrson. What is th«' theory^ 



I)oct(»r LvKsoN. The theory, which is pra<'ticed by most of our 

 breeders, is that unless you use animals that are faiilv closely related 

 there is dani^er of reducinj^ the produ<tion of the family. That is the 

 general practice throuj;hout the country in buyinj^ a sire, to buy one 

 that is fairly clos(«ly related, or that carries some of the same blood, 

 and not ^et blood that is from distinctly dilFerenl families. In tlu; 

 .lersey breeding wo have at leayt eight distinct prominent families, 

 and wo are mating those in a way that will make it po.ssible to bring 

 together in the third generation animals with the blood lines of these 

 eight distinct families in e(|ual pioportions. In each generation we 

 ean compare these outcrossed animals with the animals that are bred 

 within trie families and determine whether the "nicking" theory 

 holds good. 



Mr. BiciiANAN. ^ ou mean eight lelat^'d familie^s ? 



Doctor Larson. Kight unrelated families that are distinctive 

 families in themselves. 



Mr. BrcHA.NAN. Of the same stock? 



Doctor I>.\Rs<)\. Of the same breed. This work will take consid- 

 erable time, but we think that it is fundamental and will be very 

 useful throughout the whole country. It is a project that a State or 

 a bree«ler could not undertake. With our dairy cattle producing a 

 product that last year had a farm value of .?2,4()0,()0().()()(), and the 

 efficiency of the cows that produce that product depending largely 

 upon their inheritance for large production, we believe that these 

 experiments should be carried out to establish methods of breeding 

 whereby the itdieritance for large milk and butter-fat production 

 can be transmitted with greater uniformity. 



INCRE.\.SED PRODUCTION THROUGH SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT. 



In tlie management work it has been shown that by extra methods 

 «)f care and feeding animals it is possible to increase production (50 

 per cent. We have now kept a number of animals four years. Tlie 

 first year we kept them under ordinary farm conditions; the year 

 after that we kept them under what we call advanced registry condi- 

 tions, or special care, and the third year we put them back to gen- 

 eral farm conditions, and the fourth year into the advanced registry 

 conditions, and we have been able to increase them as much as (50 

 per cent on the average. Now we are undertaking to determine 

 which one of the steps in the different care contributes the most and 

 how much each step contributes to this increase. 



Mr. Anderson. vMiat is the different care given ? 



Doctor Lar.son. The general farm treatment includes keeping the 

 cow in the ordinary stanchion, feetling her the ortlinarv feeiling 

 standard rec^uirement, and milkino; twice a day. The advanced 

 registry conditions include keeping tne cow in a box stall, feeding her 



