/TV*** 



CHAPTER XIX 



DAIRY HERD MANAGEMENT 



Motherhood and mother-love are the very foundation of 

 the dairy industry. When a man comes to look upon a cow as 

 a mother, a calf as a baby and young stock as growing children, 

 he is in a very fair way to learn how to handle them. 



The great force which impels or stimulates milk production 

 is the fact of motherhood, or, more exactly speaking, probably 

 an enzyme formed in connection with motherhood. If this 

 stimulating force be strong the cow will convert the nutriment 

 contained in her feed into milk more rapidly, and keep at it for 

 a longer time than she could if this stimulating force were weak. 



We do not yet know what organ of the body secretes this 

 stimulating fluid nor how to test for it in advance. We can 

 only wait and see what the cow does under good care and feeding 

 and then judge her in comparison with other cows. 



The largest single item in the production of the recent 

 phenomenal milk records of all breeds is without doubt the better 

 methods of handling now employed (Fig. 56), but next to this 

 seems to be the inherited presence in some families and in- 

 dividuals of an unusually strong secreting power. 



This may explain, in a way, why some cows of good con- 

 stitution and general type are, after all, very commonplace 

 producers, and also why a cow of non-famous family occasionally 

 springs into prominence by making an unusual record. The 

 law of variation in breeding may have passed on to her this 

 mark, just as Jerseys of solid-colored parents are born with spots 

 or Guernseys of orange and white parents with solid color or 

 with dark " smoky " hairs about the muzzle, neck, or rear. 



Without in any way minimizing the value of breed, or type 

 of the cows employed in the dairy, or the great importance of 

 the ration consumed by the cows, it should be remembered that 

 in the detailed management of the herd lies a very large part of 

 the profits or disappointments to be derived. Excellent cows 



153 



