Value of Records 45 



Through natural aptitude, through careful and 

 systematic training, and through constant practice, 

 very many persons become expert in the selection of 

 cows, and the3 r are able to distinguish with a good 

 degree of accuracy between cows that are large or 

 small producers. Yet no matter how much skill may 

 be attained along these lines, the fact still remains 

 that the external conformation fails to coincide with 

 the actual production of the animal in a sufficient 

 number of instances so that it is never safe to depend 

 entirely upon outward indications in -selecting cows. 



Value of records of production. The statement is 

 frequently made, and generally accepted, that there is 

 no means or determining the prospective value of a 

 cow for the production of milk that can compare 

 with a knowledge of what the animal has already 

 done as determined by an actual record of production 

 in both milk and fat extending through a year or 

 a complete period of lactation. This is so well 

 recognized that all dairy cow breeders' associations 

 are making provision for the segregation of the large 

 producing animals of the various breeds into a class 

 by themselves, known as the advanced registry or 

 register of merit, admission to which is gained only 

 by actual production, authenticated by disinterested 

 supervision, and breeders of dairy cattle are expend- 

 ing thousands of dollars each year to secure such 

 authenticated records of their animals. 



Necessity for keeping records. If records of pro- 

 duction are recognized by breeders ot pure -bred 

 animals as an essential factor in the breeding and 



