174 THE CREAMERY PATRON'S HANDBOOK. 



either. The best beef animals and the best milking animals have never 

 been found in the same individuals or even in the same breed, and the 

 cattle raiser who attempts to raise beef for a living and at the same time 

 to make money by using his cows in a dairy, is almost sure to find one 

 branch of his business unprofitable. A profitable beef animal is one 

 thing, while a profitable dairy cow is something quite different. The 

 man who expects to make his living from a dairy should select the 

 breed which will give him the greatest amount of butter and milk from 

 the smallest number of animals at the least cost. 



DAIRY BREEDS COMPARED. 



All breeds have admirers who point with pride to the large milk 

 records made by their favorites. Each breed has its special good quali- 

 ties as well as its peculiar weaknesses, and no one of them is best suited 

 to all localities or to all branches of dairying. In breed tests made by the 

 Maine, New York (Geneva), and New Jersey Experiment stations, the 

 breeds tested have made averages which place them in the following order: 



1. As to yield of milk: Holstein, Shorthorn, Ayrshire, Guernsey 

 Jersey, Devon. 



2. As to richness of milk: Jersey, Guernsey, Devon, Shorthorn, 

 Ayrshire, Holstein. 



To summarize the matter of breeds: The Jerseys produce a large 

 yield of rich milk and are good rustlers, but of little value for beef; the 

 Ayrshires are good milk producers, will thrive on a poorer pasture than 

 most others, and are easily fattened when wanted for beef; the Holstein - 

 Friesians produce an immense yield of milk which is not rich, and are easily 

 made into good beef, but require the best of care and an abundance of 

 rich and succulent feed; the Devons produce a moderate amount of rich 

 milk and are quickly made into good beef; the "milking strains" of Short- 

 horns produce a good yield of milk which is of good quality, and can be 

 turned into excellent beef at any time, but are not good rustlers and need 

 the best of pastures to do well. Probably three-fourths of the pure-blooded 

 cows now in the Gulf States are Jerseys. 



DAIRY HERD MANAGEMENT. 



Whatever breed may be chosen for the dairy or for any other purpose, 

 the individual animals should be good of their kind; A good pure-bred 

 animal is the best, but a poor specimen of any breed, no matter how good 

 its pedigree, is worth less than a good scrub. 



THE cows. The selection of animals for the foundation of a dairy herd 

 is a matter which requires great care, judgment and experience. The best 

 of feed and management cannot make a profitable cow of one which natur- 

 ally gives only a small amount of thin milk. When one has unlimited means 

 at his disposal, it is comparatively easy to buy cows which have established 



