90 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



I am most interested in will have a small capital to commence 

 on) I would secure ten, twenty or thirty good grades of big 

 capacity and ability, with all the other points of excellence 

 that grades can be found to possess. I would keep ten or 

 twenty cows, and so on, increasing by tens, as these are the 

 numbers that one or two or more men can economically care 

 for. Having selected or retained a herd of cattle (for many 

 times it is much better to retain grades of known profitable 

 production rather than to risk the hazards of purchase) it 

 is now necessary to consider from a broader standpoint how 

 to establish a registered herd of the best quality. 



We must remember that a great producing animal is the 

 product of the three factors of wise selection, good environ- 

 ment and skillful feeding. It is folly to attempt to breed a 

 great herd of cattle without a good cow home to put them in. 

 Sunlight and pure air are as free as the gTace of God, and 

 they are necessary to the uplift of the bovine family. The 

 laws of Connecticut, and I doubt not of Massachusetts, are 

 stringent in requiring the access of light and also as to pro- 

 viding good ventilation, but in Connecticut the laws to secure 

 ventilation are not so well worked out. But if our herd is to 

 be healthy and productive our stable must be well ventilated 

 and free from odors. The King system of ventilation is best. 

 It is simple, cheap and can be put into any stable. Muslin 

 ventilation comes next. Every stable should be as well 

 lighted as the living room of the family. 



The old farm stable can be made comfortable and sanitary, 

 but if we have skillfully selected our herd it will pay for a 

 better one as the years pass. The good dairy cow should be 

 well fed from the day she is born until she has finished her 

 life work. I leave the calf with the cow for five days, until 

 the mother's milk is fit for use. I then give 1 quart of milk, 

 diluted with 1 pint of water, three times daily for five more 

 days, and then feed 2 quarts of milk so diluted morning and 

 evening for three weeks ; and during the next week skim 

 milk is substituted for the whole milk. For the first three 

 or four feeds I sweeten the milk with 2 tablespoonfuls of 

 granulated sugar, so that the calf may more readily learn to 

 drink. The calf should be given grain and hay as soon as it 



