THE DAIRY HERD. 29 



selected a bull, we are in position to raise some 

 heifer calves that will do us good. 



Raising the Heifer. — I practice breeding my 

 heifers so as to have them drop the first calf at 

 two years of age. I am confident that they 

 make better cows to come in milk at two years 

 of age than at a later period. They should be 

 handled from the time they are calves so they 

 will have no' fear of the person who handles 

 them. There is need of great care at this 

 period and much patience is also needed to over- 

 come their fear and teach them that they are 

 not to be harmed and to cause them to be quiet 

 while being milked. Care must be exercised 

 during the first milking period to establish and 

 fix the habit of milking as long as it is desirable 

 to have them milked. If they are allowed to go 

 dry too early in their first period of milking, 

 they are more likely to do the same the suc- 

 ceeding year, and the habit is soon established. 

 They should be milked to within two months 

 of the time of dropping the second calf. This 

 is the kind of work that has made it possible 

 to secure the large yields of butter that we now 

 so frequently obtain. 



Drying Off the Cows. — Do not force a cow 

 dry. If she persists in milking the whole time 

 let her have her way about it, as there is danger 

 of doing damage to the udder of a persistent 

 milking cow in drying her off. I have had many 

 damaged udders from this cause. 



