ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 181 



variable observation as a rough estimate that I believe that 80 or 85 per 

 cent, if not more, of the people who want to buy males for breeding stock 

 Will always procure the cheapest individual. They do not stop to think 

 t>i the animal, it is always the cheeapness, as they do not realize its extrav- 

 agance. I hold that a person who has a herd of dairy cattle cannot be 

 too discriminating on the progeny of the sire, and it is one of the weak- 

 nesses of our breeding methods in America. They sell almost anything 

 for breeding stock instead of putting a knife in them as they ought to. 

 They are not breeding in the way of creating a reputation for any com- 

 munity. The average stock is what gives us reputation, and you will not 

 have this unless there is some sacrifice somewhere. It is unfortunate, 

 but true-— I don't know about Illinois — but Indiana has been greatly dam- 

 aged by having brought into that State culled Jerseys and they have 

 fairly damned the Jersey in Indiana. There is nothing the matter with 

 the Jersey cow, the trouble is with the breeders. They bring Jerseys 

 there that have udders no bigger than a pint jug. They know nothing of 

 parentage, it seems to be simply buying and selling cattle, and I was very 

 much surprised at the prices paid for them. If you could go to Scandi- 

 navia or England and could see the cattle they have, you could see the 

 point I try to make. 



Prof. Davenport: The point that the Professor has so nicely brought 

 •out is exactly the part of this discussion I wanted; to provoke. We are 

 crazy on feeding and daft on breeding. We ought to pay more attention to 

 breeding. Those who know me, know I am a crank on breeding, as it seems 

 to me that is the important part. There is a manifest difference between 

 cattle breeding and raising. We have scattered over the country large 

 breeding herds. . The business of them is to produce sires and it ought to 

 be so recognized. We ought to buy more fall sires out of these breeding 

 herds, and we should improve our herds by these sires. The Professor 

 has said the sire is half the herd and I believe he is true. He is half of the 

 first generation, three-fourths of the next, and the next he is almost the 

 whole herd. We can agitate ourselves until we are gray and we will be 

 feeding animals that are more and more inefficient; ** rV, a.t we ought to at- 

 tend to is the breeding. 



