No. 4.] DAIRY CATTLE. 77 



evident. The evidences are found in the alarming prevalence 

 of tuberculosis among dairy cattle, in the difficulty found in 

 rearing calves in many dairy herds, and the increasing per- 

 centage of the losses in the herds. That these facts have been 

 forced home upon dairymen, or at least some of them, is seen 

 in the outcrosses which have been introduced into high- 

 grade herds from some more rugged breed. 



This problem is one of the most difficult that the dairyman 

 has to deal with. He has found by experience that when his 

 cows are out much of the time in the winter, even in a sunny 

 and protected yard, they give less milk than when not so 

 exposed. Because of this, the temptation is strong to give 

 them but little exercise, especially in cold weather. The high- 

 pressure feeding goes on, and as a result it may be that serious 

 trouble is found in rearing the calves. "What is the dairyman 

 to do ? He can follow one of two courses, or he can combine 

 the two. The first is, as is well known to dairymen, the erec- 

 tion of an enclosed shed near the stable, in which the cows are 

 fed in the day ; and the second is to give them more exercise 

 in the yard in reasonably good weather than is usual. In the 

 shed tlie}^ run loose. It should of course be well ventilated, 

 and have windows that will admit abundant sunlight on the 

 sunny side. To give the cows ample exercise in the yards, 

 are there not instances in which this would pay, even at the 

 sacrifice of something in the milk yields ? 



Replenishing Dairy Heeds. 



In the judgment of the writer, the dairyman who proposes 

 to make dairying his principal work should aim to breed his 

 own cattle. If he does not, he incurs the risk of introducing 

 disease that for a time at least will take away all profit and 

 that will make life a burden for the time being. The two 

 forms of disease that are proving specially harmful are tuber- 

 culosis and contagious abortion. Each of these has in many 

 instances proved a veritable scourge where it has been intro- 

 duced into herds into which it could not have come had no 

 animals been introduced from outside sources. 



The method followed by some dairymen with reference 

 to tuberculosis is unaccountably short-sighted. They have in 



