DAIRYING 53 



vdop the milking habit, and they should be milked up to within 

 about two months of their second milking period. 



In raising a heifer it is advisable to note the state of develop- 

 ment which she has reached at the age of two years, as a too early 

 milking period will tend to stop her development, if she is im- 

 mature at that time, while a too late (after 3 years old) milking 

 period may retard the milk producing tendency and develop a 

 disposition to convert her feed into an increase in live weight 

 rather than into mlik. 



746. If a cow is inclined to be an unprofitable milker it is 

 better to feed her heavily and milk her at the same time, continu- 

 ing this until she is fat enough to sell for beef. This is more 

 profitable than trying to fatten the cow after she is dry, as at- 

 tempting to fatten dry cows is usually a waste of feed. If on the 

 other hand a cow shows a tendency to give milk nearly up to 

 calving time, it is better to continue milking her as long as she 

 gives milk, than to force her to go dry by occasionally omitting a 

 milking or by not milking clean at each milking. 



THE PURE-BRED SIRE. 



747. After the importance of weeding out the unprofitable 

 cows by weighing and testing their milk has made an impression 

 on the dairyman, he often begins to wonder where he can get 

 cows that are worth keeping. Profitable cows are always worth a 

 good price, and one of the surest ways to supply a farm or a 

 neighborhood with such is to use a pure-bred sire. A bull for this 

 purpose must be carefully selected. He should come from a milk- 

 ing strain of cattle or from a family that has shown the dairy 

 temperament for generations. He also ought to have the power 

 to transmit the milk producing capacity of his ancestors to his 

 sons and daughters. This characteristic cannot always be de- 

 termined by external appearances, but it can be assumed that a 

 bull of good milk-producing ancestors and of a dairy type will 

 help to add many valuable cows to a herd or to a community. 

 Farmers do not always seem to realize how fast the blood of the 

 bull may be made to accumulate in a herd, but a calf of the first 



