288 THE MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OF CATTLE 



to breed the females that must replenish his herd. He 

 obtains them from an outside source, and, in many in- 

 stances, must pass them on to non-existence at the end 

 of one season. Such a system is adverse to reaching 

 a high level of attainment. The cows for such dairies 

 must be purchased where they can be obtained, and 

 usually from sources where they have been bred in an 

 aimless way. 



It is different on farms where cows may be re- 

 tained for years, and where the replenishing of the dairy 

 comes from the progeny of the cows in the herd. But 

 in these days of specialization, even on some farms where 

 the conditions are intensive, the tendency is to stock 

 them with cows up to the limit of the capacity of the 

 farm to maintain them. This, of course, precludes the 

 possibility of rearing animals on the same with which 

 to replenish the dairies. In such instances the source of 

 supply in the cows becomes the same as with the city 

 dairyman. In the past, such supplies have been ob- 

 tainable from outlying sources where dairying has not 

 been reduced to a system. But experience has shown 

 that these sources of supply are being more and more 

 cut of?, which means continual advance in the price that 

 must be paid. It is coming, therefore, to be a serious 

 question as to where a suitable supply of dairy cows 

 can be secured. 



It would seem possible to answer this question by 

 the establishment of farms for breeding such cows. Why 

 should they not be made profitable? They should be 

 established where the conditions are extensive rather 

 than intensive, that food supplies may be grown rather 

 than purchased. The breeding would have to be con- 

 ducted on principles that would lead to high production 

 in the cows. Of course, the use of sires purely bred and 

 well chosen would be a necessity. But the foundation 

 females could be of mixed blood, chosen with a view to 

 form rather than to blood lines. 



