BUILDING UP A DAIRY HERD. 7 



in the pedigrees of the prize winners. I was struck with the uniformity and 

 excellency of this bull's progeny. After the judging was completed, I said 

 to one of the judges: "Where is this bull, Golden Fern's Lad?" "That 

 bull," said Mr. Nicole, "was sold for export to England last year, and the 

 cattle interests of the island lost fully 10,000 ($50,000) when he left." 



I there saw one of the most striking demonstrations of the potency and 

 value of a superior sire that it has ever been my privilege to witness. This 

 strain of blood has since been in universal demand among the best breeders 

 of both continents. 



The task of building up a dairy herd whether pure bred or for practical 

 production, must begin with the sire. This is the fundamental problem 

 of the breeder. The development of superior herds is generally a record of 

 the strength and potency of good sires. 1 Without this all other efforts will fail. 

 There are but few dairy sires of outstanding excellence, and comparatively 

 few among domestic animals of any kind. 



The primary problem and the life long study of the great breeders of 

 all times has been a study of sires. Successful sires are more rare among 

 dairy cattle than among any other kind of stock, unless it be high speed 

 horses. Both are highly artificial creations. Nature's laws operate with 

 less certainty in the more delicately organized animals of nervous tempera- 

 ment, where excellence depends on performance, than where heredity is 

 more a matter of form and substance, as in meat producing animals and draft 

 horses. 



There are many qualities to be considered in the dairy sire. These 

 qualities are never fully apparent in the animal itself, but must be sought 

 and studied in the ancestry. One of the first essentials is a good mother. 

 This alone is by no means conclusive evidence of inherited excellence, but 

 a sire should never be without a strong line of maternal ancestry. Concen- 

 tration of good blood and individual excellence is the surest means of its 

 perpetuation. First among the characteristics sought in a good sire ,1 would 

 look to the head. I presume many will take exception to this and place 

 constitution first, but the head reveals constitution, almost as accurately 

 as do depth and width of thorax and fullness of heart girth. Next to the 

 udder I regard the head as the most expressive character of the dairy cow, as 

 well as the chief significance in the dairy bull. 



The more we study the best types of domestic animals and the more 

 we study the work and the products of the great breeders, the more we are 

 forced to recognize the head as of chief significance in revealing the inherent 

 quality and practical value of animal excellence. The head is, in a sense, 

 a mirror reflecting all that goes to make up the animal. The successful 

 sire must have a bull's head. It must be strong, masculine, full of character 

 and vigor. It must be broad between the eyes and clean cut and well 

 defined. The eyes must stand out full and prominent. 



The head is sometime- ^.^s'-d among the points of fancy, but it is more 

 than this. It indicates vitality, strength, breed type, and nerve force; all 



