194 li.lJi\(jlS STATE UAIKYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



established that animals adapted to a particular purpose are more 

 remunerative because their energies can be better applied. In 

 the same way a man trained for a particular profession is ex- 

 pert in his work and consequently able not only to accomplish 

 more but to do it better than the untrained. Breeding and 

 selection in cattle for particular purposes have wrought the 

 same changes in them that the breeding and education of 

 men has accomplished in the human family. A dairy cow's 

 function is the production of dairy products, and if she can 

 produce 450 pounds of butter fat in a year she is entitled to 

 be called "A Dairy Queen." We usually speak of her as a 

 dairy cow but one that by her inherent powers tends to utilize 

 her food for the elaboration of flesh we call a beef cow. On 

 many farms there are herds not bred for a particular purpose. 

 Many times the owners do not recognize these distinctions and 

 because of interest in other things even though the herd is kept 

 for its milk, the performance, care and breeding of the cattle 

 received comparatively little attention. Such herds for conven- 

 ience we will call farmer's herds. 



What Is the Farmer's Cow? 



Too often the farmer does not place great enough import- 

 ance upon the improvement of the herd. It is not desired to cast 

 any reproach upon the farmer or his cow, but the facts in hand 

 point to the following conclusions. A ''scrub" bull usually heads 

 the herd. He is often a son of a favorite cow in the herd and is 

 doubtless related more or less closely to many of the other in- 

 dividuals. His dam has had greatness thrust upon her instead 

 of earning it, for her superiority rests more upon fancy than upon 

 fact. She may or may not be a good cow for she has never 

 had a chance to show what she could accomplish under good 

 conditions. Her condition is duplicated by every other cow 

 in the herd. No breeding record is kept, so that instead of 

 freshening in the fall and producing milk when it commands a 

 a high price, they drop their calves in the spring when milk is 

 cheap. Soon the heat and flies, together with drough, conspire 



