SOME AMERICAN BREEDERS. 289 



One week before the date of sale the visit was made, and Mr. Roe saw each 

 cow milked both night and morning, and the milk placed in graduated cream 

 gauges. Seventeen in all were tested, the milk showing from 9 per cent to 22 

 per cent of cream. From these seventeen cows tested he selected four of the 

 best cream producers, and bought them on the day of the sale, paying a good 

 round sum for them. These four, with four heifers bought of Gerrit S. Miller 

 and one from N. F. Sholes the same year, constituted the foundation of the 

 present herd of pure-breds. As fast as they were raised the pure-bred calves 

 took the places of the grades which were sold mostly for beef. 



Mr. Roe has at this time fifty-seven head of pure-breds nearly all raised 

 from the nine foundation cows. He had received a bitter lesson with the grades 

 and resolved to buy one of the best butter bred bulls that could be found to use 

 on these nine foundation cows. After considerable time had been spent in look- 

 ing at different herds, he finally selected the bull, Aaggie Prince of Wayne, No. 

 8781 H. F. H. B., and bought him of T. G. Yeomans & Sons. This bull's dam is 

 Princess of Wayne, No. 954 H. H. B., Advanced Registry No. 2 ; milk record, 

 29,008 Ibs. 11 oz. in one year ; butter record, 24 Ibs. 14 oz. in seven days. His 

 sire is Royal Aaggie, No. 3463 H. H. B., a son of De Schot ; milk record, 82 Ibs. 

 in one day ; butter record, 23 Ibs. 8 oz. in seven days. From this bull's calves 

 was anticipated great results, for both the Wayne and Aaggie families are great 

 milk and butter producers. Mr. Roe was not disappointed, and he has the 

 calves now, five, four, three and two years old, in milk from this sire. 



They are great producers of rich milk, very few of them falling below four 

 per cent butter fat, and many of them have tested as high as five per cent but- 

 ter fat. The trouble in selling milk is a thing of the past, as the milk from the 

 dairy has gone to the same dealer for the past five years in glass jars and gives 

 entire satisfaction and is frequently complimented for its fine quality. 



Mr. Roe feels very thankful to Mr. Vandevort for insisting so hard upon 

 his giving the Holstein another trial and for the privilege given to test the 

 dairy and prove that all Holstein-Friesians did not give poor milk. Those Mr. 

 Roe has now are proving their value as dairy cows exclusively, for they are 

 paying well for the money invested in the first foundation cows in the sale 

 of milk alone, and Mr. Roe insists that the pure-bred Holstein-Friesian cow at 

 present prices will pay the dairyman better than any other breed, grade or 

 scrub cow for the production of milk and butter. If the average dairyman can 

 not or will not use the pure-bred as dairy cows, he can at least afford to put a 

 pure-bred bull at the head of his dairy, but should be careful in the selection of 

 this bull and get one from a butter-producing family. Then if the heifer calves 

 from the best cows are raised, in a few years he can nearly double the quantity 

 of milk without its falling off in quality. The breeding of pure-breds with Mr. 

 Roe is merely a side issue. The money from the sale of their milk is the main 

 business ; only the increase that is not needed to keep up the dairy is offered 

 for sale. 



In the spring of 1894 an eight-bottle Babcock test was procured and every 

 cow in milk at that time was tested at once. From these tests it was concluded 

 that very few if any of the dairy would fall below the requirements to admit 

 them to Advanced Registry. Mr. Roe resolved that he would give every cow 

 that came fresh, at least a seven-day test for butter. The first cow to calve 

 was Zanca, No. 10703 H. F. H. B., in the last part of July, 1894. Although this 

 was a very unfavorable time to test on account of flies (buffalo horn fly) and 

 very hot weather, and with her worrying for the rest of the dairy. She could 

 not be separated from them in the pasture to milk her at noon and so was put 

 in stable with a run in barnyard for exercise and water. 



The test commenced on August 7, ended on August 13, the result being 18 

 Ibs. 15 T 4 ^ oz. butter. Mr. Roe was very much pleased to have her do so well 

 under such unfavorable conditions, and was quite sure that all the rest would 

 get there if they were in proper condition after calving. In this he was not 

 mistaken, as a reference to the records made by the dairy will show. The 

 whole lot were entered on their butter records after being examined by Mr. S. 

 Hoxie and pronounced all right. In fact Mr. Hoxie said at the time of exam- 

 ination that in his opinion they were capable of making much larger records 

 than were made from them, which proved true even with the same handling, 

 for several were officially tested by Mr. Voorhees of the New Jersey Experiment 

 Station after their next calving time, and all made much larger records than 

 they had under the testing of the year before. 



